Displaced Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Beast

Theresa and Charlie were happily married in a small apartment tucked back into the busy streets of New York City. It was a charming apartment on the 4^th floor of a rustic building and yet retained an unexplainable elegance and beauty. Charlie worked hard and provided for Theresa so that they may enjoy the pleasures of life. One day Charlie was cooking dinner and Theresa began to complain, which sparked an argument. They fought for several minutes and amongst the exchange of insults Charlie lashed out and pricked Theresa with the cutting knife he had in his hand. He was so astounded at his carelessness and actions toward his wife he instantly ran out the door. Theresa did not hear from him except for a box full of all of the cash he had saved in his banking accounts over the years and a letter that read, “Theresa, this will allow you to live a life full of joy.”

Theresa was wandering down a dark alley behind some shops in the city a few months later on her way home. She noticed a man sitting on the pavement, leaned against a brick building, and looking down at his hands. This was by no means atypical of this particular alley and it was a fairly common place for vagabonds to linger. Something was different though, and she paused at the end of the alley. She thought deeply about what seemed so familiar and why she had noticed it. Had she seen this man before? Was he simply just one of the regular beggars who populated the alley?

She decided that she had to know the identity of this man, so she turned around and slowly approached him. He appeared withdrawn from reality, like he was completely unaware of his surroundings, but yet it seemed to be a withdrawal in which he was maintaining full concentration on something. What could he be so focused on?

            “Excuse me, what is your name?” Theresa said.

            The man didn’t look up, he just continued to look at his hands, and gruffly grunted, “Chuck.”

            She replied, “Chuck, have we met before?”

            “You may have known someone like me, but I am no longer the man I once was,” he answered.

She noticed a softness in his voice, a tenderness, a comfort that she had been missing lately. She talked to the man for about an hour, but he never revealed why he was there and what had happened. She continued to visit him over the next week and they shared meals, stories, and he always had something for her that he had found that day. She noticed he always looked at his hands and she never had a clear image of his face. He had a thick beard, kept his hood up to fight off the October chill, and never looked her in the eyes.

She finally decided one day that she would find out the true identity of Chuck, so she sat down next to him as she usually did on her visits. She asked if she would ever see his face and he brushed it off by changing the subject to the trinket he had found in the alley earlier that day. A few minutes later she jumped up, pulled back his hood, and gasped at the sight of who she found. The mysterious man was her husband Charlie!

Theresa was so flustered on why he left and why Charlie had abandoned her entirely with nothing but his life’s savings. He explained that he couldn’t bare the fact that his wife had been injured by such a monster, and he knew she deserved better than him. She begged for him back and they both knew that the love was still in their hearts, but how could the trust be restored.

He told her that if she forgave him, he would come back home and be with her. He knew that there was no way she would ever do this, but nevertheless she returned the next day and forgave him. He still refused to come home with her. She returned the next day, the day after that, another day, and finally on the fourth visit he agreed to come home. They were in love again and their life was once again perfect, and soon after they gave birth to their daughter, Joy.

The Past Possesses the Present In "The Swimmer"

"The Swimmer" is a story of Neddy Merrill and what appears to be just a description of a journey across the country surrounding his home. As the story progresses, you begin to realize that this is the retelling of his life and how he has fallen from his great status. The man used to be strong, rich, powerful, and most importantly he believed he was much better off than his neighbors. Isn't this what everyone strives for is to be better than the man standing next them? It feels good to see physical evidence that you are in fact better than other people. This physical evidence can come in several forms like wealth, looks, body physique, property, and several other areas of our life. I mean without this, how are we supposed to know who is the best? How are we to know who has "made it"? It seems like this has been a reoccurring theme in history that has brought cities to ruins and death to an absurd amount of people. The mere jealousy of others leads people to make irrational decisions, all for what? Some status amongst their peers?

If you relate this theme back to "The Iliad" you can see that Homer's themes outline some of this story. Paris has to have the most beautiful woman in all the land. Agamemnon has to have the most land and conquer Troy simply for the fame of conquering Troy. Achilles has to be known as a great warrior and fights even though he knows it is prophesized that he will die in the battle. The theme continues with other characters and there is this constant battle spurred out of lust for women, land, and fame. Similarly, Neddy felt that he had attained more than his neighbors and would even go as far to refuse invitations to their houses.

