Words of Innocence and Experience

Featuring comic heroes in movies have been a popular trend for years. The first hero who charmed the audience in the cinema was Superman, with his supernatural powers, clumsy masculinity, and boyish smile. The first Superman movie may have amazed the mass, yet when I watched it on TV, having heard much appreciation from others, I had been laughing outrageously throughout the running time instead of marveling at the hero’s incredible abilities. The weird behaviors of the characters, namely Superman’s constantly showing off his muscles, the expression mixed with awe and fervor on the face of Louise (the female protagonist), and the screaming crowds in big cities compose the “comical” Superman series. Along came Catwoman, Batman and several others, each gradually became more and more civilized; still, a really humane and reachable hero has been waiting to make his way into everyone’s heart.

Then the movie featuring the teenage hero, Peter Parker, or Spider-man, broadened the horizon of superhero movies in an unbelievable way. The movie Spider-man, which, in addition to magnificent special effects, spent some running time on the characterization of Peter Parker, became an immense hit. The story of Matt Murdock, or Daredevil, arrived at cinemas a year after, and although not as popular as Spider-man, it still outshined many of the old-style heroic movies.

I am never a comic book fan, yet the two comic heroes had really fascinated me. Whether their true natures were twisted in films or not, perhaps they would not mind that their feats are materialized on the big screen and their personalities are probed by me.

To begin with, superheroes must possess supernatural talents, yet the two heroes’ abilities were both obtained by accident. Peter Parker’s spidery sensibility came from a bite from a mutated spider in his high school laboratory. Matt Murdock’s case was much more grievous, for his eyes were blinded by chemicals when he was only a young boy. However, after losing his eye sight, his other senses, including sense of hearing, smell, and touch, were sharpened and he was as alert as a cat.

With their outstanding capabilities, it was one of their family member’s deaths that propelled them to guard the good people. As stated before, Parker was a naïve teenager when he was endowed with the gifts of a spider. The first occasion for him to really make use of his capabilities was to fight with a wrestler to win money. Unfortunately, he was deceived by the sponsor and did not even receive a cent. On his way back home, his uncle, who came in search of him, was killed on the street. Dejected and exasperated at the same time, he chased down and lynched the robbery responsible for his uncle’s death. Afterwards, Parker was a changed person and became known as the Spider-man, who protected New York citizens. On the other hand, Murdock witnessed the end of his father’s life in his early adolescence. Murdock’s father was a wrestler, who refused to retire as the high authority ordered. After defeating his last opponent, he was shot by a gun outside of the sports club where he just played his part. How Murdock trained himself as a warrior without sight thereafter was missing in the movie, but his father’s tragedy inspired hi to be one of the most controversial figures in New York, for he lynched villains at his own will.

Therefore, the two heroes came to the throne as the guardian of the city, but they both tried backing out in the middle, for different reasons, though. For Spider-man’s part, he spent too much of his time punishing the wicked that his own personal life was falling apart at the seams. He eventually complied with his fate, recognizing the mission of protecting people as his responsibility. The reason that plagued Murdock, Daredevil, was that he was confused whether the people he was punishing were really scoundrels. After going to a confession, his mind was purged so that he continued his task with no more doubt.

One of the most important purposes of superhero movies is to entertain the audience, and the Spider-man and Daredevil are no exception. The scenes of Spider-man swinging through the various New York buildings on his spider web are definitely exciting. As a pure human, Daredevil strives for various deadly fights with his enemies and has been creating splendid action scenes throughout the movie. Nonetheless, I prefer the Spider-man movie to the Daredevil one, and so do most people. The different degree of enjoyment is probably resulted from the differences between the two protagonists themselves and how the movies present them.

The most obvious distinction between the two heroes is their age, which affects what people would encounters in their lives greatly. Peter Parker is a teenager who is faced with self-searching problems, and a person at his age should learn to live on his own in America. Parker is torn between his schoolwork, job, and his identity as the Spider-man. To his frustration, he is considered a nerd who does not know how to get along with his peers at school. Moreover, his part-time job as a photographer in the newspaper office does not earn him much money, and he is often oppressed by his supervisor. While he struggles, not only teenagers but also adults can relate to his anguish, as everyone was, is, or will be in this transitional stage in life. On the contrary, the Daredevil’s main part starts when Murdock is already a successful lawyer. He is excellent in his profession and even wins the heart of a highbred lady, despite his blindness. Thus, even though his side career as the Daredevil failed, he would not have any trouble supporting himself. Being successful was a disadvantage for him since the sympathy from people will unsurprisingly decrease.

