I really enjoyed writing the smaller stories for the weekly assignments. Most of the time, I had a good time just coming up with the weird things to write. I have not written anything other than a lab report for three years and I hadn't written a story since middle school. The whole writing experience was like a break from engineering work, and I am glad I took this class.
I decided to write a storybook with The Doctor (the main character from Doctor Who) as the narrator. This was used as an example in the notes talking about first person and third person storytelling types, so I thought there would have been a lot of them done before. Apparently, I was the only one who decided to use this example, or maybe I was the only one who actually read the notes. Anyway, I was really surprised how many people read the stories just because they knew The Doctor was in them. I really had to change some things around to put him in some stories, but Alice in Wonderland required almost no changes. I am pretty surprised he has never dealt with the cheshire cat or a jabbawockee before.
I hated having to leave such long comments on storybooks, but I actually used all the comments that were left on mine to improve the stories. I understand the importance. Also, it's nice to know that people have actually read the story.
As for writing in my future, it will not be anything like this class. There may be small instances where I make up stories for my nephew and niece, but they will not get written down. Unfortunately, my writing will be less about magic and more about science and law, but I think they tend to have more meaning when you get paid to do it. I had fun, so maybe I will take a class like this again, or just read up on the untextbook for fun.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Week 15 Reading Suggestion Post
For future students taking this class, I would say that the best way to choose a reading is to make sure it holds your interest. If you are entertained while you read the unit, then the assignments will also be entertaining. This learning experience will be more like a break from your other classes rather than work you forgot you had to do. When choosing a unit to read, I picked ones that seemed as if they would have the most drama. The only units I regret reading were ones that I just picked at random instead of browsing their stories a bit. I cannot handle the ones with poetry, but one week I had so much poetry that I did not even understand half the stories.
As far as what I actually enjoyed in the class, I would say doing the readings and retelling my own versions of the story were my favorite. The storybook was fun, but so much work went into those. The storytelling for each week was just short and random, and I just tried to make something that would be fun for the other students to read. When you have to make comments on someone's stories that are just flat out boring, it's the worst. It is not hard to just pick a book or tv show or movie or song and incorporate it into the story. I used Spongebob, pumpkin spice latte, James Bond, Disney, and Doctor Who. Don't be the person who everyone hates to read.
The most difficult thing about this class is that stuff is do every day. During the week, I would always be on top of things, and then I would wait to do all the weekend assignments at once really late, and I did not get to enjoy the other stories as much as I would have liked to.
As far as new units go, I would say that the UnTextbook is working great, but I would like to see more themed units. I picked some that were grouped together from different sources, but all had a relating theme, and those were always entertaining and easy.
As far as what I actually enjoyed in the class, I would say doing the readings and retelling my own versions of the story were my favorite. The storybook was fun, but so much work went into those. The storytelling for each week was just short and random, and I just tried to make something that would be fun for the other students to read. When you have to make comments on someone's stories that are just flat out boring, it's the worst. It is not hard to just pick a book or tv show or movie or song and incorporate it into the story. I used Spongebob, pumpkin spice latte, James Bond, Disney, and Doctor Who. Don't be the person who everyone hates to read.
The most difficult thing about this class is that stuff is do every day. During the week, I would always be on top of things, and then I would wait to do all the weekend assignments at once really late, and I did not get to enjoy the other stories as much as I would have liked to.
As far as new units go, I would say that the UnTextbook is working great, but I would like to see more themed units. I picked some that were grouped together from different sources, but all had a relating theme, and those were always entertaining and easy.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Essay for Week 14
Different Kind of Magic
In these Russian Folk Tales, there is still lots of magic and talking animals and transformations of people into geographical elements, but there all of these things are done because of or with permission of God. It almost feels like the stories were all taken and remade to be able to fit into a corrected version that is actually suitable for children.
A lot of the stories read like parables or a bad TV show that throws in a corny message somewhere in the end. In particular, "The Treasure," is a story about a poor man who finds a treasure and a horrible reverend who tries to steal the money from the man. The reverend dresses in goat skin posing as the devil and scares the old man into giving up the money. When he returns home and attempts to take off the goat skin costume, it has become his flesh. He is not a goat but some sort of horrible creature, and all this doing was accredited to God punishing him for his evil ways.
Another story, "The Three Copecks," features an orphan who is continually rewarded by trusting that God will lead him happiness if he is done what he is told. In the end, he ends up with a lovely life and a very comfortable living. This one, along with many others, does not overtly mention God, but it always throws in some "thank you, Lord" phrases and "praise be to God!" shouts and such. It is just interesting to see the difference in the origins of the people telling the stories. All the european folk tales talk about witches and evil, but the good magic all comes from pagan origins like the spirits of the forest or fairies, never religion. Even though the stories are identical to other folk tales, the small changes point out the differences in the people groups at the time of the story telling. Clearly, Russia has had many people groups and religions, but these stories seem to have come from only one of those groups.
Read the stories.
Russia still has an odd mixture of religion. Image Info.
In these Russian Folk Tales, there is still lots of magic and talking animals and transformations of people into geographical elements, but there all of these things are done because of or with permission of God. It almost feels like the stories were all taken and remade to be able to fit into a corrected version that is actually suitable for children.
A lot of the stories read like parables or a bad TV show that throws in a corny message somewhere in the end. In particular, "The Treasure," is a story about a poor man who finds a treasure and a horrible reverend who tries to steal the money from the man. The reverend dresses in goat skin posing as the devil and scares the old man into giving up the money. When he returns home and attempts to take off the goat skin costume, it has become his flesh. He is not a goat but some sort of horrible creature, and all this doing was accredited to God punishing him for his evil ways.
Another story, "The Three Copecks," features an orphan who is continually rewarded by trusting that God will lead him happiness if he is done what he is told. In the end, he ends up with a lovely life and a very comfortable living. This one, along with many others, does not overtly mention God, but it always throws in some "thank you, Lord" phrases and "praise be to God!" shouts and such. It is just interesting to see the difference in the origins of the people telling the stories. All the european folk tales talk about witches and evil, but the good magic all comes from pagan origins like the spirits of the forest or fairies, never religion. Even though the stories are identical to other folk tales, the small changes point out the differences in the people groups at the time of the story telling. Clearly, Russia has had many people groups and religions, but these stories seem to have come from only one of those groups.
Read the stories.
Storytelling Week 14
Emilian The Wicked
There once lived a man named Emilian who was quite wicked indeed. He was lazy and never did anything he was asked. He was very odd and had very violent tendencies. He had three older brothers who were all married, and he would often go to their houses for dinner. It is not that he particularly enjoyed the company of his family, but he did enjoy the free food. His brothers' wives were all afraid of him and hated him.
On a holiday, the wicked man and his family were all to eat together. The older brothers left for town to get more supplies and told the wicked man to do what their wives asked. Though the wives gave him simple tasks, he refused to help any at all. He yelled at them and called them useless whores. By this time, they were used to the laziness, but the name calling became too much. One of the wives repeatedly hit him on the head with a bucket and screamed at him until he agreed to fill the the bucket with water.
The wicked man planned on taking his time filling the bucket, and when he arrived at the stream, he began to fish. Almost immediately, he caught a pike. This particular pike happened to possess great magical power, and promised to give the man all he wished if he would set the fish free. He could have anything that he wished for aloud. The wicked man agreed, and with the freeing of the fish, came into a power which only increased his evil ways.
The first thing he wished for was his brothers' wives would all do a terrible job preparing the meal and therefore cause a quarrel among them. When he returned, he found all the women blaming each other for ruining the holiday. Next, the wicked man's brothers came in and he wished that they also join the quarrel. With each brother physically attacking another, the wicked man left their home and went into town.
On his walk to town, he grew lazy and wished for an axe to cut down the trees and make a grand carriage for him. The black carriage quickly appeared and headed into town without any horses. This caused quite a raucous in town, the peasants all claiming that the devil must be inside that carriage so evil-looking and driving without horses. Being compared to the devil only made the wicked man laugh with delight and hunger for more power.
At the edge of town, the people created a road block with men and women holding torches and pitchforks. The carriage picked up speed and drove straight through the mob. No one was killed, but many were greatly injured. As the wicked man continued his journey, word made it to the king what was happening. The king was a just man, and he decided that this wickedness must be immediately ended.
When Emilian arrived at the king's castle, he planned on wishing himself king and taking over the entire country. The magic pike had sensed that his power was being used in horrible ways and he appeared in the drinking fountain of the king's palace. Together, the fish and the king decided how to end this madness. When the wicked man arrived, he wished for the guards of the palace to be beaten by their own armor, and he walked right through the gate. As soon as he stepped foot through the door, he was captured by the king who then put cloth in his mouth. The wicked man tried and tried again to wish himself free, but since the wish was not audible, the magic would not work.
Next, for his heinous crimes (and because the king liked to be dramatic), the wicked man was placed in a bath tub filled with tar which was thrown in the ocean in front of all the people of the land. However, the man did not die, but he turned into a pike, though now without any magic.
Author's Note: The original story here is called "The Foolish Man," but he did a lot of the same mean things. He still hurts the townspeople with large pieces of wood. That story has it set up where the fool marries the king's daughter, but the king throws them both in the ocean (because they are fools). He wishes himself free and into a new, giant palace with lots of wealth. The king accepts them now as part of the family since he has money. I just really didn't like the fool character, so I made him more evil.
Bibliography: Ralston. "The Foolish Man." Russian Fairy Tales. 1887.
Original Story
Unmagical pike. Luc Viatour. Image information.
On a holiday, the wicked man and his family were all to eat together. The older brothers left for town to get more supplies and told the wicked man to do what their wives asked. Though the wives gave him simple tasks, he refused to help any at all. He yelled at them and called them useless whores. By this time, they were used to the laziness, but the name calling became too much. One of the wives repeatedly hit him on the head with a bucket and screamed at him until he agreed to fill the the bucket with water.
The wicked man planned on taking his time filling the bucket, and when he arrived at the stream, he began to fish. Almost immediately, he caught a pike. This particular pike happened to possess great magical power, and promised to give the man all he wished if he would set the fish free. He could have anything that he wished for aloud. The wicked man agreed, and with the freeing of the fish, came into a power which only increased his evil ways.
The first thing he wished for was his brothers' wives would all do a terrible job preparing the meal and therefore cause a quarrel among them. When he returned, he found all the women blaming each other for ruining the holiday. Next, the wicked man's brothers came in and he wished that they also join the quarrel. With each brother physically attacking another, the wicked man left their home and went into town.
On his walk to town, he grew lazy and wished for an axe to cut down the trees and make a grand carriage for him. The black carriage quickly appeared and headed into town without any horses. This caused quite a raucous in town, the peasants all claiming that the devil must be inside that carriage so evil-looking and driving without horses. Being compared to the devil only made the wicked man laugh with delight and hunger for more power.
