Haroun and the Sea of Stories wrap up

Why is this a story we should end the semester on?

"Haroun and the Sea of Stories" was a very interesting book which I believe incorporated very clearly the different steps of a Hero's Journey or heroic Monomyth as Joseph Campbell describes it. In the first stage, known as "DEPARTURE" in the Monomyth, Haroun's journey begins when he understands that his life will never be the same after his Mom left and his Dad Rashid had lost the ability to tell stories. Haroun becomes aware of his outside world and he accepts to embrace the call to adventure and to help his Dad. Haroun meets Butt, who shows him symbolically the light after the tunnel or the hope, the beauty after the fear and the obstacles. Haroun is "crossing the Threshold", when he has left the comfort of his home to pursue these new adventures. Harounalso meets Supernatural Aids like Iff, who gives him a chance to begin his "INITIATION" with strength (the second stage in the Monomyth). Haroun will have to face challenges to help his understanding of the world & himself: go to Kahani, and save a princess for example. The book also covers the final stage, "RETURN" of the Hero's Journey with Haroun's & Rashid's return back home. Overall I believe that this novel clearly explained the different steps in the Hero's Journey and this is what makes it interesting and a good way to end the semester.

Female heroes... ?

On p. 107, Blabbermouth gives Haroun a piece of feminist advice. She basically says that girls aren’t able to be strong (or heroic) characters because of the ways people stereotype them. Think about contemporary female heroes. Do we have any? Do we value the fact that they are female?


I think that what Blabbermouth tells Haroun on page 107 is in the end correct. Today we do have female's acting as heroes but they are ultimately viewed differently than a male hero. People do still currently stereotype those female heroes and this is why the movies that have male heroes make more money then the ones that have female heroes. I do also believe though that female heroes are needed to some extent. Maybe one day the female heroes could overpass the male heroes... At the moment when we see female heroes in movies we value what they are doing but we still have in the back of our minds that the male heroes are stronger and have a higher reputation. It depends on the scenario of the story of course but overall females are unfortunately stereotyped the way Blabbermouth presents it to Haroun. She is a female and she is telling this to Haroun which makes her advice perhaps more valid than if a man were to say this.

Lately it definitely seems as if there have been many more movies and stories with male heroes as the main characters than movies with female heroes. Directors out there know that if you have a well known male hero play in your movie, then you will make more money than if a female hero were to act out the role. They believe the stereotypes on female heroes that Blabbermouth tells Haroun to a certain level and this is why we see less female heroes out there than male heroes, and also why male heroes get more attention.

Undergrand Man's Actions

Comment on the underground man’s actions. How is acting here in relationship to the claims he made in Part 1?

Rooster??

Who is Rooster? What are your first impressions of him?

Rooster is found by Mattie in order to help her find the killer of her father. Because Rooster is a marshall he has quite a lot of power and control over others and the law to a certain extent. This is why he isn't afraid to take down anyone in his way as he has that superior authority being a marshall. He uses the self defense excuse almost every time that he kills someone and it works. This is why Rooster would be the best person to get the job done for Mattie! In court Rooster even declared that in six years he had killed 23 people and that they were all self defense. He is really using his title as marshall to help him out as most as possible when it comes down to killing.

I sort of have mixed feelings about Rooster at the moment because I don't know how good of a guy he really is. It took Rooster some time to finally accept Mattie's offer as he thought that she wouldn't be able to provide the $50 to him. The only true reason why he decided to go ahead and accept her offer was because he may have the opportunity to settle his revenge with a man that he will also encounter on the way. Rooster also seems overall as an arrogant and selfish person. I don't know if he is %100 reliable and trustworthy but I guess we will find out fairly soon...

The Underground Man

Who is the ‘underground man’? What are your first impressions of him?

The "underground man" is somewhat quite a strange character. He is probably in his thirties or forties This man used to work in the army and he was an officer. He isn't a very nice person overall and he treated other members in the army without much respect. The "underground man" currently has a liver disease and life doesn't seem too good for him. He is an arrogant and hard person to be around as he thinks he's the best. He does have a good education on the other hand and he has taught himself not to be superstitious.

He has some nice qualities but in general he remains a stubborn and relatively depressing person. He has been sick for 20 years and still he refuses to go see a doctor which is absurd. The "underground man" made it clear that he didn't want to live past 40 as he knows that he is very sick and that his chances of living long aren't high. If he went to the doctor and got help though that may change but he simply doesn't want to. He respects doctors and the work that they do but he isn't interested in medicine as he doesn't like them. There is still much to discover about "the underground man" and what will happen to him in the future. I wonder now if he will end up seeing a doctor or if he will remain stubborn and silly. His personality also isn't very appealing to most people.

