Death Star: Final Thoughts

Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry

I try not to run away with more intent then was probably placed in a story but when the main plot point is an explosion of everything the story was about, and you know it is coming before even starting, all that is left is reading into the meaning. I’m going into my final thoughts with only vague feelings. I only have a few things to say. Nova being force sensitive is interesting when paired with his interest in philosophy. This pairs thinking and intuition. These are almost polar opposites but in this case the pair together saves him, figuratively of course. His interest in philosophy allows him to have ideals but his intuition allowed him to act. This is also in contrast to Tenn Graneet. He believed it when he was told the ultimate weapon wouldn’t be used, as if a weapon has ever failed to be used. Weapons are always used at least once before the impact of what the weapon can do is realized. This happened with nuclear weapons, there was fear there, mass fear, for years but only after they were used. Graneet didn’t think passed what he was told and he suffered for it. In the end there was no redemption for him. Teela and Vil are another contrast but in this case it brings harmony. Teela was all about structure, which is a requirement for her being an architect, and Vil needed fluidity in order to adapt to situations as a pilot. Both are needed in society.

Rodo, we don’t know much about him other than Memah saying he values beauty and his ability to keep those around him safe. Did he love her, in what way, did he not? I don’t think it matters. What is important about him is he saw the world and he acted when needed without false pretenses. He showed loyalty without expectation and through this he found contentment. Motti, Dalla, Tarkin, who cares. I will say I was disappointed in Tarkin’s last thoughts. I found his only real admirable trait is keeping things in perspective. He aimed big sure but never dismissed possibility and what he saw before him. Yet at the end he lost that all-encompassing perspective. As for Memah and Ratua, I should probably say something about stability, I’m just not sure what.

The Death Star itself can be seen as one big metaphor but for what? In this case I feel there is one good answer and that is the Death Star is society. There was a big emphasis on many types of people within this story. All walks of life and social standing was present along with types of relationships. It isn’t a stretch to say that society is the way to view the Death Star. What is important though is what the meaning of its destruction is. The Death Star is a society that did not meet the needs of the individuals in that society and could not sustain itself do to this.

Memiors of Douglass

 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

You can’t call a person material goods but it was tried out. That’s what I had to think about with this memoir how do I want to look at this, are they people or are they objects. I picked the second, it is more revealing, simply because of how we treat objects. We take care of what we own, most of the time, yet slaves never saw this. Why treat what you own so poorly? The answer is simple, they never could be seen as property, it just does not work. Too much can be seen in a slave is what a slave owner saw in themselves. This is clear with how slavery worked. Two major parts of being human is language and the other is bonds. It is obvious why slaves are taught not to inquire about reading and no one should show them how. This is a way of not only controlling them but also of distancing what makes them human. What better way to distance yourself than to believe that something can never understand what ever human knows? Even the Irish, who had to work till they were 21 to pay for their trip to America, could understand basic language fairly well. Not only are the slaves being made to be less human they don’t fully understand this. They know they are not treated well but there are gaps. Douglass at the start does not really see his situation till the power of reading was pointed out to him as being dangerous for him and his happiness. Happiness is controlling to, Master Thomas even said to “depend solely upon him for happiness (93).” There is a name for this it is Stockholm syndrome and comes from abuse and results in a disorder that causes the abused to feel a lack of abuse as a kindness given to them.

Feelings are how slave holders first condition slaves into this twisted dependence. Douglass himself never had a chance to see his mother. I’m sure we can all imagine what she must have felt knowing her child was somewhere that he could not be protected by her. This wasn’t something that came up within this memoir but it is possible for slaves to wonder if their children would be used against them if they did not please their masters. Beyond that they had to depend on their master for the very right to be with family. This creates an even stranger dependence on a slave’s captors.  Even if it may bring out a form of control families are still split up. There is a reason for this. Being around family can give strength and consolation resulting in a slave being emotionally better off. This isn’t good for a slave owner. It may be better in the long run to have an emotionally dependent slave than a family group. A group would be harder to control. This type of thinking takes a strange and difficult turn when you take into account who the fathers of a lot of slaves are. The fathers of some slaves are their white masters.

There is a lot of change to how the slave trade works when you father children with a slave. How can an individual see a part of them as not as human as them? Well they can’t but it is scary to think that people would go so far for money, after all to sleep with a slave should be an act of bestiality. Beyond that think of the legitimate children of such a man and what they must think, never mind about the wife. To think what must pass through her head as he lays next to her at night.

You would think that slavery and its evil would be the greatest lesson learned from Douglass’s memoirs but I feel there is another that impacts more, at least in more modern times. The reason for this is the lesson, at least in the United States, of slaver being wrong is generally agreed with and frequently taught. Those that don’t agree, the sex trade, ect, know it is seen as wrong and hide the activity. I feel there is something important that Douglass brings up that we do not consider as important, from what I’ve seen, the act of collaboration. Douglass showed great love for those he brought together in learning to read. His working with others made his situation better with them there.