At the edge of town, the people created a road block with men and women holding torches and pitchforks. The carriage picked up speed and drove straight through the mob. No one was killed, but many were greatly injured. As the wicked man continued his journey, word made it to the king what was happening. The king was a just man, and he decided that this wickedness must be immediately ended.
When Emilian arrived at the king's castle, he planned on wishing himself king and taking over the entire country. The magic pike had sensed that his power was being used in horrible ways and he appeared in the drinking fountain of the king's palace. Together, the fish and the king decided how to end this madness. When the wicked man arrived, he wished for the guards of the palace to be beaten by their own armor, and he walked right through the gate. As soon as he stepped foot through the door, he was captured by the king who then put cloth in his mouth. The wicked man tried and tried again to wish himself free, but since the wish was not audible, the magic would not work.
Next, for his heinous crimes (and because the king liked to be dramatic), the wicked man was placed in a bath tub filled with tar which was thrown in the ocean in front of all the people of the land. However, the man did not die, but he turned into a pike, though now without any magic.
Author's Note: The original story here is called "The Foolish Man," but he did a lot of the same mean things. He still hurts the townspeople with large pieces of wood. That story has it set up where the fool marries the king's daughter, but the king throws them both in the ocean (because they are fools). He wishes himself free and into a new, giant palace with lots of wealth. The king accepts them now as part of the family since he has money. I just really didn't like the fool character, so I made him more evil.
Bibliography: Ralston. "The Foolish Man." Russian Fairy Tales. 1887.
Original Story
Week 14 Reading Diary
The Dead Mother
-Zombie mom feeds the baby at night and baby also dies
The Treasure
-Poor old man finds a treasure, seems more like a Biblical parable at first
-Turns to a tale involving evil "pope" which I guess is meaning reverend or bishop
-God cursed the evil reverend by turning his devil costume to flesh
The Bad Wife
-Same one as before with the annoying wife in a pit with the imp who wants out and grants a wish
The Three Copecks
-Orphan is smart and ends up with lots of money and a good wife
-These are not the same kind of magic, it is like Russian Orthodox fairy tales
The Miser
-Fun with money and pranks and no one is smites after all
-But not really a moral
The Water Snake
-Marries a snake, carried into underwater kingdom of people
-While the daughter was asleep at her mom's, the mom summons the husband out of the water and CHOPS OFF HIS HEAD WITH AN AXE
-her and her kids turn to birds
-first one without God or Lord in it
Friday
-I can't tell if this is about a sabbath day or what
Wednesday
-Wednesday is apparently evil
The Leshy
-A hunter and his dog go after a demon in the forest
-Much more up front than normal characters
-He aslo saves a kidnapped girl with amnesia, pretty good
-Marriage again
Dnieper, Volga, and Dvina
-Poor orphans decide to become great rivers
-This is seen as easy back in the day
-The brother's river is better
Emilian the Fool
-Real weird
-magic is from the pike
-unlimited wishes
-king marries his daughter to fool and kinda tries to kill them
-get out with magic and just live with the king happily
Read the full stories
-Zombie mom feeds the baby at night and baby also dies
The Treasure
-Poor old man finds a treasure, seems more like a Biblical parable at first
-Turns to a tale involving evil "pope" which I guess is meaning reverend or bishop
-God cursed the evil reverend by turning his devil costume to flesh
The Bad Wife
-Same one as before with the annoying wife in a pit with the imp who wants out and grants a wish
The Three Copecks
-Orphan is smart and ends up with lots of money and a good wife
-These are not the same kind of magic, it is like Russian Orthodox fairy tales
The Miser
-Fun with money and pranks and no one is smites after all
-But not really a moral
The Water Snake
-Marries a snake, carried into underwater kingdom of people
-While the daughter was asleep at her mom's, the mom summons the husband out of the water and CHOPS OFF HIS HEAD WITH AN AXE
-her and her kids turn to birds
-first one without God or Lord in it
Friday
-I can't tell if this is about a sabbath day or what
Wednesday
-Wednesday is apparently evil
The Leshy
-A hunter and his dog go after a demon in the forest
-Much more up front than normal characters
-He aslo saves a kidnapped girl with amnesia, pretty good
-Marriage again
Dnieper, Volga, and Dvina
-Poor orphans decide to become great rivers
-This is seen as easy back in the day
-The brother's river is better
Emilian the Fool
-Real weird
-magic is from the pike
-unlimited wishes
-king marries his daughter to fool and kinda tries to kill them
-get out with magic and just live with the king happily
Read the full stories
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Famous Last Words Week 13
The Week Where I Actually Look At The Grades
I have actually been kind of slacking in the assignments. At this moment, I am writing this because I had planned on doing the extra credit that was available to me for the next couple of weeks to guarantee an A. I just did the grade check one, and actually I am still on par to get an A even with my multiple skippings of writing comments on other's stories. Some of the stories are really fun to read, and doing the assignment for those is super easy. However, sometimes you just get that person who clearly had a busy week, so they just retold the story in modern english without changing any part of the story. Those weeks make me want to quit the assignment early. Anyway, this week has not been a week where I will quit early. I still have to do a storybook assignment (I think), and I promised myself I would do the rest of the assignments until I got enough points to get an A.
Anything other than an A on an online class where I get to make up stories is unacceptable. I have actually really enjoyed getting to write silly stories, and I think I have not been able to do anything like this in so long that stuff just pours out really easily. The only times I have had trouble while writing is making sure that my storybook pages actually somewhat fit the theme and intro that I have. At this point, I am probably going to have to rewrite a lot of the intro. Also, since I have The Doctor as a narrator, there are a lot of people who keep looking back on mine to see what more I have written. Everyone has in their own mind how The Doctor would react in these situations, and I do not want to disappoint them. I really do not let him make any decisions because that is probable the hardest part of a character to reproduce. By just having him narrate, I can repeat his mannerisms and vocabulary easily without having to psychologically dissect the character to find out his actions in a new storyline.
On the other hand, I do not really care if other people think he would react differently because I am the only one doing it. I really was surprised that no one had done it since it was an example in the notes for a narrator.
I have actually been kind of slacking in the assignments. At this moment, I am writing this because I had planned on doing the extra credit that was available to me for the next couple of weeks to guarantee an A. I just did the grade check one, and actually I am still on par to get an A even with my multiple skippings of writing comments on other's stories. Some of the stories are really fun to read, and doing the assignment for those is super easy. However, sometimes you just get that person who clearly had a busy week, so they just retold the story in modern english without changing any part of the story. Those weeks make me want to quit the assignment early. Anyway, this week has not been a week where I will quit early. I still have to do a storybook assignment (I think), and I promised myself I would do the rest of the assignments until I got enough points to get an A.
Anything other than an A on an online class where I get to make up stories is unacceptable. I have actually really enjoyed getting to write silly stories, and I think I have not been able to do anything like this in so long that stuff just pours out really easily. The only times I have had trouble while writing is making sure that my storybook pages actually somewhat fit the theme and intro that I have. At this point, I am probably going to have to rewrite a lot of the intro. Also, since I have The Doctor as a narrator, there are a lot of people who keep looking back on mine to see what more I have written. Everyone has in their own mind how The Doctor would react in these situations, and I do not want to disappoint them. I really do not let him make any decisions because that is probable the hardest part of a character to reproduce. By just having him narrate, I can repeat his mannerisms and vocabulary easily without having to psychologically dissect the character to find out his actions in a new storyline.
On the other hand, I do not really care if other people think he would react differently because I am the only one doing it. I really was surprised that no one had done it since it was an example in the notes for a narrator.
The Doctor Who Title from the BBC. Image Info
Essay Post Week 13
Grimm Fairy Tales Are Basically YouTube
I am sure you have all heard how dark and horrible the original fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm are when compared to the magical, watered down versions of today. I would agree that they are dark and can be scary for little kids, but that was partially their purpose. Making kids afraid to go alone in the dark or to take candy from strangers is a good thing. However, there are points in the story where people get pregnant out of wedlock, like in Rapunzel, or where characters die in pretty horrible ways. But, if you were to look at some of the cartoons of today, I feel like you would be just as surprised at the weird things that you find. And if you were to go on YouTube, there is no limit to the odd, offensive, and inappropriate things you could find.
I think that if you compare the stories from The Brothers Grimm to modern day stories that are intended for a younger audience, then you will find that they are basically at the same level. One of the stories in particular that I read this week struck me as what would make a hilarious YouTube video. In "The Straw, The Coal, and The Bean," the titular characters survive a long, scary night of cooking and decide to run away together to increase their chances of staying alive. The bean, coal, and straw all talk to one another and they say a lot of nonsense. When they come to a small stream, they decide that it is a good idea for the coal to walk across on the straw. The coal freaks out, catches the straw on fire, and then they both fall into the stream. The bean is watching on the bank and laughs so hard that he splits open. This story is basically pointless, but I thought it was hilarious. If it was on YouTube, I would share it and watch it and tweet it and force my friends to watch it.
The ability for such a weird, humorous story to be in the middle of these dark stories, made me think that the dark parts were not actually meant to be taken that seriously. Apparently, people who write stories for children have always been really weird. When people look back at Adventure Time, I am sure they will wonder why anyone would watch such a weird, nonsensical show. But, they are forgetting that we know how weird it is and we like it anyway. Everyone has always seen how violent and odd these fairy tales are, but that will never stop people from sharing their magic and entertainment.
I am sure you have all heard how dark and horrible the original fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm are when compared to the magical, watered down versions of today. I would agree that they are dark and can be scary for little kids, but that was partially their purpose. Making kids afraid to go alone in the dark or to take candy from strangers is a good thing. However, there are points in the story where people get pregnant out of wedlock, like in Rapunzel, or where characters die in pretty horrible ways. But, if you were to look at some of the cartoons of today, I feel like you would be just as surprised at the weird things that you find. And if you were to go on YouTube, there is no limit to the odd, offensive, and inappropriate things you could find.
I think that if you compare the stories from The Brothers Grimm to modern day stories that are intended for a younger audience, then you will find that they are basically at the same level. One of the stories in particular that I read this week struck me as what would make a hilarious YouTube video. In "The Straw, The Coal, and The Bean," the titular characters survive a long, scary night of cooking and decide to run away together to increase their chances of staying alive. The bean, coal, and straw all talk to one another and they say a lot of nonsense. When they come to a small stream, they decide that it is a good idea for the coal to walk across on the straw. The coal freaks out, catches the straw on fire, and then they both fall into the stream. The bean is watching on the bank and laughs so hard that he splits open. This story is basically pointless, but I thought it was hilarious. If it was on YouTube, I would share it and watch it and tweet it and force my friends to watch it.
