Capsule Book Reviews (William Blake, Fray, All Quiet on the Western Front)

Goodreads.com is a website that should be on every bibliophile's bookmarks. You can keep track of what books you're reading, have read, and want to read. Other features including seeing what your friends (or favorite authors) are reading, trivia, and forums. But my favorite feature is the review function where you can give a book a star rating (1-5) and write a little blurb about it. These capsule reviews come from my Goodreads page.

Blake: Poems by William Blake (Everyman's Library, 1994)

William Blake was a mystic poet who was not afraid to challenge the religious and political views of his day. Like the other Romantic poets, he creates beautiful images of nature especially in Songs of Innocence); but he is not naive and understands the natural and moral evil that haunts the universe and provides haunting imagery of evil and demonic power. Blake also brings up some interesting philosophical questions in his longer poems The Everlasting Gospel and Marriage of Heaven and Hell where he ponders if there is really a dichotomy between reason and desire and attempts to solve the ancient Dionysian/Apollonian problem. Blake's prophetic poems are slightly denser than his other works and derivative of other sources like the Bible and Paradise Lost, but they are a valiant attempt at world-building. 4/5 Stars


Fray by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline (Dark Horse Comics, 2003)

Not Whedon's best work, but it is interesting seeing a concept to see a "Slayer" who is even more amoral than Faith. The plot was a bit of a rehash of season 1 of Buffy and the art was shaky in spots. However, this cyberpunk world was extremely interesting and may have even influenced Firefly... The latter issues especially shine along with the relationship between Melaka and her siblings Harth and Erin. 3/5 Stars


All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (Vintage Books, 2009)


I read this book in 11th grade, and it has had a great impact on my thinking as a pacifist. Through reading this book, I realized that soldiers are pawns of their government and neither hurt nor hindered by the outcome. The humorous conversation among the soldiers about the war leaders fighting in a ring for each other's country especially proved this point. All Quiet also contains uncanny juxtapositions between peaceful nature images and brutal, grotesque battle scenes. It also reveals the vulnerable nature of humans because no character is spared from fickle death, not even the protagonist. In conclusion, All Quiet on the Western Front is an excellent, balanced look at the mind and actions of the "lost generation" of 1918. You will not look at war or good and evil the same way after reading this novel.


So what do you think of these books? Any books you would like me to review? Please comment below.

Fantasy Fiction and the Importance of Companionship and Self-Sacrificing Love

This past Sunday my pastor preached a sermon on Genesis 2:18-25 on how marriage should be, using the example of Adam and Eve, the first marriage. He talked about that humans are incomplete without relationships, and marriage is the deepest and strongest of all relationships. A quote by Michael Williams, a theology professor at Covenant Seminary, summarizes this, " God intends that we be social creatures...". The Biblical reason for marriage is to have companions along the journey and co-laborers in the gospel. This principle also applies to platonic relationships. True Christian relationships are built on community and self-sacrifice, not a pragmatic "what can I get out of it" mentality.

OK, nice sermonette, you're probably saying. But because God created humans in his image, they can create works of art, including fantasy fiction that bear his stamp even if the book/TV show/movie isn't written for a "religious" reason. The book Exile by R.A. Salvatore, TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and film trilogy Lord of the Rings show the good of self-sacrificing relationships like in Genesis 2.

Drizzt Do'Urden  is the protagonist of R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy written in the early 1990s. It is set in the Forgotten Realms, which is a popular Dungeon and Dragons campaign setting. Drizzt is a dark elf who is trained to be a powerful warrior for his clan Do'Urden, which is dedicated to becoming the most powerful clan no matter the cost and observes pagan rites, like human sacrifice. However, Drizzt is taught by his mentor Zaknafein to respect life and not slaughter innocent creatures, like light elves or deep gnomes. He leaves the house of Do'Urden after refusing to kill a light elf child and becomes an exile in the dark pits of the Underdark.

