Week 11 Reading Diary, Continued: King Arthur

Unit: Reading for Week 11 is King Arthur: Stories of Arthur along with tales of his knights and their quest for the Holy Grail.


Source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902). 

Sir Galahad by Arthur Hughes

 Sir Galahad and the White Knight

•  I've noticed that in a lot of stories like this really convenient things happen.  Sir Galahad needs a shield and somebody give him one that only he can wear.

Sir Lancelot's Vision

•  I noticed that the Holy grail is spelled Graal in this story.  I wonder if this is just an older spelling.

The Adventure of Sir Percivale

•  "so that he fell dead to the earth, and Sir Percivale fell with him; then the Knight rode away."  I don't know why, but this part of the story stood out to me.  Named characters and knights don't fall as often in movies or modern stories, it's usually people like the 'red shirts.'

Sir Lancelot and the Five Hundred Knights

•  It is interesting that the other knight way able to fight so long that Sir Lancelot was to tired to even lift this arm.

Sir Gawaine and the Hermit

• I think it is interesting that Charity, fasting, and truth are lumped together.  I don't tend to think of fasting is a virtuous trait, (not that it is bad, just don't see why it is seen as something valuable).

The Adventure of Sir Bors

•  I think this story chose an interesting way for Sir Percivale and Sir Bors to meet up.  I know these are snippets of a larger stories, so it's something a little confusing to follow these mini tales.

Sir Galahad and the Mysterious Ship

•  I liked the line, "Thou man which shall enter this ship beware thou be in steadfast belief; if thou fail, I shall not help thee."  It's always interesting to see how characters react to scenarios like this.

Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad

•  I think it is cool and interesting that Sir Lancelot finds Sir Percivale's sister, and that he finds her journal. 
• They chose to stay and live in the ship for half a year, an interesting choice.

Sir Galahad and the Graal

•  I'm a little surprised somebody managed to actually find the graal's location. 
• I also did not expect Galahad to die during this journey. 

The End of Arthur

•  This story I am familiar with, that Mordred and Arthur kill each other. 
• I like that Excalibur was returned to where it came from. 

Week 9 Reading Diary, Continued: Myths and Legends of Alaska

Myths and Legends of Alaska, edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1911).

Evening, Sky - Free illustrations on Pixabay

Origin of the Chilkat Blanket

• This story tells the reader that "In those days also, animals could take off their furry skins; then they looked just like people." This was a detail that I already figured out.  I think it should have been mentioned in the very first story in this unit instead of here.

The First Woman

•  I enjoyed the proof that the tale is true, as listed at the end of this story. 

Origin of the Winds

•  I like the idea of the sky being a wall that people can walk along. 
• The repetition in this story gives it an almost sing song feel.  It would be a good children's story.

The Land of the Dead

•  I like the variety of these stories. They all take place in the same world, but the different stories are very different.  For example, this one is a little bit darker.

The Ghost Land

•  The concept that eating food in the land of the dead will not let somebody return is a common one.  It makes me think what about this concept appeals to people?

The Lost Light

• Searching for light is a common theme among many of this units stories.  I assume this is because Alaska is far enough north that the length of nights and days is more extreme and changes.  I like stories that make me think about the culture around them. 

The Boy in the Moon

•  This is a very pretty story.  I think I might write a version where they both chase each other around the earth, and never reach each other.  I like this better than having only the boy chase the girl.

Cradle Song

•  Unlike the other stories, this one has the feel of a poem.  I think it really fits this type of story.

The Wolves and the Deer

•  The deer are afraid of wolves because of laughter.  The wolves have sharp teeth and the deer have flat teeth.

The Last of the Thunderbirds

•  I like the image that was chosen for this story.  Now when I see that totem I will be reminded of this story and the Thunderbird.

Origin of the Killer Whale Crest

•  To me this story seems a little odd.  Natsiane instructs the killer wales to kill his clan members, then afterwards never to kill again.

The Discontented Grass Plant

• This story reminds me of The Stonecutter from the African Stories from Lang's Fairy Books.

Tricks of the Fox

•  This story has an interesting ending.  Fox is always clever, across most stories.

Week 9 Reading Diary: Myths and Legends of Alaska

Myths and Legends of Alaska, edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1911).

Raven from Wikimedia Commons

The Raven Myth: Raven's Creation

• I like how in Native American creation myths everything comes from natures. 
• It is interesting that it is Raven who made the vine and Raven is the first person the man met. 
• Raven must be somebody significant in Alaska, I like the reason why the reindeer have white bellies. 