The ability for such a weird, humorous story to be in the middle of these dark stories, made me think that the dark parts were not actually meant to be taken that seriously. Apparently, people who write stories for children have always been really weird. When people look back at Adventure Time, I am sure they will wonder why anyone would watch such a weird, nonsensical show. But, they are forgetting that we know how weird it is and we like it anyway. Everyone has always seen how violent and odd these fairy tales are, but that will never stop people from sharing their magic and entertainment.
Adventure Time poster. Image Info.
Storytelling Week 13
The Traveling Band of Heroes
In the little town of Smallville, there lived an old donkey on a farm. This donkey had worked all his life, but now he was getting too old to be of any use. One night, he overheard his owner saying how he planned on buying a new donkey and selling the old one to the dog food plant. When the donkey heard this, he knew it was time to go, so he said, "I will leave at once and pursue my dreams of becoming famous!"
The next morning, the donkey had made it all the way out of town when he came across an old, sad dog on a farm. When the donkey inquired about the sadness of the dog, he explained that he was of no use to his owner anymore because he could not see well enough to help hunt. The donkey invited him to come on his quest for fame, and the dog quickly agreed.
They continued their journey on to two more towns and picked up two more companions: a cat who had lost her quickness which helped to catch mice and a rooster who no longer had the ability to crow. The group was quite an odd combination of animals, but they all made a pact not to fight with one another in honor of their efforts to become famous in the big city. After a week of traveling, they finally made it to their destination, Metropolis.
Metropolis was even bigger and more crowded than they had imagined. When they made it to downtown, they were worried about losing each other in the crowd, so they decided to stick together by carrying one another. The cat offered to let the rooster get on his back. The dog offered to carry the cat. The donkey told the dog that he could ride on his saddle. So there was a sort of pyramid of animals in walking around downtown Metropolis. Everyone was pointing and taking pictures and the animals loved it! This may be their chance to become famous. With the confidence found from the beginnings of true fame, they strutted down the middle of the street, each animal making noises as they were ogled at.
As the walked past a bank, some men in masks ran out with bags and weapons. The dog, thinking this to be a hunting group, jumped off the donkey, causing everyone to fall and let out a loud screech of pain. The robbers were frightened by the sudden sight of the animals, then the horrible combination of noises and a dog lunging toward them, and they immediately surrendered. The animals were caught on video and suddenly become heroes through the power of the internet. Before they knew it they were on every local and national news broadcast that could get their hands on them. They successfully ended their journey for fame, and it only took a couple of weeks.
Author's Note: "The Traveling Musicians" features the same characters accidentally frightening a group of bandits in an old barn, but no one is around to see it. I tweaked it to be in front of a lot of people as well as cameras. I also added the wish to become famous because the donkey in the first one really wanted to be a musician even though he is a donkey. Being a youtube famous donkey is actually a lot more common than a musical donkey.
Bibliography: The Brothers Grimm. "The Traveling Musicians." Librivox. Original Story
In the little town of Smallville, there lived an old donkey on a farm. This donkey had worked all his life, but now he was getting too old to be of any use. One night, he overheard his owner saying how he planned on buying a new donkey and selling the old one to the dog food plant. When the donkey heard this, he knew it was time to go, so he said, "I will leave at once and pursue my dreams of becoming famous!"
The next morning, the donkey had made it all the way out of town when he came across an old, sad dog on a farm. When the donkey inquired about the sadness of the dog, he explained that he was of no use to his owner anymore because he could not see well enough to help hunt. The donkey invited him to come on his quest for fame, and the dog quickly agreed.
They continued their journey on to two more towns and picked up two more companions: a cat who had lost her quickness which helped to catch mice and a rooster who no longer had the ability to crow. The group was quite an odd combination of animals, but they all made a pact not to fight with one another in honor of their efforts to become famous in the big city. After a week of traveling, they finally made it to their destination, Metropolis.
Metropolis was even bigger and more crowded than they had imagined. When they made it to downtown, they were worried about losing each other in the crowd, so they decided to stick together by carrying one another. The cat offered to let the rooster get on his back. The dog offered to carry the cat. The donkey told the dog that he could ride on his saddle. So there was a sort of pyramid of animals in walking around downtown Metropolis. Everyone was pointing and taking pictures and the animals loved it! This may be their chance to become famous. With the confidence found from the beginnings of true fame, they strutted down the middle of the street, each animal making noises as they were ogled at.
As the walked past a bank, some men in masks ran out with bags and weapons. The dog, thinking this to be a hunting group, jumped off the donkey, causing everyone to fall and let out a loud screech of pain. The robbers were frightened by the sudden sight of the animals, then the horrible combination of noises and a dog lunging toward them, and they immediately surrendered. The animals were caught on video and suddenly become heroes through the power of the internet. Before they knew it they were on every local and national news broadcast that could get their hands on them. They successfully ended their journey for fame, and it only took a couple of weeks.
The animal pyramid. Marcks statue in Germany. Photo information.
Author's Note: "The Traveling Musicians" features the same characters accidentally frightening a group of bandits in an old barn, but no one is around to see it. I tweaked it to be in front of a lot of people as well as cameras. I also added the wish to become famous because the donkey in the first one really wanted to be a musician even though he is a donkey. Being a youtube famous donkey is actually a lot more common than a musical donkey.
Bibliography: The Brothers Grimm. "The Traveling Musicians." Librivox. Original Story
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Reading Diary Week 13 Brothers Grimm
The Frog Prince
-The frog kind of tricks her into letting him become her pet because he gets her ball for him
-this is like the third princess with a golden ball that I have seen in the classic fairy tales
-NOT a kiss, eating from her plate and sleeping in her bed three nights
-marriage happens. happiness and riches too.
Rapunzel
-More about the parents than I have ever heard.
-The prince stays the night for quite some time, resulting in some babies later.
-The witch cuts off her hair and moves her from the forest to the desert, never seen that
-He jumped out of the window of the tower, barely surviving but being blinded, so dramatic
-eventually he wanders to the desert and finds Rapunzel and their children
The Straw, The Coal, and The Bean
-Inanimate objects come to life and go on an adventure
-Like the Brave Little Toaster but with more food
-They all die anyway
-I actually thought it was really funny
The Mouse, The Bird, and The Sausage
-Each had a job, one gets jealous
-The illustration of a sausage cooking gets weird quick
-Death
The Traveling Musicians
-Donkey, dog, cat, rooster, run away to become musicians
-and so they aren't put down
-they beat up robbers, so basically they are rock stars
Clever Elsie
-I do not understand
-They are not clever, but they think they are
-marriage
-Dude tricks her into thinking she is not herself by changing her out of her clothes
Briar Rose
- Sleeping Beauty
-It starts out basically how I remember it
-The entire castle and its inhabitants fall asleep instead of just her
-For 100 years!
-the prince didn't even have to do anything, he just happened to show up when everyone was waking up
-He still kissed her, but it was not magical
Read the stories.
-The frog kind of tricks her into letting him become her pet because he gets her ball for him
-this is like the third princess with a golden ball that I have seen in the classic fairy tales
-NOT a kiss, eating from her plate and sleeping in her bed three nights
-marriage happens. happiness and riches too.
Rapunzel
-More about the parents than I have ever heard.
-The prince stays the night for quite some time, resulting in some babies later.
-The witch cuts off her hair and moves her from the forest to the desert, never seen that
-He jumped out of the window of the tower, barely surviving but being blinded, so dramatic
-eventually he wanders to the desert and finds Rapunzel and their children
The Straw, The Coal, and The Bean
-Inanimate objects come to life and go on an adventure
-Like the Brave Little Toaster but with more food
-They all die anyway
-I actually thought it was really funny
The Mouse, The Bird, and The Sausage
-Each had a job, one gets jealous
-The illustration of a sausage cooking gets weird quick
-Death
The Traveling Musicians
-Donkey, dog, cat, rooster, run away to become musicians
-and so they aren't put down
-they beat up robbers, so basically they are rock stars
Clever Elsie
-I do not understand
-They are not clever, but they think they are
-marriage
-Dude tricks her into thinking she is not herself by changing her out of her clothes
Briar Rose
- Sleeping Beauty
-It starts out basically how I remember it
-The entire castle and its inhabitants fall asleep instead of just her
-For 100 years!
-the prince didn't even have to do anything, he just happened to show up when everyone was waking up
-He still kissed her, but it was not magical
Read the stories.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Essay Week 12
The Different Cinderella Stories
I have noticed that in a lot of fairy tales in this class,
the original story is much more violent and sad than the version that I am used
to hearing as a kid. Generally, the story has been changed so that it is
appropriate for children. On the other hand, there are some points of the
stories that I think should have stayed the same and teach a much better lesson
than the Disney version. In this unit there were several different versions of
the Cinderella story that I think had parts that should have been in the movie.
The most differing one that still counts as a Cinderella
story is Tattercoats. I realize that this story would be changing the entire
plot almost, but it deserves to be done in one of the more modern versions in a
play or musical or even live action movie. The biggest difference here is that
is for the good is that she decides to walk to the ball with her friend the
shepherd (who plays a magical flute) and meets the prince on the road before the
party even starts. The shepherd as the fairy godmother figure is cool because
he does not do anything magical until the very end. The prince falls in love
with her when she is in rags and dirty and still walking barefoot of a dirt
road. He convinces his parents that this girl is to be his wife, and when he
says that the shepherd transforms her clothing into a wonderful gown. This
message says the girl can get a prince no matter what her clothes are, and it
has a cool little thing about friendship.
The next Cinderella story in the unit was Rushen Coatie.
This one was nice because it was just a little different of a setting. This
girl was not sad about not going to some grand ball. She just wanted to look
nice and go to the Christmas church services. She had no intentions of meeting
a prince or falling in love with someone who would take her away from her slave
driving stepfamily, but in the end she was still rewarded with those things.
The last story of this kind in the unit, Catskin, had some
really good parts and some parts that I really would not put in a movie. Like
Tattercoats, it featured a father who vowed never to look upon his daughter’s
face because the mother had died in childbirth and he was being weird. When the
child grows up, she is to be married off to the first person that asks.
Obviously this does not go well and some creepy old man asks her when she is
like twelve. Instead of magic wishes, she barters with her parents for three
very fancy, very beautiful dresses and one ugly catskin. She runs away from
creepy old guy, hides the fancy dresses in the forest, and becomes a maid. Now,
when the ball comes up years later, she does not need magic because she is
prepared. She dresses herself up for three different nights of the ball, making
the prince fall in love with her. The best part though, is that after they have
been married and have kids, they find her father, who would give anything to
see her and they reconcile.