While in the Underdark, Drizzt battles within himself. He has two personalities: the hunter, a character that seeks only to survive in his dark environment. This personality allows him to subsist in the Underdark and defeat monsters like a basilisk. The other personality is Drizzt, a creature of conscience and character who wants to live a moral life. The creature of conscience overcomes when Drizzt surrenders to the deep gnomes. However, he's spared from execution by Belwar, who Drizzt let live after a dark elf raid.

Belwar lost his hands in that battle, but the deep gnome reaction to this shows the self-sacrificial nature of their society. Instead of casting him out like a beggar, the gnomes build Belwar two special hands: one shaped like a hammer and one like a battleaxe. This allows Belwar to continue in his role as miner and fighter. Drizzt falls in love with the companionship and selflessness of the gnome society. He even reenacts his battle with the basilisk for the young gnomes and goes on patrol with the gnomes when an evil dark elf is spotted... The dark elves' "friendship is born out of mutual profit" whereas the gnomes' relationship are "based on the strengths of community" and are great examples for Christian community.

Another example of self-sacrifice is found in the famous cult TV show  Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). Buffy Summers is appointed the Slayer, a young girl whose task is to defend the world from vampires and other supernatural entities. She lives in Sunnydale, CA as a normal high school student and is helped by Rupert Giles, the Watcher, whose job is to help and protect the Slayer.

But before Buffy, there were other slayers. Spike, a violent vampire with a heart of gold, has killed two slayers in the past century and arrives in Sunnydale during the second season episode "School Hard" ready to find and kill the new Slayer. He has easily defeated the previous Slayers because they worked alone. However, Buffy has friends who support her despite her dangerous lifestyle.

For example, in the season one finale, Buffy's friends Xander Harris (the school loser/goofball/virgin) and Angel (a 241 year old "good" vampire that struggles with his blood lust) revive her when the Master (vampire leader) kills her. Xander and Angel both have feelings for Bufffy, and Xander makes many jokes at Angel's expense. Also, while walking in the graveyard, Angel tells Buffy that he is jealous that Xander gets to be with her during the day because he's human. However, when  Buffy flatlines, Angel fights off the vampires while Xander does mouth to mouth CPR to revive her. (What movie does this remind you of?) To fight evil, Xander and Angel put aside their problems to protect Buffy even though Angel is a vampire and Xander is on the bottom of the totem pole in popularity.

Buffy's other "companions" include Willow Rosenberg (the school nerd and computer whiz) and Cordelia Chase (popular, rich cheerleader). Many students take advantage of Willow as a tutor in their classes, and she humbly helps them. Willow's only friend is the goofball Xander, renowned for his horrendous pickup lines. Instead of shunning Willow, Buffy befriends her even though it means she moves down the "social ladder." Buffy trusts Willow and relies on her computer abilities to help research "mysterious deaths." Cordelia is the most popular girl in school, but she feels like she's alone in a crowd. But after Buffy, Xander, and Willow save her life from vampires, she joins their group even joining them at the graveyard  after cheerleader camp and making stakes for Buffy. Throughout the series, Cordelia understands that to be a true friend, one can't expect anything in return, and she hangs out with Buffy, Xander, and Willow even though they are unpopular. The vampire Spike sums up the value of self-sacrificing companionship with this one-liner, " A slayer with friends and family. That as sure as hell wasn't on the brochure." Buffy succeeds where other Slayers have failed because she has a close community of friends and mentors to help her fight evil.

A final example of self-sacrificing friendship is Gandalf the Grey in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf is a Maia (basically an angel), has an Elf ring, and is one of the most powerful wizards in Middle Earth. But he decides to allow Frodo Baggins, a small, weak hobbit, wield the One Ring. He gives Frodo guidance and urges him to not go alone but pick trustworthy companions. In the book, he recommends Aragorn, who is Frodo's guide to Rivendell and defends him from the Black Riders.

But in the Mines of Moria he gives the greatest gift any true friend can give: his life. Gandalf alone holds off the Balrog, so that the Fellowship (including Frodo) can escape and continue in their quest to destroy the Ring. He breaks the bridge underneath to defeat the Balrog and falls into the abyss. Even though Frodo is much weaker than him, Gandalf befriends him, instructs him, and sacrifices his own life for Frodo. This is true agape love, and Gandalf can be seen as a Christ figure, sacrificing himself for the salvation of the many and rising again stronger and more powerful (Gandalf the White).

"We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 3:16 (NASB)

The Pilgrim's Matrix: Two Viewpoints Create One Hero

                (This is an early concept paper for my senior thesis on the military hero)

The military hero is one of the most enduring archetypes in fiction, stretching from the early

epics of Gilgamesh and Homer to modern films like Avatar and Iron Man. There are many kinds of heroes from the one-man army (e.g. Achilles, Wolverine) to the war leader (e.g. Aeneas, Maximus, Benjamin Martin from The Patriot). Another type of military hero that fights his or her personal “war” against crime or corruption is the masked vigilante, like Batman or Rorschach from Watchmen.

But not all military heroes do battle in the physical realm. Spiritual warriors are wracked by temptations and inner struggles. They may seem only like a pawn in the scheme of a greater narrative, but their journey to enlightenment and freedom transcend the whole conflict. Two examples of this kind of hero are Christian from John Bunyan’s religious allegory Pilgrim’s Progress and Neo from the Matrix trilogy, which was written, directed, and produced by the Wachowskis (one of them might be a woman now).

 Pilgrim’s Progress records the journey of Christian from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, and how he grows spiritually despite many dangers. The Matrix films tell the story of Neo, a computer hacker, who learns the true nature of reality from mysterious crew of the Nebuchadnezzar and travels through the Matrix and the real world, learning about himself and the reality he lives in as the series progresses.

The Matrix films and Pilgrim’s Progress share a common hero archetype, but their author and directors, respectively, have very different influences and life experiences.

               John Bunyan was born to an Anglican tinker in 1628 but abandoned his faith while fighting for Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War. His experiences during the war and the beauty of the Bedfordshire countryside were major influences on Pilgrim’s Progress, which Bunyan wrote in jail and published in 1678 (Jokinen 2). Bunyan’s conversion to Christianity (recorded in his autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners) inspired him to write Pilgrim’s Progress as a vivid allegory of the gospel, drawing from the Bible and his own personal experiences.

                On the other hand, Larry (sometimes Lana) and Andy Wachowski are sibling directors who are famous for directing, writing, and producing the Matrix trilogy. In addition to these films, they wrote and produced the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s legendary graphic novel V for Vendetta and are currently writing, producing, and directing Cloud Atlas, an adaptation of the award winning sci fi novel (IMDB). The Wachowskis are big fans of kung fu movies and reality-bending anime like Ghost in the Shell and Akira (Wachowskis 1). This is where much of the action scenes in The Matrix come from.

                According to a fan interview, the Wachowskis’ religion is “non-denominational”,  and the Matrix movies contains hints of many faiths, both Eastern and Western. For example, the war between humans and machines is like Gnosticism’s dualist body/soul conflict. Also, Trinity and Zion are Biblical references, and Neo’s status as the One parallels Gautama Siddharta’s status as the “Enlightened Buddha” in Buddhism (Henry 1).

                Therefore, in contrast with Bunyan’s fairly straightforward  Protestant allegory, the Matrix saga is a smorgasbord of world religions, kung fu, and dystopia á la Blade Runner or the 1982 arcade game Robotron 2084. But the Christian allegory and the cyberpunk flick share the common archetype of the spiritual warrior

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                Both Christian and Neo come from desolate places. After Neo is unplugged from the Matrix, he sees the reality of planet Earth, which is the barren Desert of the Real, governed by insatiable machines. Christian’s life is no different, and his home is the “wilderness of the world”, the aptly named city of Destruction (Bunyan 10). However, Christian is told the truth about his condition about his condition by Evangelist, who commands him to “run far from his own door” (18). Likewise, Neo is given commands on a computer and telephone by the unseen Morpheus to learn about the reality of his condition.

                Christian trusts Evangelist, even when his neighbors Obstinate and Pliable try to dissuade. Also, Neo trusts Morpheus and follows the “white rabbit” even though it leads him to a loud night club and causes him to be late the next day for work.  Neo continues to be harried and tempted by Agent Smith, who offers him a normal life in the Matrix for information about Morpheus. Finally, Neo is told the truth of his condition as a slave to the machine and swallows the red pill “to see how far the rabbit trail leads” (The Matrix). This is similar to Pilgrim’s Progress when Evangelist tells Christian that Mr. Worldly Wise’s promise of easy burden removal and a normal life is a lie (Bunyan 57). Also, the Interpreter shows Christian a man in a cage, symbolizing a slave to Satan, which is like Morpheus revealing the human condition of slavery to the machines to Neo in the “real world.”

*SPOILER ALERT* (If you haven’t seen The Matrix, you might not want to read this)

                But the clearest parallel between Neo and Christian is their respective salvations. When he is supposedly “killed” by Agent Smith, Neo is revived by Trinity’s kiss and realizes his true potential as the One by moving faster than Smith and going directly into Smith’s programming. He can also fly and move freely between the Matrix and “real world.” Christian also experiences salvation when he “dies” as Graceless and becomes Christian. He is given clean white clothes (like Neo’s clean black trench coat and sunglasses) and his burden is removed, freeing him. For example, Christian climbs the Hill of Difficulty without a problem.

                Neo and Christian endure similar struggles in their respective movies and book, and both have salvation experiences. Therefore, in this case, the archetype of a spiritual warrior has not changed much at base level in 300 years, despite divergent worldviews of authors and modern technology and fighting techniques.

                “I know kung fu”- Neo (The Matrix)

Summer Blog Ideas and Philosophy

Because of *cough* high school, I've been unable to post any blog posts this past month. However, one of my goals this summer is to put in fresh, varied content daily. So I've made a system of different types of articles that will be posted this summer and hopefully into posterity.

Quotable- I will post a quote from a famous person, book, movie, TV show, or video game and analyze it. The meaning will be expounded but also placed in context for its larger meaning to society at large. Feel free to disagree or flame, but no trolling please ;)

Archive- I will go into the Microsoft Word database on my computer or old notebooks, journals etc. and publish a paper, story, or poem. This is mostly a selfish endeavor because I need RAM for college, but you might enjoy some of my older stuff...

TV Themes- This summer, my goal is to watch Dr. Who (new series), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Guild,  and Star Trek: The New Generation from start to finish. These posts will consist of my reflections and reactions to these shows and characters and will be followed by a "season recap" post about the deeper themes in the shows. When I catch up on Dr. Who and Guild, there will be new episode reviews up regularly.

Comic Corner- Because there's no school, I will indulge my love for the "funnies." Books read and analyzed will include Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Chris Claremont's run on Uncanny X-Men and the original Wolverine miniseries by Claremont and Frank Miller. I may also focus in on specific characters' appearances, so if there's a comic series, creator, or character you want on the blog, fire me a comment. The goal of these posts will be to show that comics aren't just for kids and are the mythology for Americans in the 20th/21st century.

Book Nook (Kindle)- Another type of blog post will be about the book(s) I'm currently reading. When it comes to literature, I have major attention span issues and bounce around from books of different genres too much. I'm currently finishing a Civil War non-fiction book and will kick off the summer with the quadruple threat of C.S. Lewis' Abolition of Man, Bulfinch's Mythology, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Tale of Two Cities (for my book club).

These are just some of the many types of content on my blog with cheesy rhyming or alliterative names. Others will include Film Fantasies, Poetry Garden, and various posts on items of personal interest like my trip to...