Janey's Blog

Ethan Jarlewski, Not Your Typical Hero

Ethan Jarlewski from Coupland’s JPod is quite different from many “Hero” characters that I have encountered before. The heroes that I am referring to are those like Simba, Luke Skywalker, and Superman. Of course there are many other ones but you get the picture. It’s your typical good guy, always doing the right thing! And many of those characters can be classified as an archetypal hero, which was created by Joseph Campbell along with the archetype literary theory which you could read more about here. But what is an archetype?

What is an archetype?

For those of you who haven’t read Coupland’s JPod, I would highly recommend you do before diving into this blog post, it might help you understand a bit more. If you don’t have the time or don’t want to, I have attached a quick synopsis here.

Who do you think of when you hear “Hero”?

Close your eyes and think of the word “hero” , who do you think of? Maybe the Marvel superheroes? A family member? Are they kind? Always willing to help? Well, Ethan Jarlewski is probably going to contradict some of what you thought.

In many hero origin stories, there’s always something different about them, like how Superman was sent from another planet and was raised by the people who found him on Earth, or how Simba was born into royalty and would eventually take over his father’s place on Pride Rock. Well, Ethan Jarlewski is just a normal dude. He had a normal childhood and nothing too exciting ever happened to him. The only odd thing about his childhood is how his mother did not feed him and his brother breakfast, they didn’t even know what breakfast was (Coupland, 576)!

So if this guy didn’t have an out of the ordinary life, what makes him a hero? Was he a really nice guy who always liked to help? Not really. Actually, Ethan Jarlewski seems like somebody I wouldn’t really want to know. He is a very stubborn guy and kinda selfish. Sure, he helps people when they ask him too but does he do it enthusiastically? Not really. For example, his mom had called him to help her and he replied with “Again?”(Coupland, 23). Not hero material, am I right?

My last point has to do with the monomyth, or the hero’s journey. This is a plot that many heroes go on in their stories. The video below does a great job of explaining it! Ethan does go on this journey, but his call to adventure is the fact that he and his co-workers do not like the way their video game is going. Not some crazy elaborate thing, like Katniss going to the capitol because she volunteered to take her sister’s spot for a fight to the death, but instead it’s for a video game. And when Ethan returns from his journey, the video game gets cancelled, not really what they were all hoping for.

The Hero’s Journey

However, I do want to say that Ethan is definitely a hero. He helped his family solve a lot of their problems and he tried his best to help the video game succeed with the visions of him and his co-workers. An archetype is a “typical character” that “seems to represent universal patterns of human nature.”(Archetype-examples and definitions of archetype, 2018) I am just saying that Ethan is a different hero, one that we are not used to.

“Archetype – Examples and Definition of Archetype.” Literary Devices, 9 Jan. 2018, literarydevices.net/archetype/.Coupland, Douglas. JPod. Frassinelli, 2006.“JPod : a Novel / by Douglas Coupland.” Search Home, Toronto : Random House of Canada, cpl.catalogue.library.ns.ca/Record/646530/Excerpt.Wimmer, Joshua. “The Hero’s Journey- Campbell’s Archetype.” Study.com, Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/the-heros-journey-campbells-archetype.html.

Aladdin in Jpod?

Previously on my blog, I talked about Part one of the book JPod by Douglas Coupland. The beginning of the Part 2 starts 4 months after Steven, JPod’s boss, goes missing.

Spritequest seems a lot like Aladdin on his magic carpet

Ethan is sent to find Steven after his skateboarding game turned turtle skateboarding game becomes an Aladdin-esque game with magic carpets and Princes. Him and his coworkers despise the new game, Sprite Quest, and are determined to end it and hope that bringing back Steven will solve their problems.

