The Labyrinth of Life in The Garden of Forking Paths by Yu Tsun

In the Garden of Beasts is an important historical book with lots of good information, but can be difficult to understand while reading. In the video Erik Larson, the author, helped answer many of my questions. One of these important questions was how he came up with the idea to write his book about this topic. Another important topic covered was Hitler’s rise to power, and the means he used to keep control of Germany. Larson also discussed how Dodd had connections that made him a candidate for the job of ambassador and the process that happened for him to get his job in Berlin. This video gives a great insight to what the author meant to convey through the book that may not have been easy to pick up on while reading this book.

Hsun Tzu's philosophy is built from the idea that human beings are by nature inherently evil, and the good they produce will only come through their conscious activity. Hsun Tzu believes that if man follows his nature and indulges in his natural desires, without transforming himself by conscious activity he is doomed to fall victim to his evil nature. "Any man who follows his nature will inevitably become involved in wrangling and strife, will violate the forms and rules of society, and will end as a criminal." Despite the pessimistic tone of Hsun Tzu's message he does propose conscious activity as a solution to man's evil. This paper will examine Hsun Tzu's perspective in light of both Mencius

The director Guillero Del Torro uses many motifs and parallels in his film Pan's Labyrinth. The most obvious parallel in the film is the parallel between the real world and the fantasy world of the character Ofelia. Both worlds are filled with danger. At any second in both of these worlds your life could be lost. Del Torro separates the real world from the fantasy world with many visual motifs.

The paths taken in each person’s lifetime can associate with any factor or situation that one may come across. For example, one could come across a path that stands for tradition and the effect of traditional beliefs on a society like the one represented in “Dead Man’s Path.” Another example could be a path that stands for the power of love and the effect of unselfishness that makes one continue with life like the one represented in “A Worn Path.” An additional example could be a path that stands for overcoming doubts of beliefs as these may uphold or tear one apart like the path represented in “Young Goodman Brown.” No path is easier than another and they all hold a spectacular significance in each person’s life. Therefore, in this independent

“Every moment in your life is a turning and every one a choosing. Somewhere you made a choice. All followed to this. The accounting is scrupulous. The shape is drawn. No line can be erased. I had no belief in your ability to move a coin to your bidding. How could you? A person's path through the world seldom changes and even more seldom will it change abruptly. And the shape of your path was visible from the beginning.” (Page 259)

Mary Wroth alludes to mythology in her sonnet “In This Strange Labyrinth” to describe a woman’s confused struggle with love. The speaker of the poem is a woman stuck in a labyrinth, alluding to the original myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The suggestion that love is not perfect and in fact painful was a revolutionary thing for a woman to write about in the Renaissance. Wroth uses the poem’s title and its relation to the myth, symbolism and poem structure to communicate her message about the tortures of love.

Like in the maze even though there is a wall in front of you you can still continue if you climb the wall. In the maze the walls also change every night, right when you think you have it figured out it changes. It is like in life when you finally figure out a way to survive a problem but then a new obstacle is thrown in. Luckily, as you get older and face more hard times you slowly learn your way around and can figure out things faster no matter what is thrown in your way. Just like how the maze only has so many options it can change to, that once you have gotten through it multiple times you will be ready for anything. Just like in life your decisions and choices you make matter in the maze as well. In the maze when they have to escape through the place filled with grievers and they experienced some loss but it was worth it in the end. This is like how in life you sometimes have to make sacrifices for the better cause. When the Gladers exit the maze it is unknown where they go, just like how we do not know everything about heaven, just that it is where we go when we

Humans enjoy choices. Whether that choice is putting on a coat in the morning or choosing to participate in an exhilarating activity like skydiving, every decision starts with the idea of free will. The question of free will essentially asks who is in charge of our choices. While the origin of fate and free will remain a mystery, these ideas can be traced back for centuries and found in our daily lives: in our code of ethics, politics, and religions. Kurt Vonnegut wrestles with the coexistence of fate and free will, ultimately arguing fate dominants.

