1/30/20 Taya Podvorchan PD7 Late

January 30th, 2019

Taya Podvorchan

Period 7 Modern Mythology

Aim: How is honor, earned through loyalty, emphasized in funerary rituals and tradition?

Do Now: Describe the Lincoln Memorial in DC. Explain the purpose and the effect.

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

We started off our class discussion talking about Lincoln’s legacy and how the statue commemorates his death, yet celebrated his life. Steven brought up an excellent point on how Lincoln looked very fatherlike sitting down there, and Ms. Fusaro added on and said that there is no arrogance in the way he is looking down on us. While most statues depict someone standing, Lincoln sitting shows how he was ultimately human and was known for his progress forward. She then asked us to think about our own statues, and also our impact, since statues commemorate someone who has impacted others. Ms. Fusaro then read us her favorite poem, called Success, written by Bessie A. Stanley.

He has achieved success

who has lived well,

laughed often, and loved much;

who has enjoyed the trust of

pure women,

the respect of intelligent men and

the love of little children;

who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;

who has left the world better than he found it

whether by an improved poppy,

a perfect poem or a rescued soul;

who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty

or failed to express it;

who has always looked for the best in others and

given them the best he had;

whose life was an inspiration;

whose memory a benediction.

 She asked us how do people attempt to transcend time? Is Beowolf’s quest for fame arrogance, or is it a relatable human emotion? We launched into a class discussion where we talked about how death is inevitable, and we all want to be remembered after our lives. Allan made the point that Beuwolf got better than the tower he asked for, he was immortalized through oral history and his story continues to be told. Ms. Fusaro said that the likelihood of us all having a global impact is minuscule, and we must first create internal impact and try to do good for ourselves. 

We were then shown a line from the extended version of Beuwolf that read ““And death/would be better for them all, and for you, than the kind/of life you can lead, branded with disgrace”. Will said he thought the quote meant it was better to die a hero, then die a coward or doing bad. Shannon added on and said that they were choosing a life of disgrace, but Wiglaf believes that death would be better. Fusaro then asked us our opinion on the people who ran away. Steven believed that we all would have done the same, but Dejon thought that it was extremely cowardly to go back on your word and not help, even if it meant you would get hurt.

We wrapped up our class discussion by talking about what the dragon symbolizes in Beuwolf. We came to the conclusion that the dragon symbolizes the evil in Beowolf since any time there is a serpent in western literature, it means evil. We also discussed Wiglaf’s symbolism in Beowolf, and we believe he has a holy connotation since he also “baptized” Beowolf before his death.

WHY DID I LEARN IT?

    A large part of this lesson had us thinking about our own mortality and impact on the world. We learned that our ancestor’s minor choices have lead up to this very moment in time, where we all exist together, which means they did leave a global impact. Our global impact and legacy stems from our own internal impact, which means while we may not be remembered for all of time, our choices very well could be. Now that we are, as seniors, about to leave for college and are worried about our future impact, we need to remember that while our global legacy might not last, we can make it last through the people around us.

    I also continue to see the trends of Christianity in literature, and it’s influence. It is becoming easier to read like a professional and spot the signs of classic symbolism.

HOW WILL I USE WHAT I LEARNED?

    Not only will I now focus on internal impact and my own legacy, but I believe this lesson is helping me face my own mortality. I realize that death does not have to be the end of my life, because I can live on through people’s memories.