The plot of this section of the book is vaguely similar to the archetypal plot, in the sense that Ethan begins this part of the book in his hometown of Vancouver but he finds himself in China looking for his boss, Steven. After finding Steven they return back to Vancouver. This is best described as a ‘Voyage and Return’ plot, which is when the protagonists are “suddenly thrust into strange and alien worlds“. This “strange world” in the story of JPod is China, seeing that Ethan has never been.

Since Ethan was in a foreign place, many of the things he did required him to hope that it was right. For example, “Under a setting sun, we sped off in what we hoped was the direction of Shanghai,”(“Coupland”, pg.326). After getting out of quarantine with barely any water and food, Ethan and Steven had to pray that they were heading in the right direction or else death would occur. The setting sun symbolizes that death is right over the horizon and that their time was running out on how long they could survive (Archetypal Symbols, slide 7).

When I first started reading the book, I thought that there was no way that Ethan is the hero of the book, he is just so…weird. But further investigation shows that Ethan does in fact share characteristics with archetypal heroes such as Simba and Hercules. Ethan, Simba, and Hercules, in different ways, show courage and take a path to right a wrong in their home. For Ethan it is bringing back Steven to fix the game, Simba fights Scar to reclaim his home, and Hercules must find his way back home and defeat Hades. Although quite different, there are still some definite similarities between these characters.

Part 2 was quite the journey and I cannot wait to see what happens next. What happens to Spritequest? Will there be any complications with Steven’s return? Who knows? Until next time 😉

Works Cited:

“Archetypal Symbols”. Powerpoint presentation.

Coupland, Douglas. JPod. Frassinelli, 2006.Walker, Tommy.

“The 7 Story Archetypes, and How They Can Dramatically Improve Your Marketing.” Social Media Today, 31 Oct. 2011, http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/7-story-archetypes-and-how-they-can-dramatically-improve-your-marketing.

To Kill or Not to Kill: Adnan Syed’s Innocence

In a previous blog, I had talked about the hit podcast Serial. To recap, Serial is a podcast by Sarah Koenig which talks about the controversial case of Adnan Syed who has been declared guilty of the murder of Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend, on January 13, 1999. After listening to the podcast and doing some further investigation, I have compiled evidence as to why I believe Syed has been wrongfully imprisoned and how he is innocent.

Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee together at their Junior Prom

The Timelines given by Jay at different times show some differences

My belief that Adnan was innocent stemmed from what was talked about in the first episode of Serial. Adnan’s whole trial was based off of the story that Jay Wilds told. I find this very unfair to Adnan because Jay frequently used cannabis, which Adnan recalls doing that day with Jay, which has ” ill effects on working memory” and he was asked for a story weeks after the day had happened which would be quite difficult to recall. As well, Jay’s story changed from his first interview during his second interview and again during his testimony at the second trial. In a more recent interview, Jay was questioned again about the day Adnan killed Hae and he contradicts the things he had said in the earlier interviews. This could simply be due to loss of memory or it could be Jay forgetting his lies. For example, in all 3 off the timelines shown in the photo above, Jay says in each one that Adnan told him he was gonna kill Hae either on the way to the mall or at the mall. However, in a recent interview with The Intercept_, Jay was asked ” When Adnan loaned you his car on Jan. 13, 1999, did he tell you it was because he planned on murdering Hae?” which he replied to with “No.” To read more about the interview click here. Suspicious, right?

My next point is that Asia McClain, was never contacted in the original trial of Syed’s case. If Asia was contacted back then, Syed could have had freedom for the last decade, almost two, instead of spending half his life behind bars. Asia had written a letter to Syed right after he was arrested, where she says that she saw him in the library at the time of Hae’s death. Asia even wrote a affidavit after Syed was convicted. Even now, Asia still remembers that day in the library. By overlooking this key piece of evidence, a possible alibi, Syed has had to pay for something that he may not have committed while the real killer runs free.

