A Journey Through Stories: Mythology and Folklore

Hogwarts 10 by ahigett. Web source: Creative Commons.  This week I decided to complete one of the story lab options instead of writing a story. I've recorded some of my notes below on each of the two videos. The Danger of a Single Story Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie presented this talked about the power of storytelling. I was really excited to listen to this because I have previously read Adichie's book, We Should All Be Feminists , and even presented on it for one of my classes. In her talk, she discusses how growing up, she only had access to a single story. It was about white people, foreigners and talking about the weather. Being African, this alienated Adichie from relating to the characters that she read about. Because of this, when she first began writing, she didn't know how to write about characters that were like her. She continued by explaining other single stories that she had heard throughout her life. In a single thought, this talk explains that in ...

"Elephant,  Kanchanburi, Thailand 2018" by Dis da fi we. Web source: Creative Commons.  This is another fun story from the Tales of A Parrot. Today's story that I am  taking notes over is: The Frog, the Bee, and the Bird Like the other stories in this unit, this tale begins with a parrot telling Khohjisteh a story. There once was a bird, Saweh, who had laid eggs in a shady umbrella tree. Unexpectedly, an elephant comes and scratches his back on the trunk of the tree, which of course causes the eggs to fall. The Saweh is very upset, which makes sense because her eggs were just destroyed by some careless elephant. I would definitely be upset too. She talks to her other bird friend who reports that they have also been oppressed by the elephant. They know that being birds will make it more difficult for them to be able to take down an elephant. So the bird friend tells the Saweh that they know a bee. Not just any bee, though. This is a very wise and ...

Black and white photo of a cat by E. Landor, Ealing. Web source: Wikimedia Commons. Like the title of this post might hint to you, these stories are being told by a parrot.  This specific story is called:   The Old Lion and the Cat.  - There is a very old and worn out lion. His teeth are falling apart, and food gets stuck in them. There was so much meat in fact that mice would come and pick it out when the old lion what sleeping. This is really gross, but I'm assuming that they are starving and desperate.  - A fox suggests that a cat keep watch over night so that the lion can sleep without being disturbed. This cat seem pretty cool, and she is able to keep the mice away without hurting them.  - One day the cat has to go run some errands, so she leaves the kitten with the lion. The only problem is that this kitten is not chill like the cat and it kills or eats all of the mice in the one night that the cat is gone. The cat is upset but the ki...

Promposal by P.D.V Photography. Web source: Creative Commons. It was March of Al's junior year and things were really starting to get crazy. In addition to college entrance exams and application practice, there was was one thing bigger than all of the others- THE PROM. Everyone who was anyone already had a date to the dance, outfits picked out, and limos rented. Al though, was not taking part in any of this. He was quiet and mostly spent time hanging out with his best friend, Genie. One day as Al dropped his books off at his locker, he caught a Glimpse of the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He knew that he had never seen her before, and assumed that she was a new student. "I know who I'm going to ask to prom," said Al to Genie. "What do you mean? We're not going to prom," said Genie. "I've just seen the most beautiful girl, and I know that I have to ask her", Al replied. Genie rolled his eyes, but immediatel...

Aladdin's Lamp by Demonicuss. Web source: Creative Commons.  While the story of Aladdin was really interesting, it is much too long to try to retell the whole thing, so my notes today are going to focus on Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp Part 2.  - So Aladdin comes home with this lamp and he and mom are planning on selling it. When they clean the lamp off, a genie appears. Aladdin commands the genie to get him something to eat, which the genie does, but Aladdin's mom is not happy about this whole genie situation. She thinks it associated with the devils, but Aladdin is pretty sure that everything is chill. -Aladdin uses the genie's powers to make enough money to live off of for many years. One day the Sultan announce that everyone should close their windows and not look outside while the princess goes to take a bath. - Doesn't everyone know that when someone tells you not to look, all you want to do is look? - Of course Aladdin decides that he must...

