Connections to other works...

So, on Thursday night, I finally went to see the movie everyone's been talking about- Avatar. I thought it was an entertaining movie, and although I didn't go through "withdrawals" after leaving the world of Pandora, I was interested in the world and the life of the blue aliens. But, I also saw some similar themes and ideas to books that I have read recently. First of all, The Lovely Bones. I felt that the main character, Jake Sully, was very similar to the father character in The Lovely Bones. Both are dealing with a lot of grief, pain, and disappointment. Jake has to face life without the use of his legs and the death of his brother; Mr. Salmon (Jack) has to face life without his eldest daughter after she is murdered. I also see connections between how heroism is portrayed in this movie and how it is portrayed in other books and stories. One example of this is how Jake Sully comes to care about the and is willing to risk his life to help save them. Similarly, we find that Odysseus cares so much about saving his men that he risks his life against multiple challenges in order to try to save them. I think there are lots of heroic qualities that are similar between Avatar's leading characters (not just Jake, but also Trudy, Kate, and Norm) and characters from other works of fiction, such as the Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, and anything having to do with Star Wars. Some of these common traits include commitment, kindness, sacrifice, and the ability to have deep relationships and care deeply about others. And, of course, as we see from Jake in Avatar, Peter in Chronicles, and Aragorn in LOTR, most heroes are also physically well-built.