If you fast forward from ancient times to Europe in 1939 you find a very similar theme. Hitler begins marching his way across the world to make Germany the most powerful force on the planet. He segregates those of "lesser" status and purposely leaves millions of casualties in the rubble. All of this death and destruction was in the pursuit of power and the "Arian" race. The thirst to be the best has provided a toxic potion, and people fall for the allure of its taste in any day and era. Society's members continue to make the same mistakes over and over, when in reality they should reach for humility and contentment.

I believe Dale Wimbrow envelops this theme in his famous poem "The Man in the Glass." One section that demonstrates how life should be lived states,
"When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that man has to say."
This simple stanza says that at the end of the day, at the end of your life, the only person's opinion that matters is your own. The past even possesses the present in this poem with the metaphor of a "King" and how some days you feel like royalty with all the power of the world. The idea of a King goes back to ancient times and has always been a sought after position of great power and control. However, whether you become a "King" or not you must remain true to your values and beliefs. If you cheat your way through life with deceit, betrayal, and selfishness you will be awarded a final reward of "heartaches and tears."

Another way the past possesses the present in this story is through "The Odyssey." Neddy takes on this journey home that symbolizes Odysseus' journey home from the war. As Neddy travels through the countryside he realizes "that the hospitable customs and traditions of the natives would have to be handled with diplomacy if he was ever going to reach his destination." This emulates Odysseus and how he had to face several challenges on his way home including accommodating to the customs of all the foreign lands he entered. Also, as their journeys continue they grow tired and weaker which symbolizes the passing of years of their life. They used to be strong and powerful, but as they continue to travel the adversity and challenges begin to physically wear on their bodies and minds.

The past is evident throughout this story in several other ways, and just like all literature it shows how the past and mythology is present in all stories.

Romance in Literature

I found it interesting in class on Tuesday how Dr. Sexson spoke about the link between literature and romance. Now the average connotation of romance, as he mentioned in class, pertains to movies, romantic novels, or the daily interactions between couples. I think there is some deeper meaning when it comes to the connection between literature and romance.

Reading is more than the act of comprehending words on a page and acquiring knowledge. There is a certain attraction the reader develops for a piece of work, an emotional attachment. This romance is ever present in literature, mythology, and especially fairy tales.

I believe this romance actually stems from fairy tales. Some of our fondest memories as a youth are when our parents would read us bedtime stories. As children this is one of the moments when our Attention Deficit Disorder ceases, and we attain that true focus that everyone seeks. For a short time, our imaginations can roam free in this mystical world. They read to us about castles, dragons, pirates, and even things we could have never imagined. A child's imagination is one of the most fascinating things that I have found. We originally develop love for our parents and family, then we develop loves for the things they do and share with us. Hence, this love expands to fairy tales. Then it expands to longer stories. The love grows towards novels. And the love continues to grow to every piece of writing we read. We are trained to love literature because we inherently love our parents.

Mythology contains a vast amount of romance and we as readers cannot help but fall in love with the stories, their backgrounds, and the characters. These stories are then expressed through us. I believe these stories are rooted in us without our conscious being ever being aware, and Dr. Sexson even said it makes up our nervous system and biological makeup. We are living these mythological stories throughout our daily life, and I haven't even been aware of it throughout my life!

It doesn't matter what book, novel, or fairy tale you read, you really cannot help but develop this emotional connection to it. Quite frankly, without this emotional tie to reading I don't think anyone would enjoy reading. Yan Martel spoke about not being faithless and always be sure that you believe in something. I firmly believe that this is how everyone needs to live their life. The ability to connect with anything spiritually and emotionally is what makes up our true character. An individual cannot help but instinctually follow their heart. If we don't have anything to believe in, then what is the point? Why are we here?

