Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Part A

I have previously read, I think, one story from the Canterbury Tales, but I don't remember it at all. It would have been a long time ago and I think it could be interesting to read something that I read as a child. In the first story, "The Wife of Bath's Tale," a knight is sent by the Queen to figure out what women wish for the most in order to spare his own life. Many of the answers are very typical of women in medieval times, but I think that I could make this into a modern day story. What I plan to write about is a modern day boy who is given the task, for some reason, to find out what women wish for the most. The answers from all of the girls will be cliches, except for the real wish. I could also tie this into the topic of feminism because that is a very important topic amongst society currently. Women are expected to want stereotypical things, like children, makeup, or money, but in current society, women are achieving standards that no man would have deemed possible in the past. An old woman told him that the thing women desired the most was to rule over their husbands. All the women agreed, which is a very unlikely answer nowadays, and his life was spared; however, in return, the knight had to grant the old woman a wish and she wanted to be his wife. He was unhappy at first, but then when he accepted his fate, the hag turned into a beautiful young woman and they lived happily ever after. I want to change my story to include a more modern answer to this mysterious question.


An example of sexual prejudice against women in advertising, 1950s.

"Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Story Planning: The Lion and the Fox

In my story, I want to capture the positive energy of the stories for a children's audience like in the original. Meaning, I want to target my stories to a younger audience to incorporate the complete opposite types of stories than what I read last week. The fights between animals still happen in the children's tales, they just aren't described as in depth, which includes the gruesome vocabulary that some authors use in Native American tales. In my story, I am going to include two main characters, the Lion and the Fox. Lions and foxes typically do not get along in the wild and I plan to write about the history behind this famous feud. Many myths and stories that we read in this class, especially in those of the Native Americans, don't give the main animal characters specific names. This is very different from children's stories today, because most of them are made up of fictional characters that eventually end up as a figure on their lunch box. Modern day children don't get the history and knowledge of the life of animals and I want to be able to offer this in my story.
The Lion is the king, so you know he is going to be cocky. He lays on top of the highest rock and watches over his beloved kingdom while his wife does all the work. Keep in mind that lions get very angry when other animals encroach on their territory.
The Fox is sly and sleeps under a rock. He and the Lion are very different, but they are also both predators so they share similar DNA. The Fox is constantly antagonizing the other animals, but his favorite in particular is the Lion.
Since they prey on some of the same animals, this can create tension on the land. Other animals will have to choose sides if they want to survive.


The Lion and the Fox; anonymous.


When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton.

Reading Notes: Tejas and Other Indian Legends, Part A

I chose this story because it was described as nature tales for children. This reminds me more of Greek mythology in the sense that the gods are in touch with the Earth. It is made up of the individual stories behind the certain aspects of nature. The first chapter talks about the story behind the word hurricane, which was originally a giant bird named Hurakan who belonged to the Storm God. They would terrorize the people, but I can tell that this story was intended for a younger audience. It has a more upbeat and positive feel to it, even when talking about the evil person in the story. It is interesting to read the Native American stories last week, where they were gruesome and vulgar, and then read a much milder version this week. It is important to explore a variety of stories because if not, then you won't understand the Native American culture fully. I want to write my own story this week about the creation of some famous landform. I plan to include my own god, different from the Storm God, that created this landform a long time ago in a world much different than the one we live in today. I want to incorporate magic and animals that help the god during his journey and creation. I like how the author used a name like Hurakan which is similar to hurricane. I want to write about a natural disaster and the original animal it was named after. It could be an earthquake, tornado or tsunami. 

Original illustration from the story; by Berniece Burrough (1936).

When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton. 

Story Planning: Unnatural Uncle

The story "The Jealous Uncle" from the book Tales of the North American Indian was the most interesting to me. It talked about an uncle who would murder his infant nephews and how one of the nephew used unlikely objects to avoid his own murder. It is important to know that the nephew's aunt dressed the boy like a girl for his entire childhood to protect him from his jealous uncle. In the story, the nephew used sour cranberries, eagle-down and a piece of a knife in creative and useful ways. In my story, however, I would like to create three of my own odd objects that the boy will use in his escape. I want to incorporate a broken caribou antler, a corn husk and a fur coat into my story because they will prove difficult to use when the boy is trying to escape. The caribou antler will be used to misdirect the uncle towards another part of the forest. The nephew can burn the corn husk to summon his ancestors to protect him from his uncle. Lastly, the fur coat when worn, has the power to turn the nephew into the animal who's fur it belongs to. In the original story, the nephew escapes to a land where the people can turn into eagles by simply putting on their skin. This is an interesting idea because I have never read anything like that in this class. I also want to include the close-knit culture of the Native American tribes and how they value family and their traditions.