The Raven Myth: Raven Creates the People

• I like that raven does not just shape everything and then leave man alone, he stays with man and shows him how to live in the world. 

The Raven Myth: The Skyland and the Sea

• This story has a nice root in real life. Everything that the raven describes really exists in the real world. 

The Raven Myth: Raven-Boy and the Sun

• This story is a little sad. I did not expect the story to turn so dark. 
• The image of reindeer with sharp teach is an amusing on.

The Flood

• It is interesting to see that the native american stories have something in common with christian myth. Both of them have a giant flood. 

The Origin of the Tides

• I like these myth, they all have nice imagery with them. I like to imagine the man opening a closing a hole as the tide washes in and washes out. 

Raven's Feast

• This is an interesting story because it deals with the traditions of the Alaskan people. 

Raven's Marriage

• This story makes good use of a repeated phrase. In this case it is "Who will marry me? I am a very nice man." 

Raven and the Seals

• Raven ate them all during two nights. He ate all the seals in front of the house." Wow, that is a lot of seals 

Raven and Marmot

• It was amusing that Raven wants to prove that he is not a carrion-eater by eating something that is not carrion. That only proves that he does not only eat carrion, not that he doesn't eat carrion. 

The Bringing of the Light by Raven

• This story does a good job of making the reader curious. The reader does not have any more clue where the light is than the Raven does. I prefer this approach to stories rather than stories where things are obvious to the readers but not to the characters. 

The Naming of the Birds

• It was interesting to hear about the different birds. I like that the author included a large variety of birds. 

How Raven Stole the Lake

• It is interesting to hear how things have changed.  For example in this story, it is the fact that crows used to be white. 

Week 11 Reading Diary: King Arthur

Unit: Reading for Week 11 is King Arthur: Stories of Arthur along with tales of his knights and their quest for the Holy Grail.

Knights of the round table by Evrard d'Espinques

Source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).

The Drawing of the Sword

• I knew Arthur was the son of Uther, and I knew he pulled the sword out of the stone. I guess I never realized that the stone could only be pulled out by one with the right blood instead of by someone who would make a good king.

The Questing Beast

• This section talks about how Merlin would have failed if not his obedience to Merlin's orders. Obedience in an interesting choice of work to use here.
• This story has the first mention of Morgan Le Fay “your sister shall have a child who shall destroy you and all your knights.”
• Lots of foreshadowing at the end of this story. Merlin has many prophecies.

The Sword Excalibur

• Somebody asking for a favor at an unknown time is always an ominous things, many characters in stories blindly agree to a future favor.

The Round Table

• This is an interesting story. Not a whole lot happens but it ties many pieces of the large story together. It talks about how Arthur got the round table and how he came to marry Guenevere.
• Sections like these, which fill in the gaps, are important to a story.

The Passing of Merlin

• Merline falls in love with a women, nobody is safe from their own heart.
• Even when people know prophesies, know bad tings that will happen to them, they are unable to change the course of events. Sometimes by trying to change things, they actually trigger the events themselves. I've always found it interesting when a prophesy only comes to pass because people knew about the prophesy.
• Vivian in the name of the women who tricks Merlin.

King Arthur and Morgan le Fay

• Morgan hates Arthur because he killed a knight who she loved.
• Morgan Le Fay steels only the scabbard of Excalibur, which is what Merlin told Arthur was the valuable part.
• Morgan is a very powerful magician if she can turn herself and all her men into blocks of marble.
• Morgan tried to kill Arthur by giving him an enchanted mantle covered in jewels.

The Quest of the Holy Graal

• The knights of the round table neglected many of their other duties to pursue to holy grail.
• There are conflicting stories about what the grail is.

The King's Pilgrimage

• It is interesting that half of the time Arther is refereed to as the king. To me this is a little confusing, because there have been other kings, and there are other kings in other lands.
• This story is interesting, because it is unclear is part of this story is a dream.

The Coming of the Holy Graal

• An image of the holy grail presents itself to king Arthur and the knights of the round table.
• All 150 knights of the round table decide to quest for the holy grail.

Week 7 Reading Diary, continued: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)

This week's reading is from Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang). 
The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1903)
The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1901)
The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1897)

Schippeitaro

• The line "Do not tell Schippeitaro! Keep it hidden and secret! Do not tell Schippeitaro!" adds an air of mystery to the story. 
• I did not expect Schippeitaro to be a dog.

The Crab and the Monkey

•  Even in the animal kingdom, it is good to make friends.  The monkey was able to get what he wanted by tricking people, but this did not give him any friends.  The other animals collectively turned against Monkey, who got what was coming to him. 

Tanuki Kettle - Flickr

The Magic Kettle

•  This story has been pretty weird so far and I wonder where it is going.  I have to look up what a Tanuki was because it's not an animal I was am familiar with. Turns out they are adorable. 
• It's interesting that the kettle can turn into a Tanuki whenever it wants to.  It's a shape shifting kettle.

How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished

• The fox and Tanuki came up with a very clever plan, and it would have been neat to see a story of the different ways in which they work together to keep tricking the villagers. The same ploy will not work over and over against. 
• Instead, the Tanuki betrayed the fox and the fox was killed.  This was an expected twist in the story, and it made me sad.   

The Slaying of the Tanuki

•  These Japanese stories are very dark, much darker than any fairy-tales that I few up with.  Bounding a women into file powder and feeding her to the husband, yikes!!
• One story idea for this is to write a story with a different plot and characters, but try to include some horrible twist in the story like the eating of the wife to shock the readers.

Uraschimataro and the Turtle

•  Uraschimataro's life is saved because he saved the turtle. 
• The underwater princess and palace was an interesting an unexpected part of the story. 
• This story makes me wonder how long he had stayed underwater. 
• The box contained the boys youth, which was interesting.

Week 7 Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)

This week's reading is from Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang). 
The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1903)
The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1901)
The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1897)

 The Two Frogs

•  It's amusing to think that both the frogs wanted the exact same thing at the same time. The two journeys are mirrors of each other, and when they decide to look at each others town, they are just the same as their own.  
• Making two parallel worlds with two of the same people who happen to meat each other could be a fun idea for a story.

  

  Two Frogs - Pixabay

  The Stonecutter

• I have heard many different version of this tale.  I had no idea it originated in Japan. 
• If I were to rewrite this story, I would use a theme of somebody being unhappy with their current state and always looking for more things to make them happy, but I don't think I would rewrite this story with a spirit.  Although that does make a good story, it was been done many times and I would like to explore a way to retell this story in a unique way.

The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet

•  I enjoyed this story because it is unlike any I have heard before. 
• Cultural aspects of  Japan are clearly present in this story.  The girl always listens to her parents and is dutiful to them, respecting their wishes even after they die.

The Envious Neighbor

•  This story was also very new to me.  I feel like a lot of the Japanese stories have morals them them.  In this case, the couple gets help from their dog, but people who are envious and just wish to use the dog for his gold get nothing. 

The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue

•  I really like this story.  The man shows such dedication and care to the sparrow. The man has a good heart, but a greedy mean wife.

The Cat's Elopement

• This is kind of an interesting tale, with cats as main characters and their owners as other side characters.

Week 6 Reading Diary, Continued: African Stories from Lang's Fairy Books

This week's reading is from African Stories from Lang's Fairy Books.
From The Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1900)

Snake from pixabay

Hassebu

•  There are parts of this story that don't add anything for me.  Like when the boy finds his fathers books and reads them.  This seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the story.
• Hassebu does not seem like like to do any work, so why then does he help the woodcutters?  This seems like another type of work. the story doesn't explain why he prefers this work more than the other jobs his mother tried to get him to learn. 
• I like that all of the animals in this tale talk.  I wonder why the scorpion didn't talk. 
• The second Hassebu gave his promise I assumed he would break it, because that's how stories always go. 
• I still don't understand why the King of the snakes would help Hassebu who had just betrayed him.

The Heart of a Monkey

• I like that the shark and monkey become friends and help each other.  I expected the shark to try to trick the Monkey into letting him eat the Monkey. 
• There seems to be a theme of needing parts of animals to cure sick Sultans. 

The Heart of a Monkey: The Washerman's Donkey

•  Never underestimate another creature. The lion underestimated the strength of the donkey's hooves. 
• The donkey is a fool for trusting the lion for a second time. To me this is not a believable part of the story.

Makoma

• I like the idea of getting the strength of the people you defeat.  It makes for an interesting story idea.
• I predict that Makoma is acquire a lot of strength before the end of his story. 
• I wonder why Makoma killed Chin-debou Mau-giri but kept the rest of the giants as servants.

Week 6 Reading Diary: African Stories from Lang's Fairy Books

This week's reading is from African Stories from Lang's Fairy Books.
From The Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1900)

Golden Jackal

Motikatika, 

• I like that this tale reverses the roles, the wife is very difficult at first, and so when the husband is thirsty, he makes equally difficult requests of his wife.
• The baby named Motikatika is surprisingly clever. He consulted his bones, managed to avoid the ogre who would eat him, but the stories always refers to him as a baby.  This doesn't sell the story for me.  Motikatika might be a child, and his is just the culture's way of referring to him

Jackal and Spring

• When the jackal told the rabbit, "If you really want me to give you some more, you must have your paws tied behind you and lie on your back so that I can pour it into your mouth," I expected the jackal to eat the rabbit. The rabbit is very gullible and I am surprised worse didn't happen. 
• The hare gets tricked in the exact same was as the rabbit, i am surprised the animals didn't learn from the previous mistakes. 

Adventures of a Jackal

• I notice a theme between these tales, the Jackal is always the trickster.  Although I do not know why the Jackal made the panther bad shoes, since it did not benefit him at all. 
• The jackal's flaw is that they always want to eat.  The panther always find the Jackal again because the Jackal is always hungry. 

Adventures of Jackal's Eldest Son

• I am enjoying reading the animal tales. Each animal has a distinct and persistent type of personality.  Although the characters been stories aren't the same, the personality traits of a single type of animal is. 
• The jackal gets completely sidetracked from his goal of reaching the bell first.
• Wow, that ending was completely unexpected. I did not expect the Jackal to get crushed to death by a stone. 

Adventures of Younger Son of Jackal

• Once again, it is the jackal's love of food that is his downfall.  These seems to be a theme between the story. 
• Often, although the Jackal is the trickster, the other animals manage to get their fair share, and outsmart the Jackal. It seems the jackal aren't the only animal with wits, but jackals are always the ones who start the mischief. 

Week 5 Reading Diary, continued: Arabian Nights

This weeks reading is part B of Arabian Nights.
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

Genie, From Disney's Aladdin

 Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

• It is really nice to read a story that I already know, a story that disney has made a movie of. I know Disney adds a happy changed the ending of all of their stories to make them happy, so I am curious to see how this one ends.
• The story mentions the 'false uncle', but the story does not tell us who the uncle really is, so the reader is left to wonder
• It is especially interesting to me to see the differences between the original story, and the once that I know.
• Aladdin asks for the hand of the princess using jewels, instead of turning himself into a prince
• Aladdin steels a look at the princess, and falls in love at first sight
• Does Aladdin have an unlimited number of requests from the Genie? It would seem that he does
• The Sultan is very greedy with all of the gifts he demands from Aladdin
• I like the imagery that the author creates for the palace that Aladdin builds for the princess.  She must indeed be very beautiful to inspire such a thing.
• I notice that Aladdin never ever told the princess about the lamp, for otherwise she would not have traded it away.
• The magician was mean to want to kill Aladdin, but very clever to trick the princess into giving him the lamp.  I enjoyed the way in which he tricked the princess.
• Aladdin managed to trick the magician just as easily as the magician tricked Aladdin.  
• I notice that this story, unlike many of the ones from Tuesdays readings, actually use character names.  I wonder how the author chose which stories required named characters, and which ones didn't.
• I enjoyed reading this story, and was slightly surprised to see that it had a happy ending, since usually the key difference between Disney and the original is the ending.

Week 5 Reading Diary: Arabian Nights

This weeks reading is Arabian Nights, inspired by other student stories that I read last week.
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

One Thousand and One Nights

  Scheherazade

•  Wow, the whole premise of the story just seems really messed up.  "So every evening he married a fresh wife and had her strangled the following morning before the grand-vizier"
• The intro to this story definitely captures my interest right away.  Such a dramatic start makes me want to read on to see what happens next.  The story does not give the reader a chance to get bored before the action starts. 

The Story of the Merchant and the Genius

•  The girl is very clever.  This is not the first reading story I've read this semester with multiple tales, but this is definitely my favorite premise for a story within a story.  
• It's a story within a story within a story.  That almost seems like to many layers.

The Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind

•  I notice that none of these characters have names.  Instead they are referred to as "my son" or "my wife" or "the third old man."  I wonder why the author made this decision, especially since he named the characters in the first layer of his story.

The Story of the Second Old Man, and of the Two Black Dogs

•  Many of theses stories have a common theme of killing for revenge.  The Sultan kills his wives, the Genius wants to kill the Merchant for killing his son, and how the fairy wishes to kill the two brothers of her husband.

The Story of the Fisherman

• I assume Genies in lamps or pots or jars was a common theme in stories during this time.  Both the yellow pot, and the story of Aladdin both include a trapped Genie.  
•  I enjoyed this story, of how the Fisherman outsmarted the Genie.

The Story of the Greek King and the Physician Douban

•  I wonder what kind of power the physician possesses? It's clearly some form of magic that healed the king.

The Story of the Parrot; The Story of the Ogress

•  Why does the Grand Vizir distrust the great physician.  It is not made obvious in the story, so the reader if left to wonder.

The Story of the Physician's Revenge

•  It's getting hard to keep track of the stories.The stories themselves are interesting, but there are too many layers to them.

The Story of the Sultan and the Fish

• Why are the fish so valuable in the first place? I do not believe this part of the story explains this at all.

The Story of the Young King of the Black Isles

•  I enjoyed reading the mini stories.  This style of writing works very well.  Instead of having many disjointed tales, a story like 1001 nights can ties a bunch of little stories into one giant work.

Week 4 Reading Diary, continued: Twenty-Two Goblins

Part 2 of my notes about Twenty-Two Goblins, Arthur Ryder's translation of the Sanskrit Vetālapañcaviṃśati.

Shiva, by Arumugam Manivelu

The Snake's Poison

• "The Brahman who died because Poison from a Snake in the Claws of a Hawk fell into a Dish of Food given him by a Charitable Woman. Who is to blame for his death?"
• The beautiful lost wife has nothing to do with the riddle, the story could have worked without this section
• I think the snake murdered the Brahman, but the riddle answered that the man who ate the food was at fault for his own death. 

The Girl and the Thief

• "The Girl who showed Great Devotion to the Thief. Did he weep or laugh?"
• These riddles have a lot of story behind them, there may be a final question, but the stories are more than that, and for this particular story, I don't think the answer effects the stories outcome. 

The General's Wife

• "The King who died for Love of his General's Wife; the General follows him in Death. Which is the more worthy?"
• I am noticing a theme with these stories, all of the women are extremely beautiful, and they don't seem to have many other qualities.  All of the stories focus on virtue, beauty, and marriage.

The Four Brothers

• "The Four Brothers who brought a Dead Lion to Life. Which is to blame when he kills them all?"
• What are the odds that all four brothers find skills that work with each other, it takes all four brothers to create the lion. 
• This was one of the easier riddles in my opinion, the final step to creating the lion was the one that mattered the most, since otherwise the lion could not hurt people. 

The Old Hermit

• "The Old Hermit who exchanged his Body for that of the Dead Boy. Why did he weep and dance?"
• This question is similar to the girl and the thief, instead of weeping and dancing, the old hermit weeps and dances.  Life is full of bittersweet events, which is essentially what the answer to both riddles was.

Father and Son, Daughter and Mother

• "The Father and Son who married Daughter and Mother. What relation were their children?"
• I am curious to know the answer to this question, since it was not given in the story.
• It takes a lot of patience to answer 22 riddles and retrieve the body, now I find it ironic that patience is the name of the monk, and not the king. 

Conclusion

•  I did not really care for the ending to this story, it was abrupt and weird. How did the Monk get so many fruits filled with jewels?  Why did he wait 12 whole years to ask the king a favor, and who was the goblin?  Why was the goblin in the tree in the first place? I might create a answer for one of these questions in the next story that I write.

Week 4 Reading Diary: Twenty-Two Goblins

This week I chose to read Twenty-Two Goblins, Arthur Ryder's translation of the Sanskrit Vetālapañcaviṃśati.

 

Winding Tree from Flickr

Introduction

• Patience is a very fitting name for the monk.  He waited 12 years, giving fruit to the king every day, before he finally made a request.
• Unlike this other reading, this culture is not one I am familiar with, I am guessing part of their mythology includes goblins living in dead bodies, which is why the king automatically knew what was in the body.

The Three Lovers

• "The Three Lovers who brought the Dead Girl to Life.  Whose wife should she be?"
• One thing that is really fun about riddle stories and mysteries, is that the reader gets to try to figure out the answer before the story reveals it. 

Brave, Wise, Clever

• "The Brave Man, the Wise Man, and the Clever Man. To which should the girl be given?"
•  Before hearing the ending of the story, I would guess the wise man, because nobody would have known where the daughter went without this information, and other braver and clever men could have been found and sent to rescue her.

The Girl, Her Husband and Her Brother

• "The Girl who transposed the Heads of her Husband and Brother. Which combination of head and body is her husband?"
•  I was pleased to get this riddle right.  I guessed that the husband's head with the brother's body is the husband, because the mind is what determines who a person is.

Food, Women, Cotton

• "The Specialist in Food, the Specialist in Women, and the Specialist in Cotton. Which is the cleverest?"
•  I feel like this story would have a funny twist if the turtle wondered away the the three brothers were arguing. 
• I feel like the brothers are being praised and rewarded for being picky. 
• I noticed that none of the brothers are specialists in animals, so technically, any of the brothers could carry the turtle.

The Four Suitors

• "The Four Scientific Suitors. To which should the girl be given?"
•  As the story progresses, I tent to compare the current riddle to previous ones to try to figure out the answer.  Because the soldier one before, i will guess the solder again. 
• I managed to guess correctly, which means the riddles are consistent within each other.

The Three Delicate Wives

• "The Three Delicate Wives of King Virtue-banner. Which is the most delicate?"
• Although this in an interesting riddle, I have no idea how anybody would be so delicate, or why anybody would want to be so delicate. 
• I am guessing the third wife is the most delicate, because a curtain can hide the moon, and the first wife doesn't have to sit under a lotus tree, but it is hard to escape sound. 

Week 3 Reading Diary, continued: Homer's Odyssey

This week I chose to read the Odyssey, by Homer, this is part 2 of my notes.

1847: bequeathed to Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans

Ghosts of Erebus

•  The religion this story is based on is very apparent in this section.  Odysseus makes a sacrifice of honey, sweet wine, water, and barley meal. 
• Odysseus must rely on the gods to make this plan work, in order to talk to Teiresias.

The Ghosts of Elpenor and Teiresias

•  Odysseus leaves Teiresias unburied and unwept.  These are powerful words to use, and makes it seem like Odysseus completely forgot his comrade. 
• Seeing your mothers ghost is a cruet way to find out that she'd dead.
• The phrase "court your wife and offer gifts of courtship" seems redundant.

The Spirit of Anticleia

•  Odysseus gets to speak with his mother, but only after he has spoken to Teiresias.
•  This quote has very vivid language "The sinews no longer bind flesh and bone, the fierce heat of the blazing pyre consumes them, and the spirit flees from our white bones, a ghost that flutters and goes like a dream."

The Ghosts of Famous Women

•  There have been many interesting stories written about the children of gods, and several more modern stories have created new heroes.  The lore about them is interesting, and it can definitely spawn some creative story ideas. 
• Odysseus meets Oedipus's mother, who is part of a different tale in Greek mythology. 

The Ghost of Agamemnon

•  Apparently women are an untrustworthy bunch.  It's true that women were looked at very differently in Ancient Greece.

The Spirit of Achilles

•  It's harder for me to get interested in this part of the story.  Odysseus is talking to Achilles.  Although Achilles and his heal is a story I'm familiar with, the two conversing about Achilles sons is not the most interesting.  I do understand that part of this is because I am from the 20th century, not ancient Greece.

The Ghost of Ajax

• Once again, Homer describes many of the people Odysseus sees in the underworld.  I think this section is slightly less relevant to the plot, but is very relevant in the culture in which the story was written.

The Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis

•  Warning, prophesies, and foreshadowing can be an important part of writing.  Odysseus receives instructions from many characters throughout the Odyssey, and does not always listen to the instructions.  He pays for it with his men's lives.

Week 3 Reading Diary: Homer's Odyssey

This week I chose to read the Odyssey, by Homer

Cyclops Wikipedia Article

The Land of the Cyclopes

• Homer does a good job of setting up the location of the story.  He describes the landscape, how the lands grow, and what type of people the Cyclopes are. 
• This section has lots of imagery,  what the characters are doing is not as important as the setting in this particular instance.

Prisoners of the Cyclops

•  Numbers are important, and Odysseus takes 12 of this best men to explore the cyclops cave.
• Know the beliefs of your readers.  It can be fun to create a universe, but using one that already exists (such as the Greek gods), can both save time, and make your readers comfortable.

The Cyclops Defeated

• The characters are in quite a predicament, and there is no obvious answer to the problem.  It is often good to make the reader wonder, instead of dropping enough hinds that the reader sees a obvious solution that is hidden to the characters.
• Odysseus is clever, and uses a false name to trick the cyclops. 

Escape from the Cyclops

•  The men strapped to the bellies of the sheep is a humorous image, and a clever way to get off the island.  I like it when characters have to use their wits to get out of sticky situations, instead of brute forcing through the problem.  It takes a witty author to come up with witty characters.

The Curse of Polyphemus

•  It is unwise to anger Poseidon's son, when you rely on the see for traveling across.
• Poseidon was not appeased with a sacrifice.  The men had already done wrong by and blinded his son.

Circe's Magic

•  Circe presents a very different scene than the men saw at the cyclops island. Circe is lovely, and offers great food. She lures them, tricks them, and turns them into pigs.  
• Trouble has many faces, and having a wide variety of different troubles makes an interesting story.

The Moly Defeats Circe

•  This is an interesting way to tell the story.  If a man drew his sword and tried to kill me, my first response would definitely not be to take him to bed.  
• I notice that Circe promised not to harm him, but she never made any promise about other people, just as her handmaids not harming him.

On Circe's Island

•  Although Circe is no longer turning the men into animals or doing them harm, she is still delaying them.  Men who are infinitely delayed will never finish their journey. 
• Circe gives Odysseus a very dangerous quest, he must travel to the underworld. Any reader in Homers times know how treacherous the underworld is, and there are few other tales of heroes who travel to the underworld

The Death of Elpenor

•  A story like this has a very specific style.  A hero has to make it through many trails, and solve each one differently.  Against all odds, he journeys on and succeeded. 

Week 2 Reading Diary, extra: Aesop (Winter)

Reading Notes from Section A in Aesop (Winter)

Wikipedia - Crow

Aesop (Winter): Page 1

•  It seems that this reading includes many short, sweet, and standalone tales. 
• The kid now knows better than to wonder alone, and the wolf should eat his meals as soon as he find them.

Aesop (Winter): Page 2

• Poor fox, the fox is supposed to be the tricky and clever one who outsmarts other animals.  I was rooting for the fox in this story. Interesting choice to let the fox get outsmarted. 
• Many children's tales have morals embedded in them, the the Boy and the Filberts in no exception.

Aesop (Winter): Page 3

•  The goat presents an interesting way to teach us not to be too prideful and stubborn. 
• The Plane Tree has been one of my favorites so far.  People tend to take things for granted, the trees should all complain at us until we all learn our lessons :)

Aesop (Winter): Page 4

•  These are clearly children's stories.   The writing style for children's stories is very different.  The vocabulary is simpler, and the morals are very obvious, sometimes painfully so.  I should not be judging the stories equally to stories that I normally read, I have to keep my audience in mind. 
• I liked the Travelers Purse story, it's really cute.

Aesop (Winter): Page 5

•  Don't judge your size by your shadow.

Aesop (Winter): Page 6

•  Some of these stories, such as The Ass Carrying the Image don't seem very interesting to me.  They are very short and obvious.  I am OK with the simple style of writing, but unless there is something clever about the story, it won't catch my attention. 
• Neither goat wants to yield, but if both goats were to yield and neither take the path, they would run into the same problem.  Just something amusing to think about.

Aesop (Winter): Page 7

•  Different animals have different traits and characteristics.  This story includes some interesting ways letting animals tell morals.  I would not expect a Boar to teach us about being prepared.
• I enjoy tales such as The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox, where the fox outsmarts the other animals.

Aesop (Winter): Page 8

• The same animals seem to appear over and over again in fables. 
• "Take what you can get when you can get it" is an interesting moral to teach kids. In my opinion, "Do not depend on the promises of those whose interest it is to deceive you." is the more fitting of the two morals.

Aesop (Winter): Page 9

•  Many of these stories have a common theme.  There are different animals playing out different stories, but the morals are still the same: don't trust those who benefit from deceiving you.This moral was not specifically listed at the end of "The Wolf and the Ass," but that's what I got out of it.

Aesop (Winter): Page 10

• I will not be choosing a collection of short stories for my readings anymore.  Although I may have enjoyed these stories as children, they are definitely not written for adults, so I have a hard time getting into them.  
• It is important to be mindful of your audience.  Although these stories are written for children which is fine, I do need to make sure I truly understand my audience before writing my own stories.

Week 2 Reading Diary, continued: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

Here is part 2 of my reading of Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche.

Cupid and Psyche by L. Prang & Co

Venus and the Goddesses

•  Not only does Psyche get punished for her transgression, but Cupid gets punished as well. 
• Yikes! Don't want to anger a Goddess.  Venus is very jealous, and her jealousy is not even justified.

Psyche's Prayer

•  This section of the story makes me wonder how Venus inspired such loyalty?  The story has not been painting her in the best light.  She is beautiful, but she is also jealous and wants to hurt a mostly innocent person in the story.  

Venus and Mercury

•  I find it interesting that Psyche considers seeking out Venus at the some time that Venus is getting desperate to find her. It thickens the plot and adds tension.
• A lot of the story has been predictable, but at this point I do not know what would happen first, Venus finds Psyche, or Psyche surrenders herself to Venus.

Venus and Psyche

• I feel really sorry for Psyche, and I have for most of this tale.  The author does a good job of making her seem kind and sweet and undeserving of these troubles. 
• I enjoy the fairytale style elements on this tale. The ants helping the girl is a nice touch.

Psyche's Next Task

•  I enjoyed the description of the two lovers who are under one room but in different rooms, not able to keep each other company. 
• Psyche did not get help from any of the Goddesses he appealed to, but people seem to be willing to help her out with her tasks.

The Third Task

•  Three is a very common number found in stories.  It's more interesting than describing a single task, but the reader also doesn't get bored with an endless list of tasks.  I may incorporate this number into some of my writing as well. 
• I've heard many lines very similar to this in rhymes "Off with you! Where are you going? See here! What are you doing? Beware! Be gone! You’ll die!" It is the warning that Psyche gets when trying to accomplish her third task

The Jar of Beauty

• Many heroes have had to travel down to to underworld.  Some classic examples of this are Odysseus, Hercules, Orpheus and Persephone. 
• The description of how to get to the underworld is very long.  It would be easier to read if it had been broken into more than one paragraph.

The Sleep of the Dead

•  This section could have used more detail.  Psyche opens the jar and sleeps, then immediately she gets saved.  Letter her sleep for longer or drawing out this section.  A problem immediately followed by a resolution seems really abrupt.

The Wedding Feast

• This is the end of the tale of the tale of Cupid and Psyche, and they couple finally get their happy ending. 
• At this point the reader has almost forgotten about the original story, but end ending ties back into the beginning.  The characters are once again the captured girl and the old women.  A full loop of a story, or reflecting back on the beginning can be a powerful writing tool.

The Escape

•  The girl escapes the robbers and old woman by riding away on an Ass.
• Both of the stories have a similar ending, the princess makes it through and finds her way to her husband.

Week 2 Reading Diary: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

This week I chose Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche as my reading assignment.

The Reunion of Cupid and Psyche

The Captive Woman

• Sets up the tale, and introduced the character.
• A captured woman weeps uncontrollably, despite an old woman's best efforts.
• Not knowing why she cries creates mystery.

Her Dream

• The story tells us why the captured women is crying so hard, giving her some backstory.
• The story of the dream is a kind of story within a story told by the captured girl

Psyche's Beauty

• The second story within a story, told by the old women.
• This story has the classic fairytale beginning.
• A women so beautiful, people this she is Venus herself and abandon the goddesses temples and statues. This is foreshadowing. It is obvious that Venus will be displeased even before she shows up in the story.

The Oracle of Apollo

• Psyche did not chose to be beautiful, and might have lived a happier life if she was not. It is not fair of Venus to punish a girl for things outside of the girl's control \
• Many ancient tales include prophesies. Things destined to be, and beyond the people's control

The Magical Palace

•  Beautiful description of the house.  
• The voice adds an err of mystery, since we don't know where the voice came from.

The Mysterious Husband

• I've read stories like this before. A modern retelling of a husband or person who only ever visits at night and does not show his face.

The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters

• Once again, this section has very descriptive language.  It is used to describe the husbands of the older sisters. 
• The sisters jealousy is not justified, especially since Psyche shows them nothing but kindness.

Psyche's Husband Warns Her

• Here is a quote from the story, a warning to Psyche from her husband: "Don’t look at or listen to those evil women who, with their murderous hostility, their disregard of the bonds of blood, you should not call sisters, as they lean from the cliff-top like Sirens and make the rocks echo with that fatal singing."

Fears and Doubts

• It is sometime difficult to put my mind in the position of trusting character such as Psyche, when the author has made it so plain and obvious to the reader that the sisters are bitter and jealous.

Psyche's Husband Revealed

• My favorite sentence in this passage is "Then as her wounded heart beat with the tremor of such bliss, the lamp, in wicked treachery, or malicious jealousy..." It is a great description of the lamp. 

Psyche's Despair

•  At the end of this passage, I tried to think about why the writing would include this story as a story within a story, instead of a standalone.  Is Psyche's fear getting the best of her supposed to tell the captured girl not to let her fears run wild?  Both girls are in their own sort of prison, with people who mean the girls no harm. 
• The revenge was unexpected.  It seems uncharacteristic for kind sweet Psyche.