Another aspect of the two heroes’ life that differs is their love life. Parker has long lost his heart to his high school classmate, Mary Jane Watson, yet he has not been able to capture her heart until at the end of the movie. Unfortunately, at the point of his life, he could not afford to take Watson as his lover, afraid that he would expose her to much unwanted danger. In short, Parker suffered from unrequited love, which most people also find depressing. In contrast, even though a breakup with girlfriend was displayed in the movie, Murdock immediately fell in love with Electra, the daughter of a prominent businessman, and she repaid him with equal passion. Also, Watson is an ordinary girl without exceptional capabilities, but Electra is wealthy, clever, and knows how to fight. When Electra mistakenly believed that Daredevil murdered her father, she went out to confront him but ended up falling in the trap of her enemies. Murdock revealed his identity as Daredevil to her and went rescuing her, yet later found her dying. Miraculously, the plot hinted that Electra survived at its ending, which causes another flaw of the movie.

Frankly speaking, the story of Daredevil is not necessarily believable. After all, Daredevil is a mere human without eye sight; thus, the fact that he is almost invincible when confronted with his foe is incredulous. After avenging Electra by killing off Bulleye, the subordinate of the ultimate villain, Kingpin, he was already disturbed by exhaustion. However, he went on to knock down Kingpin, a stout fellow, with his wounds from the previous battle still bleeding. Knowing that Daredevil was already hurt, perhaps the scriptwriter should not have let him defeat Kingpin so easily. As to Spider-man, although the incident of being bitten by a spider is out of the question, all the vulnerability and confusion of a teenager is portrayed. As a result, he occasionally makes mistakes and nearly believed in his opponent before the latter stroke him once more. Besides, his relationship with people around him is also featured, so the audience understands the cause of his every action. As Peter Parker himself professes, he is “the friendly neighbor, Spider-man,” and it seems that he is close to us and easily identified with.

The two movies were atypical in their genre for the thoughts they provoke in the audience’s mind by containing the depth usually lacking in most action movies. Superhero movies are as popular as they were in the past, but now the audience would want something more—that they can relate to the protagonist. Only by accessibility can a movie really inspire people, and if it is good enough, it can be even more influential than a book since everything is visualized before people’s eyes. Both Spider-man and Daredevil have overcome numerous obstructions to hold a special space in people’s hearts, and their legends may really motivate people to achieve their goals. Lastly, I would conclude that Parker is the most amiable spider and Murdock the most just devil I have ever heard so far among fictional works.

Having been studying in the Foreign Language and Literature Department in Tsing Hua University for one and a half years, I have been enlightened by quite some professors. Each of the professors has different styles, though, and in order to make my learning more effective, being fully aware of the professors’ fashions is crucial. Through my experience of interacting (or passively being lectured) with the professors, they can be categorized into five groups.

The first kind of professors are ardent believers in knowledge, and they hope to transform students into fanatics like them. They have always been preaching the importance of knowledge and how it would change the world if students were ardent enough to pursue it. Owing to their remarkable excellence in scholarship, they are never satisfied with students’ academic performance and often cast dissatisfied criticisms on us. Particularly, if no student knows the answer to the questions they ask in class, it would trigger off extremely biting complaints.

When interacting with professors of the aforesaid kind, one has to go with the most meticulous caution since every improper utterance would offend them. One professor of mine, Professor α, was maddened when one classmate unintentionally made an inappropriate comment about the professor’s family background in one report due to insufficient understanding. The professor was full of rage and claimed that teaching our ignorant class was a great insult without realizing that such ruthless remark would defy our esteemed dignity.

Most students hold ambivalent feelings for the first kind of professors, for the professors are undeniably intellectual, yet they fail to know that severe captiousness is not necessarily the spur for students to improve. There seems to be a deep chasm between them and the students and it requires courage for either side to cross the boundary, if there should be anyone willing to do so. For my part, I secretly have some unbecoming sympathy towards the professors, as the chaotic and clamorous world has definitely disappointed them, and it can hardly turn into the magnificent castles they have built in the air of their hearts.

Secondly, there are professors whose erudition and modesty are admired by students, yet their ways of expressing themselves is not totally accessible. They are friendly and warm to the extent of amazing others, especially the first kind of professors. Every time I meet the second kind of professors, I feel an irrepressible to greet them and to know whether they are well.