An individual’s legacy, in many ways, is predetermined by the primordial “Fate.” A sort of judge and guide that some people have subscribed to for centuries. This guide develops a certain permutation for an individual’s life which is only influenced by one’s ability to compose judgements and decisions about obstacles which appear everyday. This decision making process is cyclical in that it always leads to another question to answer or problem to solve. One decision may edge the next until it yields to fate, the ultimate philosophical judge. Fate is a permanent path and one is stuck on its course. The same could be said for the Wes Moores’ of the work The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. Throughout the work, the Wes Moores’ made complicated

“God created things which had free will”, said C.S Lewis, “That means creatures which can go wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong, but I can’t. If a thing is free to be good it’s also free to be bad.” Lewis brushes smoothly upon the idea of how humans, as free willed individuals, have always been believed to be able to decide their own destiny. Man has given himself the right to choose what he wants, as well as who he wants to be. Human souls are born with the capacity to hold light and darkness; good and evil. Although one may be born in a family tree that consists of only witches and demons, he does not have to follow this path if does not wish

In life people learn lessons from friends, family, literature, and in life decisions. Most lessons can help a lot for future problems that might occur. All these lessons could possibly change how people think about life and help people learn to be more cautious about situations and problems that could happen later on in the future. Most of the lessons that help a lot are the ones people read from short stories like “Kath And Mouse“ ,“The Long Journey” ,and “ On The Sidewalk Bleeding “.

Our existence can be illustrated by envisioning a painter who is fabricating a painting. As the painter begins to use the soft brush, its thistles with each movement construct systems and subsystems that are elaborately woven together to display biased perception of ourselves. Consequently, a misguided stroke may alter an exceptional piece of art turning it into a catastrophe. Regrettably, this metaphor unveils the misfortune that can occur in the lives of numerous individuals. Comparatively, like the painter who can be consumed by adversity, a victim of domestic violence with one misstep can eradicate his/her own life.

A garden that holds your secrets, that is a secret itself, holds a special spot in the book “The Secret Garden”. The garden is described as an overgrown hidden beauty that has not been seen for ten years. The woman who created the garden passed away because of an accident; in turn, her husband becomes bitter and wrathful. The door which led to the garden was locked and the key was buried while the orders were given for no one to enter the garden again. There’s more to the garden than just being hid away. The garden is a secret to some very important characters in this story, but why? Perhaps the overgrown secret may even have a secret of its own.

Far in the distance, the faint chewing sound of people taking their first bites into their carne asada tacos, the loud, sharp clinks of tequila glasses, and the hoarse bangs of a piñata being beaten all come hand in hand, representing a Mexican celebration in La-La Land or also known as the city of Los Angeles. The city has been nicknamed “La-La Land” due to its recognition of being a place full of fun and out of touch with reality. For the past several decades, the city of Los Angeles has increasingly become a Latino city as they hosted countless festivals to celebrate the Mexican cultural holidays such as Cinco de Mayo, El Dia de Los Muertos and etc. In the book, The Labyrinth of Solitude, Octavio Paz discusses the generalization of Mexicans and emphasizes the idea of them preferring to be placed in solitude due to their fear of intimacy. The book even discusses the roles of a Mexican fiesta and cultural aspects of the Latino culture. By having Mexican holidays celebrated in Los Angeles, the city has become more invested into the Latino culture with the adoption of its cultural belief of death and celebrations techniques, which include excessively drinking, usage of guitars, letting off fireworks and celebratory gunshots.

In “Mortal Questions," Thomas Nagel attempts to show that some human experiences are completely beyond understanding. Nagel attempts to justify that even though your life has ends, the choices one makes will not influence the end result. Nagel first clarifies his position by defining a few terms. Agent, as Nagel describes it, is defined as being in control of one’s life. Nagel states that end results are influenced by a combination of factors and that it is not in the agent’s control. In this paper, I will describe Nagels reasoning for believing that one cannot control their ends and fates. Fate is the event beyond a person’s control. Then, I will provide two reasons to object that the idea that one’s actions do not influence the end results is false.