So, Cinderella is a great story, but with so many different
options to work with, I would have thought there could be better messages sent
to the audience.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Storytelling Week 12
The Three Wishes
Once upon a time, there lived a man and his wife deep in the forested hills of Kentucky. They lived off the land the most they could, but sometimes they would travel to town and barter. The man was quite good at woodworking, so he often cut down trees and turned them to planks to barter. This particular day, he found an especially wide tree and he thought of how many good planks he could make from this one tree. As he was sharpening his axe, a fairy appeared and begged him not to cut down the tree. See, it was her home. She had just remodeled the fungi to match the fall leaves, so there was no way she was going to move again. The fairy was trying everything she could think of to stop the mountain man and finally she got his attention when she promised to grant his three wishes.
To a normal man or woman, three wishes seems like it would have all the possibilities in the world. However, fairies know from experience that people never really end up wishing for anything of much consequence. The man gladly accepted his reward and hurried home to tell his wife. His home was not very far away, but he was so excited that he was very eager to get there. He thought to himself, "I wish I was already home so I could tell my wife about the wishes!" Before he even had the chance to wonder about whether or not thinking a wish would result in the actual wishing, he was in his chair at the kitchen table in his log cabin.
His wife mentioned something about not hearing him come in, and he ignored her and immediately explained the situation. The woman could not believe what she was hearing and she wanted proof. Without much thought to the consequences, she said aloud "Well, if this is true, then I wish that you had a pig's nose! Hahaha!" As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she saw her husband transformed. His once ugly but human nose was now a big, flat, pink snout! She could not contain her giggling, which became infectious and he let out surprisingly loud snorts of laughter. Both of them were so joyful that they almost overlooked the fact that the man could be stuck with a pig nose forever. After some short conversation, the man quickly wished for his old nose again, and the wishes were spent. The man smiled at his wife and said, "Well, at least we will have a good story to tell..."
Authors Note: This is based on the poem "The Three Wishes" from the more English fairy tales unit. The story is almost the same, but the wasted wishes are slightly different. The man first wishes for a sausage, then the wife joking wishes his nose into the sausage, and then for the sausage to come off his face. I just thought it was a nice little story.
Read the story.
Once upon a time, there lived a man and his wife deep in the forested hills of Kentucky. They lived off the land the most they could, but sometimes they would travel to town and barter. The man was quite good at woodworking, so he often cut down trees and turned them to planks to barter. This particular day, he found an especially wide tree and he thought of how many good planks he could make from this one tree. As he was sharpening his axe, a fairy appeared and begged him not to cut down the tree. See, it was her home. She had just remodeled the fungi to match the fall leaves, so there was no way she was going to move again. The fairy was trying everything she could think of to stop the mountain man and finally she got his attention when she promised to grant his three wishes.
To a normal man or woman, three wishes seems like it would have all the possibilities in the world. However, fairies know from experience that people never really end up wishing for anything of much consequence. The man gladly accepted his reward and hurried home to tell his wife. His home was not very far away, but he was so excited that he was very eager to get there. He thought to himself, "I wish I was already home so I could tell my wife about the wishes!" Before he even had the chance to wonder about whether or not thinking a wish would result in the actual wishing, he was in his chair at the kitchen table in his log cabin.
His wife mentioned something about not hearing him come in, and he ignored her and immediately explained the situation. The woman could not believe what she was hearing and she wanted proof. Without much thought to the consequences, she said aloud "Well, if this is true, then I wish that you had a pig's nose! Hahaha!" As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she saw her husband transformed. His once ugly but human nose was now a big, flat, pink snout! She could not contain her giggling, which became infectious and he let out surprisingly loud snorts of laughter. Both of them were so joyful that they almost overlooked the fact that the man could be stuck with a pig nose forever. After some short conversation, the man quickly wished for his old nose again, and the wishes were spent. The man smiled at his wife and said, "Well, at least we will have a good story to tell..."
Adventure Time pig. Image info.
Authors Note: This is based on the poem "The Three Wishes" from the more English fairy tales unit. The story is almost the same, but the wasted wishes are slightly different. The man first wishes for a sausage, then the wife joking wishes his nose into the sausage, and then for the sausage to come off his face. I just thought it was a nice little story.
Read the story.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Week 12 Reading Diary: More English Fairy Tales
Pied Piper
-Pied piper is actually evil.
-Pay your debts or your children will become wild forest people
The Golden Ball
-Two sisters take strange jewelry from old man and bring harm upon themselves. big surprise
-Boyfriends will gladly cut off limbs of giants to save your life
Tattercoats
-Neglected orphan because her mom died in birth and her grandpa hates her
-Its basically opposite of Cinderella
-Prince falls in love with her while she is still in rags and on the way to the ball
-much sweeter story
Johnny Gloke
-Outsmarted two giants and gained reputation and such as a great warrior and married a princess
-He is like Mr. Bean but it ends up working and squashing a rebellion
Scrapefoot
-Its goldilocks but scrape foot is a fox and the bears live in a castle
-I wonder how this story got changed from a fox to a little girl
-I think I like the little girl better though
The Old Witch
-Two sisters
-One helps strangers on a passage and the other doesn't
-The one who helped gets money and a husband and the other gets nothing
-It is like the good Samaritan but without actually being good because they both steal money
The Three Wishes
-Forest Fairy
-Wish one- A sausage? or pudding?
-Wish two- nose as long as the sausage
-Wish three- nose back to normal
-I feel like this is how my wishes would also accidentally go
The Children in The Wood
-Poem style
-Rhymes almost every other line
-Classic uncle tries to kill nephew and niece for their inheritance
-Hires two thugs to kill them, but one kills the other then leaves the kids in the forest to die, and they do.
-Uncle gets haunted and everyone dies
King John and the Abbott of Canterbury
-What is the center of the world? How long will it take to go around the world? What am I thinking?
-King John is annoying
-Good shepherd saves the day
Rushen Coatie
-Cinderella
-instead of a ball, it is church on Christmas
-instead of a fairy, it is a red, magic cow
-Three days in a row
-not as long as some Cinderella stories
-includes songs
The King of the Cats
-old couple have a cat who inherits the throne and runs away
-weird and short, but quite enjoyable
The Stars in the Sky
-Children's story
-repetitive of the same question and the answers with the same cadence
-ridiculous and it was a dream
The Little Bull-Calf
-this one is told as if it is just someone reading aloud and adding in their own side commentary
-awesome cows, dragons, magical cow bladder weaponry
-Killing dragons and getting princesses
Old Mother Wiggle Waggle
-Poetry
-AAAB
-likely was sung
-Foxes, ducks and goose
Catskin
-Similar to Tattercoats but the mom does not die
-Married off to first that asks, its a gross old man
-Ran away after asking for a bunch of things like a catskin coat
-became a maid
-Three balls, three dresses, three clues to who she was
-they said the word slut...
-This one ends much happier with reconciliation of the father who would do anything to see his daughter just once. Much better story.
Stories
-Pied piper is actually evil.
-Pay your debts or your children will become wild forest people
The Golden Ball
-Two sisters take strange jewelry from old man and bring harm upon themselves. big surprise
-Boyfriends will gladly cut off limbs of giants to save your life
Tattercoats
-Neglected orphan because her mom died in birth and her grandpa hates her
-Its basically opposite of Cinderella
-Prince falls in love with her while she is still in rags and on the way to the ball
-much sweeter story
Johnny Gloke
-Outsmarted two giants and gained reputation and such as a great warrior and married a princess
-He is like Mr. Bean but it ends up working and squashing a rebellion
Scrapefoot
-Its goldilocks but scrape foot is a fox and the bears live in a castle
-I wonder how this story got changed from a fox to a little girl
-I think I like the little girl better though
The Old Witch
-Two sisters
-One helps strangers on a passage and the other doesn't
-The one who helped gets money and a husband and the other gets nothing
-It is like the good Samaritan but without actually being good because they both steal money
The Three Wishes
-Forest Fairy
-Wish one- A sausage? or pudding?
-Wish two- nose as long as the sausage
-Wish three- nose back to normal
-I feel like this is how my wishes would also accidentally go
The Children in The Wood
-Poem style
-Rhymes almost every other line
-Classic uncle tries to kill nephew and niece for their inheritance
-Hires two thugs to kill them, but one kills the other then leaves the kids in the forest to die, and they do.
-Uncle gets haunted and everyone dies
King John and the Abbott of Canterbury
-What is the center of the world? How long will it take to go around the world? What am I thinking?
-King John is annoying
-Good shepherd saves the day
Rushen Coatie
-Cinderella
-instead of a ball, it is church on Christmas
-instead of a fairy, it is a red, magic cow
-Three days in a row
-not as long as some Cinderella stories
-includes songs
The King of the Cats
-old couple have a cat who inherits the throne and runs away
-weird and short, but quite enjoyable
The Stars in the Sky
-Children's story
-repetitive of the same question and the answers with the same cadence
-ridiculous and it was a dream
The Little Bull-Calf
-this one is told as if it is just someone reading aloud and adding in their own side commentary
-awesome cows, dragons, magical cow bladder weaponry
-Killing dragons and getting princesses
Old Mother Wiggle Waggle
-Poetry
-AAAB
-likely was sung
-Foxes, ducks and goose
Catskin
-Similar to Tattercoats but the mom does not die
-Married off to first that asks, its a gross old man
-Ran away after asking for a bunch of things like a catskin coat
-became a maid
-Three balls, three dresses, three clues to who she was
-they said the word slut...
-This one ends much happier with reconciliation of the father who would do anything to see his daughter just once. Much better story.
Stories
Friday, October 31, 2014
Week 11 Essay
Alice in Wonderland and Drugs
Alice in Wonderland poster. Image Information.
A lot of people I know like to say that Alice in Wonderland is all about drugs or at least that Lewis Carroll was on a lot of drugs when he wrote it. Personally, I think that is taking a great piece of work and reducing it to something lesser. It is a shame when someone takes something that an artist has worked on very hard and they say, "well I could've done that too if I was that high." It is said so much that a lot of people think you need drugs to "expand your mind," or to be truly creative.
The book was written about 150 years ago, but that does not mean there were not drugs. However, the drugs then were opiates and were not generally hallucinogens. I know that everything in this story is like you are "trippin," at least from what I have been told, but the intention of the book was to recreate the overactive imagination of a child. I think I get overly protective of the story because when I was little, the stories and places that I came up with while playing were way weirder than Wonderland.
My favorite game was one called mirror land and I would jump through this old, rusty frame of a large mirror to be transported there. Basically everything was backwards there, so I had a different name, a different family, and there were different rules of physics. The rules of physics were broken via trampoline. At some point, I decided you must also talk backwards, and to this day, I can say entire sentences completely backwards almost as fast as I can say them forward. Of course there are different rules of pronunciation when talking backward, but they can be learned.
I understand that it may be a possibility that the author was high. And I know that the candy makes her grow or shrink. In fact, after changing shapes so many different times, she has an identity crisis because she says that there is no way she can be the same person she was before she changed size so many times. The part about the mushrooms also having weird effects, like making her neck so long that she is basically a snake and gets attacked by birds in the air, definitely points to something weird going on. If you wanted to make this into a story about the consequences of drugs, it would not be difficult. But to me, you are taking a very innocent piece of art and making it into something very bad.