Desert, Jordan by _Mrs_B. Web source: Creative Commons  Arabian Nights: The Merchant and the Genius - There once was a merchant that had a lot of money and property. He was an important guy, so he often had to travel for business to arrange his affair and stuff like that. - So the merchant is on a business trip, and he stops to get a drink of water and a very angry genie (or genius, as it is put in the  original work), say that he is going to kill the man for killing the genie's son. The man is super confused because he has no idea who the son is, but apparently he hit him with a stone while he was resting on his trip. - I'm keeping in mind that  Scheherazade is telling this story to a Sultan who is letting her stay alive as she tells the stories every night. However, she is a smart woman because instead of finishing her story and letting her fate be left up to the Sultan, she keeps adding to her stories.  -Back to the merchant: he asks the genius ...

The Wizard of Oz (1939) by twm1340. Web source: Creative Commons.   Today I am going back into some ideas for my characters of Oz themed story book. As I mentioned in my last project post , I am going to focus the stories on Baum's characters the Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man (Lionel, Crowder, and Timmy, respectively) on their journey through college at the University of Oz. The three are roommates and friends long before they take that famous trip to meet the wizard. My storybook will feature a defining story for each of the characters that happens on one night at a party.  In my last post, I planned out some pretty specific episode ideas for each of the three character's tales, so today I will go more in depth about what I want to get across in each story and what techniques I might use to do that.  Stories:  The Lion- Why is he cowardly? This story will explain why the Lion, Lionel, goes on to become cowardly and how that has an impact ...

Hello and welcome to my comment wall!  Click here to view my storybook project: The Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man: Before the Wizard Wizard of Oz illustration by W.W. Denslow. Web source: Wikipedia. 

Athena appearing to Odysseus to reveal the Island of Ithaca. Oil painting from the 18th century by Giuseppe Bottani. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.  This week I decided to work on a story lab instead of retelling a story from one of my readings. For this project, I watched a series of Crash Course videos on world mythology. I really enjoy using this type of video to learn more about encompassing subjects, like mythology because it helps break these big ideas down into smaller, more digestible concepts.  What is a Myth? Crash Course World Mythology #1 I thought that comparing mythology to a Slurpee was a really great (and funny) way of explaining how many different subjects contribute to mythology. Just during the first few weeks of this class, I have read stories that could be incorporated in my gender studies, history, or international studies classes. Theories of Myth: Crash Course World Mythology #12 This lesson focused on how myths are studied. Th...

Painting of Saint Martha and the Dragon by  André Abellon in 1430. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.  Today's story is about Saint Martha, sister of Mary Magdalene. Saint Martha  - Martha is a hostess of Jesus Christ, and after his ascension, she goes a on a big trip in a boat. A few of the people on this trip are her sister Mary, brother Lazarus, and Saint Maximin. - The boat is going on the river of Rhone. There is a dragon in this area. The dragon is half beast and half fish, with sharp teeth, horns, a lion's head, and serpent's tail. So yeah, this thing sounds pretty scary and gross. Did I mention that this dragon monster thing eats humans? Because it does. - Because somebody has to stand up to the beast, Martha takes charge and attacks it with holy water and showed him a cross. She then tied up the creature with her girdle and killed it with a sword weapon. - Moving forward, Martha lived a rather blessed life. She fasted and ate only once a day and p...

S aint Christine. Engraving by N. Mellini after V. Pizzoli. Web source: Wikimedia Commons. Today's notes are going to be all about Women Saints! More specifically, I am going to focus on Saint Christine of Italy. Saint Christine -Christine was a beautiful woman, born in Tyre, Italy. She was so beautiful in fact, that her father kept her locked away in a tower. All of the men wanted to marry her, but Christine's father was adamant on her maintaining her virginity (a little creepy in my opinion) so as a way to worship the gods. - The girl was not on board with these sacrifices and tried to avoid doing them if at all possible. Christine refuses to sacrifice to multiple gods, so her father gets very mad and chains her up (again, really weird). - So basically she is tortured because she refuses to worship all of these other gods. Her dad tries to set her on fire and instead of her being burnt, 500 other men are burned. Christine's father claims that this mea...