Women are the individuals Douglass looks to in order to see how the world should be. He also uses them to describe the deprivation that slavery holds. Men are shown as those that act out violence while women suffer for it. There was one real striking exception in Demby but his pain has little description, comparably, and is short lived. His mother shows how women are deprived of their caring natures by being removed from their children to be seen “four or five times (517).” The women within Douglass’s memoirs are not shown as rebellious as men, no acts of achievement in learning or striving to be free is shown. Even if there is no outward act he views them as being in need of respect. This need is shown best through his view of his grandmother. She is shown as a woman of great achievement as she had many children, as well as having brought wealth even if it was not hers to use.  “She had been the source of all his wealth (537).” When meeting his new owner in Baltimore he saw purity in her. She is used as, by far, the most powerful example of slavery harming the slave holder. She represents the loss of goodness through this act.

Douglass, Fredrick  The Norton Anthology World Literature. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. Print. 

 Douglass, Fredrick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, No. 25 Cornhill, 1845. Ebook Reader.

Death Star: Darth Vader

Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry

Chapter(s): 11

 

 I almost feel I should have waited on the last essay and finish chapter 11, though I didn't have much to say up to page 200 so maybe it is for the best that I didn't. The extra time gave me some ideas though. My thoughts on Vader have changed. I’m sure most think of him as having turned evil. To me, now at least, it feels almost like he hasn’t and is using his own force powers to do so. There is also an allegory to a phoenix within the first paragraph. Yes it is meant to show how he died, came back, and changed. The thing to remember is the phoenix is still the same bird. It is also important to remember it has a positive connotation. When we first see him he says he is still Anakin Skywalker in some ways. Palpatine clearly started his brain washing but all this time Darth Vader has been reinforcing it. “He let the dark side take him, let it envelop him in anger and hatred (72).” It is almost like he can’t keep it up on his own. Really if he is good the whole time and is using his suffering to power up his force power that is just twisted.

I’ve been thinking about the force lately. I don’t know much about it. The Star Wars books I’ve read focused on other characters. With the mentions of it in here I have wondered about a few of the details. It says that the force, at least in Vaders control, has the ability to stop hearts. If it can do such a thing why isn’t it seen more? I thought about it and came up with something I feel works. I believe the body has a resistance and it takes time, that is often not available, to overcome if it is possible to get by at all. It is kind of similar to how Obi-Wan were able to distract the Stormtroopers from the droids. It isn’t a stretch to see how that was orchestrated. They were not sure what they were looking for so it wouldn’t be too hard to overlook them. Now with your life in the mix it gets to be a bit more complicated. First of all your body can betray you if you are panicked and afraid. There is also a mental part to it. If you fear something you have to believe it can do you harm and lower the resistance you would hold. All and all pretty useless against a Jedi or someone who isn’t of a weaker will than the force user. This isn’t to imply there isn’t still a physical aspect like how objects are moved but there is a new quality in the use with a person’s own will.

 Reaves, Michael, and Steve Perry. Star Wars: Death Star. New York: Lucas/Del Rey/Ballantine, 2007. Print.

Matsuo Basho

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

By Matsuo Basho

Time is by far the most prevalent theme in this work. All events are happening wile time passes and they are brought together through time.  It comes with us where ever we go and is how we measure and remember our experiences. It, in turn, watches us as we live. Time is a part of the Buddha spirit of everything being a part of a whole. It flows together and is the highest form of Buddha spirit as it links all things together. Basho himself shows he is very receptive to this. At the start he takes the time to tell of how his own home is not fully his own. His home is passed on; this shows that every place is touched by more than one life simply because of the passage of time. He leaves his notes behind because he himself wrote with the memories of other writers. Basho is acknowledging his place in the universe where he is pushed along by forces outside of himself.

Looking on Nikko he sees the world coming together in light, the leaves mentioned in the poem is a good representation of the warriors and artisans mentioned. This feeling of light passing through the world and all living in peace is highlighted by the Innkeeper that they meet the day before with his honest and good spirit. The significance of the past meeting the present is Basho’s able to gain a deeper appreciation for what the places around him could have once been and how they are now are in his time. Nature is presented in comparison to every part of life. Basho, when mentioning comfort, flips from a person to something in nature having provided it. When not at a spot of typical merit but other authors he adds a short bit about the mundane but never with such awe as what has been a shared topic with other writers and in history.

I feel as a modern, western, individual I can’t appreciate this work. I know I am lacking in the ability to appreciate the connections made by Basho and his world. We are pretty far removed from the world where I am at. We don’t sit and watch, we don’t see the value in the little, and I feel this takes away something that I could have gained. All and all I don’t feel I gained much from this read but that is my fault.

Basho, Matsuo. The Norton Anthology World Literature. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. Print.