"Courage, Truth, and Honor"

The Tale of Despereaux

A. Synopsis of the Plot:

A curious little rat named Roscuro falls into the Queen of Dor's soup on the infamous soup day.
It frightens the timid queen so much so that she dies and leaves the king and her daughter, Princess Pea, to mourn and consequently ban soup day and all rat kind. Roscuro trying to escape the guards falls into the dungeon which is also Ratworld and it found by the leader and taken under he wing. Everyone in the kingdom of Dor becomes so sad that all the colors leave and it stops raining. At the same time a courageous mouse named Despereaux is exiled to Ratworld for the inability to be taught mouse like behavior at mouse school, like scurrying about, timidity, and the tendency to be easily frightened. Also at the same time a servant girl to the Princess Pea named Miggery Sow wants so bad to be a princess herself very badly. Roscuro tries to make things right with Princess Pea and apologize but she instead goes into a panic attack when she sees him. He is so upset that he talks Miggery into kidnapping the princess so they can eat her in Ratworld. Despereaux comes to her rescue and she is saved.

B. Characters:

• Roscuro: Is a sea rat with pirate like clothing and an earring. Is thoughts at first are noble, but like anyone who has ever been hurt he falls into heartbreak and seeks revenge. You know that his character is truly good because in the end he forgives Princess Pea and helps save her life. This change of character makes him a round, dynamic charcter.
• Despereaux: "A hero doesn't appear until the worls really needs one"

Is a petite mouse with larger than life ears. He is unlike the other mice in that he is naturally corious instead of timid or scared. He learns to channel his natural curiousnes into courageousness when he reads a story book about a gentlemen knight. This makes him a round, dynamic character as well.

• Miggery Sow: "She had so much heart that it left a mark on her back"
  

Is a heavy set servant girl/ pig feeder who resembles a pig herself. She wishes to become a princess so badly that she ends up stealing some of her things to pretend. This longing is so deep that she is convinced by a rat to kidnap the princess so she herself can take the thrown. After the princess is recovered she ends up finding her real father, she was adopted, and she learns to be content with her life as "his princess". This makes her a flat, dynamic character.

• Princess Pea: "Whenever you have hope you are nobody's prisoner"
  

Is a beautiful long blonde haired young girl, with big blue eyes. She is the kings daughter. She feels a prisoner to the grievous state that her father makes the kingdom after her mother dies, but somehow she keeps hope. She wishes that things would go back to the way they used to be. She has agrudge in her heart against Ros for the death of her mother but learns to forgive him in the end, and there by freeing the color back into the kingdom of Dor and causing it to rain. This makes her a round, dynamic character.

C. Discussion Questions:

• In this film, the scene being shown sometimes contradicts what the narrator is saying. Can you point to any instances of this? What might the contradiction mean?

In the very begunning of the story the narrator tells us that rats hate the sun, they sneek around because they are afraid of people, and they never ever talk. While she is saying this you see Ros wake up on a ship in the sunlight stretch and walk over to his human friend and have a discussion about a fairy tale story. I think this reminds us that the point of fairy tales is making our own assumptions and applications. If all we ever do is read literature for the aphabetical words we will miss a vital part.

• How does the story deal with harsh, realities such as poverty, death, and greed with children involved?

The story teaches about how poverty can lead to a since of "rule breaking". That point of desperation causes people, and in this case rats, to make desicions they would not normally make based on need. They address death as being gloomy, but stressing the point not to stay int that state of grieving for too long, because you will miss the things you naturally love. They adress greed along with the first point I was talking about.

• This story takes on the form of a fairy tale (for children, nonetheless). As with many fairy tales, there is no “clear” moral and yet there are clearly important issues of morality discussed. In general, are fairy tales useful for examining our lives? In particular, is this one? How?

I think you can examine your life in the most petty things. Jesus discribed our worries in accordance with one small bird, saying that he supplied the bird's needs and that we should never worry. In this way, I can examine my life and my worries. It is not the WAY you examine yourself, it is what you do with your examinations. This story is useful in teaching forgiveness. Everyone needs to forgive because that unforgiveness can cause us to unintentionally hurt someone we do not mean to in the process.

Trust and Strength

I began reading the novel Light in August by William Faulkner today. The story tells of a young girl, in the early nineteenth century, forced into a servant situation. She begins sneeking out to meet a guy she likes. Soon her lover has to abruptly leave due to work situations, and soon after she finds out she is pregnant. Her family finds out and begins shunning her. He leaves home, and starts hitchhiking to find him. When I was thinking about this portion of the story later that day I was wondering why she would travel so far with so little promises. She was so devoted to the love she had for her "man", that she was prepared to face anything. That might not have necessarily been the best desicion but it was an incredibly devoted one nonetheless. It makes me consider my relationship with Christ. My life with Him is filled with promises. But how many times do I miss that and take me own road. The girl in the story was devoted with none, and I am quite shy of devoted and His Word is basically filled with them. It makes me wonder what am I really practicing? Strength or trust? One can fail you eventually. Even the strongest of men become weary at times. But trust is a principle that only God can teach amd keep in your life. This is a concept I have definitely been learning since coming to college. Am I going to trust God or rely on my human strength? The Bible says that the joy of the Lord IS my strength. So in essence I cannot even rely on strength without God. Without Him there is nothing.

