A Journey Through Stories: Mythology and Folklore

Vampire by FriedC. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.  A long time ago, there was an old woman who was a widow. She had a beautiful daughter named Zelda. The old woman taught her daughter that the most import thing is to marry a man who can cook so that she would never go hungry. Years later, a handsome many named Henry fell in love with Zelda. Once he finally worked up the courage, he asked Zelda's mother for permission to marry her daughter. The old woman said that she would give her blessing if and only if Henry could prove that he could prepare a wonderful meal for all of them. "I can do it. No problem at all," Henry answered nervously. He left for a long time, and finally came back with a burnt and barely edible vegetable casserole. "It's...umm really good," Zelda said, trying her best to not let her face give away how awful the food was. "This is terrible. It's the worst food I've ever eaten!" the old woman exclaimed. H...

Owl illustration by David Scheirer. Web source: Creative Commons.  The Owl Gets Married There once was a widow who had a daughter. The widow always reminded her daughter that it was going to be very important for her to marry someone who is good at hunting and can provide for her. The girl promised that she would would find a man like this. -  I am all about having help in life, but it makes me a little sad to think that this was all that the girl thought was important. Eventually a man asks for the girls hand in marriage, but the widow says that  she will only give her blessing to someone who is a good hunter, to which the man responded that he was. He made his plan to go hunt, but when he woke up the next day, he decided to fish instead. The man only caught three small fish that day, so it was pretty unsuccessful. He continues to try to hunt and fight food, but continues to fail. So the girl follows the man to see what is going on, and he turning into...

Otters by jharding534. Web source: Creative Commons.  The Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting  There was a very proud Rabbit. He boasted and claimed that he could do anything that anyone else could do. He was very good into talking all of the other animals into believing him. One time Rabbit claimed he could swim and do everything like Otter, while tricking Otter in the process. One day the Otter was talking about how he ate ducks. The Rabbit said that he ate ducks too. Otter doesn't believe Rabbit, so asks him to prove it. Otter gets a duck first. Rabbit tries to fashion a noose to catch one of the ducks, but has a hard time keeping a hold of it. He fell into a hollow stump and was stuck in there for several say; He even had to eat his own fur. The Rabbit hears some children nearby and starts singing in the hopes that they will help him to escape. The children's father comes out and starts cutting the stump and the Rabbit almost taunts them, saying that he is so pret...

Kanye West gif about creativity. Web source: Giphy.  This week I opted to do a lab where I watched videos about writing and the creative process. I wrote my thoughts on my favorite video below. The Power of Creative Restraints In this video Brandon Rodriguez talked about creative restraints, and how they can actually be helpful and freeing in the creative process. I thought that this topic was especially relatable and interesting. There have been many times when I have been assigned papers or projects where I could write about, read, or test anything that I want. This was something that I ran into most often in high school. While at first glance the idea of no boundaries, guidelines or constraints sounds like the optimal environment for creativity. Without any parameters, it is nearly impossible for me to come up with a creative idea, let alone execute it. One idea that Brandon Rodriguez expressed is: constraints are the foundation of creativity. I thought that this ...

American Crow by Linda Tanner. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.  The Dog-Husband There is a girl who has a dog...companion? She spent her days with him as a dog, then at night, he would turn into a man and lie next to her. So the girl becomes pregnant and her parents are very very mad. They call up the townspeople to tear apart the house and leave the girl to die. A Crow took pity on the girl and gave her some coals to try to keep warm. The girl gave birth to five dogs and her Dog-Husband had been killed by her father, she had no help in raising them. So as the pup children are growing up, the girl realizes that they can in human for as well. She is angry that they haven't had that form all along because she had received so much backlash about having dog children. The Crow that saved the girl so many years ago made its way back to the house to find the children all grow up. She confronts the boys about how they have been hunting whales and they finally listen to her....