Asia McClain talking about Adnan Syed and that day in the library

My final point and maybe the most important point is the fact that there is no DNA evidence linking Syed to the death of Hae. Absolutely none! There were no fingerprints or DNA belonging to Syed found on Hae’s body and in her car, reportedly where she was killed. This means that the whole case against Syed is based on Jay’s story and the fact that Syed, a teenager boy, was upset about the breakup between him and his girlfriend.

Adnan has been in prison for half his life (left: Adnan at 35, right: Adnan at 19)

I truly believe that Adnan Syed has been wrongfully convicted of Hae Min Lee’s death due to the evidence that I talked about above. If he is innocent, the judicial system has ruined an innocent man’s life, while someone capable of murder lives freely.

Works Cited:

Considine, Austin. “’The Case Against Adnan Syed’: Finale Reveals New DNA Test Results.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Apr. 2019, http://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/31/arts/television/case-against-adnan-syed-dna-hbo-finale.html.

“Episode 01: The Alibi.” Serial, serialpodcast.org/season-one/1/the-alibi.“How Marijuana Impairs Memory.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 1 Mar. 2012, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120301143424.htm.Theintercept.

“Exclusive: Jay, Key Witness from ‘Serial’ Tells His Story for First Time, Part 1.” The Intercept, 29 Dec. 2014, theintercept.com/2014/12/29/exclusive-interview-jay-wilds-star-witness-adnan-syed-serial-case-pt-1/.

Douglas Coupland Creates a Roller Coaster in the form of the novel JPod

I have started reading the book JPod, written by Douglas Coupland. The story revolves around the very interesting life of Ethan Jarlewski. Ethan Jarlewski works for a video game company and works with a group who call themselves ‘Jpod’. This is because the all share the common characteristic of a last name that begins with the letter J. Without spoiling too much, the first part of the book is quite the rollercoaster. There is a murder, an affair, and I do not expect it to slow down for the rest of the book. When I first began reading the book I didn’t think that I would enjoy it because I am not interested in really anything video game related, but JPod has proved that it is much more than a book about 6 geeky co-workers.

The Handgun That Ethan’s Mom May have Owned

Something that really made me wonder was how Ethan’s mom possesses a gun. In the novel, Ethan’s mother owns a gun and uses it to threaten someone who had threatened to take half of her “crop” (Coupland, p.36). This made me wonder what Ethan’s mom had to do in order to own the gun. In 1919, a law was made so that a permit had to be obtained for an individual to own a handgun, no matter the reason or where it was kept. That rule has not really changed since then. In order to obtain a permit, individuals had to get a thorough background check. This makes me wonder how did Ethan’s mom get a permit? During the background check, they would have seen her sketchy activities and that she sells marijuana, which was illegal at the time.

Douglas Coupland Knows how to Laugh at Himself

One thing that I really enjoy about Coupland’s writing is how he has his characters bad mouth him. He involves his real self into his story and he has the characters talk about him. I found this very interesting because I have never seen it be done before. For example, Coupland writes “Oh God. I feel like a refugee from a Douglas Coupland novel.” Followed by “That asshole.” (p.29). This shows that he is able to make fun of himself and shows his humorous side.

In conclusion, I am excited to continue to read the novel JPod and I would definitely recommend it based on part one of the book.

Works Cited:

Coupland, Douglas. JPod. Frassinelli, 2006.

Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “History of Firearms Control in Canada: Up to and Including the Firearms Act.” History of Firearms Control in Canada: Up to and Including the Firearms Act – Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 7 Sept. 2016, http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/pol-leg/hist/con-eng.htm.

Press, Jordan. “What to Know about Gun Control in Canada.” Ottawa Citizen, 5 June 2014, ottawacitizen.com/news/national/what-to-know-about-gun-control-in-canada.