Native American mother and child.

"The Jealous Uncle" from Tales of the North American Indian by Stith Thompson.

Reading Notes: Stith Thompson's Tales of the North American Indians, Part B

After reading the rest of the stories, I have come to realize that Native American stories can be very violent and gruesome. All of the stories involved killing, but sometimes it was over-descriptive. It proved difficult to read at times because even the main characters would be killed suddenly. Many of the stories also include hunting of some type in the plot. In Part A, the uncle lured his nephew out to the woods because they were going hunting. In Part B from the story "Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away," the husband escaped his own death because he was out hunting for his family. The stories that the Native Americans tell most of the time involve a single person who is terrorizing a certain group of people. I can put a creative twist on this in my story this week because I can write up my own version of a serial killer or villain. I like how in these stories the people who fall victim to the villain's cruelty outsmart the them every time. I have noticed that, especially in these stories, the evil character looks senseless up against the innocent man being hunted. The characters in the Native American stories are especially savage; for example in the story "The Son-In-Law Tests," Wemicus forces his son-in-law to eat the lice from his head. Luckily, the son-in-law prepared for this and only pretended to eat them. Obviously this was written in a vastly different time period, but these stories take myths to a whole new level. The Native Americans include some of the same motifs throughout different stories, like the individual killers or different recurring objects. In two different stories, the author associated fire with moccasins and I am assuming this is a cultural reference. I would like to include specific culture references like this one in my own story.


The Crow Tribe, where the story "Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away" originated.

Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson

Reading Notes: Stith Thompson's Tales of the North American Indian, Part A

I decided to read a story that allowed me to read about the cultures of a variety of Native American tribes. This book, Tales of the North American Indian by Stith Thompson includes specific stories from the Hupa, Apache, Crow and Cree tribes.

The story called "The Jealous Uncle" interested me the most when it started off more gruesome than most of the stories I have read in this class. However, the fate of the main character was different than many of the stories from other parts of the world. The writer starts by talking about a man who would kill his nephews when they would get to be just a few years old. A new nephew was born, but he acted like a girl his entire childhood in order to be spared. When his uncle finally figured out he was a boy, he was set on killing him. The boy uses three unsuspecting objects to get himself out of his attempted murder, but unfortunately the uncle trapped him in a box and left him in the ocean to die.

For my story this week, I have the option to write a version of the original story of "The Jealous Uncle". I want to use the same premise for my story by including a terrorizing uncle, a nephew and three odd items. The part of the story where the innocent boy uses random objects to get out of the fatal situations is most entertaining because this allows me to use my imagination when creating three new objects for my character to use. This story, in particular, gave me some insight into the culture of storytelling in Native American tribes. In a Native American Studies class I took, we learned about the importance of storytelling to the Native Americans and how they cherish this time that they spend together with their family. They are a very close-knit group of people and I like being able to read some of these culturally significant stories. I want to incorporate this part of their culture as well in my storytelling assignment this week.


Tribe joined together to tell stories.

Tales of the North American Indian by Stith Thompson

Week 8 Reflections

I have found that I enjoy international myths from countries that I haven't ever read about before. I enjoyed the "Stories of Congo" the most of all the stories I read, and my most interesting story was written based on this story. I find that reading out loud makes me more interested and focused on the story I'm reading. It also depends on the environment around me. I like to read on my balcony and I find that changing places a few times while I am reading helps me to focus better as well. When I am having a problem focusing, I like to take a walk or take a break from writing and let my brain refresh. Writers' block is real.
My reading notes are helpful when I am writing my stories because I am able to immediately write down an idea on my blog post. I used to dread writing long entries, but if I try to have fun with it, the time goes by fast. I have learned that I enjoy writing more descriptive stories rather than stories with a lot of dialogue. The reader can get a better feel of the story, setting and characters with details about each aspect.
My favorite part about reading other students' stories is that, sometimes, they read the same story as me, but they have written a different story than I did. Giving and receiving feedback is extremely helpful when I am revising my stories because it gives me another perspective on my story.

What I imagine the monkey king of the "Stories of Congo" looks like.

Story: Dream of a Queen

A long, long time ago, a baby girl was born into a servant family. Her name was Amelia and she was different from the first day of her life until her last. She grew up at the bottom of a giant mountain, which had a castle on the top. Her mother told her stories about the royal family that lived there and about the young queen who lived there who happened to be the same age as Amelia. As she grew older, Amelia saw the poverty that filled her village and that overcame her parents everyday. She, her mother and her father had to work in the fields from sunrise to sunset every single day, just to each be able to buy a bowl of soup. Although Amelia loved her family and wouldn't trade them for the world, she wanted their lives together to be more rewarding and less stressful. She saw the way that her mother and father were affected by their financial problems, and not to mention the health issues that arise from working daily in a field. Amelia wanted to change her and her family's fate, but she didn't know how.


