Toolan Chp. 3 & WriteRight

In chapter 3 of his book, Narrative:  A Critical Linguistic Introduction, Toolan’s discussion is focused on time and focalization.  While he describes many aspects of these terms, I will only include the ones that stood out to me.

 

Toolan begins the discussion with order and defines it as “any departures in the order of presentation in the text from the order in which events evidently occurred in the story” (43).  To illustrate his point, Toolan describes the terms analepses and prolepses.  These terms describe how events are recounted in the story.  They occurred at a certain time in the inner story, but are being told in a different sequence.  For example, the movie “The Notebook” begins with an analepsis, where the story begins with the present and flashes back to the past.  The man characters, Noah and Allison, are elderly.  Allison is living in a nursing home and cannot remember her family most of the time.  Noah reads her own diary to her in an effort to encourage her remembrance of their many years together.  As he reads, the real story begins.  At times, a prolepsis will occur, and the past reverts back to the present for a while.  

While this doesn’t literally happen in the movie “The Matrix,” it is symbolized by Neo’s movement in and out of his prior life in the matrix.  When he is on the ship, he is in the present reality.  When he goes back into the matrix, he can see people all around him living the life he once did.  He is on the outside looking into the world which doesn’t truly exist.

Another aspect of time Toolan describes is duration.  This term is hard to define.  If we watch a movie or play, we can hear/see the story at the author’s intended duration.  However, when presented in text, the duration is based on our own speed.  Each reader reads at a different pace and may even read different parts of the story differently.  Maximum speed is labeled an ellipsis.  This is when the story jumps from one period of time to another.  An example of this would be a page or subtitle between periods that informs the reader/viewer of the current time period without actually including it in the storyline.  Inversely, the minimum speed would be a descriptive pause outside the story.  This occurs when a narrator or other character puts the story on hold to describe the scene or further elaborate on an element in the story. 

In “Avatar,” this would be relative to the times Jake records his reports.  He has just come out of the Avatar and his feelings and memories are most vivid and meaningful.  These descriptions help to reveal Jake’s character in ways that would not otherwise have been seen.  This is also an example of point-of-view that Toolan implies in his section on focalization.  The WriteRight handout also addresses this topic.  Here, Jake is using first-person point-of-view to include himself in the plot.  He is the main character; the events are happening around and to him.  He can address his own outlook as well as that of the other characters.

The Bible incorporates each of the aspects described by Toolan and the handout.  When viewed as a whole, each story within the story of the Bible and Jesus’ life uses different aspects to knit the story together.  Each book of the Bible is written by a different author who uses a different point-of-view.  The authors mostly speak in first-person narrative, placing themselves within the story.  Job uses this when speaking of his anguish over losing his entire sustenance.  He asks God why this has happened to him, and he explains to the reader how he feels but that he still will follow God.  God and Christ are a third-person, second-person, and first-person narrator throughout the work.  Jesus speaks directly to the reader at times, as well as the characters in the story while also relating to his purpose and his life.  

The Bible also addresses the many facets of focalization, the major three being perceptual, psychological, and ideological.  Throughout the story, Jesus is the main character, yet he is not limited in his perceptual view as are the other characters.  He has his own perceptions about the world, but he knows those of others.  His cognitive focalization is not separated but his emotive is.  He is the outside teller as well as emotionally part of the story.  These elements are hard to describe, but the understanding comes with looking at how Jesus relates to each character.  He is involved in their stories.  The Bible even states that God is the author and the finisher of all things.  Like all authors, he has the final say, but he works to mold the characters to evoke specific feelings with the reader.  Each story, each character is used to tell its own separate story within the context of the whole.

Toolan’s book, as well as the handout, explains the many aspects of storytelling and writing that make the story come alive.  It is the details of each plot that engage the mind of the reader and encourage him to read on.

The Hero's Journey in "Avatar," "The Matrix," and Jesus' Life in the Bible

I chose to analyze the movies “Avatar” and “The Matrix,” as well as Jesus’ human life in the Bible.  When looking at anything in life I tend to relate things to religion.  For me, my religion is what my whole life is about.  When considered this way, I found that both movies can be compared to the Bible.  I’m going to show the similarities and differences through a chart so that they can better be seen.