Nevertheless, as learned as they are, what students can learn from them is strangely limited. Professor β and Professor γ are suitable representatives of this category, both well-read and gracious. However, Professor β mostly chats in class so that the materials covered is disorganized if I do not sort them out right after class. On the other hand, the way Professor γ talks is similar to murmurs, so in order to understand what it taught in class, I need to be able to hear the words first.

Another kind of professors excel both in knowledge and teaching methods due to their delightful charisma. While many of my classmates prefer professors who give little homework, the third kind of professors are manifest exceptions in the criteria. The classes taught by the professors are substantial and require much effort from students before and after class; still, one cannot help but comply with the professor’s guidelines.

Both Professor δ and Professor ε are specimens of this category. Admittedly, Professor δ is my favorite professor in the department. Whereas quite a few assignments are given all the time, I feel well informed in every class. Moreover, Professor δ persuades students to endeavor with gentility and fitting compliments. For the sake of vanity and the determination to improve, the majority of students would devote themselves to Professor ε’s class without much objection. Professor ε, whose eloquent speeches and revolutionary class activities are distinguished, is almost an idol-like figure to students. Therefore, no matter how unusual the requirements from Professor ε are, students strive for the best outcome with pleasure.

The reasons that form the third kind of professors’ success are their warm heart and formidable dedication to teaching. Professor δ constantly sends new information to students by e-mail and reminds us of current news in class. In addition, I found Professor ε memorizing the vocabularies which would be learned by heart by us later in class when I visited the office one morning. Therefore, with already much exertion from the professors, it is difficult for students not to be moved and spare no efforts.

As popular as the third kind of professors are, the ones belong to the fourth kind still have the upper hand securely. What constitutes the fourth kind of professors’ enormous popularity is pure human nature: students like to be taught by professors who are open-minded and not picky about students’ performance. The fourth kind of professors are tolerant of new trends, and few restrictions are set in their classes. When it comes to writing essay questions in the exams, no stereotypical answer is required and new ideas are welcomed. With several taut and compulsory courses students must take, being in the fourth kind of professor’s class is relatively relaxing and almost paradisiacal.

Yet, classes taught by the fourth kind of professors are sometimes too cozy for students to pay attention. Also, the grades given by the professors are, according to our common expression, incredibly “sweet.” Thus, one had better be good at self-discipline, or it is likely for students to slack off in class.

The four groups of professors above are mostly normal and accessible, regardless of their distinctions. The fifth kind of professors, nonetheless, are by no means ordinary. Their appearance is one of the reasons that make my department such an interesting environment to study in.

According to common standards, Tsing Hua University is celebrated for researching, and the fifth kind of professors live up to the image. Some can rarely be seen in the department building usually due to research plans or other unknown reasons. Conversely, the others teach their classes regularly, taking their responsibilities, but it is puzzling for me to keep up the pace with their thoughts, either because of their odd conversational style or their simply reading things from books. Even so, I respect the fifth kind of professors, seeing their silver hair and hearing their trembling voice. I guess that they must have really made contributions to the academic research fields.

Undoubtedly, there is much for me to learn from each of them, once adequate attempts are being made. Being so determined to an efficient learner, occasionally I question myself of whether I am consciously exposed to the threat of schizophrenia, trying hard to be accustomed to every teaching style.

Finally, my anxiety is proven to be meaningless. Although most professors are different, the characteristic they all share is being knowledgeable. After all, the purpose of entering college is to sharpen the skills for my future career, so every chance of learning should be seized. Professors happen to be the best people to guide me through the process, and to familiarize with them is a prerequisite.

Enough with high-sounding words being said, I am glad that professors in the department are diverse. If every of them behave in the same way, the whole learning thing can be extremely tedious. Frankly speaking, I would never manage to to be close to professors of certain kinds, yet such stubborn refusal would not obstruct my eagerness to learn and reverence I feel for every professor.

Grace asked me why we have to study literature the other day, and I jokingly told her that it is compulsory and generally more interesting than linguistics. Moreover, I am relatively good at writing essays, knowing how to mislead people to jump to the conclusion that I really understand certain works. However, after having studied literature for one and a half year, I now admit that I actually enjoy literature, from which I have found solace, relation with real life, and inspiration.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight gives us a bitter example of a man wearing a delicate mask of perfection. Even though we may not identify with Christian doctrines, people who disguise themselves expertly are omnipresent in society. When a fiendish person’s ego is revealed, we feel shocked and stricken. Yet we still wish to become or meet someone flawless, and therefore we feel sympathy for Gawain. Gawain’s case illustrates the distance between the appearance and the reality.