Alaska Red Fox by Gregory Smith. Web source: Wikimedia commons.  The Fox-Woman Hunter- he lives by himself and has been away from his home for a long time. When he finally comes back, he finds that everything is nice and orderly. He thinks that this is how a dutiful wife would take care of her home. I don't get why a clean home is necessarily associated with a wife, but anyway. So he decides that he is going to leave his house. Except, he does leave. He decides to hide out in order to find out who has been cleaning his house. THE NERVE! The Hunter waits and waits outside of his house. He finally sees a fox goes into his home, for what he assumes is to scavenge for food. When the Hunter sneaks back into into the house, he sees...a beautiful woman? And a fox skin hanging up?? The woman says that she is his wife...which is pretty strange. The two live together until one day when the Fox-Woman started producing an odor. She then puts back on her fox suit an...

Image of lollipops by DDguy. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.  There once was a girl name Posie. She was a successful warrior, and had completed many quests. Because of her accomplishments, the leaders of the land built her a beautiful home right next to the Candy Store Queen's factory. Posie was extremely happy. She was able to do whatever she wanted and live in peace. One day, the town leaders summoned Posie to their court. They had an important mission for her. "We must ask you to complete an important task," said Esme, the town selectwoman. "I would be happy to do anything for this place that I love so much," Posie replied. "As you know, the Candy Store Queen is set to debut her new collection of magical candy within the coming weeks. She will be serving some of the candy at the town feast and saving the rest of for healing supplies. Many people want to get their hands on this candy for themselves, which is why we need you to guard the f...

Photo of peaches by Ewan Traveler. Web source: Creative Commons. People: The Great Saint  Lord of the Heavens - orders two architects to build a castle east of the peach garden of Queen-Mother of the West. The Saint really liked this setup. He could live his life and peace, walk in the heavens and visits the gods up above whenever he wanted. He had anything anyone could wish for. Basically, he spends all of his time in the heavens. Which sounds pretty cool, if you ask me. So back to the Lord of the Heavens, who charges one of the wise people to guarding this peach garden. Apparently, there are 3,600 trees in the peach garden. Wow that is a lot! The fruit only ripens every few thousand thousand years, so it is a big deal that it is kept safe. Of course, the fruit has magical powers and whoever eats it is kept safe and healthy. The last row of peaches ripens every nine thousand years and whoever eats the pit will live eternally. The Saint takes it upon himself ...

Image of crown by Simon Rankin. Web source: Creative Commons. People/Characters: -Stone Ape/King of the Apes: magical existence, streams of gold come out of his eyes - Lord of the Heavens: frightened by the Ape and his capabilities.  - Thousandmile-Eye and Fine-Ear: two Gods sent by the Lord of the Heavens to check out the Ape. They report that there is nothing to be concerned about.  Places:  - Mountain of Flowers and Fruits Important things: - The high rock- has all of the powers from the creation of the world. The rock burst one day and produced an egg of stone. An ape magically hatched out of the egg.  - Waterfall: the other apes decide that whoever can go down the waterfall without hurting themselves would be king.  -Once the Stone Ape becomes king, he appoints other monkeys to his court.  This is part of the story of the Monkey King. I think that it would  be interesting to retell ...

I am happy with my progress so far in this class. My storybook project is the thing that I am most proud of. From the very beginning I had an idea of what I wanted to create, and I have been able to stick to the plan and create something that I really like. The storybook assignments are definitely my favorite to do as well. I have gotten into a weekly routine for the most part, even though I have not stuck to the schedule that I originally set up for myself. I haven't completed any extra credit assignments yet, but may do some in the future. Looking forward, I think that I want to put more of an effort in to doing extra credit so that I can maybe finish the course early. Since I graduate in December, things are starting to get busy. I want to take advantage of the flexibility of this course and get some things done early if I can. We can do it! by J. Howard Miller. Web source: Wikimedia Commons. Here one of my favorite pictures! It gives me a little motivation every t...

