1. English 121 Final Project Literature in my Life Krista Mader

2. Where can literature be found? Literature is all around us and comes in many forms. Books Movies/TV Tattoos Pictures/Paintings Oral stories/histories

3. Destroyer Archetype Fear- annihilation; death without rebirth This is my worst fear. I am Catholic, and we are taught Heaven is the ultimate rebirth, what we should strive for. Task- learn to let go, turn it around, and accept mortality. This is my own task- to learn not to dwell on things, and to let them go. Accept the things I cannot change, and to change the things I can. No Regrets, Know Peace

4. Quote “It is bad enough to know you are going to die. But to know that and to feel your life has no meaning is difficult to bear” (Pearson, 1991, p. 137).

5. Middlesex

6. Cal’s confusion about his feeling towards other girls Cal was the destroyer archetype – he had to let go of his old gender, turn it around, and accept the change he made. Besides the transgender issues, I related to the difficult emotions Cal deals with relating to his sexuality.

7. Like Water for Chocolate

8. I connected with this story, because I felt Tita and Pedro’s love was the kind of intense, everlasting love people search for. However, I do not believe in this kind of love- it only exists in literature After watching this movie, it got me thinking about my own relationship and if it was true love and would last…

9. The Lion King

10. Simba’s identity quest started when his father died – Simba though it was his fault Feeling like your father left because of you is something I can relate to in a big way Simba set out on his road of trials to leave his past behind him – I feel like this is what I did when coming to college. Simba started out the innocent archetype, and became the orphan archetype after Mufasa’s death.

11. The Color Purple

12. When I first read this book at twelve years old, it really got me thinking about my own sexuality, because I did not consider Celie a lesbian, although she only ever loved Shug. After my first relationship with another woman, I connected with Shug and Celie’s story more deeply than before.

13. The Color Purple I also connected with Celie’s feelings of low self esteem Like Celie, I had bad experiences with men at a young age that tainted me towards them. Celie was constantly being compared to other women, and being told how they were better than her. This is another thing I can relate to…

14. Siddhartha

15. Like The Color Purple, Siddhartha is a book I have read many times over the years. Every time I read this book, it makes me want to change my life. Siddhartha makes me want to drop everything, and go on my own journey towards personal enlightenment. It makes me hate this modern world we live in, and all the ties to the modern world that I possess.

16. How this class affected me I never realized how much literature affected my life – I never really noticed how it was all around me, in so many different ways than just books and movies or television. This class has helped me connect more deeply with pieces of literature I have always loved, and has helped me understand them more deeply Not only has this class helped me connect with literature, but it has helped me connect with myself more deeply also.