Feedback cat meme created by Laura Gibbs. Original image from cheezburger . Web source .  This week I am learning more about the process of giving helpful feedback. Last week I focused on why receiving feedback and making mistakes is important in the creative process, and now I am exploring the other side of that. Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback  emphasizes the idea that good feedback requires focusing on the future instead of mistakes that have happened in the past. It explains that when people are receiving feedback they need to hear about not only what they were successful with, but what they can improve on moving forward. The key idea to me is focusing on the future. If I, or someone else, made a mistake, it does not do any good to just point that mistake out. Giving input for things that can be done differently going forward is actually more helpful when giving feedback. Wait, I mean feedforward. Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth...

"T he Wizard of Oz" by L á   Studio, blue Rain. Web source: Creative Commons.   So it was really difficult to decide on which story topic to research for my project, but I think I have decided to go with the World of Oz. When I started thinking about the storybook that I wanted to create, I became really inspired thinking about the backstories of the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow. We think that we know where their story begins when they accompany Dorothy on her journey to Oz, but what if they knew each other long before that? My story idea is to explore these three characters sharing a dorm room in their freshman year of college. I'm thinking that the different stories will take turns being told from character's points of view, and each character will have at least one story that adds to who they become in Baum's telling of the Wizard of Oz. For now, my three story ideas are as follows: The Cowardly Lion Before the word cowardly ...

Girl in a Wood painting by  Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.  There once was a girl named Luna. She came from a very poor family, but she longed for the finer things in life. One day, Luna's mother instructed her to travel through the woods and into the city to sell some of the family's possessions for money. She handed Luna a small burlap sack with their only few things that had value: an heirloom locket, an antique tea kettle, and a few items with silver that could be melted down. Luna felt sad and somewhat ashamed that her and her mother's lives could fit into a tiny burlap sack. The girl set off on her journey through the woods. She didn't like to travel alone, but Luna knew that she had to do this for her family. After about an hour of walking, Luna began to grow very tired. Not paying attention, she got her foot caught on a tree root and fell. As she went down, her sack flew out of her hands and off a small cliff. Luna began to...

Mercury Greek God by Uva79. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.  Here are some notes on my favorite story of Part B. Yesterday I tried to cover too many stories, so today I am just focusing on one that really stuck out to me and that I will want to retell. Page 14- Mercury and the Woodman Story overview - A Woodsman is working in the woods. The poor man has been working all day and his axe accidentally slipped out of his hand. The man is completely devastated because he needs his axe to work. Mercury (the god) appears and tries to retrieve the man's axe. First he brings gold axe, then a silver axe. The man tells Mercury that neither of those are his axe. He just had a regular axe. Mercury finds the man's real axe and returns it to him. To reward the man for his honesty, Mercury gives all of the axes to the man. When other people hear about this story, they try to scam Mercury into giving them a golden axe, but instead Mercury just hits them in the head. Retelli...

Here are my notes from the Part A reading for week 3. The Wolf and the Lamb State 1 by Wenceslaus Hollar. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.  Page 1 The Wolf and the Kid - The Kid believes that it is grown and able to take care of itself. - Once the Kid is alone, the Wolf comes up to him. The knows that he is doomed and asks the Wolf if he can play a song before eating the Kid. -Shepherd dogs heard the song, and chases the Wolf away. - The Kid is safe, and the Wolf regrets not eating it right away. The Tortoise and the Ducks - A tortoise wishes that he could fly and is lifted into the sky by two duck by holding onto a string with his mouth. When he opens his mouth to say something unnecessary to the birds, he falls and is killed. - Just because you wish to fly, does not mean that it will bring you prosperity. Page 2 The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox - The dog and the cock were good friends, and left the farm to go on an adventure. The cock forgot where he was a...