Brennon Edwards

English 314

9/27/07

Paper One

The topic which I chose to elaborate on is “the journey” exercise we had in class.  The point of this exercise was to elicit one’s deep personal psychological state, without the participant knowing the impact of their imagination.  A story is read, and almost in a fill-in-the-blank manner, or choose-your-own-adventure if you will, the participant writes the first thoughts that come to mind after each object “encountered”.  At the conclusion of “the journey” the meanings of each encounter are reveled.

My story reads as the following:

I am going on a journey through the woods.  I have decided to bring my dog Sasha, a medium sized black/white Siberian husky.  I chose to bring her for her fearless attitude and agility, which assures no living creature within a half mile will have the chance to confront me.  I am also given the chance to pack for my trip.

Being an avid outdoorsman I have acquired many items which I find pertinent to almost any outing.  I back my hiking bag with my tent, 0 degree sleeping bag, an axe, machete for thick brush, my zippo with back up fluid, a headlamp, rope, rock climbing equipment, dental floss and a toothbrush.  Amazingly all of this packs fairly well even leaving enough for a 6 pack of beers, which I choose not to bring.

So all preparation has been made and I am ready to start the journey.  As I am trekking through the woods for some time I come across a rock structure.  The rock is an undeniably beautiful vertical rock face.  The only way is up, so I strap on my rock climbing shoes and begin my ascent.  If you’re wondering about Sasha, she found a narrow passage to the top just big enough for her to fit.  Half way up the rock I am off struck by the beauty of a waterfall dancing down over a cliff above.  There is a large ledge which the water smothers before continuing its graceful free-fall.  I walk directly under the water letting it engulf my entire body.  This is relieving as it gently kneads my neck and back.  Spontaneously I burst out in laughter as I am reminded of a scene from the movie “The Goonies”.  After basking in the waterfall I sit back and enjoy the scenery as I dry off.  As I finish my climb I realize atop this steep climb is a richly wooded forest.

Sasha and I leave the sunshine and disappear into the woods.  Somehow through the thick brush I spot a large container, as I draw closer I recognize the shape.  It’s a luggage traveler, the type people put on top of mini-vans when they go for a road trip.  I slash through the vines with my machete which have wrapped and tangled themselves around the pod as if to say “this is my luggage holder”, I laugh and jokingly say “HA this is mine now”.  Now typically I wouldn’t want anything to do with this carrier, but there is a gully ahead and it has an ideal sledding hill leading to the bottom.  Sasha and I climb in the top of the old dirty container and whisk down the hill at a tremendous rate.  There seems to be some dew on the grass which makes this quite the ride.

The meadow below has a wonderful surprise for me, a full garden.  Sasha races into the garden with her pointy husky ears back meaning only one thing.  She has spotted a small fuzzy unsuspecting animal.  I make haste to see what it is she caught.  I am sadly delighted to see she killed a rabbit.  Sad for the rabbit’s loss of life, and glad to know we have dinner tonight.  This garden is full of fresh vegetables and herbs.  Dozens of recipes on how to cook the rabbit tumble through my mind.  

Emerging from the garden with an adequate amount of loot I am faced with an old abandoned house.    Being the curious boy I am, I plant my head against a window with my hands on my forehead to block the sun’s glare.  I see a fire place with a vase on the mantel.  I wipe some dirt off the window to get a better view, and the vase shows its true identity or an urn.  I feel a small chill on my neck and about the person who was in the urn.  I am curious who it was, what kind of life he/she lived, who they loved.  

Feeling a little spooked out I decide to move on.  Just past the house I come across yet another hill.  Although this hill is different, it has steps!  The steps are creatively exposed tree roots spaced close enough to make for a comfortable hike.  Sasha and I reach the last step together and gaze upon a fence.  The fence looked as if were constructed at the beginning of time, many of the poles were missing and the barbed wire was cut in several areas.  I glaze sharply past the fence and see nothing but waving seas of field grass.  

This is more then just a story about a boy and his journey.  This is a psychological exercise which helps someone, without knowing; write a story which describes their past and how they feel it pertains to reality.  The individual is presented with items on this journey through the woods, where each item depicts a particular aspect of the individual’s conscious/ unconscious being.

The choice of bringing someone or going it alone begs the question do you feel more “yourself” when you are alone or with others.  Obviously if you pick to go alone, you are more the loner type opposed to bringing a friend which suggests you are more comfortable around others.

Given a chance to pack for the trip depicts your planning tendencies.  For instance if you bring 4 suitcases and 1 is full of shoes, you are probably quite the planner.  If you chose to bring a granola bar and that’s it, then you are more of a fly be the seat of your pants person.

Being presented with the “rock” in this story subconsciously asks how you see and handle obstacles in your life.  

The interaction with water is in reference to sex and how important it is.  The more detailed or significant the water is suggests importance of sex.  

The story describes coming across a “container”.   The more elaborate or the amount of value associated with this “container” implies the more materialistic one sees the world.

Childhood is unknowingly reviled when the garden is described.  More or less it is how one sees their youth.  Clearly the more vibrant and beautiful it is the better the memories.

The manner in which the vase in the house is described refers to someone you loved or lost.

The steps are translated to how you see yourself spiritually.

Finally the fence, the fence is the symbol for death.  What is seen beyond the fence depicts how death is imagined.  

I have to admit during the writing exercise I was utterly blind to the point, although after the significances of the “items” were explained I saw full well the impact of my writing.  I was astonished at how deceptive this exercise was.  .  I suppose my having my closest friend compare the story to me would have less of a bias.  I found this to be an enjoyable and insightful writing.  

In contrast one could argue this describes me no more than my daily horoscope.  Which brings up a whole new spectrum for debate such as: can John Edwards really communicate with the dead, can Madam Lazell read my future and can someone I have never met tell me how my day is going to be?  I doubt any of that is possible, although there are thousands of people who believe it.  For those who read their horoscope every day it is true or fact, for them.  This is all subjective.  For instance, when I was a child I knew Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy were real, but after more and more evidence was uncovered I found my belief or faith to be false.  Here’s an interesting thought, maybe faith is a lack of knowledge.  But how can you find the “final truth” without knowledge?  What I am trying to convey is what we believe is real to us.

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