2016 Threshold

nomad 2016 Threshold The Department of Comparative Literature’s Journal of Undergraduate Writing University of Oregon The University of Oregon is an equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This publication will be made available in accessible formats upon request. MC1016_092dm_B5XXXXX EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR Julia “Susi” Gómez EDITORIAL BOARD Dr. Kenneth Calhoon Rachel Branson Palita Chunsaengchan MENTORS TO THE UNDERGRADUATE WRITERS Martha Bannikov Anna-Lisa Baumeister Rachel Branson Dr. Kenneth Calhoon Emily Cole Rachel Eccleston Dr. Andréa Gilroy Julia “Susi” Gómez Elizabeth Howard Anna Kovalchuk Jason Lester Rob Moore Bess Myers Joanna Myers Dr. Jenny Odintz Justine Parkin Tera Reid-Olds Ying Xiong SPECIAL THANKS To Cynthia Stockwell, Laura White, and the Duck Store for their continued support of this project COVER ART Threshold, ©2016 Minshall CONTENTS vii Editor’s Comments ERIN CASINI 9 Breaking the Threshold ANDREA CUEVA 17 Fairy Tale Portals: Gateways to Understanding Modern Life ANNA FITTING 24 The Silent Border: Repression and Winner of the NOMAD Prize for Excellence in Progression in Silent Hill 2 Undergraduate Scholarship BRANDY GRAHAM 36 The Threshold of Identity: Internalizing the Male Gaze in John Green’s Paper Towns SARAH GOUGH-PIAZZA 46 “It’s Showtime!”: The Blending of Reality and Fantasy in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice KATIE GUISLER 54 Dissipation of Form: Threshold of the Self and the Double Work of Culture in Paprika and Woman Between Mirrors SARAH GREENLAW 65 Mirroring Reality: The Ambiguity between Hero and Villain in the Netflix Original Marvel’s Daredevil TAYLOR HEGGEN 75 Moral Thresholds, “Nymphets,” and the Dialogic Imagination of Nabokov’s Lolita NATANIA HERNANDEZ 87 Sancho’s Reality-based Perceptions of Fantasy: The Internal and External Threshold of Reality and the Fantastical TATE JAMES 97 Empty Floating Castles: Revolutionary Girl Utena’s Deconstruction of Gender Performance BRIAUNA JONES 106 The Threshold of the Sublime: Standing in Awe and Fear in José María Heredia’s “En el Teocalli de Cholula” ANNIE DE LANCIE 115 Soprano Thresholds LILLIAN LOFTIN 126 Evelyn’s Evolution in El Barrio: An Evolution of Community, Family and Self and the Threshold Moment for El Barrio to Reunite their Puerto Rican Pride DAKOTA MACCOLL 133 2001: A Space Odyssey Seen Through a Deleuzean Lens: How the Monolith Can Represent Both a Time-image and a Movement-image MICHELLE MCKENNA 142 Cultural Thresholds: American Women’s Relationship to the French Woman ADAM MEAD 151 Changing Hearts Through Photography MILES SHEPARD 159 Liminal Thresholds in El Laberinto Del Fauno LEAH FILLOY TROPER 167 Skateboarding Across Thresholds ©2016 University of Oregon Department of Comparative Literature All Rights Reserved Book Design by David Goodman Marketing Communications University of Oregon EDITOR’S COMMENTS THRESHOLD COMMENTS TEXT TO GO HERE—axxx xxxx xxxx xxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxx xx x x x x xxxx xxx x x xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxx xx xxxxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxxx. JULIA “SUSI” GÓMEZ vii Erin Casini is junior at the ERIN CASINI University of Oregon majoring in Classics and minoring in History. She is very passionate about Classical studies, specifically language, history, and mythology in Ancient Greece and Rome. She is involved in the Classics Department through member- ships in the Classics Club and the Classics Honors Frater- nity, Eta Sigma Phi. She is also involved with Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Mentor: Bess Myers BREAKING THE THRESHOLD ONE OF THE GREATEST known authors of all time is Homer. His two most influential works, the epic poems theIliad and the Odyssey, “provided the basis of Greek education and culture throughout the Classical age and formed the back- bone of humane education down to the time of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity” (Kirk). An epic poem is a “long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds” (Kirk). Homer included the Ancient Greek gods and goddesses in his sto- ries as essential characters. It is pertinent for the mortals to be in the good graces of the gods and goddesses in order to live a peaceful life or even to live at all. Homer’s Iliad is a twenty-four book epic poem about the war between the Trojans and the Greeks. The battle began when Paris, a prince of Troy, coerced Helen to run away with him, leaving her husband and hometown behind. Menelaus, Helen’s husband, gathers Helen’s former suitors to go to Troy in pursuit of his unfaithful wife so that he can bring her back where she belongs. This poem recounts the story of the mortal’s war for Helen, as well as how the gods and goddesses form alliances