Sunjata

Today I want to discuss how Sunjata is an epic as well as how it is different from the many epics we have read over the course of the semester. First I see the character of Sunjata as an epic hero. However he is different from some of the epic heros we have seen in the past because Sunjata is troubled from the very beginning of his life and has to prove himself over the course of the text. This all begins with him being unable to walk forcing him to crawl around. Once Sunjata finally overcomes this and is able to stand up, his mother is cursed and takes her children away since being exiled. Once again Sunjata proves himself and overcomes all the troubles that come with being exiled. Aside from having an epic hero which I think Sunjata portrays and epic also holds and important representation of the civilization of a culture. I feel that this is something else that is made fairly clear throughout the story. The biggest representation to me is the use of a griot. In the african culture at that time a griot was an important honor to have where a person was able to tell the tales and stories of their ancestors. In the story we find out that despite Sunjata's weakness he is still granted a position as a griot by the king. Earlier in the year we talked about some other qualities of epics such as the way it is written. Often times and epic is written in the form of a long narrative poem. I do not think that the story of Sunjata is necessarily written this way however I do think it is written in a way that shows the story is meant to be spoken. This is another quality that is found in many epics. Overall I think that Sunjata is an interesting yet complicated story that portrays many characteristics found in literary epics. Although I am not sure if this is a quality of an epic I also found it interesting while reading how different each version of Sunjata is and how a person telling the story would change parts in order to fit the audience in which they were speaking to.

Genji

Today I want to talk about Genji as a character. I personally find him to be a very interesting character. Specifically I want to talk about his relationship with the governor’s wife. Throughout the beginning of the story we hear all the men talking about their troubles with women. It is interesting to me what they expect out of women and how they find something wrong with many of them. It also is interesting to me how the relationship among men and women at this time is carried out. That brings me back to Genji’s relationship with the governor’s wife. In this relationship I feel like the roles are reversed. The governor’s wife leads Genji on for a considerable amount of time before realizing that she isn’t interested. At first she is just trying to play hard to get with the intentions of eventual being with him however she then changes her mind. During this time Genji uses her brother to serve as a messenger among the two. However once the relationship between Genji and the governor’s wife ends, Genji ends up sleeping with the boy. Although I know that the relationships among people were very different this still bothers me. I find it very repulsive that a man could have a “relationship” with a women and then just move on to her younger brother or any sibling for that matter like it isn’t a big deal. I know that he just slept with him and did not have an actual relationship but to me this is even more repellent. 

The Courtly Love Lyrics

In today's blog I want to talk about the differences in love and lust. I think that throughout the poems we read you can see the authors talking about both love and lust however to me they are two very different things. First I feel that love is a deep emotional connection that you have with someone while lust is just a description of a physical connection a person may have with someone. I feel that in a healthy relationship there has to be a balance among the two and the relationship cannot be more reliant on one. The poem that really stood out to me as describing lust was "The Apple". The line that really makes me lean more towards lust is "I console myself with a rosy apple, Whose sent is like the myrrh of your nose and your lips..." This line to me has no emotional connection to the woman and is describing how a man physically feels and sees a woman. He makes no attempts so show any sort of emotional connection to the woman who he is talking about and then goes on to talk even more about her physicality. However in the poem "My Companion, I am going to make a vers that is refined", I feel that the author is describing to the readers  what love really is. In the second section we read, "whoever does not learn it deep in his heart.". I feel that this is directly related to the feeling of love. To me love is a deep emotional connection that one does not develop over night but over many months and even years. It is a feeling that is so deep that it can not go away over night either and once a person is in love they may never fall out of it. I think that also brings up an interesting point about love. To me many people go around saying that they love something or someone yet I question how many of these people are speaking the truth. I know that someone may feel that they love someone but to me love is such a deep connection with someone or something that once you have fallen in love, you can never really fall out of it. I see love and lust as two very different feelings that cannot be looked upon as similar. In my eyes the are as different as two things can be and although you can have love with lust I do not think people with lust always have love.

The Book of Margery Kempe

Today I want to discuss the relationship seen between Margery and her husband as well as her relationship with god. I feel that the relationship that she shares with her husband is completely unhealthy. We find out in the beginning that Margery and her husband were married at a young age and blessed with a child soon after. However Margery is quick to point out that she would rather see her husband dead than have to sleep with him. I feel that in a healthy relationship their has to be a sort of sexual relationship and that each partner must desire to be with the other. This is something that the relationship between Margery and her husband was lacking. Although she would not sleep with her husband she does descibe what she feels are physical enounters with Jesus. I feel that part of this comes from her "encounters" with the devil. Margery herself claims to be a religious person yet many times throughout the text does things to counteract her belief. Such as on page 994 when the devil ask her to "forsake Christendom, her fatih, and deny her god". The text then simply explains, "she did". I feel that as a person with such a strong belief you would not simply push aside your beliefs and give into the devil. To me her relationship with god is very different then what a person today might have. On many occasions she claims to have conversations with Jesus. Although I agree that a relationship with god is a very important connection to have in life I find the relationship that Margery has a bit odd and also leads me to believe that Margery may have some other problems within her life.