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Analysis of The Odyssey and As I Lay Dying

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Homer’s Odyssey is an ancient Greek epic that follows Odysseus's long and perilous journey home after the Trojan War. As Odysseus battles gods, monsters, and temptations, his wife Penelope fends off suitors who believe him dead. The tale explores loyalty, perseverance, identity, and the meaning of homecoming. At its core, the Odyssey is a heroic journey marked by resilience and divine intervention, ending in reunion and restoration. As we discussed in class, William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is a modernist novel that recounts the journey of the Bundren family as they transport the body of their deceased matriarch, Addie Bundren, to her requested burial site in Jefferson, Mississippi. Told through multiple interior monologues, the novel explores themes of death, identity, and communication breakdown. Each character embarks on a personal, psychological journey, revealing fractured perspectives on family, duty, and grief. The quote Faulkner attributes to Homer, “As I lay dying, the...
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The Difference in Masculinity between Murdock’s and Schmidt’s Heroines’ Journeys.

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     In this blog post, I will be critically reflecting on the differences between Murdock’s and Schmidt’s heroines’ journeys. More specifically, I will focus on the attention to masculinity that both templates either contain or lack. For a quick recap, the heroine’s journey is “a female-centric version of the traditional hero’s journey template” (Heroine’s Journey Wikipedia). In class, we focused on two versions of the heroine’s journey: one from Maureen Murdock and another from Victoria Lynn Schmidt.       In Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey , we see more attention to detail on the main character’s, or our heroine’s, internal struggles with masculine values. Murdock’s journey is deeply psychological and emotional, mapping a cycle where the heroine initially rejects the feminine, strives for success in a masculine-dominated world, and eventually experiences a crisis that forces her to reconnect with the feminine aspects of herself. For example, the...
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I'll Make a Man Out of You: Mulan's Heroine's Journey

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     1. Examine a film with a female protagonist that conforms to the heroine’s journey by reflecting on how either Maureen Murdock’s or Victoria Lynn Schmidt’s versions of that narrative archetype encourages us to understand the narrative. Mulan , released in 1998, follows our heroine, Fa Mulan, in ancient China during times of military conflict with the Huns. The Huns, led by the ruthless Shan Yu, are attempting to invade mainland China by breaching the Great Wall. The Emperor orders a large-scale mobilization, with conscription notices requiring one man from each family to enlist. Fa Zhou, Mulan’s elderly father and a renowned military veteran, is conscripted. Mulan pleads with her father not to go, fearing for his life. After Fa Zhou refuses, Mulan cuts her hair and takes his armor and sword, disguising herself as a man so she can enlist in his stead. In today’s blog post, I will focus on Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey and the step ‘shifting from feminin...
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Seduced by the World of Greed: Siddhartha’s Divergence on the Path to Enlightenment

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Prompt 3: Examine Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha  as a hero's journey narrative. Try to focus on one scene in the book/step in the hero's journey, and reflect on how Joseph Campbell's monomyth encourages us to understand that moment in the narrative.  In Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha , the temptation stage of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey aligns with Siddhartha's time in the material world, specifically his time with Kamala. As we learned in class, the temptation stage of Campbell's hero's journey includes our hero being set astray from the path they are trying to take by a figure that resembles a physical or pleasurable nature. In Siddhartha , Kamala is interpreted as the figure of sexual pleasure and temptation that leads Siddhartha astray.  Our hero, Siddhartha, has been on the journey of enlightenment and previously ditched material greed, leading a life of selflessness. He has begged for food when necessary and only wears minimal robes, showing ...
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