and participate in the events of the battles. These relationships are widely por- trayed especially in Books 5, 7, and 8. In the Iliad, pride is an incredibly important state in which every Greek, mortal or immortal, strive to achieve. In the world of Homeric epic, the concern for one’s own pride causes chaos to ensue which sub- sequently results in the breaking of the threshold between Mount Olympus and the mortal realm. Ideally, the gods remain in Olympus, or their respective areas of the sea or Hades, and only influence the mortals and their earth when they must protect their allotted territories. However, it becomes clear that Poseidon does not just manage the affairs of the sea or Zeus of the mortal land. The gods and goddesses constantly nomad 9 ERIN CASINI intervene in the lives of the humans. They, like mortals, are prideful beings that will do almost anything to protect their status. The Trojan War has divided the divinities just as much as it has separated the humans. While some allegiances are created due to personal relationships, others are established out of spite or dislike for a person or people. Athena, Hera, Poseidon, and Hermes are all in favor of a Greek victory. On the other hand, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, and Artemis all support the Trojans. These gods and goddesses are constantly trying to protect their mortals and give advantages to their people not just for the sake of the well-being of the humans, but to feed their pride. In her book The Wrath of Athena: Gods and Men in the Odyssey, Jenny Strauss Clay examines the relationship between Odysseus and Athena in the Odyssey. She explains that “the wrath of Athena plays a crucial role in the overall structure and shape of the poem.” Therefore, without the repeated intervention by Athena, Odysseus’s life would not have turned out the way it was meant to be: reuniting with his wife and child in Ithaca. Although at times the actions of the gods and goddesses seem impulsive, that is not always the case. There are many instances in which the divinities have meticulously crafted their plans in order to ensure a par- ticular outcome. For example, the first face-to-face conversation between Athena and Odysseus in the Odyssey occurrs as Odysseus washes up on the shore of his homeland, Ithaca: “The mist which the goddess pours over the island is a trick, a dolos with a purpose; Athena thereby creates an opportunity to make Odysseus unrecognizable, so that no one may know him before he has punished the suitors (13.191–193), and allow her to inform him about conditions at home” (Clay 19). The gods and goddesses constantly disregard the threshold that separates them from the mortals. They are able to meddle in the lives of the humans at any given point in order to protect their pride, but can then escape back to the safety of Mount Olympus. When the Greek hero Diomedes gets wounded in Book 5 of the Iliad, he prays to Athena for assistance. Hearing his prayers, Athena grants him divine strength and the ability to identify gods on the battle field, but cautions him to not challenge any divinity other than Aphrodite. Diomedes then gives in to his newfound pride and goes on a rampage with his abilities. After being injured, Aeneas’ mother, Aphrodite, comes to his aid. Diomedes then takes the opportunity to wound her as well by cutting her wrists. Upset, Aphrodite returns to Mount Olympus where her mother heals her and Zeus cautions her to stay out of warfare in the future. Not only is she physically injured, but her pride takes a hit as well. It is embarrassing 10 nomad Breaking the Threshold that not only the goddess of beauty now is blemished with an injury, but that it was done at the hands of a mortal. When the tides of the battle have turned, Hera and Athena receive permission from Zeus to intervene and help the Greek. Hera goes to encourage the Greek troops, while Athena rallies Diomedes. She allows him to attack other divinities other than Aphrodite, despite her initial rule. Together they challenge Ares and Diomedes successfully wounds her. Hector and Paris, who are Trojans, continue to battle when the gods Apollo and Athena end the day and the battle in Book 6. The men attempt to continue to fight not knowing that divine intervention will conclude the battle refusing to hurt their pride by being the one whom give in. The Trojans are unsuccessful in their quest for a win. Then, Zeus intervenes by bringing nightfall and the two make a pact before going back to their camps. Both sides decide to honor their fallen comrades at the end of the day. Antenor, Prince Paris of Troy’s advisor, suggests that Paris should end the war by returning Helen to her husband, Menelaus. Paris agrees to return everything he took from Sparta but Helen.

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