THE HEROIC JOURNEY By Claire Bernat Who did
THE HEROIC JOURNEY By: Claire Bernat
Who did I chose to compare Brent’s story with? ◦ When I had to think about comparing Brent’s story with a character one immediately came to my mind. My all time favorite movie is the 2001 animated movie Spirted Away. This movie became the first hand-drawn and non-Englishlanguage animated film to win the best animated feature at the Oscars. I right away noticed a bunch of similarities between the two so that’s why I chose this movie.
Stage 1: The Call to Adventure/ Action Whirligig ◦ ◦I believe that stage one is when Brent is asked to travel across America to make whirligigs. Because when Ms. Zamora meets up with Brent and his family after the accident and discusses what punishment Brent would have, she said that she wanted him to make the whirligigs. And Brent was the one to accept the task. “Brent was oblivious of the arguing. In the quiet storm cellar of his mind, he pondered the proposal. Strange as it was, it would get him away from Chicago, his parents, and his recent past. It would also give him a chance to do penance. He'd never traveled on his own before. The idea held sudden appeal. He smiled inside. He cleared his throat. Then he spoke the words, "I'll do it. “ “ – Page 42 Spirted Away ◦ ◦In Spirted Away the main character Chihiro and her parents take a wrong turn driving to their new home resulting in them ending in front of what looks to be an abandoned theme park, Her parents drag her in to investigate. Her parents end up eating a bunch of stall food and are turned into pigs, Chihiro is then told that if she wants to save her parents she would have to get a job at the bathhouse. She accepts and such her journey to save her parents begins.
Stage 2: Allies Whirligig ◦ ◦Brent doesn't really have a sidekick with him throughout his journey. But I do think Lea’s spirit is present with him throughout the story beside Brent. Of course, Brent interacts with some people along his journey including Ms. Zamora, The waitress, The hotel cleaner, and the artist just to name a few. But for the majority of the book, it is just Brent and his thoughts. I think the book is better because Brent went on the journey alone, if he had someone go with him I don't know if he would have had the same transformation. Spirted Away Chihiro makes lots of friends throughout her journey that help her with the final task of rescuing her parents. The first person she runs into is Haku who tries to get Chihiro to run home as after dark you cannot leave the bathhouse. Chihiro does not make it in time and the whole field between the bathhouse and the real world turns into a lake. Haku is the one who helps Chihiro the most in her journey guiding her and giving her advice on what to do. She meets the boilerman Kamaji who covers for her allowing her to enter the bathhouse and Lin who helps her understand how the bathhouse works.
Stage 3: A Road of Trials Whirligig ◦ Brent goes through many trials throughout the book. At each stop, he is faced with new problems and tasks. On the campground, Brent has to make a whirligig for the first time, at first it seems impossible to him but after a bit, he gets the hang of it. In San Diego, Brent is mugged by two pretending to ask Brent for directions. These are only a few examples from the first two chapters with Brent and his storyline but he does face challenges throughout the whole book. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA Spirted Away Throughout Chihiro’s journey, she is faced with new obstacles that when she overcomes she becomes stronger. When she first works in the bathhouse she struggles to keep up with those around her, she becomes the outcast and everyone gives her and Lin all the hard work. A large stink spirit is the first spirit Chihiro must help. After helping the spirt she is tougher and stronger than before. During the movie, a lot of things are thrown her way but she came out victorious and becomes stronger than before.
Stage 4: Achieving the goal or the saving exper Whirligig ◦ I think he achieves his goal in Weeksboro Maine. When he is in Weeksboro he not only finishes the last whirligig but he finally reflects and becomes a new person. When he talks to the painter and finally lets everything out, he finally hears someone else's opinion. And I think what the painter says is really helpful for Brent. " "I'm sure you know that we all get depressed. Seriously, sometimes. Most of us probably think about throwing in the towel at some point. " She paused. "And, God knows, we all make mistakes. All of the above, in my case. " She looked at Brent. "I could be wildly wrong. But my sense of you is that you're a good person, not a bad one. " " Page 129 This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA Spirted Away At the end of the movie the owner of the bathhouse and the person who took Chihiro’s parents Yubaba gives Chihiro one final task. You see if we rewind a bit to the beginning of the movie when Chihiro wanted to work at the bathhouse she had to sign a contract, little did she know that when she signed the contract her name belonged to Yubaba, Yubaba gave her the name Sen. Once you forgot your name you could never leave the bathhouse. Back to the present time, Yubaba’s challenge for Chihiro was if she could tell her parents from 12 pigs her contract would be destroyed and Chihiro and her family could return home. She chose the right answer ( being none of them ) and was able to return home. One of my favorite quotes comes from this area of the movies “Once you've met someone you never really forget them. It just takes a while for your memories to return. ”
Stage 5: A New Normal Whirligig ◦ We never see Brent go home to his family, start a new school, and continue his life. However, we do see the longterm effects of his whirligigs. For every whirligig Brent made we got to see someone who's life changed because of it. The first whirligig he made is revisited by two girls who try to summon a 'perfect' boyfriend for one of the girls. His orchestra whirligig effects a little boy named Anthony, who's mother forced him to play the violin. One day his mother sees the whirligig and tells her son he needed to play like it and hung a photo of it over his bed, one day he had enough and after talking to his teacher she let him quit the violin. These are just an example of two. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC Spirted Away ◦ At the beginning of the movie Chihiro is a quiet, reserved child who is hesitant about everything. , she is clumsy and extremely jittery. At the end of the movie, she is strong and extremely brave. No longer scared of the move and ready to conquer anything. Chihiro's character really matures and it makes you feel like you have seen her grow so much within the two hours she has been on your screen. This is one of the reasons I love this movie, it never gets boring and you are always seeing something new. ◦ “A new home and a new school? It is a bit scary. I think I can handle it” – Chihiro’s dad talking to her about moving
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