Mass Effect is a series of three games with a sprawling universe to explore in every game and a massively immersive storyline. The games are set in the around year 2183, and everyone now has the ability to travel through space at ease, communicate with other alien races, and settle on other planets. Only the first two games of the trilogy have come out so far. The focus of this paper will be on the second of the two. One of the unique things about the Mass Effect series is that you are able to customize your character when you start the game and depending on the choices you make in the games the story will change dramatically. For the sake of this paper I will be assuming that the protagonist is a male, and the player has played through making good moral choices. John Shepard is the hero of these games. He also has a crew that help him along comprised of Jacob, Miranda, and Mordin to name a few. The villains of these games are the Reapers, an extremely advanced race of synthetic/organic warships, whose main goal is to harvest every living organic being in the galaxy. In the second Mass Effect game there is a second villain that comes into play, the Collectors. The Collectors are being directly controlled by the Reapers to harvest humans. The mystic guide for the first Mass Effect was Captain Anderson, and in the second game it is a man known only as "The Illusive Man."
Since this paper is going to focus on the events and story of Mass Effect 2 more than the original Mass Effect, I will give a short recap on the events that transpired in the original. John Shepard is stationed on the ship SSV Normandy as executive officer, with Captain Anderson as commander. They are sent to the planet Eden Prime to recover an unearthed Prothean...
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...up an explosive chain reaction that will completely eliminate the base. Whichever one is picked it up to the player like many other choices in game. After this choice is made, Shepard and his crew quickly evacuate, get back aboard the Normandy, and fly off into the distance and the Collectors are completely destroyed.
As we can see this story has all the guidelines for basic myth. As I have mentioned before you have your hero, Commander Shepard, your villains, the Reapers and the Collectors, and your mystic guides, Captain Anderson and The Illusive Man. It also includes a journey, as Shepard is constructing his team to travel to the Collector's base. The Mission was to destroy the Collector threat. The final battle was the fight against the human Reaper. And, at the end they did have victory, as they destroyed the human Reaper and eliminated the Collector threat!
Myths relate to events, conditions, and deeds of gods or superhuman beings that are outside ordinary human life and yet basics to it” ("Myth," 2012). Mythology is said to have two particular meanings, “the corpus of myths, and the study of the myths, of a particular area: Amerindian mythology, Egyptian mythology, and so on as well as the study of myth itself” ("Mythology," 1993). In contrast, while the term myth can be used in a variety of academic settings, its main purpose is to analyze different cultures and their ways of thinking. Within the academic setting, a myth is known as a fact and over time has been changed through the many different views within a society as an effort to answer the questions of human existence. The word myth in an academic context is used as “ancient narratives that attempt to answer the enduring and fundamental human questions: How did the universe and the world come to be? How did we come to be here? Who are we? What are our proper, necessary, or inescapable roles as we relate to one another and to the world at large? What should our values be? How should we behave? How should we not behave? What are the consequences of behaving and not behaving in such ways” (Leonard, 2004 p.1)? My definition of a myth is a collection of false ideas put together to create
Catch 22 is a story about the different personalities that can be involved in a war. Out of all the different archetypes, the three I’ve chosen are John Yossarian, Albert Tappman, and Milo Minderbinder, although, not in that order. The first character being analyzed is Yossarian, the unwilling hero of this book. Although the book labels Yossarian as the main character, he constantly tries to coward out of going to battle. The second character that will be described is Milo Minderbinder, the archetypical business person of Catch 22.He runs the camp mess hall and controls what everyone in the camp is buying, selling, and eating. Milo is constantly trying to control or manipulate the economies around him, and after he gets a large commission from Germany to bomb his own camp. This gets him in trouble with every economy he’s dealt with, and in order to “help the syndicate”, he has to give up all of his profit. The last character that will be discussed is Albert Tappman, the Chaplain, who is best known as the corrupted innocence. Although he is one of the main characters, Al is the most neglected and, the least noticed. He receives the most trouble from the other characters in the book such as the daily verbal abuse from Corporal Whitcomb, and the confusing conversations with Colonel Cathcart. By the end of the book, he also begins to question his own faith and starts bringing lies and violence into his life after the death of Nately. Every character has their own story, and by describing three of the most differential archetypes in the story, the main story is explained better.
The myths is about Amma and how he created an ark to Earth. First Amma sent Ogo down to Earth. Ogo got to Earth by a ark that went the way of the Milky Way that connects to Heaven and Earth. Amma then created eight people to be his assistants. These eight people to the Dogon people are the ancestors of the human beings and the descendents of Amma. The Dogon people also believe that Amma created the stars. They believe he created the starts by throwing pellets of the Earth into the
Personal desires are ever changing due to an individual's circumstances and the influence of peers. The author is able to exemplify how an individual must transform their personal desires in order to succeed in undermining conformity.McMurphy’s personal desire transitions throughout the course of the novel, evolving due to his surrounding and circumstances he faces. He develops a sense of responsibility for the other men when he realizes they are playing a “rigged game”(pg 54) which they have no chance of winning. Although he may be a sociopath and a criminal the one thing that McMurphy cannot stand is a cheated system that disguises complete manipulation with false
Harris, Stephen L., and Gloria Platzner. Classical Mythology: Images and Insights. 2nd ed. Mountain View: Mayfield, 1995
The characterisation of characters in texts are a reflection of the composers societal values and zeitgest of their time. The comparison of Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s 1992 science fiction film Blade Runner accentuate the mutable societal values and human identity. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley challenges aspects of the Enlightenment era seeking knowledge, scientism and rationalism. Ridley Scott explores in Blade Runner the effects of corporatism and industrialisation. Although the texts show a difference in societal values, both explore similar aspects of humanity to show that human nature is perpetual regardless of context.