Castle on a mountain.

One night, Amelia went into a deep sleep and had the most vivid and realistic dream of her life. She and her family lived in the elegant castle on the top of the mountain and ruled over all of the land they could see. Her bed enveloped her and the canopy above her head was made of the most beautiful woven cloth she had ever seen.
She sat up and immediately a woman scurried over to her and asked, "Good morning, your majesty. Would you like to fetch you some water?"
Amelia was beyond confused and overwhelmed. Just when she thought things could not get any weirder, her mother walked into the room wearing a gown and dripping in priceless jewelry.
"Hello, darling. I hope you slept well! We have a busy day ahead of us. The girls will get you ready and tell you about the appointments you have today." Before Amelia could respond, her mother was floating out the door. Dozens of women swarmed her and started to prepare her for her "busy day," whatever that mean! Amelia had millions of questions, starting off with "Where am I?"
One of the younger girls seemed confused and responded with a shy, "Your castle, your majesty."
Amelia immediately realized that she was the queen of the mountain!

The day went by in a blur, with hundreds of villagers coming in to the castle speak to the queen herself. At the end of the day, the new queen lay in bed and shut her eyes. That night she dreamt about a quaint life in a village. She and her parents worked in a field from dawn until dusk, but Amelia had never been happier.

Author's Note: My story is based off of the chapter called "The Vanishing Wife." The main character Buite was very unhappy and one night had a dream; and the next day when he woke up, it was true! This idea for a story reminded me of the movie "Bedtime Stories," but it is obviously more historical. It can create a plethora of unique stories, but that all focus on the same theme. I noticed that this magical power to dream something to life was recurring in the Stories from Congo, and I wanted to memorialize this. I decided to end the story with an interpretive ending, meaning the reader can make what they want of it. I didn't want to have to decide whether Amelia was dreaming the entire time, because, in my opinion, that is not important. Many stories are open for complete interpretation, but this one has a basic plot. Dreaming is a very interesting topic of conversation and in stories so I am glad that I got to share this story with you.
Richard Edward Dennett's Stories from Congo "The Vanishing Wife"

Reading Notes: Stories from Congo, Part B

In one of the stories, a man stumbled upon a tree and starts to pull at the branches. When he pulls off one of the leaves, it turns into a woman. All of the leaves that he tugs at start to turn into men and women. This part of the story reminds me of the Tree of Life from the Bible, but it different because in this story, it involves magic. The woman who was transformed from a leaf became the man's wife and turned him into a more handsome man and created a village and home for them to live in. In the first story of Part B, it tells a myth about why the leopard always kills an antelope when it sees it. Within the story, the author uses native African words, like nkutu, ngongo, shimbec and chimpacasi, to incorporate the culture of the people of Congo. The words are put into the story in a manner where the reader can infer what they mean, without the author actually specifying. Most of the stories are depressing, but I think I could write my own unique and possibly up-beat version for this week's storytelling assignment. I plan to write about two other animals that don't get along, or perhaps do get along, and the story behind how they came to meet each other. I have noticed that most of the stories are more gruesome than the Greek myth, but they are still entertaining to read. In one of the stories, an antelope sends a leopard's skinned head to his wife and she ate it. It was a bit more morbid than some of the stories that I read, but it shows the unique characteristics and culture of original myths from Congo. Most of the myths also contain the same animals, including leopards, antelope and gazelle. These are animals native to Africa and are well known amongst that region of the world. I enjoy reading stories from Africa and Asia because I have never read anything like them before and it gives me some insight into what their cultures are like.


Leopard attacking an antelope.

Richard Edward Dennett's Stories from Congo (1898).

Reading Notes: Stories from Congo, Part A

The story jumps right in with a man killing animals and giving them to his three wives to eat. Then, suddenly, an ox killed the man while he was trying to hunt. One of the wives has the power to dream what has happened; another has the power to locate their husband; and the other has the power to bring him back to life. The animals that the characters eat in the story are different than those that people eat nowadays, especially in the United States. They eat monkeys and antelope. The dog is also animated and can speak to his owner. I enjoy reading stories that have talking animals because it can attract people of all ages and with different interests. Even as an adult, I love watching animated movies and the stories that are created to develop the animated characters.
A recurring magical power that characters in this story seem to have is the power to dream something and then it actually coming to life. One of the wives in the first story had this power and so did Buite, a man who left his brother to live alone in a valley. However, when Buite did not follow the exact storyline of his dream, all of it went away. I would like to possibly write about this in this week's storytelling assignment because I could talk about a more modern man who also dreamed about his perfect woman.
A motif that is often seen in these types of stories is when one of the main characters runs away from home to start a new life for themselves. This can be the beginning of a mysterious, unfamiliar place where anything could happen to this character and where they have no one else that they know. I think it is important to reference these motifs when writing your version of the story because it keeps the main ideas similar to the original. It magnifies important themes that were frequently used in not only Africa, but also the majority of myths.


