My Take on Legion

Well even though some people in class couldn't take the movie I did think the movie was a good idea to watch.  Now before this statement gets criticized for this I think it was a good idea because even though it did not really follow Paradise Lost I think in some way it was inspired by Paradise Lost.  The reason I say that is they are kind of similar in the way that they are not the typical story of Heaven and Hell.  For instance, in Legion angels are the creatures that are possessing the humans and they are the one's actually doing the killing and the mayhem and they are doing it on God's orders.   We would usually think it would be the demons for Hell doing the possessing and doing what Satan wanted them to do.  In perspective, Paradise Lost does the same thing in terms of it challenges the norm.  In general terms we think of God always beating the heck out of Satan and Satan not even being an issue.  However, in this epic Satan gives God problems, now when he really wants to he beats Satan down but I think that Satan does put up more of a fight that the general public that are religious are accustomed to.

With all this being said, the main point I'm trying to get at is that some people may just be a stretch so we can have a movie day in class, but that is not so.  Watching this movie wasn't just a movie day, and it wasn't even a stretch.  If you really look at it this is this best movie we could have watched for Paradise Lost, and if you don't think so go back and think critically about it and I think you will change your mind.

Big Tex part 3: The Final Chapter

Before I start with the final chapter of this Big Tex story that I'm writing I wanted to explain why I am ending it now.  The reason I am making the part 3 of my Big Tex story the last is most good multi-part stories never go past three parts; hence the term trilogy.  There are only a few exceptions like the Harry Potter series but those only come around once a blue moon.  Now, with that out of the way, to the story.

The ball was tipped off, right into Tex's hands, from being nervous he froze for a millisecond but then instinct kicked in.  He took of towards the basket, it was two on one, Ramon on the right and Tex filling the other lane with the ball.  They both raced towards the defender as he could do nothing but back pedal.  Tex looked in Ramon's eyes and they read each other like a book.  Tex let the ball fly towards the rim and at the moment Ramon leaped in the air, grabbed the ball, and flushed it to complete the alley-oop.  Little did they know that the one play they just ran would set the tone for the whole game.

Throughout the rest of the game Big Tex and Ramon continued to feed off each other.  Both of them compiling numerous, or in Ramon's language "grande," amount of statistics.  However, the rest of the team was not pulling their weight and score was somehow close.  Big Tex saw that if he didn't do something soon then this game would not end the way he envisioned it would.  He decided it was time to take action.  He first called a timeout and began to motivate his team with the translation given my Ramon since he was on a team that only had one person that spoke any English at all.  After that, he went out and lead by example, the first play out of the timeout he came out played hard defense, stole the ball, and went to the other end for a monstrous dunk.  That sparked the team and following a three made by Tex his team led by 3.  They then got a stop on defense, and with two seconds left the other team fouled Tex.  He had two shots to ice the game.  The crowd went to a silence, he dribbled the ball twice, then swoosh, he hit the first one.  "Only one more left he told himself," and at the end of that thought he made the second one.  The other team through it in but it was to no use.  The crowd was already storming the court and carrying Big Tex off because he was the MVP off the tournament.  However, that was nothing to the gift he was about to receive.  After the arena cleared one man remained besides Tex.  It was Coach Larry Brown. Coach of the NBA team named the Charlotte Bobcats.  With one smooth sentence, "Do you want to play for my team?"  Tex jumped up and screamed, "YES!!!"  With that being said, Tex realized his dream had came true and he had accomplished what he came to do.  He made it to the NBA.

Big Tex part 2

Big Tex and the crew he is traveling with has now made it through all the trials and tribulations of the south.  Whether it be the moonshine or all the good southern food and that famous sweet tea to disrupt his strict diet to keep his right, he has now made it to Florida for the Elite Ballers AAU Showcase Tournamnet, or the EBAAUST, as everyone called it down there.  He only had one problem, he wasn't on a team yet, so he had to think quickly... he decided he would just go to the gym and start showing off his mad skills.  When he arrived at the gym, which was the biggest one he had ever seen, he immediately went to the open goal.  He stretched out a little bit then started doing work.  He started with his normal routine, hitting jump shot after jump shot, I mean he could practically do it in his sleep, then after he was just getting a couple of looks he decided to step it up.  He began doing his dribble moves to lay-ups, or in this case rim-rattling, backboard cracking, jaw-dropping, mesmerizing dunks.  That got everyones attention, so the games were beginning to start so they told Big Tex he had to get off the court, but he didn't stay off for long.  The coach of a team Puerto Rico called the Canovanas Basketball, and their 5-star recruiting prospect Ramon Herrera came up to talk to him.  They told him, in broken English, that they wanted him on their team to play at the three spot.  Due to their sincere nature he committed to them and they began to practice.  Everyone thought the language barrier would be an issue, but what they failed to realize, basketball is a universal language.  Finally, there first game came up and Big Tex, with Ramon by his side, walked out on the court ready to take on the Alabama Elephants.  The countdown to tip-off began, 3, 2, 1....

To be continued...

Is Paradise Lost?

As I was reading Paradise Lost something popped into head.  Is paradise really lost or is it just misplaced?  The reason I say this is because thinking in a Biblical I think God allows paradise to be found again by man, but man does not want to look for paradise and for most of mankind right now they do not no the first place to look.

