The Heros Journey Crossing the Threshold and Tests

The hero, armed with the mentor’s gifts, agrees to face the journey. This is the turning point between Act One and Act Two, the crossing from the ordinary world into the special world. The hero is wholeheartedly committed and there is no turning back. According to Christopher Voglers The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure, crossing the first threshold is often the result of some external force that changes the course or intensity of the story: someone is kidnapped or murdered, a storm hits, the hero is out of options or pushed over the brink. Internal events might also signal the crossing of a threshold: the hero’s very soul is at stake and he makes a decision to risk everything to change his life, Vogler writes. The Threshold Heroes are very likely to encounter threshold guardians at this point. The hero’s task is to figure out some way around these guardians. Some guardians are illusions and the energy of others must be incorporated by the hero, who realizes that the obstacle actually contains the means of climbing over the threshold. Some guardians simply need to be acknowledged, according to Vogler. Many writers illustrate this crossing with physical elements such as doors, gates, bridges, canyons, oceans, or rivers. You may notice a clear shift in energy at this point. A tornado sends Dorothy to the special world. Glinda, a mentor, begins teaching Dorothy the rules of this new place, gives her the magical ruby slippers, and a quest, sending her over a threshold where she will make friends, confront enemies, and be tested. Tests, Allies, Enemies The two worlds have a different feel, a different rhythm, different priorities and values, different rules. The most important function of this stage in the story is the testing of the hero to prepare her for the ordeals that lie ahead, according to Vogler. One test is how quickly she adjusts to the new rules. The special world is usually dominated by a villain or shadow who has set traps for intruders. The hero forms a team or a relationship with a sidekick. She also discovers enemies and rivals. This is a getting to know you phase. The reader learns about the characters involved, the hero accumulates power, learns the ropes, and prepares for the next phase.

The Disconnection By Alice Walker - 1722 Words

In Everyday Use Historical Criticisms explores the disconnection that people can sometimes have depending on their education. Alice Walker successfully shows the disconnection by comparing two ends of the spectrum of generation. Taking the historical context it plays a major role in the way this short story is viewed. It was a time where people of color had a different and difficult experience getting an education. When the narrator was talking about having an education it was important because she wanted to be on a television show her success and how far she went. However Dee see’s her mother and Maggie differently as if they don’t know how to appreciate heritage as an art. For example when she wanted the quilts that were suppose to go†¦show more content†¦As the story progressed it led to Dee fighting for the quilts since she did not want Maggie to have them because she was just going to use it as an everyday item instead of valuing it as art. â€Å"Can I ha ve these old quilts? I heard something fall in the kitchen, and a minute later the kitchen door slammed. Why don’t you take one of the others? No, said Wangero (Dee) I don’t want those† (Walker 292). Dee wanted the quilts to have them hanging on the wall at her house to show her heritage and her culture. In that short section it showed the difference of wanting to use the quilt as an everyday item as some form of art to make a statement of showing how proud she was her heritage during a time where colored people were oppressed. In the end of the story when Dee leaves after the argument and has a dramatic exit while, her mother and Maggie just sit outside until bedtime, which showed the difference of the older generation and new. On one side there is a passive approach and then there is the new generation which is demonstrated as being a fighter, and fighting for what you believe until you get what you want or at least try. One main focus in this story is heritage and the different value is holds for people. On one hand Dee admires her culture and embraces it too its full extent. She changes her name from â€Å"Dee Johnson to â€Å"Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo† (Cowart). She seesShow MoreRelatedâ€Å"All segments of the literary world—whether establishment, progressive, Black, female, or1200 Words   |  5 Pagesnot know, that Black women writers and Black lesbian writers exist.† During the 1970’s to 1980’s, African American studies of Black’s steep legacy was a dying trade. Alice walker stepped up in this time period as an influential writer of the recovery movement for African American studies. Three well respected works from Alice Walker are: The Color Purple, The Third Life of Grange Copeland, and Meridian. We will focus on Walker’s narrative, The Color Purple which details the story of a young eightRead MoreShort Story : Everyday Use Mama906 Words   |  4 PagesIn, Alice Walkers, Ever yday use mama is waiting around for her daughter Dee to arrive. Here we learn a little about herself and her daughter Maggie, but we hear a lot about Dee; who seems to be very praised. Still Mama knows that Maggie will be uneasy during her sister’s visit, she still imagines her reuniting with her daughter just like on television. Mama starts  to remember their life, how Maggie got her scars in the fire, and sending Dee off to school and coming back forcing her beliefs on everyoneRead MoreBlack Naturalism and Toni Morrison: the Journey Away from Self-Love in the Bluest Eye8144 Words   |  33 Pagesare is who we are, she remains undaunted and vows ain t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin (94,96). During an interview of Alice Childress and Toni Morrison conducted by Black Creation magazine, Childress claims that all black writers, whether they intended to or not have been writing about not being free. Always--from the beginning of America right up to now (Walker and Weathers 92). The theory of naturalism is also about the primal struggle for freedom-- freedom to develop and realize allRead MoreAn Analysis of Theodore Roethkes My Papas Waltz3287 Words   |  13 Pagesword and phrase, and how these work together to present her ideas to the reader. This is what makes her work unusual and Toni Morrison an author whose greatness is surpassed by very few. Discussion # 3: Part I In Everyday Things by Alice Walker, Dee visits her mother and sister, suddenly having become Wangero in honor of what she sees as her heritage. When she accuses her family of not understanding their heritage, the implication is that they have not, unlike her, studied this heritage

