what is limen?

    Limen is, as defined by Merriam Webster, ” The threshold of a physiological or psychological response.” A limen means to me, by this definition, the moment someone makes a key decision through a physical or mental act. This term is very significant to this English 121 course. Since we are focusing on the hero and his/her journey this term could be used to describe any major decision on a hero’s path.

The heroes we have been reading about semester long have all had several limens. In the beginning of the hero’s journey there limens are such that they decide whether to answer the call or not. The hero must also cross the first threshold to leave home and begin his/her journey. The next phase of the hero’s path is initiation. Here the hero faces the road of trials and is faced with several different limens that will all effect the path of his/her journey.

One good example of a limen is the movie the Butterfly Effect. In this movie a young kid experiences blackouts during key points in his life or limens. During his childhood he also wrote in his journal everyday about what happened in his life. Later in his life he finds out that if he reads his old journals he can go back to those limens where he blacked out and alter the events that happened. He does this to try and make things better, but after altering the past too much things just keep getting worse and worse.

what is an archetype?

an archetype is what a character is defined by

these characters can range from

the innocent, orphan, warriors, caregiver, seeker

lover, destroyer, creator, ruler, magician, sage, or fool

each one with a different goal, fear, problem, response, and gift

archetypes are all around us and can be spotted in everyday people

defining us and the characters we play in everyday life

revisiting the hero

    On the first day in this class we watched youtube videos that were posted on the syllabus. The first one was clips of spiderman to a nickelback song. I thought marlen was now a big spiderman fan or something. It was the first day and we didnt have our blogs so I thought we  were just watching something to entertain us until we started blogging. Then I saw that the next clips were of people like MLK and others. All of them had the hero theme to them. So when I thought of a hero I thought of someone like spiderman saving a girl in distress, but there was a lot more to it than that.

After studying what a hero is with marlen I now have a more specific definition of what a hero is. We learned that all heroes have a journey that they receive a call for. Some hesitate after receiving this call, only to accept it later after “encouragement”. The hero then crosses the first threshold separating him from his home to begin his journey.

Along the journey the hero may experience a road block or certain difficulties that are too big to solve themselves. They are then helped by supernatural aid that can come in many forms. This aid allows them to continue their journey, passing over great obstacles. This is only the beginning of the hero’s journey though. I still have a lot more to learn about the middle and end of the hero’s journey as well as experience the middle and end of mine.

comfort poem

to be without it worries me

so i guess having it by me gives me comfort

some may feel the same way

although they may not admit it

when i lose/misplace it

or when the battery is suddenly dead

to be without my precious cellphone

my supernatural aid

Missing the lecture for this assignment due to Marlen’s illness was bad. I read on his syllabus all about supernatural aid and watched the videos on youtube. From the reading I thought mostly of Star Wars where supernatural aid is used a lot. After watching all three videos I saw a few great examples about supernatural aid, but I thought the first one about Cinderella was the best example.

In the clip Cinderella was faced with a problem that she needed to go to the ball, but she was just a servant that had no transportation or attire. She received supernatural aid from her fairy godmother to get her ready for the ball. The fairy godmother turned a pumpkin into a carriage, rats into horses, a horse into a coachman, and a dog into the footman. In addition, for a grand finale, she turned Cinderella’s rags into a gorgeous dress. The lesson was simple: Without the help of her fairy godmother she could not complete her journey.

As for supernatural aid I’ve experienced, I was not able to think of very many. The only thing I could think of was instead of a fairy godmother helping me through a journey I have my regular mother to help me through most of my journeys. The aid that my mother gives me sometimes must be supernatural, because it is like she is sent from god. I could not imagine having a better person to have when stuck in several journeys and needed aid.

Like the time when I was in high school and was deciding on which college to go to. She helping me apply to all of the colleges I wanted and helped me decide which one would be best. I got into IUP as well as others and she helped me decide that IUP was the best choice for me. So far, I have been loving it and would not have changed my decision for the world. But her aid does not stop there, I talk to her often and just last week I told her I was getting sic, very sick, and it wasn’t going away. She told me to go to Pechan (or whatever the health building is) and everything I should take as well as send me some medicine in case I did not get any. After a couple days I recovered and am good as new to complete my journey all thanks to my supernatural aid.

the refusal (poem)

 

faced with a poential journey

the hero refuses it

feeling pushed into something he/she doesn’t want

maybe they will accept it later

maybe they will further run from this journey

avoiding the consequences

until it is safe to return

the refusal

    In the hero’s journey, after he receives a call, he may initially refuse the call. This includes hesitating to answer the call, seriously considering his options, or just plain cold feet. Eventually the hero answers the call after initially refusing it.

At first when I was thinking of what to write about for this homework assignment I could only think of times I refused calls, but then did not answer them later. One example was joining a fraternity. When I first came to IUP fraternities seemed very appealing to me. When it came time to join one, not a lot of my friends were doing it and I decided not to join or at least wait a semester and think about it. It is possible that I may answer this call later, but as of now I have refused it for good.

So I began thinking more about a call that I refuse, but later accepted. Then it hit me. This assignment. We did not have class on Wednesday due to Marlen’s sickness. So I put this assignment off til later. Refusing the call to do it, and later accepting the call by completing the assignment.

the call (poem)

a hero’s journey begins  …

this is the first step

it’s a big one that requires a lot of thought

the hero may be hesitant at first

but eventually he/she will make the right decision

to pass the threshold

and accept the call

the call

In class we discussed “The Call” and how it relates to Watership Down and The Odyssey. When I think of the call, I think of a young man being drafted in to the army in a time of war. This example of the call is a very big responsibility and may be very hard for the young man to accept the call.

In the Oydssey, Odysseus’ call came after the war of Troy. He was called to return home to Greece where his wife and children were waiting for him. Odysseus did not refuse this call though, something else got in his way. In Troy Odysseus angered Poseidon, the god of water. So when Odysseus went to sail home Poseidon sent Odysseus to several different locations other than home to his family.

In Watership Down, the journey of the family of rabbits all began when Fiver received a vision that something bad would happen to the Warren. This was Hazel’s call to become a leader and gather a group of rabbits to move from the Warren. Hazel first went to the king of the Warren to try to pass the call on to him. This did not work due to the king not believing Fiver’s vision.

In my life I experience calls everyday. I strongly believe that my archetype is mostly the caregiver. As the caregiver, anytime someone I know needs or asks for help it is my call to fulfill my duties as the caregiver. This begins a new journey sometimes not a very big one, but none the less it usually makes me travel out of my way and experience other aspects of “the call”.

paradise

it has been a long journey

and i envision the end

the only thing that gives me fuel

is the dream of reaching my goal

the path behind me was dark and dreary

but now i see paradise

it was worth the journey

the time

the hardships

the challanges

to see paradise