With that being said, every man can find where to look but the majority of men do not want to put the effort in to look for it, and without all of man finding paradise no man will get it back.  Thinking deeper on this subject I look in the mirror, or in other words I take a look at myself.  I am one of those men who do not know where paradise is, and really I do not really know where to look.  I know the answer the everyone tells me... "Just go to church Dylan and you will get it, read the Bible."  Well thats good advice for me but what if someone cannot read, then what do they do, and even if they can read what if they don't know how to interpret the Bible.  Overall, in my opinion, I think man needs to look to the Lord more and try to find that so called paradise, but at the same time some of these so called preachers of the word, and the people who claim to have found paradise need to look at their self in the mirror and ask, "Am I doing what I need to do to help all these lost souls find paradise, or deep down, am I content with finding it and keeping it to myself?"

Is Everyman still everyman

After reading Everyman I started to look back at the values and traits that were personified and I started to wonder if these values are still personified in the so called Everyman today.  So, to answer my own question I think the Everyman today is very different from the Everyman in the story.  I still think the qualities in the Everyman from the story are what should be what is looked at in today's society, but unfortunately it is not.  The qualities that are looked at today are more physical and egotistical and only taken at face value, and that in turn is why society is the way it is today.

With all this being said I do think that we as a society need to turn all the qualities back towards the inner person instead of the outer persona.  We should be less of the everyman today and really take all the qualities of Everyman and in turn, strive to let yourself become Everyman.

Chip "Big Tex" Watson

Chip is the athlete of the group.  He is tall and built like he is a Greek god.  He seems to be able to pick the world up and carry it on his shoulders.  He is fairly handsome and seems to have a certain kind of confidence or charisma that most people find attractive.  However, he can also be a very dark person and wants to keep to himself sometimes, but he tries hard not to show this side because he thinks it makes him weak.  Although, if he is caught on the wrong day he can be very hard to get along with, and sometimes rude.  He tries his best to be a respectful guy but often times is considered too much of a flirt and gets in a little bit of trouble.  He is making his way down to Disney World because there is a showcase basketball tournament and he is trying to make it to the NBA.

Green is so suspenseful

In the literary epic Sir Gawain and the Green Knight suspense is introduced at the beginning, and constantly builds up throughout the tale.  Without suspense in this poem the, who is not named specifically, would never have been to create this story the way that he or she did, and in turn, never would have been able to leave the long lasting effect that leaves this story in your memory years after you read it.

From the very beginning of the tale the author begins introducing suspense to the reader.  He or she gives the reader their first dose of suspense when the Green Knight is introduced.  This builds suspense because his figure looks superhuman but he is just a man, then he adds on to the suspense with a game he introduces to Sir Gawain.  With this game being an ill advised game to say the least, Sir Gawain agrees to play it and they begin.  While Sir Gawain prepares to strike the Green Knight with the axe and thus, cutting the Green Knights head of his shoulders, the reader is constantly contemplating on whether or not Sir Gawain is going to have the stomach to go through with the beheading.  Then, all of a sudden, it is over and it leaves the reader wondering how in the world this story is going to be able to go on without one of the main characters when the Green Knight magically picks his head off the ground and begins to speak even though he is obviously headless.  When this happens the reader transfers from being suspended in suspense to in a sudden state of awe, but the suspense builds up again very quickly.

After that powerful shock of an introduction the author strikes the reader again with the sword of suspense by allowing the reader to accompany Sir Gawain on his journey; where he is met with numerous trials and tribulations.  The prime example of a trial that Sir Gawain is faced with occurs during his stay with the hunter and the hunter’s wife.  Every day when the hunter is out trying to provide for his family Sir Gawain is left alone with the wife and he has to then defend himself against the wife’s countless attempts at seducing him into committing an act of lust.  Each day she offers him everything, but all he takes are kisses.  With this situation being in the front of the readers mind it leaves he or she on his or her toes every time Sir Gawain and the hunter’s wife are left alone together.  With the possibility of Sir Gawain becoming weak and giving into the wife’s temptation , or just getting himself in a situation where the wife would be able to play a he say she say game.   If this happened then it could mean Sir Gawain could lose the shelter he is staying at or the hunter could be very protective of his wife and threaten to kill Sir Gawain.

However, with all this being said, Sir Gawain cannot resist all the temptations the wife throws at him; he finally gives in by accepting the wife’s green sash and breaks the hunter and his agreement by not telling the hunter what he has received from his wife.  By making Sir Gawain accept the sash the author sets the reader up for even more suspense.  For example, when Sir Gawain finally reaches his destination he hears the axe being sharpened.  That image alone fills the reader’s mind up with questions of how or if Sir Gawain is going to survive the imminent beheading.  Also, the image is enhanced by the author making the Green Knight swing the axe three times instead of just swinging one blow and done.  By using this tactic it makes the reader wonder whether or not Sir Gawain will take the blow or if the Green Knight is even going to give it.  Although, Sir Gawain eventually receives the blow but he lives and the Sir Gawain, as well as the reader, finds out that the Green Knight is actually the hunter and that the whole stay with the hunter and his wife was really a test.  With this complex storyline this epic is made into a great piece of literature, but without making the reader question, “What is going to happen next?” This epic would be nowhere near as popular as it is. 

All in all, the author could not have written this as well as he or she did without the element of suspense.  The reader could not have enjoyed and really gotten into the story as much as he or she did without suspense constantly slapping him or her in their face.  With all that being said, overall, without suspense this epic goes from one of historical proportion to just another forgotten story.