Syncretism

Self discovery is at the root of many stories. It is easily limited by external and internal factors. Tales about self discovery are often called a bildungsroman. A bildungsroman, essentially, is a coming of age novel. Both Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison are considered a bildungsroman. In the case of those two novels, there is one unique concept that contributes to their examples of self discovery. Double consciousness is that idea. It emphasizes how a person may struggle to adapt to more than one varying identities in order to fill a role within society. Double consciousness is present in both novels through the mindset and actions of characters who try to conform to the gender and racial roles placed upon their lives but find themselves in conflict with their limitations.

In astrology, Aries is considered a new beginning and, in turn, begins John Gardner’s novel (Heindel 163). This chapter focuses on the cyclical nature of astrology. According to Grendel, this is the twelfth year of his “idiotic war” (Gardner 5). He notes that this year will, more than likely, be just like all those

This, compared to the belief about the zodiac signs, is a significant change during the

If ancient civilizations did not invent new ideas and machines, the world would not be in the spot it is today. Innovation is necessary for the continuation and improvement of a society. Ancient cities in the River Valley were very intelligent and knew how to use the resources they could find. Civilizations in the Middle East and Asia, circa 3,000 BCE, showed great success in the areas of government, science and technology, and writing. The cities made advancements in government and the security of their lands.

It is interesting to see that in the bulk of varying cultural identities, the archetype meant to find meaning is transformed into a journey in which experience slowly shapes ignorance into enlightenment. Thus, it is clear that the journey is important in the path to meaning. Through the journey small lessons are individually learned, and then collectively combined to create a more united whole vision of the world that was previously fragmented and lost in misunderstanding before the individual embarked on the quest. And so, the quest is a dominant archetype in numerous cultures. This creates a larger conception of the journey as the path to enlightenment in a way that can transcend beyond other more mundane cultural boundaries. Truth cannot be understood all at once, and thus it is through the quest that we slowly learn the whole truth of the external world piece by piece.

Gaining the realization of self and community is not one of easy process. Through the influences of an environment, one may at times be restrained to only one way of thinking. To find a deeper or true understanding of awareness, a person must explore the worldliness of life and define the world for one’s own self. Adichie mentions in her speech, “What this demonstrates, I think, is how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story…” At this part of her speech, Adichie is

To look beyond the person as an individual; to understand the cultural, familial, and fraternal ingredients that make a “self” “the self”. This seems to be the task of Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers: the Story of Success.

A lot of science in the west started with Greek manuscripts. Civilization now learned a lot from the roman and Greeks like how to decode things like physical laws and the laws that control the universe. They also learned how to test and argue

A huge factor in a civilizations success was their technology. Many technological discoveries made in these cultures are still used today. These include the wheel, knowledge of horse, domestication, farming, pottery, sail boats, maps and

The process of self-discovery results in a greater change for individuals, which allows for them to realise that materialistic fulfilment is irrelevant in discovering true enlightenment. Both of the texts Away by Michael Gow and Into the Wild by Sean Penn investigate the ideas of self-discovery and materialism, the play ‘Away’ conveys how physical disconnections can lead to retrospective revelations, which offer individuals, the chance to change before it’s too late. Sean Penn’s film “Into the Wild” correspondingly explores the outcomes of escaping from reality. Through these texts we recognize that while experiencing new perspectives and reconsidering what was previously known, growth and change can be triggered within individuals and their surroundings.

embodiment of the humanistic need for self-actualization, and as hard as it is to believe, there

His book details many examples of his theory and how it has helped many people improve their life, survive tragedies, as well as documents how it kept him alive throughout three years of physical and mental suffering while imprisoned. He also discusses how to find the meaning in one’s life as well as the tribulations that he and others went through once liberated.

Often regarded as the leader of the Transcendentalist literary movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that the individual must look inward to find truth and knowledge. He emphatically stressed that one must practice self-reliance: the ability to trust one’s intuition and not conform to societal standards. Through the use of strict form, powerful imagery, and a wise tone, Emerson’s poem “Intellect” urges us to stay true to ourselves by refusing the practice of blind obedience.

Back in the 1200’s the human race had just discovered the circulation of blood. That shows how far we have come with modern medicine. Things like vaccines and even genetics such as DNA would never have been discovered if it was not for

Philosophy seemed to be the center of the majority of peoples lives Before the Common Era, yet today it also upholds just as much, if not more, importance to the normal person than of the ‘scientist’ or renowned ‘theorist.’ Philosophy makes people who they are, their own