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The "I" in As I Lay Dying

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The Odyssey follows Odysseus on his long and dangerous trip home after the Trojan War. At one point, he meets Agamemnon in the underworld--a former powerful King murdered by his wife’s lover, who warns: “As I lay dying, the woman with the dog’s eyes would not close my eyes as I descended into Hades.” That line—bitter and full of betrayal—inspired the title of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, which is also loosely based on The Odyssey and includes direct references (like the title). The key question is: who is the “I” in the title? I think there are two ways to look at it. The first is through Anse’s point of view. If we take the quote literally and look for a character who had a similar experience, it lines up with Anse. Addie, in this case, would be the “woman with the dog’s eyes”—a symbol of betrayal and unfaithful wife. She hides her affair but seems indifferent about whether the truth coming out (pg. 103). Jewel, the child from the affair, is a constant reminder of it. Meanwhil...
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Heroine's Journey in Quicksand

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https://www.audible.com/pd/Quicksand-Audiobook/B0CWS9N6YZ  In Quicksand, Helga Crane's story maps almost seamlessly onto the heroine's journey as outlined by Murdock. One prime example is of the "Healing Mother/Daughter Split" stage--the moment when the heroine tries to heal the wounds of earlier separation and reclaim parts of her identity--which is apparent in Helga's journey to Copenhagen. After being deserted by Uncle Peter's new wife and told how much she inconveniences their family (pg. 26), Helga officially loses her last real connection to her mom's side in America. Struggling to find a job and solely support herself, she briefly finds employment under Mrs. Hayes-Rore--which leads her to Harlem and more permanent accommodations. There, Helga feels the pressure to completely conceal her white family ties and mixed-race identity, fearing judgment from friends who view association with white people as betrayal. Even with the false sense of comfort of ...
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Barbie's Heroine's Journey

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https://medium.com/@farhanali2404050/celebrating-the-success-of-barbie-movie-logos-e9a0cff184d5 Barbie , the 2023 film critically acclaimed for its exploration of self-identity and feminism, fits the Murdock Heroine’s Journey perfectly. Maureen Murdock’s model centers on the heroine breaking away from the rigid structures of patriarchy, rejecting the traditionally feminine role she has been placed in, and embarking on a journey of self-discovery—only to realize that true wholeness comes from integrating both the "feminine" and "masculine" aspects of herself. The journey begins with the separation from the feminine. At the start of Barbie , everything is perfect. Stereotypical Barbie exists in an idealized feminine utopia, Barbieland, where women hold all the power. But this world is, ironically, a fantasy built on the assumption that real women have already achieved equality. When Barbie starts malfunctioning—experiencing bad breath, falling from her house, and deve...
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The Debate on "Universality"

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image from: https://theteachingfactor.wordpress.com/2017/09/24/the-heros-journey-a-study-in-film/ Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey  (and even Christopher Vogler's 2007 adaptation) has been widely promoted as a universal storytelling tool, exploring the underlying themes of many myths and narratives. It has generated immense revenue for Hollywood, as some of its highest-grossing films have followed the monomyth structure. However, while it remains a prominent theory, commercialized and popularized by the media, it is important to recognize that it does not accurately reflect all stories and contains aspects that may be outdated in our times. The Origins of the Hero's Journey Joseph Campbell had this epiphany when he began teaching students as a resident artist and found that " children were already starved for deep story."  They would reduce intricate storylines to simple statements such as " A man killed another man " or " They lived, they died. ...
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