So, the fact that kids can actually think of awesome worlds and stories on their own means that everyone is creative at some point in their life, and I believe that saying things like, "he must've been so high when he wrote that," limits your own creativity.
Full Story.
Full Story.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Storytelling Week 11
A Mad Starbucks Chai Tea Latte Party
Alice was sure she was lost in the forest, but the Cheshire Cat told her that this was the right way to get to a party. Suddenly, she heard an outburst of intense laughter that simultaneously reminded her of a wild dog and a squeaking mouse. When the source of the noise came into view, she discovered a mouse, a rabbit, and a man with a very large hat. She assumed the man to be "The Mad Hatter," and the rabbit to be "The Mad Hare," but no one had mentioned the giant mouse. It did not seem very important at the moment, considering he was asleep.
She waited for a lull in the laughter to politely ask if she may take a seat at the table, but the cackling remained constant. Finally, she decided to sit down and talk over the laughter, saying "Hello, how do you do? May I join your tea party?" Much to her surprise, the laughter quickly came to a halt and the hatter stared at her with a surprised look in his eye. Just as quickly as the laughter had stopped, it started again. Alice could not help but chuckle a little herself, being in such an odd situation.
"My dear," said the hatter, "this is not a tea party. No no no no no, this is so much more than just tea! This is a Starbucks, and we have every drink imaginable and there are endless combinations to the extras you can put into your drink!" Alice just looked at the man, knowing that his nickname had been know joke and that he was indeed quite mad. "But what else is there to drink, sir?" asked Alice so very politely. "WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE? this young woman must be educated! Hare, go get the specialty!" The hatter yelled out some more orders to the hare, but Alice did not understand a single word of it.
After a presentation on the different categories of drinks that the hatter could make, including cappuccinos, lattes, coffees, iced coffees, frappuccinos, espressos, and about ten types of tea, he asked Alice what she would like to drink. She hesitated and responded, "hmm, I believe I will just have some plain, English tea, sir." Quickly, the hatter snapped back at her, "Nope. See, I have spent all my days trying to find the perfect drink for girls like you, and I have finally perfected it. HARE, bring in the orangey gooey one!"
The hare quickly ran over to Alice with a large cup filled with a frothy liquid that had an odd, orange tint but a very sweet smell. With the hatter watching intently, she took a sip. Then, she took another sip, and a gulp, and another and another until the entire cup was gone. "Wow!" proclaimed Alice, "that was the best drink I have ever tasted! What do you call it?"
The Mad Hatter leaned over to the hare and then said, "well, we were debating on the final name, but we have decided to call it 'The Pumpkin Spice Latte.'"
Bibliography: Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. "The Mad Tea-Party." 1865.
Read the original.
Alice was sure she was lost in the forest, but the Cheshire Cat told her that this was the right way to get to a party. Suddenly, she heard an outburst of intense laughter that simultaneously reminded her of a wild dog and a squeaking mouse. When the source of the noise came into view, she discovered a mouse, a rabbit, and a man with a very large hat. She assumed the man to be "The Mad Hatter," and the rabbit to be "The Mad Hare," but no one had mentioned the giant mouse. It did not seem very important at the moment, considering he was asleep.
She waited for a lull in the laughter to politely ask if she may take a seat at the table, but the cackling remained constant. Finally, she decided to sit down and talk over the laughter, saying "Hello, how do you do? May I join your tea party?" Much to her surprise, the laughter quickly came to a halt and the hatter stared at her with a surprised look in his eye. Just as quickly as the laughter had stopped, it started again. Alice could not help but chuckle a little herself, being in such an odd situation.
"My dear," said the hatter, "this is not a tea party. No no no no no, this is so much more than just tea! This is a Starbucks, and we have every drink imaginable and there are endless combinations to the extras you can put into your drink!" Alice just looked at the man, knowing that his nickname had been know joke and that he was indeed quite mad. "But what else is there to drink, sir?" asked Alice so very politely. "WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE? this young woman must be educated! Hare, go get the specialty!" The hatter yelled out some more orders to the hare, but Alice did not understand a single word of it.
After a presentation on the different categories of drinks that the hatter could make, including cappuccinos, lattes, coffees, iced coffees, frappuccinos, espressos, and about ten types of tea, he asked Alice what she would like to drink. She hesitated and responded, "hmm, I believe I will just have some plain, English tea, sir." Quickly, the hatter snapped back at her, "Nope. See, I have spent all my days trying to find the perfect drink for girls like you, and I have finally perfected it. HARE, bring in the orangey gooey one!"
The hare quickly ran over to Alice with a large cup filled with a frothy liquid that had an odd, orange tint but a very sweet smell. With the hatter watching intently, she took a sip. Then, she took another sip, and a gulp, and another and another until the entire cup was gone. "Wow!" proclaimed Alice, "that was the best drink I have ever tasted! What do you call it?"
The Mad Hatter leaned over to the hare and then said, "well, we were debating on the final name, but we have decided to call it 'The Pumpkin Spice Latte.'"
Official Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks website. Info here.
Author's Note: This is clearly based off of the Mad Tea Party section of Alice in Wonderland, but I decided that if Alice heard the hatter and the hare talking about all the different things on a Starbucks menu, she would assume it was gibberish and that they were crazy. The pumpkin spice latte also needed an origin story. Bibliography: Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. "The Mad Tea-Party." 1865.
Read the original.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Week 11 Reading Diary: Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland
Down the Rabbit Hole
-Everyone is quite familiar with these stories from the movies and because the books are so popular.
-As she falls to Wonderland, she takes time to ponder things like being polite to people walking on their heads and how to tell if she is in Australia without rudely asking.
-Her thinking about politeness and the length to the center of the earth at the same time is to point out how some of the stuff she is learning about she finds silly.
-The ridiculous height of the fall and the gentle way she lands shows that this is fantasy, and now would just be accepted in a children's book, but Carroll was the first to create this "nonsensical" kind of plot.
-"very few things were really impossible."
Advice from a Caterpillar
-The caterpillar may be my favorite character.
-People always try to say that this is about drugs and this is one of the parts that they say the characters do drugs. People are dumb.
-He is smoking and contradicting everything she says or is thinking about
-"Father William"
-She ponders whether she is the same or if her experiences have changed who she is as a person
Pig and Pepper
-Frog butlers and THE Cheshire cat
-Baby pig
-Cat in the tree
-"you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
A Mad Tea Party
-Pretty ridiculous conversations
-They're the kind of mad that is amusing and not harmful
-Alice seems not to understand when to ignore what they say and when to take them seriously
The Queen's Croquet Grounds
-Off with her head!
-Flamingos and Hedgehogs
-The king and queen are some of the most memorable characters from these stories.
-They may be how many of the public thought of many of the nobles: dumb and quick to kill.
-She may be bloody mary but I think she is just a generic, bad queen
Who Stole the Tarts?
-Court of law, wonderland style.
-basically, nothing works
-And then it's all a dream
Read the story here.
Down the Rabbit Hole
-Everyone is quite familiar with these stories from the movies and because the books are so popular.
-As she falls to Wonderland, she takes time to ponder things like being polite to people walking on their heads and how to tell if she is in Australia without rudely asking.
-Her thinking about politeness and the length to the center of the earth at the same time is to point out how some of the stuff she is learning about she finds silly.
-The ridiculous height of the fall and the gentle way she lands shows that this is fantasy, and now would just be accepted in a children's book, but Carroll was the first to create this "nonsensical" kind of plot.
-"very few things were really impossible."
Advice from a Caterpillar
-The caterpillar may be my favorite character.
-People always try to say that this is about drugs and this is one of the parts that they say the characters do drugs. People are dumb.
-He is smoking and contradicting everything she says or is thinking about
-"Father William"
-She ponders whether she is the same or if her experiences have changed who she is as a person
Pig and Pepper
-Frog butlers and THE Cheshire cat
-Baby pig
-Cat in the tree
-"you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
A Mad Tea Party
-Pretty ridiculous conversations
-They're the kind of mad that is amusing and not harmful
-Alice seems not to understand when to ignore what they say and when to take them seriously
The Queen's Croquet Grounds
-Off with her head!
-Flamingos and Hedgehogs
-The king and queen are some of the most memorable characters from these stories.
-They may be how many of the public thought of many of the nobles: dumb and quick to kill.
-She may be bloody mary but I think she is just a generic, bad queen
Who Stole the Tarts?
-Court of law, wonderland style.
-basically, nothing works
-And then it's all a dream
Read the story here.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Week 10 Essay
The Use of Magic in Native American Fairy Tales
Every hero or villain in this section could do se sort of magic. Sometimes they were given this magic by nature and they considered it their responsibility to help others with it. Those people generally ended up being the heroes of the story. Others seemed not to be magical at all until they came to a point in the story where they would say "Let us turn into birds and fly away," and they they actually would turn into a bird.
The magic seen in Grimm fairy tales or other European tales, is seen as unnatural, evil, and comes with horrible consequences. There are only witches, and the occasional wizard, who have sold their souls to the devil or have done some other dirty deed to obtain their powers. However, in Native American culture, nature was seen to be magical itself and almost at one with the gods. When the character in a european fairy tale needs to turn into a an eagle and escape, nothing happens and they run. When an indian needs to turn into a bird, they state it or ask someone how to do it, and then it happens.
The respect of nature and animals tends to show through in these stories. While many of the stories include the theme of conquering nature and animals or at least ruling over them, there is always a large amount of respect for the power of nature that is necessary to rule justly. The ease of magic in a lot of these stories suggests that magic itself is not a big deal. Every animal, every forest, every star has its own kind of magic. The hero always has access to this magic, kind of like a borrowing system, if they are in tune with nature and if they have honorable intentions.
The respect of nature and animals tends to show through in these stories. While many of the stories include the theme of conquering nature and animals or at least ruling over them, there is always a large amount of respect for the power of nature that is necessary to rule justly. The ease of magic in a lot of these stories suggests that magic itself is not a big deal. Every animal, every forest, every star has its own kind of magic. The hero always has access to this magic, kind of like a borrowing system, if they are in tune with nature and if they have honorable intentions.
"Magic Effects." Info.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Storytelling Post Week 10
The Boy on the Moon
Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was living out the dream of many young boys and girls on earth. This little boy happened to be the son of "the" man on the moon. He hopped around with low gravity, throwing rocks and bouncing balls as far and high as he could imagine, and generally just having a good time. However, though the boy enjoyed his time in his spacey, light home with his father, he longed for friendship and something new.