Pink Cloud

"Oscar Wilde once wrote that an object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly. Here is your opportunity to explore your own idea of beauty, and, potentially, ugliness. A variety of works from the permanent collection have been selected to represent the many ways in which we might find beauty within an art object. Confucius might have been right when he declared, everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it. Viewers are encouraged to express their thoughts, and some of the most interesting responses will be added to the wall label text as the exhibition remains on display."

-Polk Art Museum Website Regarding The Beautiful Things Exhibit



This past Thursday our class went to the Polk Museum of Art. There were so many beautiful paintings. I could not help but wonder what the artists were thinking when they constructed such creative pieces. I encountered the ancient artwork of pre and post early civilizations, like clay and rock designs. This art consisted of mostly animal and people design. The next exhibit was child art. I was astounded by the talent of the children at so young of an age. This exhibit contained mostly jungle and animal art. Then I continued on into pre and post modern art and paintings. I think trying to understand and really truly apreciate art for what it is can become somewhat of an overwhelming task. The one peice that stood out the most to me, was a peice called pink cloud. It may be hard to describe, but I will try. It was an individual pink diamond on the end of a peice of wire.There were about ten of these diamond wires braided together into a design and then the other end braided into another braid strand. It was a large mass of braided diamond strands that hung from the ceiling about eight feet tall. It was so gorgeous. It must have taken hours to braid each strand into another and another and another. I could not help but notice that a general theme was beginning to show itself. This peice of art would have been not have been as beautiful if it was made of only one strand and diamond at the end. It was the community woven togther that made it so beautiful. For generations we have seen person after person try and stifle the beauty of community and the diversity that it represents. Hitler and his nazis tried to make a dominant race, but it was and is the beauty of the Jews as a whole that add to the vibrance of the world. We need community. We need unity. Community completes us. Even Jesus stressed the importance of community when he emphasized the body of Christ. How can the body walk without the legs and how can even the HEAD turn without the neck? We need each other. Every peice of art had some form of community or even a hint of it, from pre-civilizations to post modern.

The Observer

Her name was Abagail. I had watched her play before. Our rooms are conveniently located next to the sports side of the campus, luck for me, the most athletically challenged person alive. We must have a team, us as in the students from Southeastern University, because they are always there, day and night. It is always the same girls playing. Almost like I used to be with my guitar, why I had stopped I do not know really. Devoted to the court, with tennis I mean. But, for some reason to the one girl this it is not just a tennis game. It is much more. I always notice her. As if her just being out there is an attraction. I used to be attracted to watching singers perform with their band, not just at church, but anywhere. You usually know if she is there because there is a somewhat larger than usual audience. She draws people. I noticed her on this particular night because she was no longer playing drills with her team, or being tested by her coach, but playing a young guy. He was someone close to her age by the looks of things. He was someone I recognized seeing with her before around campus. Seems like when you become the most devoted to something is when you draw the most attention. Everyone wants to be your friend when you are going places and doing things with your life. When I first started learning guitar I let him show me how to play one of my favorite songs to listen to. That is how it starts. Innocent at first, then you become them, and when your devotion becomes human and no longer moves in a fame like direction they move to the next “devotie” they meet. Such a shame for her really, seeing as she really is so good. Your eyes are almost instinctively draw to her, as if she commands your attention without saying a word. Even people from the courts directly beside hers have to stop and watch. People at the bench escaping the heat and drinking from their water bottles almost loose their thirst for a moment in regards to the verosity they show the plastic. The first time I ever sang at church, I was very young. I walked up on the stage in the middle of service. I could tell the pastor and everyone on the first row did not expect much because they were continuing to whisper and point at the bulletin. The moment the first word escaped, the pastor immediately looked up. His assistant dropped the bulletin. The words from my mouth almost like a tennis ball straight from her racket. Commanding everyones attention. This match was different though. She did not have the same extreme focus. She was laughing and acting childlike. Smiling at all his bad serves and huge dramatic dives from just her gentle tap. I see her around campus and everyone recognizes her. They congratulate her on being well taught. “You are so talented”, they say. “What a gift God has given you!” My pastor said the same thing. It is funny how everyone suddenly remembers your name when you are going somewhere, especially him. Only he left with a part of me. She seems to walk around happy and proud of herself. But, I wish I could ask her the same thing I have been asking myself. Do you have a love for the passion or a love for the fame?


(Anyone reading this story from back home...Know that this is a fictional story. As in made up!!)

Wasting Wasted Time

On Thursday in class we were learning different approaches to reading poetry.
I found myself in the poetic mood, so I wrote a poem in response to all the "poetic talk."
The poem is called:


Wasting Wasted Time

Sitting alone again
Again
A silent scream...
Outside somewhat blank
Expressionless
A canvas unpainted
Emotionless
Like my blinking alarm clock
Timeless
Timeless is ticking
Wasted time
Is being lost

I'm alone
Wishing
Someone
Anyone
See through this blank gaze
See me
Just me
The me who loves to sit and watch the sky
Watch the clouds
The clouds that slowly pass me by
The me who loves wasting time

I'm thinking alone
Again
Of a one time
A time when I was different
A time when I felt with
Instead of this without
The without is heavy
It weighs me down

I'm wasting time
Wasting your time
Wasted time
is passing by
On the clouds that I watch
They seem light
In my head
They have a with
I think of them
Alone
Again