Spiritual Education

His Dark Materials
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass is a interesting book. It is mentioned quite often along side of the C.S. Lewis' Lion, witch and the wardrobe Series. C.S. Lewis's series are sometimes referred to as christian allegories and contain christian motifs but interestingly enough, the Golden Compass tries to be the opposite.

The novel is interesting as it draws upon religious concepts which many are anti-Christian. The Church's General Oblation board is depicted as a tyrannical group in an attempt to sever humans from their daemons using a method called intercision. Daemons' are a visual representation of one's soul . When one is severed from their familiar, it parallels the effect of one losing their soul. They become blank and lifeless.

This act parallels the idea of Religion robbing us of our free will through its implication of limiting knowledge and free will. The context of free will in the novel is humanity it self. It draws parallels to the Bible's story of Adam and Eve, the couple are tempted and fall into sin resulting in their separation from God. All of our flaws contribute to our humanity. If one is perfect then how could we be considered human? Wouldn't we just be a bland perfect creatures ever to live on in perfection?

The novel brought an interesting perspective on the idea of religion and humanity's free will. Should one just succumb to accepting the doctrine delivered by an organization or should one pursue to find his own interpretation of answer? Part of growing up is to take a chance and explore outside of what is declared to be right. Would it be as far as defying authority and trusting your own experiences?

J-Horror

Short Stories selected from Kwaidan: stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn: Diplomacy, Of a Mirror and a Bell, Jikininki, Kwaidan

I recently read some Japanese ghost stories from the book called Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn. I found that the Eastern Japanese Horror genre to be a refreshing take on ghost stories. In the both the short stories I read, it explains the idea of the Japanese ghost and how they function. Assuming before death, the ghost is angry or dissatisfied, the ghost is able to draw upon its last intention before dying and abide by it.

Since the Japanese generally realize this, they are able to use this last wish to carry out intentions post-mortem. I find this fascinating because it reinforces the idea that humans aren’t limited to their mere earthly existence. It creates a fantastic idea that allows one to wonder about the afterlife. According to the short stories Diplomacy and Of a Mirror and a Bell, a person can make the conscious choice to become an apparition if they activate the right ingredients in their final mindset.

The Japanese infuse a sense of drama that occurred before the ghost’s death which gives the ghost more depth upon discovering their history. The ghost isn’t just there for any reason. Usually it seems to be a punishment by fate or to seek revenge.

The afterlife for the Japanese isn’t only limited to a simple ghostly figure. Sometimes they have distinct characteristics like no face or even a monstrous form. The creativity of Japanese apparitions and ghost stories also seemingly often utilizes their religion as a device in weaving their tale. In the Kwaidan, the monster was a monk who was punished and reincarnated as a monster forced to perform tasks related to death.

Epic Fantasy Novel

I recently read the epic novel the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. It’s a fantastic epic that explores a main character and the character’s psychological growth. The main hero, Bilbo Baggins, is given a simple description to establish his character. He is a hobbit originating from Baggins and Took descent. These names define 2 characteristics about Bilbo. He has a dominant desire for peace, food and happiness as well as an innate desire for adventure. As the story progresses, I was fascinated by how the author was able to have the character make choices within the confinement of the established character.

Bilbo who is portrayed as a weak creature was able to follow through many challenging acts because of his wit and courage. Bilbo is able to learn and grow from his adventures and still remain true to his character in the end. He still loves to eat and enjoy peace. Many of his decisions he makes throughout his journey can be derived from these natural callings. For example, when the humans have seiged the dragon’s castle leaving the dwarves and Bilbo trapped, Bilbo is able to put aside desire for treasures and go to the humans to give them the dwarves treasured Arkenstone. With the Arkenstone, the humans were able to negotiate with the stubborn dwarves.

Another example of a character who makes choices limited to his character is the dwarf character named Thorin. In the novel, Tolkien establishes that Dwarves cherish gold above anything else. Thorin’s motives throughout the novel cater toward his goal of reclaiming his treasures from the dragon Smaug. Even when he is held captive by the elves, he is unwilling to share where his ultimate destination in fear that the elves would want a share. Later on when his fortress is besieged by the humans, he is unwilling to turn over the treasures to help repair the village that he accidently unleashed havoc upon in pursuit of his treasures.
These archetypes Tolkien uses help create characters that are easily relatable. As an audience member I find it enjoyable to be able to empathasize with these characters and be able to experience the rewards that they gain in their shifts in character arcs and the decisions they make.