Reflection on Savior

When I was first assigned this work I was causes about how it would go, but eventually I didn’t care because I have never gotten a good grade for my writing. So I instead decide to execute the assignment directions to the tenth degree  and try and make people see what I really wanted to do instead.

I wanted to write about something that I had been dying to put into words, a gladiator battle. I craved this story idea ever sense reading about the Romans in High school Latin class, and their brutal arena. On top of that I have been engrossed in some of the latest works of writing about futuristic arenas, such as the Hunger Games. Furthermore, yes I realize that those stories were not part of our curriculum but I enjoy the concept and with these ideas my imagination took off. Although I did have one story that influenced my work from this curriculum, an that was The Veil and how it was how change is perceived when my character mention his actions. Now don’t get me wrong there was a few stories from the curriculum that did influence my writing.

The only one that really stood out and influence me throughout the course was Hemingway’s work. Since I did enjoy his work I tried to incorporate his minimalist writing as well as I could, but in the process I know that I did mess up quite a bit seeing as how I’m new to the concept. On top of that I tried my best to capture Hemingway’s accuracy, to do this I researched the Gladiators and Roman culture of the time through reading books and examining the different fighting styles of the Gladiators. With this knowledge I was able to make a better and more accurate story.

The design of this story was complicated and difficult to execute. The main reason for this was because I wanted to explain how he got there but to do this I stayed away from the minimalist style in order to explain the conflict of the character as simply as I could. Also the dagger was a key element to the story, because in the story my character kills the other gladiator with it as a act of mercy. The was different than I had originally planed, which was having my character in a tight spot and then him pulling out his dagger to slay his opponent, but it still worked in a morbid kind of way. Also the name of the character is significant as well, his first name is that of a famous Greek tragic writer, and his last name is simply a name form of a hero.

My only regret about doing this work is not have enough time to make it into a better work then it already is and maybe incorporate a more minimalist style.

Savior

The hallow halls ring to the roar of the crowd and quakes at their stamping feet, while the victims lie below the stadium praying that today will not be the day that their blood feeds the frenzy. I have known this feeling all too well, the feeling of fear that comes from knowing that I can’t lose, for loosing is dying.

As men pass toward the arena I avoid their gaze by constantly examining my weapons. I do this in hopes that if I have to fight one of them I will have never saw them before, allowing me to image my opponent not a fellow slave but instead a Roman. The same Romans that enslaved me that day in my home city state of Sparta, the same Romans who butchered my children, and slew my wife before my very eyes, all for just talking. That day taught me how powerful words and thoughts could be.

The talking that I did although was different than most, it wasn’t just a simple word or phrase but instead a statement of anger. Ever sense the Romans had concurred the Greeks States I had hated them, because they did not just not concur they slaughtered. During this conflict many houses were burned, royals slain, philosophers flogged, and no stone left unturned …..

“Euripides Heron”

My thoughts are quickly brought back to the present, collecting myself I walked over to the person who called my name.

“You go through that gate right there after this fight is over.”, he points to a short passage way. As I walked to the end of it I realized how similarly built it was to cattle shoots, with a door that could only be pulled open from the top.

Standing there I unwillingly take in the sounds of gore outside the door, in a attempt to distract myself from the noise I take the time to examine my weapons. The trident feels balanced in my left, its sharpened teeth thirsty. I way the net in my right and hear it scream for entangling and trapping my enemies. Satisfied I flex my armor testing its strength, as reassurances and confidences flow through me when I see its perfect construction. Then slightly lifting my foot I check for the weight of my hidden dagger, his name is Soter the savior of many a occasion.

All of a sudden the crowd roars and through the cracks I peer through the cracks to see six figures lying in the ground in pools of blood while only one stands with his hands upraised, shield in one hand and a dripping scarlet sword in his right.

“Heron, ready yourself.”, not even bothering to find the sources of the voice this time I merely react and tense my body while bouncing on my toes to keep myself light.

“Slap!!”,  the door is violently slid open.

I jog out into the arena, and stop at the designated place. When I reach the spot I dare not move my head to insult the head of games, but instead move my eyes around to see what my surroundings hold.

At first I look about and see only one other combatant stand beside me, I examine him closely from what little I can see I try to learn every detail of his armor and weapons. From quick examination I see that his weapon of choice is that of a short blade and a large rectangle shield with many marks on the face suggesting heavy use from many battles past. His armor the same as mine had one arm covered and the other bare, but instead of a opened faced helmet like mine he wore a traditional gladiator covered faced helmet with little holes to see out of.

Perfect I can play to that.