My Cereal Thoughts on ‘Serial’, the Podcast

This morning, I began my day with a bowl of Lucky Charms Cereal and began working on my assignment. My assignment was to listen to a podcast called ‘Serial‘. It is about the case of Adnan Syed, who was convicted of the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. The podcast episode, ‘The Alibi’, sets the premise and makes listeners think about whether or not Adnan truly killed Hae. I love all things mystery and murder, I love watching videos about unsolved crimes, mystery novels, and mystery movies. A podcast that I find very interesting and a similar idea to ‘Serial’ is the podcast called ‘Dr. Death‘. Dr. Death is about how a neurosurgeon’s patients mysteriously die after he treats them. So this assignment did not seem like an assignment at all!

Because of my interest in topics similar to the podcast, I really enjoyed listening and will probably continue the whole podcast series. A story like this one described over a podcast leaves a lot of room for imagination and makes it so much more intriguing and enjoyable for listeners, so I am glad that it is in a podcast form rather than print. However, reading that story would be beneficial in the sense that the reader could see all the evidence in front of them, instead of having to remember the facts as they listen. The way people prefer to receive information depends on the type of learner they are. Personally, I am more of an auditory learner than a visual learner. You can find out which type of learner you are by clicking here.

Podcasts are a great way of spreading messages and raising awareness on topics. Because of this, the families of Adnan and Hae may have mixed reactions on their story being told and becoming so popular. Adnan’s family may be glad that his story is being shared so that more people can see that he is innocent and people may even try to help his case. However, people may also interpret Adnan as a monster that killed his ex-girlfriend. For Hae’s family they might not want the story of her death to be told since it is such a sensitive and sad topic.

Although the podcast is quite interesting, the credibility of the evidence Koenig brings up is based on people recalling events that occured 15 years earlier, making it a little iffy. In the beginning of the podcast, Koenig demonstrated how days are hard to remember if nothing eventful happens that day. I know the struggle since I can barely remember what I ate for dinner yesterday! This makes the conversations between Koenig and Asia or Rabia less credible because for them, January 13, 1999, was just another day.

All in all, ‘Serial’ is great podcast to listen to if you are looking for a thrill and I would definitely recommend!

Works Cited:

Dan. “Feel The Story Dr. Death.” Wondery, Wondery – Feel The Story, 10 Apr. 2019, wondery.com/shows/dr-death/.

“Season One.” Serial, serialpodcast.org/season-one.

What’s Your Learning Style? 20 Questions, http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml.

Is the ENG4U course unnecessary?

By the time we get into our fourth year of high school, we basically know what we want to do with our lives, right? Eh.

https://gph.is/g/4AK1MAa

My Relationship to a Social Life

However, this is usually the time where we need to apply for universities and think about our futures, so our lives become all about school. Social life? I don’t know her!

I know that different programs require different prerequisite courses, but it seems like every program requires you to have ENG4U. Some may think that it is unnecessary since most of us can already speak and write english, and when are you ever going to have to understand Shakespeare?

However, I personally think that ENG4U should be a prerequisite because the course teaches us how to write maturely and how to convey our ideas in effective ways. These skills are important in the future since in university there are many written assignments and even essay courses! And if your future job requires you to submit any written reports, you know exactly how to organize and format your ideas! The course also builds our confidence with public speaking because of the presentations. This will help us in the future because, both at school and at work, there will be times where you need to create a presentation conveying an idea.

In the society that we live in today, the importance of writing skills lives in the shadows of the end products. For example, how do you think that commercial was made? By writing a script. How did people renovate that school? By writing a proposal. Everything that you see today requires a written component in the process, so to have ENG4U be required is the school’s way to prepare us for our futures.

Please, feel free to share your thoughts about this by leaving me a comment below!

Works Cited

“Canadian Secondary School.” Canadian Secondary School – Canadian Secondary School Admissions – Welcome to Western – Western University, welcome.uwo.ca/admissions/admission_requirements/canadian_secondary_school/index.html.Conrad, Jordan. “Do Writing Skills Benefit Your Career?” Office of Career Services | School of Public Health | Indiana University, 6 June 2018, careers.publichealth.iu.edu/blog/2018/06/06/do-writing-skills-benefit-your-career/.