Oral Presentation free essay sample

As a college student it is almost a must to be able to present an oral presentation. No matter what your major is, most probabaly it requires the ability to do a nearly perfect representaion. Especially in high school, students try to do everything to avoid making a speech or an oral presentation. I can still remember my first speech back in grade 5 which went terribly wrong. Though i was far from being a shy student, i was so nervous on the day of my speech that i could not eat that morning. I was so quiet in school that my friends thought that i was maybe sick. Anyway somehow i managed to finish my speech which was from my point a view a disaster as a i mentioned before. From my own experience, i believe most students feel uncomfortable doing a speech or a presentation because they simply lack the methods of preparing and delivering an effective oral presentation. Here are some examples of what you should do before, during and after an oral presentation. Before you do a presentation,you should make a really good preparation. Most students who do bad are the ones who are unprepared. First of all make sure you understand the actual topic because only then you are able to present your work well. Then oraganize your ideas logically and systematically. A good idea is to prepare some helpful notecards. Once you have finished with your preparation, present your work to your friends or to your family to see their reaction. Try to improve whatever they criticize. On the day of your presentation, make sure you look good and feel comfortable. Arrive in class before the audience, as you have to check the tools and equipment that you are going to use. The most important part is the actual presentation. However once you well prepared you should not be too worried about presenting. There are only a few details you should be aware of . The number one rule is to speak loud and clear all the time, because if your audience is having a hard time understanding you, then they will simply not pay attention. Also do not stare at the floor or at your notes. Try to look at the audience, and try to make eye contact as much as possible. Another point is not to let your presentation get boring. A good way to prevent this is to let your audience take part in the presentation. Late in my high school years i had a presentation which involved a quizz and a competition and my whole class paricipated in it, even my teacher. Lastly remember your audience does not know about your preparations or your notecards, so if you are stuck or forgot a point, just move on and do not let your audience notice it. Finally if you are finished with your topic, do not just leave. It is always good to sum up your presebtation incase your audience missed some points. Then also be prepared to answer some questions or to go through several points again. Only if there are no more questions asked, can you start to pack your things. Do not forget before you leave to thank your audience. Soon or later you will be asked to do an oral presentation, whether it is in high school, college or at your job. Even though it seens like a hard task in the beginning, once you know the methods and techniqes, you will notice it is actually not that hard. If you go through your work step by step as mentioned above, you will absolutely have no problems preparing and delivering an effective oral presentation.

