Jerrod: Parenting in Mythology.
Jerrod started with the relationship of Uranus and Kronos. Kronos (Saturn in Rome) ate his children, until Zeus came along and was hidden (on the island of Crete if I remember correctly) until aided by Metis (whom Zeus will later eat), killed Kronos with a poisoned drink. We moved on to Tantalus who cooked his own child (Pelops) to feed to the gods, just to see if they'd notice. Mothers are just as bad, Gaia and Hippodyla (Pelops's wife). Essentially there are few good parents in mythology (Zeus is a good parent, compared to Kronos and Uranus).
Lucy: The Magus and fate.
Greek ate, or divine infatuation. Nicholas gets possessed by Conchis in the book. There was also mentioning of all the chess references that are made in the book, and how Conchis is a better player than Nicholas is. Nicholas and Oedipus are very similar in that they try to run away from their fate, but only manage to run into it. Conchis and his people only want to open peoples minds and reintroduce mystery.
Zach: Relationship appeals in The Magus.
Zach focused on three relationships: Nicholas and Allison (Psyche and Cupid) where Nicholas is Psyche, and doesn't realize what he has with Allison. Nicholas and Julie/Lily/Isis (Hades and Persephone) Julie is very complex, and Nicholas just wants to get away from Allison. Nicholas and Conchis (pawn and Zeus or Aptae) Conchis is a puppetteer who always tells half-truths to get Nicholas to do what Conchis deems necissary.
Sam: The Magus = The World (governed by our past).
Our society is focused on judgement. The labrinth is fed to us through Nicholas, and is always forming. We have forgotten that the gods are at work in the modern world. I also have written down the everlasting opinions of the people, which I remember as relating to myth.
Quentin: Hidden agendas and double lies in The Magus.
There is a veil covering the characters. Quentin compared Conchis to Hades because he is very deceptive in the book. Nicholas finally learns at the end, but not well enough. Life is a veil waiting to be lifted. This was inspired by the book Heart of Darkness.
Jeremy: Comparison with The Adjustment Bureau.
Nicholas has issues with his free will. In The Adjustment Bureau, a politician meets a woman, then sees her again on a bus and they exchange information and what-not. He arrives at his office, and people are there to "get him back on track" with the story that The Chairman has written for him, where he was never supposed to meet the woman again. The movie is spent trying to get away from the Adjustment Bureau. Free will is present in name only in both the book and the movie. We are all part of a huge game.
Sherwood: Beginnings, Middles, and Ends: The Magus.
Beginning- Nicholas is ready for an adventure, Allison could be his new mystery if only he'd see.
Middle- Nicholas doesn't know who he is when he's in the labrinth (or really at any other part of the book). Everyone is convincing in their lies that Nicholas is stuck in the middle. He comes face to face with his own demon.
Ends- "The beginning is included in the end" or "the end is included in the beginning" I don't remember exactly how that one went. Nicholas finds himself waiting for Allison after is massive, yet incomplete, transformation.
Andy: Predestination.
Nicholas is stuck in a fog trying to figure things out, though everything is before him. Nicholas fails at his hero story, because he is a stagnant character. Unless you do something drastic, you will just get pushed along.
Tori (Vittoria): Freedom and Determination.
1) 7
2) 63
3) 9
4) 4
5) D
6) Denmark
7) K
8) Kangaroo
9) O
10) Orange.
This is a statistics exercise concerning the first thing that pops into people's minds (Question 1, concerning a number 1-10). The rest of this comes from following the instructions for the questions, and the majority of people should end up with a kangaroo in Denmark eating an orange. In the Bhagavagita Krishnu convinces Arguna to fight, but Krishnu already knew that the man would fight. For Krishnu is God, who is also compared ot Conchis, and Arguna to Nicholas.
Ashley: "Inferno": fraud and deceit are at the bottom of Hell.
Deceit is defined as the severing of bonds. Nicholas is deceitful to the women in his life. Boy meets girl. Boy pushes girl away. Boy learns. Boy begs girl back. This is a story we're all familiar with. We need to purify the cycle to start over.
Darrell: Here we go again.
Darrell compared Nicholas to many of the Greek heroes, all depending on what he was doing in the book at the time. Oedipus shows up three different times throughout the book. Only the minor details are our own, the story has been played out thousands of millions of times before. Deja vu.
Lauren: The three regimes of godly interaction with the world.
Conviviality, rape, indifference. Nicholas is an atheist, showing indifference. Adonis gets boared by a bull for rejecting Aphrodite, and Nicholas gets compared to that in the book. There is a lot of violence used against Nicholas, and he still tries to overcome divine power.
Matthew: 7 "eccentric" geniuses who were really just crazy.
Everyone in The Magus is insane. Nicholas is the most useless when he is sane. We have to embrace the insanity to be mythoogically inspired. Go check out the list of 7 "eccentric" geniuses, it was interesting.
Justin: I have noted down that he got extra credit for going ahead of his scheduled time.
Nicholas is the hero, in the mythological sense (I have noted above this that it means he does the deeds for sex and no higher purpose). Who encounters the deceitful female Julie/Lily/Isis/Rose, and the trickster Conchis. Mythological archetypes have carried over into modern literature.
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