We both salute the head of games and then take a few steps back from each other. From this perspective I can now see that he is very well built with broad shoulders, thick legs, and arms. He reminds me of the Roman centurions that slew my people.

“Gong”, the bell sounds, the crowds roar, and then we begin our war.

He first charges in with his shield before him and sword at the ready, I quickly dodge and move to the other side while at the same time attempting to place my net under his feet. He expects this and counters by turning around in one sweeping motion which cut my net in two. I save what I can of the net and wrap it around by hand. Continuing his assault he slashes at me wildly as if to cut me in half down the middle, although his wild has cost him and throws him off balance for a second.

I see my opportunity and take it by giving him a quick stab to his midsection, which makes him wince in pain sending him staggering backward. As he attempts to escape my reach I step forward and slam the butt of my trident down on his head, which caves in part of his helmet parsley blinding him. This extremely disorients him and causes him to go into a frenzy, in his confusion I quickly go around him and sink my trident deep into his back.

His scream is a scream that will haunt me to the end of days, on that which no glory can wash out of my shame.

Fearing a retaliation I take my trident and quickly disarming him, to do this I lock my trident on his blade an rip it away from his arm and I do the same with his shield. I finish by immobilizing him by locking my arms with his threatening to rip it off. Then I look to the head of games for the decision, and get the signal. Finish the fight I apply the needed pressure and damage him permanently. Coming out of my focus I realize what I have done, which makes me sick.

Now that the battle is over I see him as a follow slave then the a Roman, so I take pity on him and take out  my dagger to save him another minute of agony and to save him from living another second in the twisted world.

Strawberry Spring: Psychological Problems

Strawberry Spring is a extremely psychologically complicated piece of work about a seemingly simple character. In the beginning of the story the character shows a normal psychological state but after closer examination you begin to discover that the murders happen in similar places as where he is wandering the night before the murders happen. During the course of the killings while he was in college nobody could catch him and not even himself knew what was going on, until the end of the story when he finds his wife crying claiming the he was with another women the night before. I find this extremely interesting that he doesn’t remember anything about what happened, this I think would suggest multiple personality disorder that can be onset by this rare weather phenomenon. Now this is extremely odd that a weather phenomenon could onset a disorder like this. Mostly because it would further lead to suggest that the character could possibly have experienced something traumatic during this weather event, thereby causing him to create a separate continuous to deal with it. Over all this character has problems that is extremely difficult to understand and examine.

Comparing and Contrasting Lesson to Brownies

These stories show a people’s consistent need to define themselves differently from other people. The main focused it based around the idea of separation mostly because of the experiences that the character’s go through. Most notable are the experience in the “Lesson” where the children are exposed to the reality that some stores only make their inventory cost more expensive so as to make a class gap. Even though on the other had “Brownies” shows us that the door swings both ways, from which past experiences do influenced their actions. The thing that worries me the most is the aggression that is transmitted by the children in both stories. Why it worries me is because after having gone to a public school I know these kind of actions mean that these kinds have a extremely difficult home life. These are all valid similarities but both stories have differences as well.

Both of these stories are made with the same principle in mind but they both have many different ways of telling it. The story “The Lesson” tells the story of class separation through children going to FAC Schwartz and experiencing the extreme prices that bring in only the high class customers. While in the story “Brownies” it’s more about little girls acting out because of their anger from people being racist towards them in the past. The similarities are also a big part of what makes these stories.

One of the main similarities that I previously stated are that in each story the children are young and extremely aggressive, which means that they most likely had a rough childhood. This is proven by the terrible grammar and vocabulary that is used in the stories in by the children, which most likely means that they are from lesser educated families and so that means they are on the bottom of the financial totem pole. Also how they act toward each other is extremely aggressive even though some of them are friends, this would indicate a great distrust of fellow people. All together I believe that this is not the main point that ties these stories together.

The main point that I really want to really address it is the want of separation of people in both novels. This theme is every present in “Brownies” as the girl’s attempt to frame troop 909 for calling them a unpleasant adjective referring to a African American in a attempt to start a brawl. This action shows them expressing their anger over being treated differently due to their skin color, although in turn their not really doing anything about it but instead causing more separation of race by their act of attempted aggression, furthermore like in this story “The Lesson” it addresses the same problem but in a different way. This being the teacher that is watching over the children takes them to FAO Schwartz where they encounter outrages prices for toys. From this story it shows the want of separation in people through the class system instead of through races. Now before I explain many people would disagree and say that in no way this is similar, well let me tell you something how many African Americans are millionaires, very little right, so my point is made. Any ways in this story there it’s as severe a conflict as it was in “Brownies” but in its essence it is the same thing that is going on in both story’s, the constant need of separation of people. In both stories the way that the author’s approach a similar problem it the major difference in each of these stories.