The Greek philosopher Democritus once said, “It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all.” Democritus is describing how some people can become so wrapped up in themselves that they forget to acknowledge the world around them, and eventually neglect all other things taking place in their lives. They inadvertently succumb to drowning in their own greedy desires and lose touch with reality. In Joseph Heller’s novel, “Catch-22”, Milo Minderbinder is a perfect example of what Democritus was describing. He is the squadron’s mess hall officer, and gains much respect from his peers due to his persistence in maintaining a commendable cafeteria and ensuring that the squadron receives the best delicacies from all over the world. However, Milo’s intentions of pleasing his squadron eventually fade away as he is exposed to the black market of the food trade. He finds excitement in collecting and selling various cuisines to many countries, transforming him into a greedy entrepreneur. Milo Minderbinder’s desire for power over others becomes so great throughout the novel that he sees his actions as commonplace, showing that his conscience is absent or misguided while he makes his decisions. While telling the story of Milo, Heller gives readers a chance to delve into the mind of a man who transforms from good hearted man, to a successful businessman, and finally into a ruthless profiteer.
Everyone is faced with difficult obstacles at some point in his or her life, whether or not they are able to overcome them can define them as a person. Every story has a plot, but a plot is determined by the characters and their actions to events that take place in the story. According to the article “Science Fiction Images of Computers and Robots” written by Patricia S. Warrick, many of the plots in Asimov’s novels depend on “computers and robots [along with] space exploration and development” (54). Characters in the novels written by Isaac Asimov have to figure out the capabilities of new technology, understand other characters, and find solutions to problems with no end in sight. Characters’ actions and responses to problems play large roles in the plot of a story. The characters in Asimov’s novels have to solve problems that could affect the future of humankind. With such great advancements in technology, the humans begin to worry that technology such as robots will take over and become the primary race. In Isaac Asimov’s novel, Foundation and Empire, one of the themes is deception and some characters use deception to get what they want, and in a world of power, they became the most powerful of all. When the structure of organizations and countries begin to fall apart in the world, there are some people who will do almost anything to gain power. In Asimov’s eyes, the future world is going to be enormous expanding across galaxies, having unlimited technology, and billions of people. Asimov is one of few writers who has had success writing novels containing science fiction and mystery. Isaac Asimov depicts similar themes of power and deception by using the plot, characters, and setting, while the use of all these makes him an i...
From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.
Captain “Lucky Jack” Aubrey, the protagonist in Master and Commander: Far Side of the World, is an excellent example of a leader to both his crew and the audience of the film. Lucky Jack received the nickname because of his tendency to be in the right place at the right time, to win battles and, if necessary, narrowly escape disaster. The movie takes places during The Napoleonic Wars when Great Britain was at with France. Captain Aubrey is the captain of a British battleship, the HMS Surprise, when a much larger French warship, the Acheron, intercepts each other and pursue each other off of the coast of South America. Lucky Jack, as his crew refers him to, is well regarded by his men, who trust him implicitly, even after the first devastating battle and an apparent personal vendetta against the French captain.
Joseph Campbell was a well known mythology teacher who spent his whole life trying to understand the different types of stories that are told. To Campbell “all humans are involved in a struggle to accomplish the adventure of the hero in their own lives.” He made a list of stages that every hero goes through, and sums it up to three sections: separation (the departure), the initiation, and the return.
(200)This mythic study will define the first ten stages of the hero’s journey as defined by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Campbell defines the various stages of the hero’s journey within the context of a universal mythic "cycle” found in world ligature. These similar events define the universal stages of the hero’s journey in (1) the call to adventure, (2) refusal of the call, (3) supernatural aid, (4) the first threshold, (5) challenges, (6)revelation (7) abyss (rebirth), (8) transformation, (9) atonement, and (10) the return in the gift of the goddess. These ten stages define the cycle of the heroic journey, which
Many timeless novels have impacts on our everyday culture, not only as a book, but also through music or movies. Many popular novels have multiple adaptations, which shape how we approach their interpretation, in ways we may never even notice. In some films, humans are depicted as monsters, whether through their actions, or through the thoughts of other beings. In these films we find issues with our own society, and in turn see ourselves as monsters, and look for ways we can change, for the better. One particular novel that influences this side of Hollywood is Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein”. The ways Frankenstein influences pop culture can be seen in science fiction films in which humans are depicted as monster, and “monsters” are seen as more humane beings, such as I, Robot, and Ender’s Game.
The theme in this book is bravery, perseverance and the triumph of goodness over evil. The quest is also extremely dangerous, some gods think it is doomed to fail, but the heroes never give up, they continue trying their best, fighting evil and ultimately they succeed.
...technology with their own actions. Vonnegut begs man to resist the power of weaponry and invention and take control of his destiny using Billy Pilgrim as a chilling reminder of the dangers of apathy. In accordance with Vonnegut's opinion, Beckett affirms the value of free will through his absurdist drama and illustrates the consequences of allowing oneself to get lost in the confusion of a technologically-savvy war. Although society often deems technology and science to be the most important virtues, one must remember to maintain his free will amidst the cloud of steel.