Themes of nightmare before christmas Essay Example For Students

Themes of nightmare before christmas Essay Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems, in a place perhaps youve seen in your dreams. For the story youre about to be told began with the holiday worlds of old. Now youve probably wondered where holidays come from. If you havent Id say its time you begun, for the holidays are the result of much fuss and hard work for the worlds that create them for us. Well, you see now, quite simply, thats all that they do, making one unique holiday especially for you. But once a calamity ever so great occurred when two holidays met by mistake. We will write a custom essay on Themes of nightmare before christmas specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Just in time for Halloween comes the re-release of The Nightmare Before Christmas, director Tim Burtons twisted take on those animated television specials that show up around the holiday season, such as Santa Claus is Coming to Town or Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Originally released in 1993, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a marvel of animation that took stop-action director Henry Selick (who later did James and the Giant Peach) over three years of painstaking effort to complete. Even seven years later, after audiences have become long-accustomed to the advances in computer graphics, this animated classic is still a technical marvel, with its attention to detail and complexity in both movement and interaction. However, what I found most surprising about Tim Burtons masterpiece was how it eloquently illustrated a number of MBA concepts, such as leadership, change management, business model re-engineering, and core competency. In the world of The Nightmare Before Christmas, every major holiday has its own town, where its denizens spend the entire year preparing for their one day to shine. In Halloweentown, Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon of Bordello of Blood, sung by composer Danny Elfman), the so-called Pumpkin King, has faithfully guided the citizens in organizing the festivities for their annual Halloween parade. However, after years of dedicated service, Jack finds himself bored with the old routine, and yearns for something completely different. Depressed, he wanders into the woods where he stumbles onto a doorway into Christmastown. Whats this? Theyre busy throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads. It is here that he finds himself inspired by the sights and sounds of Christmas, a magical place built around festivity instead of fear. Driven by his good intentions and ambition, Jack returns home to spread the word about his amazing discovery. He then devotes all the resources of Halloweentown into taking over the Christmas holiday, which includes making a number of improvements (which are quite hilarious when they are unleashed on the good girls and boys of the world) and usurping Sandy Claws in the annual sleigh ride. However, not everyone in Halloween town agrees with the new strategic direction. Sally (voiced by Catherine OHara, seen recently in Best in Show), a Frankenstein-like creation who also holds a torch for Jack, has a bad feeling about the plan and tries to warn him of the danger, but to no avail. Not surprisingly, despite his best intentions, Jacks plan ends up almost ruining Christmas. If you have seen enough Disney animated musicals or those claymation animated Christmas specials, you will probably be delighted by what The Nightmare Before Christmas has to offer. The overall framework is the same, with dozens of cute characters breaking out into song as the story unfolds. However, given that the story is based on ideas and characters from Tim Burton (whose dark and unconventional portfolio includes the likes of Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and Beetlejuice), you can certainly expect a macabre twist to the proceedings. Guillotines, severed heads, vampires, spiders, and all sorts of Halloween standards are present, though it never gets gory or frightening call it cartoon horror. .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 , .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 .postImageUrl , .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 , .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09:hover , .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09:visited , .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09:active { border:0!important; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09:active , .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09 .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u460cccb4ccb876a05991d5a08d724d09:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Mulholland Drive: Camera and sound EssayThe animation itself is a technical marvel. The characters are incredibly expressive (apparently, the character of Jack had 150 interchangeable heads to get the entire range of emotion needed), and their graceful movements make it easy to forget that it was shot with traditional stop-action techniques. The attention to detail is also evident in the showcase scenes, where there are hundreds of individually animated elements on the screen, such as the opening Halloween parade and the over-the-top dance of the Oogey-Boogey Man (voiced by Ken Page of All Dogs Go to Heaven). Attacked by Christmas toys? Thats strange thats the second toy complaint weve had. However, what is most impressive about The Nightmare Before Christmas is the extensive subtext of business management concepts contained within the script. Throughout the years, Ive come across a number of films that can be used to demonstrate business management concepts in action. For example, Apollo 13 is an excellent illustration of teaming, while both The Horse Whisperer and Pleasantville expound a number of change management concepts. What makes The Nightmare Before Christmas so unique is how many concepts it touches on within its 76-minute running time. Jacks attempt to redefine Halloweentowns business model (i.e. take over the Christmas holiday) falters due to three key failings: lack of attention to change management, weak leadership, and a poor understanding of Halloweentowns core competency. After getting religion from his visit to Christmastown, Jack develops a vision for taking over the holiday and making improvements. Unfortunately, he does not effectively communicate this vision to the citizens of Halloweentown, since it requires a complete paradigm shift to fully comprehend it. The citizens of Halloweentown are used to fashioning products and services that are grotesque, scary, and fatal, and their entire corporate culture has been shaped around this core competency. Thus, Jack finds difficulty in explaining joy, cheer, and goodwill towards all men, since these are alien concepts. However, Jack finds success when he is able to explain it in terms they are used to, such as referring to the head of Christmastown as Sandy Claws. Unfortunately, the result is poor comprehension of what the new strategic direction is all about, and Jacks followers end up applying concepts of the old Halloween business model in order to implement Christmas. In addition, Jack does not properly establish forums for his followers to provide feedback or input on the new strategic direction, and as a result, Sallys concerns are never raised. Jack may certainly have garnered agreement, but he has not truly secured their buy-in. Furthermore, as plans get underway, Jack ends up delegating all activities to his followers without any sort of governance process in place, thereby losing sight of the day-to-day operations. It is not until too late (when Christmas is actually in production) that Jack realizes that the projects undertaken by his followers have strayed quite a bit from his original vision. It is then that Jack learns that simply announcing a new strategic direction is not enough. To be truly successful, he needs to instill a new culture in his organization, understand the core competency of his organization and how it must evolve to support the new business model, guide and educate his followers into the required new mode of thinking, establish two-way communication between management and staff throughout the entire change process, and establish procedures to ensure that all activities are aligned with the new strategic direction. Unfortunately, the business world is littered with stories like Jacks, such as the dime-a-dozen dot-com retailers that imploded last year in the fourth quarter (now theres a nightmare before Christmas!)Even if you dont buy into the MBA interpretation of the story, The Nightmare Before Christmas is still a remarkable animated film that is sure to delight and entertain children and adults alike. Built on the familiar foundation of the animated musical, The Nightmare Before Christmas takes the art form in a new and unexpected direction, creating a magical bounty for the eyes, the heart, and the intellect. .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe , .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe .postImageUrl , .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe , .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe:hover , .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe:visited , .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe:active { border:0!important; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe:active , .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf957c0b160df7fef8055a28278d95cfe:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Sony Corporation: Globalization Meets Localization Sample EssayBibliography: