On Monday we analyzed Cinderella and Snow White. For this week I want you to choose a fairy tale/fable/parable to analyze in your blog. You should do the following: 1) Summarize the fairy tale, 2) List all the themes you can see, & 3) Analyze one to two of the themes and discuss how you see them effecting the larger audience and yourself.

The Lion King

Simba is the son of Mufasa, king of the Pridelands. Mufasa teaches Simba about the Pridelands and the things in them every evening and Simba is excited about one day being king. Mufasa's brother and advisor, is jealous of Mufasa's power, and is conspring to overthrow him and become king himself. By tricking Mufasa into thinking that Simba is in danger, Scar throws Mufasa into a wildebeest stampede while Simba looks on. Simba, blaming his father's death on himself, subjects himself to an exile from the Pridelands, nad passes out in the middle of a desert. He wakes up in a lush jungle oasis, with Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog. The two friends teach Simba their life philosophy of Hakuna Matata, Swahili for no worries. Simba learns to enjoy life for the little things, and grows to adulthood with Timon and Pumbaa in the oasis, eventually forgetting about the Pridelands. When his childhood friend Nala, on the flee from Scar's harsh rule, finds Simba in the oasis, she tells him of Scar's regime and the poor state of the pridelands. Simba explains to Nala that he cannot return to the Pridelands, as he let down those living there when he abandoned his father. Later that night, Simba sees a vision of his father, who tells him to be brave and return to his rightful place in the Pridelands. Although Timon and Pumbaa express resentment at Simba's departure, he returns to the Pridelands to atone for his sins. After seeing Scar strike his mother, Simba reveals himself at Pride Rock, and has a duel with Scar. Simba is quickly overpowered by Scar, who tells the pride that Simba was the one who killed Scar. Simba, dangling over Pride Rock, is told by Scar, that he was not the killer, but Scar was instead. With newfound strength Simba leaps up and defeats Scar, who is then devoured by hyenas. Simba takes his place as king of the Pridelands, and raises a family with Nala.

Themes:
Destiny
Family
Betrayal
Self-Doubt
Worry

Family

The themes of family from the Lion King come straight from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Simba's exile is both begun and ended by family in some way. Timon and Pumbaa become his surrogate family, and eventually return with him to the Pridelands. He fights Scar because of what happened to his mother. This gives the characters more realistic bonds, while also making relationships between the characters more tender and believable.

Destiny

Scar's coup on Mufasa comes from his feeling that he was the one meant to rule the Pride Lands. Simba felt as though his destiny was to be king, but abandoned it after the death of his father, only coming back to it later int he film. Both did not respect the destiny of others, and were affected in different ways. Scar fell to a coup nearly as violent as his own, and Simba nearly lost his family and the Pridelands as a whole. This keeps the audience more invested in the story, by showing how each respective character nearly passed by their ultimate purpose.

They showed me a side of myself I didn’t know existed, and I had changed as a result.

They opened my eyes to a part of myself I had never recognized, and my life took an immediate turn. I was reinvented, and I was sure that it would be a definite change.

The choice for Tomorrow is pretty obvious choice. Choosing Yesterday would mean that every day good or bad, would have to be lived again, and you would know exactly what would happen, when, and what effect it would have on you. You would wake up anticipating national crisis, death and sad moments. It's true you could make fantastic money on football bets, but you'd never be able to collect your rewards. Tomorrow is easily the best choice.

...

I remember the fear more than anything else. The fear that more attacks would follow, that America would place itself into a worldwide conflict with attacks focused on our country. My mother had told me that New York had been bombed, and not to turn on the TV. I realize now why I shouldn't have. I went to a neighbors until my mother came home from work, wondering the whole time what had actually happened. It's been eight years and now our country has taken this terrible terrible event as a dividing factor. No one can agree as to whether or not we should have retaliated against those that struck our country at its very core, that threw our economy out of loop, and left us wanting retribution. Still others would argue that the attacks were planned by our own country, as an excuse to secure petroleum in the middle east, in a country that we had once supported during the cold war. It is saddening to see that our country cannot remain united as one, as we were that day eight years ago, and cope together against fear against division. For a shining moment we stood together united as one, but now it looks as though the attacks in 2001 have done nothing but further divide this country.

I think its the nose...

Looks like a Jew and smells good for cheap

Was it to melodramatic?

There was a lot that went into writing my first draft. i debated for a while whether or not I had chosen the right moment. I can't stress enough how sublime the emotions were. I hadn't even realized at the time exactly what had happened to me. It was a terribly terribly, almost gradient-like event in which my mood and thoughts changed completely. I felt I made a good choice in choosing to cover more of how we met each other and built our relationship rather than our time in New York, but it isn't an experience I choose not to recall. I would certainly add it if it augmented the paper's quality, but I feel that our relationship beforehand was a much more important quality to my metamorphasis.

They have a song called after hours, the similarites are obvious.

Dear Student body,

You may have heard that our school has found a large sum of money in its budget and would like to use it to hire a musical act for our school. I am here to tell you of a band you have probably never heard of, but already want to be playing at this school. We Are Scientists, is making a huge run on the popular music industry, and as a result can provide a more raw and exciting experience than any other band out there. They still have their youth, and as a result know what we want in live music and can deliver thusly. They have some of the catchiest melodies and most memorable lyrics of this decade, and choosing them as our musical act this spring is in every way an incredible decision. I've given you the oppurtunity, now it's your turn to act upon it.