Jane Lin-Multi-Genre Project

Jane Lin

25 May, 2012

World Literature B

Multi-Genre Project

Inferno + Siddhartha + Odysseus

=Unpredictable Life

CONTENTS

Preface                                                                                                                                                            3

Letter to Siddhartha                                                                                                                                    4

Book Cover                                                                                                                                                     5

Instructional Manual                                                                                                                                  6

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Class Syllabus                                                                                                                                               12

Anchor Paper                                                                                                                                               15

Work Citied                                                                                                                                                19

Preface

            Before review these entries and the anchor paper, you have to understand these three books and had read them. The books are the essential of the topic and please always keep in mind that the project is always connected with the book. Also, this project is to challenge you to think outside the box. Many topics might lead you to think there is nothing connected but there is and you just have to think more about it! This project is done by a student named Jane Lin. She put all the hard work in order to make this project; all she wants to do is to give a better understanding of Siddhartha, Oedipus Rex, and the Inferno. The first three entries were to make for each book. Letter to Siddhartha is for Siddhartha, Book cover is for Oedipus Rex and lastly instructional manual for the Inferno. Later the last two are mixed of all three books, which is a very neat and challenging project. Then as we all know the anchor paper is a synthesis paper for all the work. Please enjoy this project and make a good use of it.

Letter to Siddhartha

 May 23, 2012

Mr. Siddhartha

101/177 Moo 7 Soi Mooban Bangpleenives, Prasertsin Road,

Bangplee Yai

Bangkok, 10540, Thailand

Dear Siddhartha,

            This is Jane and I have been writing to you from far away where you are right now. Thailand is where I live and it is totally different from where you are. The culture, people, and life are just the opposite of each other. It took me a long time to write this letter to you because I want to express myself in a short and sweet way. I am trying to become like you and I want your comments! First of all, how can you make yourself think outside the box at all time? Isn’t it difficult to be different than others because you are the only one on this planet earth to act like that? I am always trying to be unique among other people but found myself the clown after all. People always think I am crazy in my actions and sit back to laugh at me. Those people just don’t get the real meaning of all, they are the surface swimmers and never deep down. I wish sometime I would have the courage to overcome the evil force of the people that laughed at me.

            Everyone has its own philosophy of life and the reason why leads them to think differently. Your philosophy has the most special one of all. How did you do that and what did you do to manage it? Finding ones philosophy it’s hard and to find one of my own it like landing on the sun. I tried many ways to do, such as meditating under a big oak tree for a year or stay by the river at all time. However, it didn’t work at all. Maybe it is the problem of my distracted mind that caused the process not working. I wish that someday you could visit me in Thailand and answer all the questions that I have for you. Also teach me any skills that help you become a successful person.

Sincerely,

Jane Lin

268 Moo. Bangplee, Bangpleeyai,

Samutparkarn.

Bangkok, 10540 Thailand.

Tel:0123-12548

janelin_1994@gmail.com

Book Cover

Meaning of the Book Cover:

Left hand side:

Right hand side:

Ÿ   As we know, at the end of the story, Oedipus became the worst person of the country. He got banned and he was blind. Ÿ   The broken warder and crown were to symbolize the lost of power of Oedipus. Ÿ   The black path represented the no future in his life and so does the sunset. Ÿ   As he walks to the end all the trees were no able to grow. Ÿ   The left hand side represented the dark age of Oedipus.

Ÿ   The person with crown is Oedipus; he has the power that he need. Ÿ   The yellow path represents the success that he made along the way. Ÿ   The lady in the middle is his wife and mother. Even though we know it’s the same person. Ÿ   The upper right hand side is Oedipus’ father, which he killed his own father. Ÿ   Basically, he right hand side represents the glory time and all the things he did to become the man are he right now.

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World Literature Class Syllabus

This is going to be a three day class. We are going to cover three important topics that involve in these books. It is important for everyone to participate in all the discussions and activates. I don’t expect you to answer every question or understanding every concept but to be involved in the class is very important. Grades are upon how activities in the class and just a hint this maybe your final exam!

What you need?

-Siddhartha

-The Inferno

-Oedipus Rex

-Pencil

-Notebook

Day 1

Topic: Honest

Essential question: What is your definition of honesty? Do you think it fits with these three books?

What to do?

1.      Class discussion of the question

A.        If possible student may lead the conversation

2.      Connections to real life

A.        Such as doing Chicken-Soup (book)

3.      Write down how honest are you

A.        You can use number or picture to represent

4.      There will be game about honest such as the jeopardy

A.        Students will divide themselves in group of 4, then the game begin

B.         The jeopardy will be about the honest of the character also a little about human being.

5.      List down the honest within the characters of these books

A.        Talk in class and everyone should share their thoughts

Homework:

1.      Go home and take to your own parents about honesty

2.      Be honest with your parents and tell them the lies you have told.

Day 2

Topic: Responsibility

Essential question: What is your responsibility right now and what are the characters’? Why is responsibility an important aspect in life? Is a benefactor?

What to do?

1.      Discussion between friend to talk about “responsibility”

A.    Write down friends’ ideal responsibility

2.      List down your own responsibility and later find friends that are similar as you

A.        What does this tell you? Everyone has the same responsibility as you?

3.      This is a class and it is like a team, so there is a drawing task that everyone should complete. Everyone is responsible for their own part; no one will remind you duty. It all depends on you!

4.      Refer back to novels and the essential questions.

A.        How has the responsibility of the class team work important?

5.      This is a chain game. Student line up and the front person will tell you a story and it is you responsibility to tell the entire person to the next person. This is where are the difficulties are, you have to remember the entire story and be RESPONSBIITY!