DEPARTURE

1.The Call to Adventure

Avatar—When his brother dies, Jake is asked to take over his brother’s government contract.  Because of his genetic makeup, he is the only one who can take over his brother’s Avatar.  He is willing to do it because he wants the money he is promised.  He wants to use this money to have his spine fixed.

Matrix—Trinity contacts Neo on his computer, soliciting him to give up on his activities and search for what he truly desires.

Bible—It was predestined that Jesus would come to earth in human form.  The fact becomes known to the reader after the fall of Adam and Eve.  Jesus temporarily gives up his place in Heaven to come to the earth and die for our sins.

I think that God is calling each of us to realize that the world we are is not the real world.  Here we only learn how to get more of the material things that please our flesh.  God wants us to have things, but he wants us to attend to our spirit as well. 

2. Refusal of the Call

Avatar—Jake doesn’t refuse the call to become an Avatar, but he fails to realize early on the meaning of what he doing.  He gives the military a lot of information that is used against the Avatar people.  He refuses to allow himself to get caught up in his feelings for Neytiri and the beauty of Pandora.

Matrix—When Morpheus first contacts Neo on the phone to guide him out of the office, Neo comes back in the window after losing contact with Morpheus.  He says, “I can’t do this.”

Bible—Jesus never refuses the call.  His only point of human weakness is when he is praying in the garden, praying that God will change his mind and not require his human life from him.

We refuse the call each time we do the things God has told us not to do.  We do not have to live a restricted life, but our bodies are a temple to maintain.  Having premarital sex, drinking, drugs, and other ways of harming our bodies only hurts us physically and spiritually.  All these things have negative consequences.  Those things which we do for our spirit only have positive results.  When we have sex, we lose our virginity and can never get it back.  When we do drugs, drink alcohol, or use tobacco, we damage our body irreversibly.  Although most of us are guilty, even overeating is not healthy.  We are not maintaining our temple.  When we are damaged by the activities we participate in, we are hindered in our search for peace in our souls. 

3. Supernatural Aid

Avatar—The Sacred Tree is Jake’s supernatural aid.  Neytiri’s mother is his ultimate link to the tree.

Matrix—Morpheus is always there to help Neo; he is the link between him and the Oracle.

Bible—God is Jesus’ aid through his whole life.  Unlike the characters in the movies, Jesus doesn’t have to search for God, for he knows he is always there with him.  He recognizes that God is God and doesn’t have the discovery that Jake and Neo do.

God the Father is our supernatural aid.  He is the only one who can alleviate our pains and who can bring us out of this world, out of the spiritual world.  He uses the Son and Holy Spirit to connect us with him.  Jesus was the human figure of God coming to the world to free us.  When that figure had to go, He left us with the Holy Spirit which will keep us in check with him if we will allow it to.

4. The Crossing of the First Threshold

Avatar—Jake crosses the first threshold to his destiny when he becomes the Avatar for the first time.

Matrix—Neo takes the red pill.

Bible—Jesus crosses the threshold when he tells the Father that he will go to be crucified for our sins.

This is the step where God shows us that he willing to go the extra mile.  Not only did he create us, but he still loves us and is willing to save us after we left and turned against him.

5. The Belly of the Whale

Avatar—Jake is caught in his situation when he agrees to work both for the science and for the military

Matrix—Neo is stuck when he is “reborn” and held in the tank.

Bible—Jesus is stuck in his journey between his birth and the time God calls him to begin teaching as a young boy.

I think the belly of the whale is the stage each of us gets in when we disobey God.  When we get in trouble, we need to follow his example for getting out.  If we try to live our way, we only dig ourselves deeper.

INITIATION

6. The Road of Trials

Avatar—Jake begins his journey by becoming one of them.  He must learn their ways (language, hunting, riding an ikran) with the goal of being welcomed as one of the people.

Matrix—Neo begins his training and must learn to adapt to his environment on the ship and understand what life truly is.