One of my friend's grandfathers left behind this wonderful saying that I live my life by,

'Follow your heart,
Let it soar,
Don't hold back,
Just do it.'
-Angus Roderick McFarland Spencer

It is such a simple phrase, but yet so elegant and full of emotion at the same time. The act of following your heart is so simple as well, and it is almost impossible to thwart any mission it has set out to accomplish. The feeling of surrendering to your own heart and letting it lead you on your life journey is the purest form of ecstasy. This is how mythology lives within us, by following our heart, and letting what fills our bodies take us on our journey through life.

Follow your heart...Just do it.

Swimming Through Life

I have been having difficulty figuring out what I want this blog to focus on and what insights I have that the rest of the class could benefit from. I am still searching for this focus and I feel that as I continue reading this semester a theme will come out through these posts.

However, I found the piece The Swimmer extremely interesting within its deeper meanings. In the beginning, the man appears to have everything he ever wanted; money, family, and friends that respect his status in society. The man appears young, full of adventure, and extremely lively even though he is considered far from young. The sudden decision for him to take on this swim across the country is not out of the usual for him, and up until this point the story is rather normal. It sounds like a typical description of well off man in a rich neighborhood that has grown accustomed to their style of living.

He begins his journey and the physical terrain is familiar, but certain locations and friends soon become unfamiliar. The man has clearly traveled a great distance in his life and has trouble recollecting the majority of it. Neddy has rejected several invitations from neighbors over the years and in a sense looked down upon some of them for their socioeconomic status. Many of the neighbors are not home at times they should be on a Sunday, or have suffered some sort of illness that he was not aware of at all.

As he continues the journey, the tone of the story turns dark, dreary, and rather depressing. He loses strength while he travels on, which shows how he is gotten older over the years and lost his spirit of youth. A storm slowly moves in and takes all the warmth and happiness from the mood of the journey. Neddy grows cold, sad, and lonelier as he moves forward and begins to realize that this journey is beginning to symbolize his life and the loneliness he has developed throughout his time in the neighborhood. He has attained a substantial amount of debt and his family has entirely deserted him.

The other interesting part of this reading is the repeated reference toward relating it to 'The Odyssey' and Odysseus' journey back home. He respects all the customs of the houses he visits and the journey seems to drag on for years and years, similar to Odysseus' journey. In a sense, this journey did take years like Odysseus took years, because this symbolizes his entire life. It is intriguing to think that I may have been missing all of these mythological references throughout my years of reading for academics. There were so many motifs and different themes throughout this short story that John Cheever truly knew what he was doing when he wrote this piece.

This piece also shows how we are essentially swimming through life and it is up to us to choose the journey we take. I truly believe that there is some greater plan for each and every person. I'm not saying that this comes from a deity or God, but at least from some greater power that has a much greater grasp upon the bigger picture of life. Although our final destination is already determined, it goes without saying that each decision we make affects the ultimate journey we take that allows us to arrive at that destination. We are all in this journey, simply swimming through life, and learning from experiences along the way. It is these experiences that steer our conscious being in the direction that we are meant to follow.

Dead Dumbledore

My dream that I shared in class was a rather interesting one and I'm yet to figure out its relevance to my life, or if it is even meaningful. I chose to share that dream because the most recent dream I could recall at the time involved the death of a friend, and I felt it was simply too depressing.
My dream began with Dumbledore (Harry Potter character) and I flying around through the middle of the night. We were being chased by someone and they were casting spells at us that would shoot past us as flashes of light. Suddenly, Dumbledore crashed into the ground and I quickly followed in an attempt to save him. I awoke in my farmhouse north of Great Falls, MT, with Dumbledore dead against the wall. He had blood running down his face and his eyes were still open looking off towards the ceiling.
I woke up feeling rather exhilarated because it was one of the most interactive and intense dreams I had experienced at the time. The relevance of the dream still alludes me. Although I enjoyed reading the Harry Potter books and my farm is one of the greatest loves in my life, I still cannot see the relation between the two. My farm was the place where my character was shaped, where I learned almost all the skills I have attained today, and where the vast majority of my memories have occurred. Maybe the only relation is that both subjects are familiar to me and my subconscious could recreate scenes from both rather easily. It could quite possibly have no meaning at all, or maybe someday it will all become clear.
Regardless, I'm excited for this class and I am looking forward to the semester!