His father told him stories of earth and all the colors and wonderful, different animals that lived on there. The little boy longed to see the birds, which did not just jump high in the air and simply come back down but flew as high as they wanted to wherever they wanted. He was excited about the animals that were so big and strong that you could jump on their back and ride them! As the boy grew up, he made his father tell him more and more stories. Every day after the stories, the boy begged his father to let him live on earth, for the man on the moon is magical and can make such things happen.
Eventually, the boy's daily begging wore down his father, and he agreed to let him live on earth with certain conditions. Though the man on the moon was magical, his magic still had its limits, and he could only provide a one way trip to earth. In order to make the most of his time left with his son, he told him that he was not allowed to leave until he turned 15. When he did move to earth, he would not be able to hear from his father but he promised to always look over his son.
When the day came, the boy was very excited but was sad to leave his father. The man on the moon kept his promise though, and transported his son to a nice, small village with friendly people who would treat his son as one of their own. Before the mysterious young man's arrival, the moon looked like a blank gray surface in the sky, but the night that he arrived, mysterious shapes appeared on the great sphere. The villagers all said that the shapes resembled an old man's face, and the boy knew that it was just his dad, watching over his son like he had promised he would.
Author's Note: This story about the man on the moon is very very loosely based on The Child of The Evening Star. In that, the kid lives on the evening star with his parents and several birds in a silver palace. Instead of his parents sending him to earth, he scrapes a bird so that it bleeds, which breaks the magic bond on the star and everyone is sent back to earth. The boy was still very lonely though and did want to see all the animals. I just wanted to do the story of a boy coming home to earth.
Read here.
Bibliography: Larned. American Indian Fairy Tales. "The Child of the Evening Star." 1921.
"Le Voyage dans la lune" clearly shows the man in the moon. Info.
Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was living out the dream of many young boys and girls on earth. This little boy happened to be the son of "the" man on the moon. He hopped around with low gravity, throwing rocks and bouncing balls as far and high as he could imagine, and generally just having a good time. However, though the boy enjoyed his time in his spacey, light home with his father, he longed for friendship and something new.
His father told him stories of earth and all the colors and wonderful, different animals that lived on there. The little boy longed to see the birds, which did not just jump high in the air and simply come back down but flew as high as they wanted to wherever they wanted. He was excited about the animals that were so big and strong that you could jump on their back and ride them! As the boy grew up, he made his father tell him more and more stories. Every day after the stories, the boy begged his father to let him live on earth, for the man on the moon is magical and can make such things happen.
Eventually, the boy's daily begging wore down his father, and he agreed to let him live on earth with certain conditions. Though the man on the moon was magical, his magic still had its limits, and he could only provide a one way trip to earth. In order to make the most of his time left with his son, he told him that he was not allowed to leave until he turned 15. When he did move to earth, he would not be able to hear from his father but he promised to always look over his son.
When the day came, the boy was very excited but was sad to leave his father. The man on the moon kept his promise though, and transported his son to a nice, small village with friendly people who would treat his son as one of their own. Before the mysterious young man's arrival, the moon looked like a blank gray surface in the sky, but the night that he arrived, mysterious shapes appeared on the great sphere. The villagers all said that the shapes resembled an old man's face, and the boy knew that it was just his dad, watching over his son like he had promised he would.
Author's Note: This story about the man on the moon is very very loosely based on The Child of The Evening Star. In that, the kid lives on the evening star with his parents and several birds in a silver palace. Instead of his parents sending him to earth, he scrapes a bird so that it bleeds, which breaks the magic bond on the star and everyone is sent back to earth. The boy was still very lonely though and did want to see all the animals. I just wanted to do the story of a boy coming home to earth.
Read here.
Bibliography: Larned. American Indian Fairy Tales. "The Child of the Evening Star." 1921.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Week 10 Reading Diary
Iagoo, the Story Teller
-His great knowledge is from family and nature, expecting these to be strong themes
-Uncle Dr. Suess Santa Claus
-Story within a story, but Iagoo is only kind of the narrator.
Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind
-Basically, we have spring and winter as gods/characters.
-The hero here can change into a duck.
-Theses stories generally have magical components, in a different way than other fairy tales
-"Cheerfulness and courage can overcome even the North Wind."
-The story ties back into the first layer, and the narrator continues to tell other stories to the children
The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds
-Nature preservation themes
-Animals running free and not "in cages"
-Mostly describes animals of an old time, where they are all friendly and none are dangerous
-They do not teach animals like this at the time of the storytelling
-Includes lots of animals and the different things that they can do, normal children's stories stuff
-Worm gets to the top with patience, taking a month, but saving the children.
The Child of the Evening Star
-10 daughters, only one at a certain point has not chosen a suitor to marry
-She turned down the handsome ones for a very old man because she had the ability to look at their heart.
-This is starting out as a much better lesson than other fairy tales
-His curse is lifted but then transfers to her, making her old
-Move to the evening star, magical, and have a son, title
-He longs for the people and animals of Earth, he is lonely
-Return to Earth, because these stories point out the beauty of nature on earth
The Boy Who Snared The Sun
-Iagoo comes up with a story of a little boy and girl who are brother and sister when there are giant animals and they are the only humans so that the brother and sister in his tepee will like the story
-Still themes of conquering nature, and in this case, growing up
-Animals character traits are determined by type of animal
How the Summer Came
-Getting more and more of the setting with Iagoo and the children
-He has a story for everything
-This one is for how the ice age ended
-This is another story where the hero is magical and he will conquer winter for the good of the people
-This is actually about the Big Dipper I think
The Fairy Bride
-Girl likes fairies, won't marry a tall hunter
-Hero still magical, or at least able to see magical things
-
Read the Stories.
-His great knowledge is from family and nature, expecting these to be strong themes
-Uncle Dr. Suess Santa Claus
-Story within a story, but Iagoo is only kind of the narrator.
Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind
-Basically, we have spring and winter as gods/characters.
-The hero here can change into a duck.
-Theses stories generally have magical components, in a different way than other fairy tales
-"Cheerfulness and courage can overcome even the North Wind."
-The story ties back into the first layer, and the narrator continues to tell other stories to the children
The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds
-Nature preservation themes
-Animals running free and not "in cages"
-Mostly describes animals of an old time, where they are all friendly and none are dangerous
-They do not teach animals like this at the time of the storytelling
-Includes lots of animals and the different things that they can do, normal children's stories stuff
-Worm gets to the top with patience, taking a month, but saving the children.
The Child of the Evening Star
-10 daughters, only one at a certain point has not chosen a suitor to marry
-She turned down the handsome ones for a very old man because she had the ability to look at their heart.
-This is starting out as a much better lesson than other fairy tales
-His curse is lifted but then transfers to her, making her old
-Move to the evening star, magical, and have a son, title
-He longs for the people and animals of Earth, he is lonely
-Return to Earth, because these stories point out the beauty of nature on earth
The Boy Who Snared The Sun
-Iagoo comes up with a story of a little boy and girl who are brother and sister when there are giant animals and they are the only humans so that the brother and sister in his tepee will like the story
-Still themes of conquering nature, and in this case, growing up
-Animals character traits are determined by type of animal
How the Summer Came
-Getting more and more of the setting with Iagoo and the children
-He has a story for everything
-This one is for how the ice age ended
-This is another story where the hero is magical and he will conquer winter for the good of the people
-This is actually about the Big Dipper I think
The Fairy Bride
-Girl likes fairies, won't marry a tall hunter
-Hero still magical, or at least able to see magical things
-
Read the Stories.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Week 9 Essay
Crime and Justice in Native American Heroes
These stories all feature male heroes who are usually wise as well as skilled warriors. Also, though the stories come from different tribes and even different regions, they still have the same governing structure with a chief. Always a man, always a good warrior, and at some point he would have proven his wisdom or strength by defeating an enemy and gaining approval by the rest of the tribe.
Most of these stories feature a chief who has gone bad, and our hero is the one to replace him. But since the bad guy is still the man in charge, whatever evil things he does are not met with justice until he is overthrown.
In "The Jealous Uncle," the chief keeps killing his own nephews, and everyone knows and disagrees, but they do nothing to stop him. Even the father and mother do not avenge their children in any way, or even run away. If another man in the tribe were to act so murderously against his own family, then we would be brought to justice, but the chief is given ultimate power and with it, an ultimate pardon. In this particular story, the last nephew outsmarts the uncle and survives, but the only reason he ever exacts his revenge on his uncle is because he uses the resources of another tribe. What makes this character a hero is that he is the only one in the entire tribe who keeps the leadership accountable to their own rules.
In "The Son-In-Law Tests," the chief waits for his daughter to be married, and when he decides that he does not like them, he kills them. This happens multiple times without anyone doing anything to stop him. The father in this instance has more reason to be feared since he is not only the chief but also a god. Native American gods are often similar to Greek gods in that they are very flawed and interact with humans on the regular, causing trouble. Still, the only way that the justice of the land (which was supposed to be upheld by him) was brought was by outsmarting him and bending the rules.
All these stories show a common trait that the most important law in these communities was to obey the leaders. Even when the leaders had turned evil, the hero found ways to overcome them while still doing what the evil leaders had commanded. It is an odd and twisted trait, but it reveals a great loyalty to the tribe and to its leadership.
Read the full stories.
Headdress of Distinction. James Ayers. Photo info.
These stories all feature male heroes who are usually wise as well as skilled warriors. Also, though the stories come from different tribes and even different regions, they still have the same governing structure with a chief. Always a man, always a good warrior, and at some point he would have proven his wisdom or strength by defeating an enemy and gaining approval by the rest of the tribe.
Most of these stories feature a chief who has gone bad, and our hero is the one to replace him. But since the bad guy is still the man in charge, whatever evil things he does are not met with justice until he is overthrown.
In "The Jealous Uncle," the chief keeps killing his own nephews, and everyone knows and disagrees, but they do nothing to stop him. Even the father and mother do not avenge their children in any way, or even run away. If another man in the tribe were to act so murderously against his own family, then we would be brought to justice, but the chief is given ultimate power and with it, an ultimate pardon. In this particular story, the last nephew outsmarts the uncle and survives, but the only reason he ever exacts his revenge on his uncle is because he uses the resources of another tribe. What makes this character a hero is that he is the only one in the entire tribe who keeps the leadership accountable to their own rules.
In "The Son-In-Law Tests," the chief waits for his daughter to be married, and when he decides that he does not like them, he kills them. This happens multiple times without anyone doing anything to stop him. The father in this instance has more reason to be feared since he is not only the chief but also a god. Native American gods are often similar to Greek gods in that they are very flawed and interact with humans on the regular, causing trouble. Still, the only way that the justice of the land (which was supposed to be upheld by him) was brought was by outsmarting him and bending the rules.
All these stories show a common trait that the most important law in these communities was to obey the leaders. Even when the leaders had turned evil, the hero found ways to overcome them while still doing what the evil leaders had commanded. It is an odd and twisted trait, but it reveals a great loyalty to the tribe and to its leadership.