Bible—Jesus’ trials begin when he is called as a young boy to begin teaching the message to all people.  This is when the world takes note of him.

When we accept the task of following God, we must know that there will be trials.  It is not an easy thing to try to be true to your spirit.  To do this, we must go against everything the world teaches is acceptable.  The world will retaliate just to drag us back down.

7. The Meeting with the Goddess

Avatar—Here the goddess is Toruk Macto.  This is the ultimate goal within oneself.  The ecstasy of being able to dominate that which has only prey.

Matrix—Here the goddess is the woman in the red dress.  She represents all the parts of Neo that felt fake.  This is where all his weaknesses lie.

Bible—I don’t think Jesus meets with a goddess.  He has many temptations, but is never swayed or unguarded.

The goddess, as well as the woman as the temptress, is those things which the world offers to sway us from our way.  The goddess represents all the things the world can offer man.  The woman may be the very thing God wants us to have, but we have to go about getting it in the right way.

8. Woman as the Temptress

Avatar—Neytiri is the obvious temptress here.  Without her guidance, Jake may not have realized his purpose.  He might have completely turned his back on the people.

Matrix—Trinity is the one who first called to Neo.  She is part of the link, her promise of the One.

Bible—Although many have speculated and even accused, Jesus never had relations with women.  He loved Mary and Martha, but just the same as he did Lazarus.

9. Atonement with the Father

Avatar—Jake reaches atonement when he becomes one of the people.  He is going to fight to protect them.

Matrix—Although Neo may not yet believe he is the chosen one, he accepts that he is the real world.  He accepts what life truly is.

Bible—Jesus reaches atonement when his earthly body dies.  This is the atonement for each of our sins.  He could not be at-one-ment with God while he still carried our sins.

Our atonement with God can never be fully reached until we are Heaven with Him.

10. Apotheosis

Avatar—After Grace dies, Jake defeats the will of the Toruk Macto.  He uses this to gain the favor of the people.  It is a sign of his godliness.

Matrix—Neo is not killed by the bullets of Agent Smith.  He is the first to survive a stand-off.  This is point of his journey when his identity is both revealed and confirmed.

Bible—Jesus never ”reaches” this stage.  He has always been one with God.  He is part of the Holy Trinity.

We never reach this stage physically, but we reach it in our spirits by following after God.  If we obey His laws we can have that closeness and state of no fear where the world is no longer a threat to us.  We are in bondage as long as we let the world and its troubles dictate our feelings and life.

11. The Ultimate Boon

Here it is hard to distinguish between the Apotheosis and the Ultimate Boon

12. Refusal of the Return

Avatar—Jake refuses to return to his crippled  natural life when he goes back to the people although they have rejected him.  He came to far to give up now.

Matrix—Neo’s refusal is when he lives and makes it back across the barrier

Bible—Jesus shows us that will not give in to the world when praying in the garden.  He says, “Not my will, Lord, but thine.”  He is willing to do what God wants him to do, what he has to do to save each of us.  He goes all the way to the cross and dies.

We must refuse to be unmoved and fully accept Jesus as the Savior of Man.  He is the only way out of this life. 

13. The Magic Flight

Avatar—Jake’s magic flight occurs when he is accepted as an Avatar by Eywa at the Sacred Tree.  He begins his true life here fully engrossed his new body, which is whole and capable of miracles feats.

Matrix—The same as Jake, Neo begins his journey to win people to the knowledge of the real world.  He is in his full state of being because now he recognizes what he has the ability to do.  This is the last stage of the journey until the story continues in later movies.

Bible—Jesus also is in his all-powerful being.  He is no longer burdened with our sins and separated from the Father.  His flight continues, but with no more suffering and pain.  He is living in the hope that he has promised us.

Our magic flight will take place when we die.  Our souls will leave our bodies and will join God in Heaven in the ultimate place of peace and rest.

14. Rescue from Without

Avatar—This is shown by the many time he is woken up from his Avatar body, especially as he fighting for the people.

Bible—Jesus is always in the mystic realm.  His rescue attempt comes from the Romans who cannot stand for Jesus to tell them what they are doing is wrong.  They think they are putting an end to beliefs he tried to instill in those who heard Him.