I really appreciate the feedback that I have received so far in this class. The comments that are most helpful to me are the ones that point out mistakes or suggest things that I didn't notice while writing. Not only does it give me an idea of how to improve the stories that I have already written, but also help me think of things to incorporate in future stories. The more I learn about different feedback strategies, the better feedback I am able to give. The WWW really helps me to focus and give in-depth comments that are hopefully helpful. I've learned that giving feedback is not just about giving blind compliments on everything that I read. I do think that the blogs and introduction posts are a good way for our class to get to know each other. My introduction post really represents some of the most important things about me. I am happy with out it turned out. Looking forward, I do want to focus a little bit more on giving specific suggestions in my feedback and comment...

So far I have really enjoyed the writing and reading assignments in this course. Being a busy college student means that I don't have a lot of free time to read for fun. Having the readings built into the course gives me the opportunity to do something that I love while also learning about new stories and cultures. The same goes for the weekly writing assignments. Being "forced" to sit down and write something creative has be really fulfilling. I think that writing has been my favorite part of the class so far. I think I am most satisfied and excited with the writing that I have been doing for my storybook project. From the beginning I have had a really clear idea of what kind of book I wanted to create, and I am really happy with how it's turning out. I will admit that the note-taking with the reading assignments has become a little monotonous to me. I think that it's time for me to really change note-taking styles. Sometimes I feel compelled to write par...

Picnic Table by Sarah Hina. Web source: Creative Commons.   Piper woke up before sunrise to practice her sprinting. She got to school hours early and ran from wall to wall in the courtyard until it hurt to breathe. Today was the start of a week-long school-wide game of tag. She always tried to catch Rose, who had been the champion for the last three years, but she was never able to. This year, things were going to be different, even if she had to trick Rose into getting tagged.  In first period, Piper walked up to Rose and said, "I hate that we have let this game of tag keep us from being friends. Want to sit together at recess and have our lunch?" Rose found this somewhat suspicious. She knew that Piper hated her for being the fastest girl in the 7th grade, but she didn't want to cause any problems.  "Sure," Rose said. "We can meet at the picnic table by the big climbing tree."  "Sounds great!" Piper said with a ...

Brer Rabbit illustration. Web source: Wikimedia Commons . Here are my notes from one of the stories from the second half of the Brer Rabbit reading unit. Mr. Rabbit Meets His Match Again  Brer Rabbit and Brer Buzzard agreed that they were going to share some crops. The Buzzard did not get any crops, and Rabbit acted like he did not get any either. Buzzard claims that if he and Rabbit are able to go across the river, they will find a lot of crops to share. Brer Buzzard is going to fly Rabbit on his back in order to get across the river. The two rest on a tree branch and Rabbit says that he has his own crop that he can share with Buzzard. Rabbit convinces Buzzard to bring him back across the river and has to promise that he is actually going to split the crop up fairly. When they got back, Rabbit had trouble walking from being weak in the knees for a month later. This story features characters that have previously been at odds working together. I think that t...

"Brer Fox Tackles Brer Tarrypin", from  Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings: The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation , by Joel Chandler Harris. Web source: Wikimedia Commons. Here are my notes on the first part of the Brer Rabbit reading unit. Brer Rabbit: The Calamus Root Brer Fox is chasing Brer Rabbit. Fox wants to tell something to Rabbit, who hurries Fox to say what is up. Brer Fox said that he spoke with Brer Bear recently, who was upset that Fox and Rabbit were not getting along and being neighborly. Brer Rabbit thinks about this for a minute and then says that Fox can come have dinner at Rabbit's home with his wife and kids. The next day, Brer Rabbit and Mrs. Rabbit steal some vegetables from a garden...Probably not the best choice, but what are you going to do when you have a guest coming for dinner? Back at the Rabbit home, all of the children get very excited because they see Brer Fox coming...supposedly. Brer Rabbit and Mrs. Rabbit make th...