Read the full stories.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Storytelling Week 9: The Jealous Uncle
The Savageness of the Cow
One time, on a ranch in Wyoming, there was a large herd of cattle that were unlike any other in the world. These cows could talk and understand almost as much as humans did. In fact, some would say that their ability to hide the fact that they could talk proves that they were smarter than the humans. One thing is for sure though: even if they were not as smart, they definitely felt emotions as much as their human counterparts, especially jealousy and rage.
The leader of the herd was the biggest and strongest bull. He was called Wayne. Wayne was not particularly clever, and he was always scared that a younger bull would finally beat him out for leader of the herd. Whenever Wayne's brother would have a son, Wayne would kill the young calf.
The third time that Wayne's brother had a calf, they lied to their leader and told him it was a female. For a year, they told their offspring to go by Pat and only do as the females do. Eventually, Wayne caught on to their schemes and was enraged. "I am going to kill that boy and his parents too!" said Wayne.
Since Wayne was in charge, all the cattle feared him and would never challenge him, even if he was going to kill one of their own. Pat knew that if he was going to survive, he would have to outsmart his uncle, and he would be on his own. One night, Wayne came to Pat and said, "Nephew, come with me to kill these snakes that are bothering our neighbors." Pat knew that it was a trap, but he had prepared ahead of time. He had found old, hollow logs and stepped through them like shoes, protecting his legs.
When they went to the snake pit, Wayne pushed Pat to the middle of the pit and made a loud noise, waking the snakes. The murderous uncle quickly ran away without looking back and assumed that his nephew was dead. However, the snakes tried to bite Pat and became stuck on the wood around his legs. Pat took off his wooden armor, calmly walked back to the herd, and went to sleep.
The next morning, Wayne was burning with anger at the sight of his still-healthy nephew, but he would not give up. This time, he invited Pat to accompany him to the rancher's house. When they arrived, Wayne tricked his nephew into a trailer, and then locked him inside. The trailer left the ranch and drove for nearly a day.
When Pat arrived at this unknown land, he was very thirsty and headed toward the first pond he saw. While drinking from the pond, he began to sink into the mud without noticing and soon became stuck. Before he could call out for help, a shapely young heifer came to his aid and pulled him out of the mud. Pat thanked his savior, and soon made it clear that he did not intend for her to be a heifer for much longer.
These cattle were not like his herd in Wyoming, and they could not speak, but they did have their own kind of magic. They had special clothing that allowed them to turn into eagles. As a welcoming gift, they shared this magic with Pat. Though he liked this new herd, he decided that he must use his new skills to protect his parents. He turned into an eagle and flew all the way to his old ranch in Wyoming. When he arrived, the whole herd stared at the largest bird they had ever seen. Wayne announced that the bird was a gift from the gods to himself for being the best leader ever. As he was speaking to all the cattle, the eagle swooped down and cut off Wayne's head with his large talons.
Satisfied with his parents' safety, Pat flew back to his new herd and lived happily ever after.
Author's Note: This story is based off of one called The Jealous Uncle and is actually more similar to the original than you may think. The characters are not cows, they are human, but it involves an uncle killing his nephews to stay in power. Nephew number three outsmarts him and even when he is shipped across the sea in a box, comes back to avenge himself in the form of an eagle.
Bibliography: Thompson, Stith. Tales of the North American Indian. "The Jealous Uncle." 1929.
Read the full story.
One time, on a ranch in Wyoming, there was a large herd of cattle that were unlike any other in the world. These cows could talk and understand almost as much as humans did. In fact, some would say that their ability to hide the fact that they could talk proves that they were smarter than the humans. One thing is for sure though: even if they were not as smart, they definitely felt emotions as much as their human counterparts, especially jealousy and rage.
The leader of the herd was the biggest and strongest bull. He was called Wayne. Wayne was not particularly clever, and he was always scared that a younger bull would finally beat him out for leader of the herd. Whenever Wayne's brother would have a son, Wayne would kill the young calf.
The third time that Wayne's brother had a calf, they lied to their leader and told him it was a female. For a year, they told their offspring to go by Pat and only do as the females do. Eventually, Wayne caught on to their schemes and was enraged. "I am going to kill that boy and his parents too!" said Wayne.
Native American depiction of an Eagle by T. Baker. Image information.
When they went to the snake pit, Wayne pushed Pat to the middle of the pit and made a loud noise, waking the snakes. The murderous uncle quickly ran away without looking back and assumed that his nephew was dead. However, the snakes tried to bite Pat and became stuck on the wood around his legs. Pat took off his wooden armor, calmly walked back to the herd, and went to sleep.
The next morning, Wayne was burning with anger at the sight of his still-healthy nephew, but he would not give up. This time, he invited Pat to accompany him to the rancher's house. When they arrived, Wayne tricked his nephew into a trailer, and then locked him inside. The trailer left the ranch and drove for nearly a day.
When Pat arrived at this unknown land, he was very thirsty and headed toward the first pond he saw. While drinking from the pond, he began to sink into the mud without noticing and soon became stuck. Before he could call out for help, a shapely young heifer came to his aid and pulled him out of the mud. Pat thanked his savior, and soon made it clear that he did not intend for her to be a heifer for much longer.
These cattle were not like his herd in Wyoming, and they could not speak, but they did have their own kind of magic. They had special clothing that allowed them to turn into eagles. As a welcoming gift, they shared this magic with Pat. Though he liked this new herd, he decided that he must use his new skills to protect his parents. He turned into an eagle and flew all the way to his old ranch in Wyoming. When he arrived, the whole herd stared at the largest bird they had ever seen. Wayne announced that the bird was a gift from the gods to himself for being the best leader ever. As he was speaking to all the cattle, the eagle swooped down and cut off Wayne's head with his large talons.
Satisfied with his parents' safety, Pat flew back to his new herd and lived happily ever after.
Author's Note: This story is based off of one called The Jealous Uncle and is actually more similar to the original than you may think. The characters are not cows, they are human, but it involves an uncle killing his nephews to stay in power. Nephew number three outsmarts him and even when he is shipped across the sea in a box, comes back to avenge himself in the form of an eagle.
Bibliography: Thompson, Stith. Tales of the North American Indian. "The Jealous Uncle." 1929.
Read the full story.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Reading Diary Week 9: Native American Heroes
The Jealous Uncle
-The culture in this story is more unfamiliar than I expected. The uncle is killing his nephews, but since he has power, not even the parents have done anything about it.
-It looks like the only one fighting for the kid is himself and he is going to outsmart the uncle.
-Even after multiple failed attempts on his life, no one is doing anything to stop Unnatural Uncle.
-Besides the magic eagle clothing, this is kind of like Moses.
-His brothers are killed, his parents disguise him, the girls who find him are daughters of a chief of a different tribe, he goes back and kills the evil chief (all similar to Moses).
Bluejay and His Companions
-This features a man who is very silent about being mistreated but takes his revenge very seriously.
-I see how this would fit Native American culture better than the first story.
-The main characters are all types of different animals but all act human and maybe also have human bodies?
-Story takes a turn from revenge to a journey with all the other characters.
-Bluejay, who had caused the troubles was now completing tasks that allowed everyone to survive.
-Everywhere they go, people are trying to kill them, which I guess is generally how the Native Americans treated each other for a very long time.
Dug From Ground
-This one is much more mystical
-Babies from the roots of plants and giant beanstalk trees with large acorns
-Boy is kind of like Hercules or Superman, is finding out who he really is and if he is an immortal
-He is very strong and travels to the edge of the world with somewhat ease.
-While he is somewhat accepted, he must prove himself time and time again. This may be a lesson that was valued by this group of indians.
-He beats all the other brothers (animals and forces of nature and such). These are about living and nature but still conquering it.
The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle
-Story of monsters and man overcoming powerful nature
-Also they form the modern world and landscapes
-Also why animals look how they do
Lodge Boy and Thrown Away
-Ridiculously violent. The witch lady is basically an indian serial killer
-These stories are much more violent than the other units, but the Native Americans had many tribes that were warrior societies.
-This may be where stories about zombies and indian burial grounds come from
-The boys disobey everything their father says
-They literally do like 14 things they are explicitly told not to do.
-They kill all the bad things for the rest of their lives
The Son-In-Law Tests
-Once again, the chief is killing his son in laws and no one does anything about it.
-He will be outsmarted in this story though
-They cannot defy the wishes of the chief, but they can trick him
The Jealous Father
-Two wives, one son, son sleeps with other wife of no blood relation. This should be a cautionary tale against polygamy, but instead it points the blame on the dad
-These stories always have very creative weapons and supplies
-Also, this story is now also kind of a journey tale
-The heroes and/or villains often turn to a specific animal at the end of the story
Dirty Boy
-This is the first story in the unit where the Sun and Star, kind of gods, come down as humans without telling anyone.
-The dirty boy, sun, is going to win some wives using his archery skills
-This story is kind of like the story from the odyssey with the bow. He is even disguised as an ugly, sick, lame boy
-The girl is rewarded for being loyal to her sickly husband
Read the full stories here.
-The culture in this story is more unfamiliar than I expected. The uncle is killing his nephews, but since he has power, not even the parents have done anything about it.
-It looks like the only one fighting for the kid is himself and he is going to outsmart the uncle.
-Even after multiple failed attempts on his life, no one is doing anything to stop Unnatural Uncle.
-Besides the magic eagle clothing, this is kind of like Moses.
-His brothers are killed, his parents disguise him, the girls who find him are daughters of a chief of a different tribe, he goes back and kills the evil chief (all similar to Moses).
Bluejay and His Companions
-This features a man who is very silent about being mistreated but takes his revenge very seriously.
-I see how this would fit Native American culture better than the first story.
-The main characters are all types of different animals but all act human and maybe also have human bodies?
-Story takes a turn from revenge to a journey with all the other characters.
-Bluejay, who had caused the troubles was now completing tasks that allowed everyone to survive.
-Everywhere they go, people are trying to kill them, which I guess is generally how the Native Americans treated each other for a very long time.
Dug From Ground
-This one is much more mystical
-Babies from the roots of plants and giant beanstalk trees with large acorns
-Boy is kind of like Hercules or Superman, is finding out who he really is and if he is an immortal
-He is very strong and travels to the edge of the world with somewhat ease.
-While he is somewhat accepted, he must prove himself time and time again. This may be a lesson that was valued by this group of indians.
-He beats all the other brothers (animals and forces of nature and such). These are about living and nature but still conquering it.
The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle
-Story of monsters and man overcoming powerful nature
-Also they form the modern world and landscapes
-Also why animals look how they do
Lodge Boy and Thrown Away
-Ridiculously violent. The witch lady is basically an indian serial killer
-These stories are much more violent than the other units, but the Native Americans had many tribes that were warrior societies.