If the distance between appearance and reality is seen in a broader sense, The Wife of Bath’s Tale from The Canterbury Tales corresponds with the theory. The wife treated her three “good” husbands cruelly, scoling them all the time and manipulating their minds by deception. She pretended to love them and feigned jealousy, but the only thing she wanted from them was only money. How ironical!

However, again the wife wins the reader’s emphathy since she was forced to struggle with the adults’ complexions at age 12. In order to survive, she came up with some schemes and even started to enjoy the process. But we are very sure that if she had been endowed with a better life, she would not have needed to cheat people and engage in adultery. Here Professor Lei provided interesting guidelines for mediaeval women to thrive. Firstly, they must to reunite and cooperate. In addition, sex was a way to win power and wealth rather than the culmination of true love. These theories echoed what Dr. Wang taught us in the Natural History class about bonobo (The Second Chimpanzee) society. No wonder womainist groups advocate the lifestyle of bonobos and raise the slogan of “Sex, no war.” But the slogan is rather contradictory since isn’t sex a means to win the gender battle? Never mind.

Then the wife talks about her the other two “bad” husbands, whom she married for love. She cared for them so much that she no longer wished to steal things from them. In contrast, she longed to sacrifice and showered her ardor on them. And due to undeniable love, she eloped with her fifth husband while she was still married to her fourth. Anyway, what the wife experienced was folly human drama. Subsequently her story reminds me of Gone with the Wind, the book I breathe in. Scarlett treated her first two husbands bitterly, and in a marriage without love, she was obsessed with gaining power, whether she was aware of it or not. At the same time she had been mistakenly convinced that she love Ashley Wilkes, for whom she did a lot of stupid things yet the enthusiasm of devoting herself to him never ceased. At the end of the book she learned that her true love was Rhett Butler, and in order to win his heart, she lowered down nearly all her defenses and pride. It seemed to me that when it comes to love in ancient literature, women yields uncontroablly. I have always been so annoyed by the cliched scenario that I desire to write my version of sequel to GWTW, in which Scarlett enjoyed love without giving up her dignity. I don’t think love and dignity have to contradict. After all, there are some remarkable examples. Trudie Styler is married to Sting, and the couple conspicuously love each other, and they both enjoy impressive careers.

… Go back to the wife of Bath… She was a successful businesswoman, so why was she called “wife?” Was it a professional title? Well, sadly, women are defined by their marital status. Trudie is always referred to as “Mrs. Sting.” Nevertheless, I do not think it is necessarily a bad phenomenon. Well, girls hate to admit it but who does not dream of submitting herself to some irresistible male power? Also, women’s status has already risen to a great extent since there are numerous women who score much better than their husbands at their career, so their husbands have to be defined as “someone’s husband.” Unfairly, successful women are often avoided by men, so they end up being single, isolated, and misanthropic, like Professor Kuo.

The story she told about Gawain again reinforced the gap between appearance and reality, and Gawain’s excellence in speech was once again demonstrated. Certainly he wanted his wife to be both beautiful and faithful, but he chose not to let his real opinion defy the witch’s wish to take control. Thus, he won the battle. Even though the choice was made by the witch, Gawain was the one that reaped the sweet fruition.

So, the wife of Bath shared her precious experience in marriages with others, yet her accounts are very likely to be underappreciated if not for Chaucer’s writing them down. As the professor suggests, people tend to believe in the authority of the book in stead of real practice. This is similar to what I have been learning in sociology that “skills” in Taiwan are disdained. The accomplishements of workers are never written down, so people ignored them and even they disdain themselves. Therefore, Professor Wu was trying to correct the foul prejudice by trying to note down the achievements and the hard work required to create Taiwan’s now prosperity. If not for the books, I would not know about the obstacles and setbacks the former generation went through and managed to overcome. Consequently we should not be irritated if authors attempts to glorify themselves in their works because once they write the things down, they will really make a difference, as Shakespeare claims in Sonnet 55, Not marble, nor the gilded monuments/Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme.

In sum, knowledge of all sorts are related, and we should put a gap between it and the reality. From literature we venture in an either idealized, authentic, or digenerated world, from which we learn to love ourselves and respect people.