The world is always trying to bring us back down to earth where the real world is.  It cannot understand what a believer knows in his soul. 

15. The Crossing of the Return Threshold

Avatar—The crossing for Jake would be the shocking awakening back into his human form.

Bible—Jesus’ journey on earth was ended when he was crucified.  However, this did not stop the message he brought to people.

We are brought back across the threshold when we give in the world again and sin against God.  We give in to those things which only hurt us.

16. Master of the Two Worlds

Avatar—Jake masters the human world and Pandora’s world when Eywa accepts him and transforms his crippled body.

Bible—Jesus was master over both worlds already but he shows this when he rises from the dead as promised.  After three days in the tomb he is made whole and ascends once again to his Father.

When we remain faithful until the end and are united with God, we have mastered the worlds of which we have both lived.

17. Freedom to Live

Avatar—Upon the opening of his eyes in his new body, Jake is free to live in the new world, having survived the death which the old world tried to consume him with.

Bible—Jesus was always free to live, but now the message of the gospel has been brought to the world so that they too might be free.  This is the goal of Neo in the Matrix.

After this mastery we are free to live in our new world.  Only by faith were we brought to this stage.  One must believe he has the freedom to live.

Blog # 3: Short story: The Minister's Black Veil

I first thought I would like to write about the Scarlett Letter, which most of you have either read or at least heard of.  But after following Professor Bennett's link to classic short stories, I found one by the same author, Nathaniel Hawthorne.  This story is titled, “The Minister’s Black Veil.”  Hawthorne uses both these stories to convey a complex yet simple meaning that we can all apply to our lives.  I am fond of such tales because they do not allude to mysterious facts about the world that while interesting are otherwise useless.  Self-reflection and improvement are incredible feats that few actually attempt.

          The story begins by setting the scene of parishioners gathering for church under the tolling of the sexton’s bell.  While the last of the gatherers await the arrival of the minister, they observe his journey from the parsonage.  Upon seeing him the sexton cries, "But what has good Parson Hooper got upon his face?"  Those still outside can see that he is wearing a black veil.  The onlookers act as if he were walking into the church naked.  They are completely taken aback and astonished that he would dare wear such a thing.  He is completely calm, however, and proceeds into the church to deliver his sermon as always.  

Throughout the service, tension mounts so incredibly that more than one woman with “delicate nerves” has to leave the building.  The sermon, although delivered in the usual way, touches the heart and conscious of all those in attendance.  Each individual feels as though their Pastor can see the very deeds which they have kept secret for so long. 

After the service, the minister returns to his home.  Reflecting on the events of the morning, one woman comments to her husband: “How strange that a simple black veil, such as any woman might wear on her bonnet, should become such a terrible thing on Mr. Hooper's face.”   To this her husband replies, “But the strangest part of the affair is the effect of this vagary, even on a sober-minded man like myself.  The black veil, though it covers only our pastor's face, throws its influence over his whole person, and makes him ghostlike from head to foot. Do you not feel it so?”  His wife says, “Truly do I, and I wonder he is not afraid to be alone with himself!  Men sometimes are so," says her husband.

As the story continues, even the minister's wife attempts to discover the mystery of the veil.  To her requests he says, “There is an hour to come…when all of us shall cast aside our veils.  Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I wear this piece of crepe till then.”  Because she does not understand he continues: “Know then [that] this veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends.  No mortal eye will see it withdrawn.  This dismal shade must separate me from the world; even you, Elizabeth can never come behind it!.”

When his response is still incomprehensible, she decides to leave him.  The minister is heartbroken by this encounter, as well as by the shunning he has received from the rest of the community.  He ponders the fact that a mere material item has separated him from the people he loves.  However, he presses on to an obvious goal.  

Years later, now lying upon his deathbed, Parson Hooper is asked once again to remove the veil.  When the attending clergy attempts to finally reveal the mystery of all the years, a sudden energy enters the dying man as he puts his hands up to defend the barrier.  As is his wishes, the minister is laid to rest still bearing his cross.

What do think the minister was trying to prove by wearing this veil?