Homework:

1. The responsibility of the drawing task

2. Research two different person and talk about their responsibility. It is not just their job but dig inside to understand more.

Day 3

Topic: Strength

Essential question: What are the strength for these characters for them get to the point where are want to be? What’s you strength that motivate you to be where you are?

This is an outside activity day

1.      Physical Strength-outside on the field

A.    Run around the field twice in one minute.

B.     Soccer completion right after the running

1.          The continent work is to see how’s the strength of the students

C.     Basketball time at the basketball court

(I want the physical and mentally strength activities to be one after another because I want the student to realize the different of it and how to maintain both)

2.      Mentally Strength-sit down on the field

A.        Discuss the different between physical and mentally strength

B.         How to keep up and maintain both

C.         Group talk and small rest

1.    What are the physical and mentally strength of the three characters?

D.        Pick students to share their feeling of discussion

1.    How does this two strength make you stronger and the way you are?

Homework:

1. Write a reflection on how these three different changes you and what did you find out? Is this three topic essential of life? 

Jane Lin

Mr Ted

World Literature B

25 May, 2012

Anchor Paper

Dante Alighier’s Inferno, Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, and the Oedipus Rex by Sophocles all have something in common. These books are the legend of the world and have many influences on the literature today. The Inferno is the journey of Dante’s experience in hell. Siddhartha is the life of himself toward the nature that he wanted to accomplish. Lastly, Oedipus Rex is a misunderstanding of birth event and contains many Greek mythologies. Among all these wonderful stories there are many views that can connect together. The portrait of human, suffer of the world, and forgiveness inside the people.

People in this world react differently towards different things. In these three books, it illustrates the behaviors of human being and the truth of it. So, is human nature born to be good or evil? This questioned is still unsolved. A famous Chinese teacher once stated that people are born to be “evil and bad”(Chan), there are no mercy elements within it. In other hand, Greek story, Pandora has similar connections. The box opened by Pandora is introduced to the world; all the evil sins and bad behaviors came out. This is way people have to opposite sides. In the Inferno, hell is the sign of bad and unforgiving. Depends by the happening of human life, it determines which level they are staying. Each level has different ways of punishment and the more you get down, the more sins you had in life time (Mason). Oedipus’s thoughts have been unusually as anyone ones. He had killed his father and married his mother. This was the worst of the worst. Does this mean that Oedipus is sinful? Can we blame on Oedipus for everything that he did? No, I don’t think so. Still, in reality he is an evil and bad person. The motivation that he had at killing his father was unforgivable. People might say that Siddhartha is not a bad and evil person but in some way he is. Siddhartha’s attitudes are not questionable, he did everything for kindness and for the people he loves (Keown). However, in some part of his life, he had walked the wrong path. To be in love and has the thoughts of more than just love. It is a bad sin for him.

    Suffering becomes another connection among all literature works. Human suffer at all time because of their own behaviors. This proves that human beings are weak and small. To be compete with the nature, human are just a tiny portion of it. As Dante traveled down the hell he saw more than what normal people see. He described the suffering of the people down there and the reason behind it. The sufferings of those sins come from the wrong actions they did in pervious life (Raffa). Therefore, when they are down there, suffer is the consequences. Oedipus suffered in many of his wrong doing. From his birth to the misunderstanding of his life, the unexpected of life had made him a whole different person. As we all know, success comes in a hard and strong way. Siddhartha’s success was very hard to achieve, however lastly he did get what he really want (Raffa). As we dig deep through the book itself, you may found the suffering that Siddhartha had. He went through a difficult time to make him what he is now. He tried everything he could to find the deep meaning of humanity. There is time that he wanted to give up and stop searching, but somewhere in his heart always remind him the goal he has.

The opposite of suffering is forgiveness. After people suffered from the wrong doings, forgiveness is always the final solution. People forgive what other had done such as the Inferno. Dante believed that someday those sinful people down in the hell will be forgiven and set free to find the other part of their spirit (Mason). Oedipus gave forgiveness to others around him. Also, at the end even he got banned from the country but still there were people forgave him. At the end of Siddhartha, we found that he really got what he wants and become the primary figure of Buddhism. I believed that Siddhartha got forgive by his parents and hid Govinda understand why they two where apart. As he becomes the figure of Buddhism, he is there to forgive other people (Boeree). When people find difficulties he is there for them and lead the way for them to forgive themselves. In order to forgive, forgiveness is what people have to go through (Seachris).

Portrait of human nature, suffering, and forgiving connects the dots of all these books. People had to go through these in order to live the life of their own. If people did not go through, I think life would be different to them. We cannot change how human being reacts but as we did wrong, suffering is for sure there for us in after life. These three books had taught me something that I can always refer back to. Life is just so unpredictable and no one can keep it up with it! However, as we live our life, everything will just come along! 

Work Citied

Boeree, George. The Life of Siddhartha Gautama. Shippensburg University, 1999. Web. 25 May 2012.

Chan, Alan, Laozi. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2009. Web. 25 May 2010. 

Keown, Damine. Siddhārtha Gautama. A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. Web. 25 May  2012.

Mason, H.A. A Journey through Hell Dante's Inferno Re-visited: The magnificent contrapasso- Canto XIX. Oxford University Press, 1991. Web. 25 May 2012.

Michelino, Domenico di. La Divina Commedia di Dante (Dante and The Devine Comedy). 1450. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 24 May 2012.

New Directions. Siddhartha. 1951. New York City, New York. Web. 24 May 2012.

Raffa, Guy P. Welcome to Danteworld. The University of Taxes at Austin, 2002. Web. 25 May 2012.

Seachris, Joshua.  Meaning of Life: The Analytic Perspective. Wake Forest University, 29 June 2011. Web. 25 May 2012.