The Road of Trials in Literature Essay -- Literary Analysis

In Joseph Campbell’s book, A Hero with a Thousand Faces, the author details a journey he claims that every human must travel.. There are numerous stages in the journey, but one of the biggest stages is the Road of Trials. When the hero reaches the Road, he or she must leave his or her home and complete a series of hurdles and adventures alone. During the journey the hero finds confidence and self assurance. The Road of Trials is essential for the hero’s growth as a person. There are many examples of the Road of Trials in literature, including the epic poem, Gilgamesh, and the alliterative poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Both characters in these stories leave their homeland and go on a journey to find themselves and understand where they stand in the world. Before his journey, Gilgamesh, who is half god and half human, does whatever he wants. He sees himself as a god and he acts like one until he meets a man by the name of Enkidu. Enkidu is half man and half animal. As their friendship grows, the two become very close and Gilgamesh begins to act more in line with the human side of himself, as does Enkidu. Gilgamesh’s life comes to an abrupt halt when Enkidu dies. Gilgamesh, who has never felt a loss so dearly before, is determined to bring Enkidu back to life, so he leaves his hometown on a to journey to find the god Utnapishtim. This is where his Road of Trials begins. While wandering in the desert looking for Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh figures out that, â€Å"His life became a quest/To find the secret of eternal life/ Which he might carry back to give to his friend† (Mason, 55). For the first time in his life Gilgamesh thinks of someone else before himself. He had always been drawn to the side of himself that is half god but... ...e back, so how do loved ones keep the deceased in their memory? It is natural to struggle, but with every struggle comes a reward, just as with death comes resurrection. If there were not struggles in life, no one would be resurrected and allowed to grow and to learn. The Road of Trials experiences teach valuable lessons. The Road is not easy, but rather a long and difficult fight. Eventually the hero will return victorious, just as with loss comes restoration. There is no easy formula, but the journey is necessary if humans are to truly live, grow, and change. Works Cited Borroff, Marie. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. A New Verse Translation. New York: Norton, 1967. Print. Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1972. Print. Mason, Herbert. Gilgamesh: a Verse Narrative. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971. Print.

Rationale Childrens Book Essay

Annie Makes a Mess of her New Red Dress sprouted from a seed of a few ideas about a little girl who receives a new dress and has trouble with it. The purpose of my children’s book is to communicate the different elements of life that small children love or hate such as birthday parties, lollies, balloons, parks and playgrounds. Another purpose is to educate children about overcoming adversity and the fact that it’s never as bad as they think. There are many themes in this book but the main ones are adventure and overcoming adversity. This book is created for children from the age of four to around six. Originally the title was Jess Makes a Mess of her New Red Dress but after researching titles and texts I decided to change my characters name so that it’s not alliterative because as Mem Fox proposed, use names that will reveal something about the character. I chose Annie because to me it cute and resembles virtue in a young girl. The title is varied in colour and at first I was unsure about this but after researching the best sellers of children’s books, I found that many of them used the same technique to emphasise a word or to represent its meaning. In my title the word red is emphasised by being the colour red as opposed to the other words which are black. For Annie, I chose a red coloured dress because it’s noticeable and vibrant to attract the eyes of a young reader. The dress resembles innocence and the love for clothes that the majority of girls will have throughout their lives. When illustrating the book, I decided to create pictures appropriate for the age group, they are basic but colourful. All the illustrations, including the front cover are framed by two bars of white. This is to enclose or border the illustrations to have them as the main focus. The illustration on the front cover flows through to the back as I think this is an attractive feature in a children’s book as discussed in class. On some pages the illustrations have no background again the same technique is used, to have the image as the main focus such as the playground equipment or Annie in the introduction. In most of the images Annie’s dress is unravelling; I depict this through the red thread of cotton behind Annie. Children love this as they can trace their finger around the red line or follow it with their eyes. The psychology of children must also be considered when reading or writing a children’s book.

Essay on Humanistic Psychology - 1101 Words

Augustine was a saint and philosopher. Some of Augustine’s thought can be related to the practice of humanistic psychology. My professional focus is the psychotherapy category called Humanistic-Experiential. Humanistic-Experiential therapies are, â€Å"psychotherapies emphasizing personal growth and self-direction† (Butcher, et al, 2006). The humanistic approach places primary importance upon human interests, values, and most importantly the belief in human potentials (Schultz Schultz, 2009, pp297). Augustine’s idea of knowledge and understanding confront human problems of thinking and behavior. Humanistic psychology is able to help address the complexity of happiness and love according to Augustine. Humanistic theories are growth oriented,†¦show more content†¦The highest level of knowledge is the knowledge of God. According to Augustine, happiness is the ultimate goal of human behavior (Stumpf, pp65). We must go beyond just the natural world to the spiritual in order to experience happiness. It is the consequence of our human condition that we seek happiness. We are incomplete as humans separate from God; therefore, can only find happiness in God â€Å"since we were made by him to find it in him† (Stumpf, pp66). Humans search for happiness through love. It is inevitable for people to love because it is a condition of our incompleteness. We can love objects, others, and ourselves. Different human needs prompt different acts of love (Stumpf, pp66). Some of these needs are positive regard, unconditional positive regard, and positive self-regard. Positive regard is given to infants and children from the primary care-giver. Unconditional positive regard occurs when approval is granted regardless of a person’s behavior (Schultz Schultz, pp330). From these needs, stems the reciprocal idea of positive regard. Objects are able to give a limited amount of satisfaction. However, the deep need for human companionship is only met with relationship. Inanimate objects cannot substitute for a human being. The spiritual need should prompt our love of God (Stumpf, pp67). People are made to love God, and God is infinite. Only God can satisfy the precise need for the infinite. Love of these things brings anShow MoreRelatedHumanistic Psychology Essay1421 Words   |  6 PagesClassical Greece and Europe of the Renaissance, when such affirmations were expressed. Humanistic Psychology is a contemporary manifestation of that ongoing commitment. Its message is a response to the denigration of the human spirit that has so often been implied in the image of the person drawn by behavioral and social sciences. 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