-This may be where stories about zombies and indian burial grounds come from
-The boys disobey everything their father says
-They literally do like 14 things they are explicitly told not to do.
-They kill all the bad things for the rest of their lives
The Son-In-Law Tests
-Once again, the chief is killing his son in laws and no one does anything about it.
-He will be outsmarted in this story though
-They cannot defy the wishes of the chief, but they can trick him
The Jealous Father
-Two wives, one son, son sleeps with other wife of no blood relation. This should be a cautionary tale against polygamy, but instead it points the blame on the dad
-These stories always have very creative weapons and supplies
-Also, this story is now also kind of a journey tale
-The heroes and/or villains often turn to a specific animal at the end of the story
Dirty Boy
-This is the first story in the unit where the Sun and Star, kind of gods, come down as humans without telling anyone.
-The dirty boy, sun, is going to win some wives using his archery skills
-This story is kind of like the story from the odyssey with the bow. He is even disguised as an ugly, sick, lame boy
-The girl is rewarded for being loyal to her sickly husband
Read the full stories here.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Reading Diary Assessment
As far as the length and the requirements of the reading diaries, they have been perfect. All the labels and titles and links are there and are working. However, for some reason the format of some of these posts had some mistakes. Several of them contained a very large, empty space at the bottom of the post, consisting of a bunch of empty lines from when I was fixing the paragraphs. These empty spaces have been removed to relieve any confusion that may have arose with their presence.
Another problem with the posts is that some of them are very very long. The instructions say not to include much of the plot, but all of my notes are fairly heavy not only on my reactions to the plot and characters but a step by step synopsis of the report. Cutting down on the amount of space wasted on plot summary should make the posts shorter and easier to review or look over. I do find that it is easier to remember what I am reacting to if I have some summary, but there should be a limit. For instance, my notes for week 1 are almost entirely a detailed description of the story of Cupid and Psyche until the last couple of lines. It is possible that I was not aware of the correct instructions at the time, but there still remains a trend of lacking analysis in my notes.
So, the bare requirements of the assignment have been met every week, but I could definitely do a better job at being more analytical and succinct to help myself out when I look back over the notes. These notes have been very helpful so far, and I am glad that they are assigned because I cannot remember the reactions I had to the many stories I have read so far.
Another problem with the posts is that some of them are very very long. The instructions say not to include much of the plot, but all of my notes are fairly heavy not only on my reactions to the plot and characters but a step by step synopsis of the report. Cutting down on the amount of space wasted on plot summary should make the posts shorter and easier to review or look over. I do find that it is easier to remember what I am reacting to if I have some summary, but there should be a limit. For instance, my notes for week 1 are almost entirely a detailed description of the story of Cupid and Psyche until the last couple of lines. It is possible that I was not aware of the correct instructions at the time, but there still remains a trend of lacking analysis in my notes.
So, the bare requirements of the assignment have been met every week, but I could definitely do a better job at being more analytical and succinct to help myself out when I look back over the notes. These notes have been very helpful so far, and I am glad that they are assigned because I cannot remember the reactions I had to the many stories I have read so far.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Week 7 Essay: Memories of Reading
The first memory I have of reading is my mom reading a Bible story to my sister and I in our room. She would read to us every night, but this is the first time that I remember looking at the page and noticing that there was more than just pictures on the page. My mom explained to me that she was reading what was written on the page and not just making stuff up from the illustrations. I was very impressed since I had no idea how it worked. To me, reading was basically a kind of magic that I did not know how to do.
The next step in my reading journey was when I was in kindergarten. I am the youngest of four (three older sisters), so all my siblings learned to read and write a very long time before I did. One night, I went into my dad's office and saw two of my sisters reading in a chair and my dad reading at his desk. I got very jealous very quickly, so I walked up to my dad and asked him to teach me to read. He told me I would learn soon in school, but I was stubborn and told him that I wanted to learn now.
My dad first explained that the page was made of paragraphs which were made of sentences, which were made of words, which were made of letters. So, he told me that I just needed to know what sounds the letters made and I would be set. He pointed to the first word on the page. The word was something along the lines of "everything" and I immediately told him that it was impossibly long. He agreed and went to "and." Now, I know the "a" sound and "d" and he helped me with the "n." However, I could not understand why it did not make three syllables.
This lesson continued and the same problem kept happening. It was probably about five minutes, but I was convinced that there were way too many letters and words and I would never be able to read. Fortunately for me, my first grade teacher was a genius for teaching how to read, and I could read small books by the end of the first semester. I also learned to really like those books because I could be like my big sisters and be in on my newfound magic skills that turned symbols into stories. I know that my dad actually did a pretty good job of trying to teach me, but it is probably for the best that I was quickly retaught by someone else.
The next step in my reading journey was when I was in kindergarten. I am the youngest of four (three older sisters), so all my siblings learned to read and write a very long time before I did. One night, I went into my dad's office and saw two of my sisters reading in a chair and my dad reading at his desk. I got very jealous very quickly, so I walked up to my dad and asked him to teach me to read. He told me I would learn soon in school, but I was stubborn and told him that I wanted to learn now.
Children who are much less confused than I was when learning how to read.
Image information.
My dad first explained that the page was made of paragraphs which were made of sentences, which were made of words, which were made of letters. So, he told me that I just needed to know what sounds the letters made and I would be set. He pointed to the first word on the page. The word was something along the lines of "everything" and I immediately told him that it was impossibly long. He agreed and went to "and." Now, I know the "a" sound and "d" and he helped me with the "n." However, I could not understand why it did not make three syllables.
This lesson continued and the same problem kept happening. It was probably about five minutes, but I was convinced that there were way too many letters and words and I would never be able to read. Fortunately for me, my first grade teacher was a genius for teaching how to read, and I could read small books by the end of the first semester. I also learned to really like those books because I could be like my big sisters and be in on my newfound magic skills that turned symbols into stories. I know that my dad actually did a pretty good job of trying to teach me, but it is probably for the best that I was quickly retaught by someone else.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Storytelling Week 7:The Fortunate Fish-Hook
The Golden Spatula
One time, in a land far away, there were two brothers. One, Bob, was a talented chef at Le Krusty Krabbe, and the other, Pat, was the best contractor in The City. Their work was known throughout the land for being the best in their respective trades. The only problem was that they were so good that they both grew more bored with their jobs.
One day, they went to the pub late at night, had a few drinks, and made an unusual bet. They agreed that the next day, they would each go to the other's job and whoever did the best job won. The chef had a special golden spatula that he claimed added extra flavor to everything he cooked, and he refused to cook without it. The contractor had a lucky pen that he used to sign off on all the blueprints and contracts. Every job he used that pen on was accident free. For that day, they would switch their lucky items to make it more fair. The prize had still not been determined, but it was to be glorious.
When morning came, Pat went to his brother's restaurant, and Bob went to the high-rise that his brother was building. By the end of the lunch rush, the sous chef had actually organized a mutiny and kicked out the contractor for the rest of the day. The construction managers "accidentally" locked the chef in a room and left him there for three hours after he had dropped blueprints out of the window on the 39th floor. Needless to say, both were horrible at the other's job.
At the end of the day, both agreed to return the lucky items and call it a draw. Bob handed back the pen, and Pat reached for the spatula and suddenly realized that he no longer had it. Furious, the chef went into a long, gory description of what he would do to his brother if it was not found. The contractor quickly ran back to the restaurant to search for the golden spatula. He searched everywhere, but alas, it could not be found there. Discouraged and afraid, he decided to try to buy a new one. There are not actually any stores that he could find with a solid gold spatula, so he went to a personal jeweler.
When Pat walked into the store, he saw the most beautiful girl in the world. Luckily for him, he had plenty of time to explain his predicament and his unique request. The girl agreed to do the job for him as quickly as she could, but only if he promised to taker her to dinner at Le Krusty Krabbe. The contractor quickly agreed, paid for the new golden spatula in advance, and walked out of the door with a smile on his face.
Author's Note: The Fortunate Fish-Hook features two brothers who are a hunter and a fisherman. When the fish hook is lost, the hunter goes on a long journey to find the fish who has it. He ends up marrying the sea god's daughter and getting them to help him. Then there is like battles and things, but my story did not go into that. So I changed the time and vocation of everyone, but the beginning plot is still the same.
Full story.
F. Champney. Romance of Old Japan Part 1: Mythology and Legend. "The Fortunate Fish-Hook."
One time, in a land far away, there were two brothers. One, Bob, was a talented chef at Le Krusty Krabbe, and the other, Pat, was the best contractor in The City. Their work was known throughout the land for being the best in their respective trades. The only problem was that they were so good that they both grew more bored with their jobs.
One day, they went to the pub late at night, had a few drinks, and made an unusual bet. They agreed that the next day, they would each go to the other's job and whoever did the best job won. The chef had a special golden spatula that he claimed added extra flavor to everything he cooked, and he refused to cook without it. The contractor had a lucky pen that he used to sign off on all the blueprints and contracts. Every job he used that pen on was accident free. For that day, they would switch their lucky items to make it more fair. The prize had still not been determined, but it was to be glorious.
The Golden Spatula from Spongebob. Information here.
When morning came, Pat went to his brother's restaurant, and Bob went to the high-rise that his brother was building. By the end of the lunch rush, the sous chef had actually organized a mutiny and kicked out the contractor for the rest of the day. The construction managers "accidentally" locked the chef in a room and left him there for three hours after he had dropped blueprints out of the window on the 39th floor. Needless to say, both were horrible at the other's job.
At the end of the day, both agreed to return the lucky items and call it a draw. Bob handed back the pen, and Pat reached for the spatula and suddenly realized that he no longer had it. Furious, the chef went into a long, gory description of what he would do to his brother if it was not found. The contractor quickly ran back to the restaurant to search for the golden spatula. He searched everywhere, but alas, it could not be found there. Discouraged and afraid, he decided to try to buy a new one. There are not actually any stores that he could find with a solid gold spatula, so he went to a personal jeweler.
When Pat walked into the store, he saw the most beautiful girl in the world. Luckily for him, he had plenty of time to explain his predicament and his unique request. The girl agreed to do the job for him as quickly as she could, but only if he promised to taker her to dinner at Le Krusty Krabbe. The contractor quickly agreed, paid for the new golden spatula in advance, and walked out of the door with a smile on his face.
Author's Note: The Fortunate Fish-Hook features two brothers who are a hunter and a fisherman. When the fish hook is lost, the hunter goes on a long journey to find the fish who has it. He ends up marrying the sea god's daughter and getting them to help him. Then there is like battles and things, but my story did not go into that. So I changed the time and vocation of everyone, but the beginning plot is still the same.
Full story.
F. Champney. Romance of Old Japan Part 1: Mythology and Legend. "The Fortunate Fish-Hook."
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