Iago's plan

Iago is deeply in love with Desdemona. He is upset that she is marrying Othello, a black man who is a fighter. Iago and Roderigo are good friends and Iago hates Othello for making Cassio lieutenant over himself. Iago wants Roderigo’s help to make Barbantuo, the father of Desdemona aware that his daughter has married a black man named Othello. Once Barbantuo realizes that Othello is with his daughter he is unhappy, because Othello is a black man and he doesn’t like him very much. Desdemona though talks to her dad and tells him that she is in love with Othello and that she should have the opportunity to be with him. Barbantuo isn't very pleased with the whole situation but he still accepts what has happened. This makes Iago quite frustrated as he thought that Barbantuo would get very angry and make Desdemona break away from Othello.

Luke Skywalker/Beowulf

Compare Luke Skywalker to Beowulf. What makes them different? Do they share any traits in common? How are they both heroic?

Luke Skywalker is much younger than Beowulf and in the Star Wars movie we watched he isn't even a complete hero quite yet. He achieved heroic acts by defeating the death star for example but he isn't very well known yet. Beowulf has been around for a longer time and he considers himself a real hero from the beginning when he arrives to Hereot. Beowulf's reputation and title is very important to him and he likes doing what he does because he is a bit arrogant. Beowulf likes being a reputable hero where as Luke Skywalker is much more in it for the passion and to learn how to become a jedi. That is one of the main things that makes them different. They do share several traits in common because both are heroic in their own way, even though they share different paths. Beowulf is heroic because he defeats Grendel and he is very well recognized. Luke Skywalker is heroic because he is brave and he wants to go on these dangerous journeys and help make a difference. Luke Skywalker defeats the death star in the movie we watch and he saves the "rebel base" station. This makes him earn a gold medal and the respect of thousands of people.

Wiglaf

Comment on Wiglaf’s character throughout the end of the book. Is he honorable or heroic like Beowulf or does he display an additional set of values?

In the end of the book Wiglaf truly displays his heroic values. Beowulf had a task to defeat the dragon and when no one else could help him Wiglaf was there. Wiglaf put his life at risk to help Beowulf kill the dragon by blocking the dragon's fire with his shield. WIthout Wiglaf it is very possible that Beowulf wouldn't have made it on his own. Something that is very important to note is that Wiglaf sees things differently than Beowulf. Wiglaf isn't interested in having all this fame and glory and being the best hero out there like Beowulf. I believe that Wiglaf is a true hero (and more of a hero than Beowulf) because he fights for others because its the right thing to do and he wants to help. Beowulf is much more in it to be in the spotlight i think. When Wiglaf jumped in to help Beowulf with the dragon one of his main concerns was making sure that Beowulf was okay and that together they could kill the dragon. Wiglaf could've simply let Beowulf down and have killed the dragon himself and gotten all the fame but that isn't his main concern. A true hero is someone that puts others in front of himself and that doesn't necessarily care if not everyone will remember him. Beowulf wants everyone to remember him after he dies and popularity is important to him.

Unferth and Beowulf

At the opening of this excerpt, Unferth tries to tarnish Beowulf’s reputation by discussing his swimming match with Breca. Why would Unferth do this? How does Beowulf respond? How does his response contribute to his persona as a hero?


At the beginning of this excerpt Unferth tries to make Beowulf's reputation seem bad. Unferth does this by bringing up the swimming match between Beowulf and Breca. In this event it was Breca who won and who beat Beowulf to the shore. Unferth wants Beowulf to seem like a bad hero who really isn't the best out there and this is the main reason why he retold this story. After hearing all this though, Beowulf stayed calm and didn't take it personal. He instead laid out the facts and the real reason why he lost the battle against Breca. The only reason Breca won was because he swam straight to the shore while Beowulf fought all the sea monsters in order to make the waters safe. Breca only really cared about winning the swimming match but he didn't think like a hero, Beowulf did instead. This is what makes Beowulf the person that he is and why he is well respected. He doesn't care about winning everything he cares about helping others and making their environment safer. This makes him a trustworthy hero and it proved to Unferth that it was pointless of him to have brought this up because all it did was make him look better and Unferth more stupid!