And the Favorite Is.....

                                   

My favorite book that we read this semester was Inés of My Soul, by Isabel Allende. I don’t think that this one will be the favorite of very many people in the class- it didn’t really come up a whole lot during our class discussions later on in the semester- but I really enjoyed it.

I thought the book was written fairly well and was very engaging. I was invested in the story line and in the characters, especially Inés. I admire her as well. She was a strong, spirited woman who was able to overcome huge trials and hardships. She was a lady and a warrior.Though I have not gone through nearly the amount of pain and hardship as Inés did, I felt a strange attachment to her. I was able to relate to her. She was someone who I think I would have enjoyed having conversations with. I probably would have felt wildly inadequate and weak around her, but she probably would have been a role model.

I think I enjoyed the book so much because it took place in a location that is very close to my heart- Chile. My father is Chilean and all of his family still lives in Chile, so the country and its people mean a lot to me. It is always interesting to learn more about important places in ones ancestry. It was enjoyable and interesting to learn the background of people and places that were previously just names to me. I knew Pedro Valdivia played an important part in early history of Chile. I knew the Mapuche were the indigenous people who lived in Chile before the Spaniards arrived and I knew they were (and still are) proud, resilient, and tough people, but I did not know any stories to go along with that knowledge. Now that I know the things I did not know before (sometimes I did not even know what I did not know) I am able to appreciate Chile’s history more than I did before.

Choose Ye This Day

“Remember who you are! You have a choice! Your father gave you that.”

                Hellboy, directed by Guillermor del Torro, 1:45:42

At this point in the movie Hellboy, influenced by the wicked Rasputin, is about to finish opening a portal which would allow large, evil creatures to come to earth and destroy it. John Meyers, the FBI agent assigned to Hellboy yells this to him which causes Hellboy to pause, reflect on his actions, and choose to destroy the portal.  

Though Hellboy, who being from Hell, was ‘destined’ to be the key to open the portal for evil to enter, he was able to rewrite his destiny by CHOOSING to be on the side of good. This choice was influenced by his upbringing. Those who raise us have a profound influence on our character and future, but ultimately the power to resist evil and to do good lies within us. Hellboy was on the path towards evil but was intercepted by Professor Bruttenholm, who steered him towards good.

After all others do for us to sway us one way or the other, the choice is ultimately ours.  Anakin Skywalker was raised by a hardworking and good mother and had Obi-Wan Kenobi as his mentor, but the choices he made led him to the dark side and become Darth Vader. Luke, the son of Anakin, was also raised by good people. His aunt and uncle taught him to be good, but it could also be said he was predisposed to evil because his father was Darth Vader. In the end Luke decided for himself and chose good.

                                              

No one is inherently good or evil. And neither circumstances nor origin dictate for certain which side we end up on. People may have a disposition or tendency to lean one way or the other due to their circumstances or upbringing but we choose for ourselves which side we will be on. We are in charge of our destiny.

Are you afraid of the dark?

“I  will tell you as I see it. I think most of the things we call evil are not evil at all; it is just that we don’t understand those things and so we call them evil. And we fear evil only because we do not understand it”

                Bless me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, page 262

                This is the answer Gabriel, Antonio’s father gives him when Antonio asks him why there is evil in the world. Antonio is seeking understanding and does not understand why he does not understand more, especially about good, evil, mercy, justice, and God. In addition to this answer, his father tells him that understanding comes with life, not all at once. It takes time and learning. Ultima also helped Antonio realize how balance and understanding were achieved through patience and calm.

In the movie Batman Begins by Christopher Nolan, Bruce Wayne goes down to The Narrows, to confront Falcone—the city’s crime boss- and declares to Falcone that he is not afraid of him.  These scene interestingly portrays contradictory representations of the relationship between fear and understanding. Falcone calmly tells Bruce that he is not afraid because he does not understand who he (Falcone) is. He later informs Bruce that he is in fact afraid. Because he is from the privileged upper class he does not understand the world The Narrows and Falcone is a part of, he says, “It is a world you will never understand. And you always fear what you don’t understand.”

Fear because of understanding and fear of the unknown are valid fears, though fear of the unknown is the more dangerous of the two. It is more potent and debilitating. But greater strength is gained when this fear is overcome. When Bruce Wayne overcame his fear of the unknown of darkness and bats-the inhabitants of darkness, by embracing and seeking to understand them. When he did so he was capable of more than he was previously. Similarly, when Antonio faced the unknown and came to be at peace with it, he was much more balanced, sure of himself, and at peace.