Women and wives of Congo, by Henry M. Stanley.

Richard Edward Dennett's Stories from Congo (1898).

Portfolio Story Week 4

It was August in Los Angeles and the heat was unbearable, not to mention it was the first day of school at Seaside High. One person in particular who had been dreading this day ever since she moved to LA at the beginning of the summer was Scarlet. She rolled over and hit the snooze button for the fifth time on her alarm clock. It was her senior year at a new school where she knew no one. Scarlet was shy around new people, so she was especially nervous about having to walk into an unfamiliar and unusual place. Her mom always told her that she got her looks from the Greek Gods and not from her and her father. Scarlet had always been the girl who was beautiful yet mysterious. At her last school she wasn't very lucky with meeting people. So did looks really matter if no one wanted to be your friend?

A few streets down a boy named Flynn was getting ready to leave for his first day at a new school too. There were so many thoughts going through his head as he walked out the door to meet his sudden fate at a place where he knew nobody. He wanted to make friends, but it was so hard considering it was his senior year. He had always been told that he was a beautiful child, but that didn't seem important because Flynn was lonely all the time. He had always been an outcast at his past schools, and he didn't expect this year to be any different. He stumbled out of bed and grabbed his usual black hoodie and ragged jeans. As he slipped out the door, he thought to himself, "Will I ever meet someone who really understands me for who I am?"

Scarlet walked up to the front doors of the school and pushed them open. Everyone turned and looked at the new and exotically beautiful girl. Her wavy red hair draped all the way down to her lower back. She had no makeup on; her mom always told her that her natural beauty was enough. Scarlet walked through the hallway with everyone's eyes on her, but then all of their eyes shifted back to the front door. Out walked Flynn, a long, chiseled face hidden behind curly brown hair. The girls couldn't keep their eyes off him, and the boys couldn't keep their eyes off Scarlet.

The first bell of the day rang and everyone broke their gazes and sprinted to class. Scarlet and Flynn bumped into each other as they both tried to make it inside the classroom before they were counted late. Scarlet dropped her books and Flynn quickly bent down and picked them up in one fell swoop. They sat at desks next to each each other in the back of the room, but neither of them spoke a word the entire hour. As they walked out the door to go to their next classes, Flynn called to Scarlet. "Hey, I'm Flynn, by the way." He walked away, but little did they know that would be the start of these soulmates' story together.

Flynn and Scarlet went on a couple of dates, but when Flynn finally invited Scarlet to come over to his house, his mother was anything but pleased to see her. She told Flynn that Scarlet reminded her of her husband's ex-wife, Charlotte. Her red hair and piercing blue eyes were identical to Charlotte's and she refused to let Scarlet into the house. This went on for almost a month, until Flynn decided to stand up to his mother and tell her how he felt about Scarlet. His mother, at first, did not believe Flynn, telling him that he was naive and merely infatuated with the beautiful girl. However, Flynn proved her wrong. He said that he believed that they were soulmates and that they had been placed on this earth to meet each other. "Regardless of what you say, Mother, I will never give up on the love of my life, Scarlet." Then Flynn's mother said something that he was never expecting to hear...

"Well, nothing can stand in the way of true love, Flynn."

This picture of a statue of Psyche and Cupid represents the love that they share and the love that Scarlet and Flynn share.

"Psyche Revived By Cupid's Kiss" by Antonio Canova.

Author's Note: I based this story loosely on the story of Cupid and Psyche. Psyche was the most beautiful girl to ever set foot on earth, yet no one wanted to marry her. It wasn't until Cupid came along and shot himself with his arrow that Psyche met the love of her life. Scarlet and Flynn represent Psyche and Cupid and, although their story is much more modernized, it still is a romance story about two young lovers. Psyche was not only the most beautiful woman in the entire world, but she also had red hair. The reason I like the story of Cupid and Psyche is that they didn't let anyone else get in the way of their true love. I decided to incorporate a small obstacle that Scarlet and Flynn have to overcome because no true love story is complete without someone trying to stand in their way. This lack of acceptance of Scarlet and Flynn's relationship from his mother is similar to the unaccepting attitude that Venus, Cupid's mother, had in the original story. They seemed to make each other happy, just as Cupid and Psyche were in Apuleius's story. I wanted to also incorporate a more modern theme, as opposed to the way that a myth is written. The story is written in a present world and it is a modern day teenage romance.

Bibliography:

Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche