Week Nine Storytelling: The Coming Of Men

"Tell us again, mommy! Tell us again!" the children chanted. They were all tucked into bed, ready for sleep and not sleepy at all. So mother sat down and told them again about how the earth was made and stars were put in the sky...

"Long, long ago," she started, folding her hands in her lap. She closed her eyes briefly, as if to remember how the coming of men began.

(Source)

"The earth fell from the sky. And from it hills, stones, valleys and lakes formed. The earth was created from the sky, forming the rocks and dirt we stand on today. After the earth was formed, man came from the earth. The ground beneath you and the plants around you made you. Children came as well. Mothers and fathers, boys and girls, all came from the earth," mother looked around at the children, eyes wide and listening intently.

She continued, "I do not know how man and woman found each other, but they did. Women sewed for children's clothing and men worked the earth. Because back then, there was no light or sun, only darkness. So everyone ate what could be grown from the soil." At this some of the children wrinkled their noses at the idea of not eating meat and only vegetables.

"Eventually there were many men and they wished to have dogs. So man went out and stomped on the ground, shaking a dog leash and so there came a dog from the earth. Since there was no death then, the population grew and grew. There was no light either and only inside their homes did they burn water as a source of light."

"Because there were too many men there came a mighty flood that wiped out much of the population.  Stricken with grief, one old, wise woman said, 'Let us be without light and thus without death as well,' but another, more wise woman said, 'Better to have light and also have death.' So with her words came both."

"And with death came the sun, moon and stars. Man could travel and hunt and no longer needed to just live off the earth. Because of light it is said that when men die they become shining stars and brightly light the night's sky."

By the end of her tale the children were asleep, content with the idea of someday becoming a star. Mother smiled to herself, quietly tucking the children in and closing the door.

Author's Note. This story is based on The Coming of Men from Eskimo Folktales. The original is almost exactly like mine except it is just the story being told, there is no storyteller or audience. I made it into like a children's story that one would hear at bedtime, but kept the original plot. I really enjoyed reading this story and loved the ending so I kept that part.

Bibliography. The Coming of Men from Eskimo Folktales by Knud Rasmussen (1921).

Week Nine Essay: First Memories of Reading

My first memories of reading are probably pretty cliche. My mom used to read Harry Potter to me when I was younger, so I grew up loving the series. I fell in love with the storyline and the characters and as I got older, so did they. So naturally, I went to every book and movie premiere, appropriately dressed, and cried every time a character died (Dobby, why).

That wasn't the only series I grew up with though. I also read all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.. And there are a lot. I loved that series. I loved the idea of growing up in the midwest during that time period when there weren't that many people. I got lost in her adventures and sense of excitement whenever they moved. I wanted to live in a log cabin so badly and make my own maple syrup candy poured on snow (which I actually did at home). I wanted to grow up in the town by the Silver Shores and meet Almanzo... The list goes on and on.

(Source)

I think through my experiences of my mom reading to me and finally reading by myself, I found I have always loved reading. You can get lost in books and really live in different places, time periods and through the eyes of someone else. I have always read for pleasure, even through school, and enjoy doing that more than watching TV. I want to read all the classics, including all the books you're supposed to read in high school. I loved To Kill A Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby. In high school I read Love In The Time of Cholera and Crime and Punishment among others. I read many Jane Austen novels and am currently reading Anna Karenina.

I also enjoy some of the more recently published books. From the popular series The Hunger Games and Divergent to others like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl. As for genres, I don't have a preference. I love historical fiction though, and have enjoyed reading books by Philipa Gregory, who writes about King Henry VIII and his seven wives. Through her books I have a window into history and how events played out there. I love reading about English court and Henry's long tyrannic reign. I also like the post apocalyptic style that many of the popular series feature, because I think they pose interesting questions about the human nature and that of society. I find it fascinating to read into the idea that if everything we knew fell, how would people in power design society next and why.

Week Nine: Reading Diary

Part A: I noticed a few things as I read through this unit. First, some of the names are insanely difficult to pronounce. This may be a minor detail, but with names like Nukunguasik and Qalaganguase, it really made me wonder about Alaskan traditions with names. I also noticed there were dog sleds involved in many of the stories. Obviously, as a cultural tradition, this is a mode of transportation. However, it does make an interesting comparison to other stories features horses or wagons. Finally, I noticed that a lot of the stories ended pretty graphically. Evil or bad characters faced gruesome deaths, having their bodies ripped to pieces or eaten by ghosts. Gross.

Along with the other stories I've read (Japanese, Tibetan), the Eskimo Folktales also featured morals and themes of good and evil. It revealed how characters were punished for lying or killing someone, implying good and bad morals. Additionally, some of the folktales sought to explain common phenomena, like why inlanders fear dogs (The Giant Dog) or how when men die they go up and become stars (The Coming Of Men).

Part B: The second set of stories featured more morals and themes of good and evil. In Papik, Who Killed His Wife's Brother, Papik is punished for killing his wife's brother because he was jealous. In the end, the wife comes back as a monster to devour Papik and teaches him a lesson about killing a good fellow. In The Wife Who Lied, a wife lies about being mistreated by her husband and starts a war between the two tribes. As a lesson, the other tribe comes back for revenge and ends up cutting off both of her arms for lying. And finally, in Pâtussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle, Patussorssuaq killed his uncle because he wanted his uncle's wife. His uncle's soul came to him in a fox and bit him, punishing him for killing.

Week Seven Storytelling: How The Fox Fell Victim to His Own Deceit

Once upon a time there were three friends. They grew up together and had many happy memories as children. In their eyes, they saw each other as chosen siblings. They hung out every day, shared everything and were constantly at each other's houses.

However, as they grew older, one of the friends, Taylor, grew increasingly jealous of Elizabeth. Sarah was starting to think that her mother liked Elizabeth more and that they were too close. She let this idea fester and grew more and more angry as time went on.

One day, Taylor's mom got very ill. She was dying and as her dying wish, she told the three friends to always treat each other as siblings and to never fight. Each vowed that they would follow that. After she died they were sad, but promised stay friends no matter what. Taylor secretly thought this was her chance. She plotted to end the friendship and bring Elizabeth down for good.

Sarah went to the third friend, Samantha, and filled her ears with lies.

"Elizabeth comes to me and talks bad about you all the time!" Taylor said, "She thinks you're annoying and needy. She told me she's tired of hanging out with you."

(Source)

Hurt and sad, Samantha stopped talking to Elizabeth. She grew increasingly angry by her and couldn't believe that one of her closest childhood friends would say something like that about her.

The next day, Taylor went up to Elizabeth and told her all kinds of lies about Samantha as well.

"Samantha won't stop talking about how much she hates you, Elizabeth," she said, "She doesn't want to be your friend anymore."

Elizabeth was confused and angry, why would Samantha say something like that? They had grown up together, did everything together and always treated each other like sisters. Both Elizabeth and Samantha went along believing the other disliked her. They stopped hanging out and didn't speak much. Taylor was happy, hoping they would fight and end the friendship all together. That way Taylor could get rid of Elizabeth without lifting a finger.

One day, Elizabeth went up to Samantha timidly and said, "Why do you hate me? We've always been sisters and I've been nothing but caring and nice."

"I never hated you! Taylor told me you hated me and didn't want to be my friend anymore!" Samantha exclaimed. Having learned the truth, they planned to teach Taylor a lesson.

The next day Samantha found Taylor and set the plan into action. She sat on the couch next to her and as they watched TV, Samantha guided the conversation Elizabeth.

"She is so annoying," Samantha started, "What did Elizabeth say about me again?" Excited that her plan was working, Taylor started in a long list of cruel things that were completely fabricated. At that moment, Elizabeth walked in, hearing everything.

At that moment, Taylor was stuck. She was lying about Elizabeth to Samantha and Elizabeth had just walked in. Trapped in her web of lies, Elizabeth and Samantha told Taylor they knew about her manipulation and plan. They soon stopped hanging out with her and found more honest friends.

Author's Note. This story is based on How The Fox Fell Victim To His Own Deceit. In the original, basically the same thing happened except with a fox, a wolf and a cow. I changed it to people and altered the ending slightly because in the original they kill the fox in the end… And I thought that was a bit graphic for three girls. I made the girls' names those of my roommates, which was fun to do. But other than that the moral and plot stayed the same.

Bibliography. How The Fox Fell Victim To His Own Deceit from Tibetan Folktales by A.L. Shelton (1925).

Week Seven: Comparisons Essay

This week I read Japanese Fairy Tales and because I'm trying to get ahead (I have some crazy upcoming weeks), I already did next week's over Tibetan Folktales. Since I read them so close to together, I noticed many similarities and differences between them that I wanted to discuss here. They are both cultural fairytales, featuring magic powers, talking animals and lessons learned.

(Source)

(Source)

In Japanese Fairy Tales, many of the stories featured good and evil characters, each punished or rewarded for their good or bad deeds. The Envious Neighbor is punished for his devilish ways and using his neighbor's good fortune to further his own riches. And many stories featured the Japanese racoon dog, a Tanuki, and his pack of tricks and manipulations. These stories gave insight into this Japanese animal and parts of their culture that seeped into the stories.

In the The Tibetan Folktales, the stories also had similar themes and characters. Animals and humans existed together, talking and being friends or enemies. Characters were also punished for their bad intentions and rewarded for their honesty. In The Ingratitude of Man, a man helped another man, fox, rat and snake from a cliff and in return they all helped him except the man. In the end, the ingratitude of man got him arrested and imprisoned.

While all of the stories had obvious similarities among them: themes and morals of good and evil and actions punishment and reward. What differed is what interested me. While all of the Tibetan Folktales had proverbs at the beginning, they also featured a prominent sense of god or higher spiritual being. In The Violinist they open the door to hell and push the wicked king in themselves. Also in The Man and the Monkeys, after the man betrays the monkeys that helped him, the Monkey god interfered and kills the man. These signs of god and religious beliefs are present in the Tibetan Folktales, while they don't exist in the Japanese Fairy Tales. The Japanese Fairy Tales may have the same morals, but don't mention once the existence of a god that is pulling the strings above. The concept of good and evil is punished and focused on man and the earthly world, instead of guided by another being. I think this is really interesting to see within the stories. It makes me wonder about the religious views that Japan has culturally and historically had, and if these views affect their customs or traditions. Just from these stories, I would conclude that they don't, at least not as much as they do in the Tibetan tradition.

I think it's also intriguing to note that, even without these religious concepts and aspects, the Japanese fairy tales are still very similar to the Tibetan ones. Both have the same concept of good and evil, bad and good, and punishment and reward. Does that lead to the notion that these are inherently human (or animal) feelings and not originating from a religious base? Maybe some morals begin there, but it argues that even those without religious aren't without moral code. Just a few thoughts.

Overall, I enjoyed both units and thought they had a lot of interesting things to say about their respective cultures.

Week Seven: Reading Diary

Part A: This Tibetan Folktales unit was very interesting and entertaining to read. At the top of each story was a Tibetan proverb, but that sometimes didn't make as much sense by itself, but aided in the stories overall theme and moral. These morals were of truth, honesty and friendship. Constant themes throughout these stories included good and evil, punishing tricksters and rewarding honest people. These stories reminded me a lot of the Japanese fairytales and Aesop's fables. All had similar ideas and concepts of how truth and good intentions were at the core of all good people or animals. In The Cony Who Got Into Bad Company, the Cony and the Rat stole from an honest Lama and in the end, they were punished and made to be a fool. The overall moral was that you are who you hang out with and your reputation can be stained because of their actions. I enjoyed reading How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit, which told the story of a fox who tried to pit a cow and a tiger against each other, only to have them both find out and attack him instead. This idea of dishonesty and evil intentions is present in many of the stories. It was rather funny in Covetousness, as three robbers plotted to poison four other robbers with food and the four other robbers plotted to poison the three with water. In the end they all died because of their plots.