In “Brownies” it has to do more with the anger of being discriminated against. The children have probably encountered multiple scenarios where they were discriminated against, and because of this feelings of anger and hate have welled up inside of them begging for a chance to take out their hate on other people. This doesn’t mean the people that technically deserve it either, but people instead that are innocent and caught in the line of fire. Ironically in the story troop 909 is not the kind of girl scouts that would call other people terrible names but instead girls that would even be humiliated by the very people that humiliate the darker skinned troop, this is due to the fact that troop 909 is a mentally handicapped troop. This is a sad fact which show that instead of them attempting to change what is happening to them they are instead just making the problem worse, by giving people of the different race a reason to hate them.  Although in the other story “The Lesson” the other basically tells the same moral but in a different way.

In the story “The Lesson” the author instead tells his story by showing a general separation of classes. This is defined by his choice of characters, most those of ill back ground but one that is clever and teaches the students about the world around them. As a field trip she takes the children to FAO Schwartz in order to educate these children on the fact that something’s are just expensive because they don’t want other people to be able to have them, meaning lower class citizens. Now this gets some of the children down because they understand that these toys are more than their parents could ever afford in their life, although in the end one student doesn’t let it get her down. Instead she excepts that these things will always be but that doesn’t mean that she has to let it keep her down, which instead empowers her too were she ignores it altogether. Out of the two of these stories I enjoy this one the most because it empowers people instead of bringing them down.

The stories in and upon themselves reveal a sad concept and truth, that people want to be different from other people at any cost. Even if it means the discomfort of others, such as in “The Lesson”. Which can lead to what happened in “Brownies” due to the ager that this discomfort causes.

What is wrong with the Character in the short story “The Other Place”?

The Other Place is a fictional story about a man that indulges the reader into his fantasies and the seemingly normal feelings, that he explains to the reader in vivid detail, although from a outsider’s point of view he seems to either have a fetish, mental disorder, or its just normal. This is characterized when he explains that there is a another place in his mind his calls “The Other Place”, in this particular place he contemplates doing horrific things to people which he finds arousing, this ranges from cutting them to pieces or outright killing them. Although what I want to examine from this story is if this “Other Place” is a fetish, mental disorder, or is merely normal but in our society taboo.

Could what the character feel be a fetish, it is possible. Well first the definition of a fetish is as Merriam-Dictionary states is, “a strong or unusual need or desire for something”. In this story there are many examples of the main character’s strong desire for killing, this is best demonstrated when he is aroused while watching a gory commercial if a girl being chopped up. This creates a definite possibility of “The Other Place” being a fetish due to the unusualness of him being aroused whenever seeing pain being inflicted on other people or anybody in general distress. On top of this there is another key to suggest the main character of nothing more than a fetish, this is that fetish’s are hereditary. Which means that if his son is aroused by the same gore that he is, as suggested by his father to be, then it is a fetish. Although we have no way of knowing this because we as readers are not in the boys mind but instead his father’s. Even though the main character’s “Other Place” does show characteristics of a fetish it too could possibly be a mental disorder.

Mental disorders can come in all shapes and sizes and this character could possibly no exception. Now what I mean by a mental disorder is simply the Merriam-Dictionary definition, “a mental or bodily condition marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality”. I think that in this definition the key phrase to focus on is “disorganization of personality”, which can be suggested by some of the character’s thoughts and actions in this story. Most notable in the story is when the “The Other Place” and reality attempt to merge, this shows a great lack of disorganization mostly due to him attempting to satisfy his craving by actually killings somebody. Now if he did have a mental disorder, what could have possibly caused it, mostly likely it could be his drug abuse. Drug abuse is licked to many cases of mental disorders, especially in long-term uses which are suggested by the main character. I think from the facts that I have presented it could possibly be a mental disorder, although what if I was completely wrong all together and this is what lurks in everybody but our society sees it as taboo.

There is the possibility that what this character feels is something that is merely thought of as a taboo in modern society, but instead is something that lurks in inside all of use. Maybe there is a darkness, or “The Other Place”, in all of use that cannot be completely separated from are seemingly normal selves. What if this character is going through is what everybody has gone through in their lives, but they just haven’t the guts to act upon their wants due to their lack of confidence. Although if we let the darkness take cover for one crazed second then there is no going back.

I thought that this story in general was a extremely interesting and enlightening in showing the darker side of the main character’s psyche, even if it seemed a little odd. In the end I thought it was a great example of all three possibilities, from a fetish, to a mental disorder, and to a possible misunderstanding.

the way things are

it is sunny