Part B: These stories followed the same ideas and plots as the first party. All had magical animals or gods that helped the honest win and the evil lose. In The Golden Squash, a good neighbor rescued a hurt bird and in return received a magical seed that grew a gold squash. The jealous neighbor injured another bird in hopes of receiving the same treatment, instead his seed grew an evil pumpkin with a man inside and he ended up dying for his dishonesty. Additionally, in The Man and the Monkeys, a monkey saved the man from drowning and in return the man got annoyed by the monkeys' noise and shook the trees killing all the monkeys. The Monkey god was unhappy and turned himself into a snake, killing the man.

All of these stories featured heavy themes of right and wrong, ending in a lot of deaths and killings to bring justice to the situation. Aside from the beginning proverb that set the setting of the story, most of the stories started with "Long, long ago..." or "Once upon a time…" which I thought was really interesting. It's a classic start and every single one followed that pattern. I think these folktales are close to a lot of Aesop's fables and stories.

Week Six: Storytelling

There once were two travelers, one from Chicago and one from Austin.

Both loved to travel the country and take pictures. Each had an extensive collection of photos, ranging from historic landmarks to beautiful landscapes. They were both very proud of their collection, showing anyone who would stop the beautiful prints. Although these two travelers had a lot in common they didn't know about each other.

One day, the traveler from Chicago, named John, decided he would go to Austin. He wanted to see what everyone loved about the city and went on his way down to Texas. The other traveler, Adam, that day decided he wanted to see Chicago. He wanted to see the Windy City and all of the great landmarks he'd seen on TV. He set out heading north for Illinois.

Now the trip from Chicago to Austin is very long and both travelers grew tired from their journey. Both stopped about halfway, which happened to be in Tulsa, OK. John rented a hotel room and headed downtown to relax at a local pub, called McNellies. He ordered a burger and a beer and looked forward to not traveling through the night. While Adam, also stopped in Tulsa and headed to McNellies for a late dinner. Having nowhere else to sit, he asked to join John at the table. After they introduced themselves, they found they had a lot in common. Both talked of the splendors of their respective city and spoke excitedly of visiting the new city.

They ended up spending a few days in Tulsa getting to know each other: going out to eat pizza at Andolini's, see a Driller's baseball game and exploring some of Tulsa's little dessert shops on Brookside. After a few days of just relaxing and exploring, John and Adam had become good friends.

"I wish I could just see what Chicago was like so I'd know if I should continue on my journey!" exclaimed John on the third day. He was missing home and liked not having to constantly travel. Adam agreed, saying surely there must be a way to know if it was worth all his trouble. All of a sudden, Adam had an idea.

"Well you have pictures of Chicago and I have pictures of Austin, why don't we just switch and see?" Adam said. John, delighted, said that was a great idea and reached for his precious packet of polaroids. At the moment, as both John and Adam had pulled out their pictures, a giant Oklahoma wind gust blew and pushed all of the pictures out of their hands.

Frantically, both travelers ran after the pictures as they fluttered away. John grabbed whatever he saw and Adam did the same, so in the end both ended up with each other's pictures by accident. After they recovered the photos they made their trade.

But Adam, seeing what he thought were John's pictures of Chicago, but were really his own of Austin, declared, "Well Chicago looks exactly like Austin! It is not worth it for me to travel all that way to see the same things."

While John, looking at what he thought were Adam's photos of Austin, but were really his own of Chicago, agreed, "You're right. Austin looks exactly like my home in Chicago. I will just head home then."

They parted ways as friends and each headed to their perspective home, holding each other's pictures.

(Source)

Author's Note. This story is based on The Two Frogs in the Japanese Fairy Tales unit. The original story is about two frogs that want to travel to each other's city and meet in the middle. They want to know whether they should continue on their journey or just go home, so they stand on each other's backs and look for the city they want to see. However, frog's eyes are on the back of their head, so when they did that they ended up only seeing their own city. Thinking that their destination was the same as their home they both returned home and didn't continue. I changed it to humans who carry pictures and with the wind they accidentally pick up each other's photos. It makes them think that their destination looks exactly like their home. A little unrealistic, I know, but I wanted to interpret in a different way but keep the original moral and plot. Plus, I'm from Tulsa so I incorporated actual places they could have visited.

Bibliography. The Two Frogs in the Japanese Fairy Tales unit by Andrew Lang (1901).