READING NOTES: BLACKFEET INDIAN STORIES (PART A)

Photo Credits: wsilver

Two Fast Runners: Two animals meet in a prairie. Could be two people instead. Two kids racing each other.

The Wolf Man: Interesting that both of the wives were not good wives. I wouldn’t be very pleased if my husband had another wife though… I wouldn’t be cleaning or cooking for him either. They seem very shallow minded. They were bored so they decided to kill their husband so that they could go back to the village to talk to their friends. Wolves saved him and call him their brother.

The Dog and the Root Digger: Hungry people are cranky. This would be good for description. Greed gets the best of the son and the wife. Why did he take all of the animals? Could be from the perspective of the family.

The Camp of the Ghosts: Reminds me of up. Interesting that there is a country for ghosts. Shut your eyes and don’t look back. I like this story. I might retell is so that it is in my words but keeps the main story line.

The Buffalo Stone: I like the idea of a song and having to reteach it so that the people don’t die.

How the Thunder Pipe Came: This is a cool story line. Lightning is such a cool thing. I didn’t know that it was sometimes personified. I wish I had some magic that made me see well.

Cold Maker’s Medicine: Wow friendly grizzly bears. Weird that she was so nice and then killed him. I like all of these stories. Maybe I can combine them all.

The Rolling Rock: Was the beer inspired by this? Sad that all the animals died.

Bear and Bullberries: This old man is not very smart.

The Theft from the Sun: I like the idea of a sun lodge. That’s what he gets for trying to steal leggings from the sun. Not a good idea.

 

Bibliography: Blackfeet Indian Stories by George Bird Grinnell (1915).

WEEK 8 GROWTH MINDSET

Photo Credits: I took this photo at Fort Sheridan Beach in IL

This is actually something that I have been thinking a lot about lately. It is easy to move through life not thinking about ways that you can improve or better yourself. Sure, many people think of ways to improve but usually it is for their job or for someone else. I have been thinking a lot about how I can be better for myself and to myself. 

School can be full of stress. Since elementary school, we were given grades based on our performance. I wish this wasn’t how school worked because of all of the things they talk about in the growth mindset. I’m surprised that there are kids who make it through school with a growth mindset because of the way school is structured.

For me, when I got a low grade on a test or assignment, I didn’t think about it as a chance to learn more. Now that the seed was planted in my mind, I feel I am doing a better job seeing a low grade as an opportunity to learn and improve my skills. It is not easy after being stuck in this one way of thinking for so long but it is something I’m working on.

I am working on prioritizing things this semester and being invested in a schedule that works for me. I have a lot on my plate for this semester and I am worried I might have spread myself a little too thin. But I just have to work on prioritizing things and working ahead in my classes so I stay on top of everything so I don’t get overwhelmed.

Something I really need to find the courage to do is apply for internships for next semester. I think I’m afraid of being rejected but I know that I’ll never know until I try. Again, I just need to prioritize it so I actually get it done!

WEEK 8 REFLECTIONS

Photo Credits: Ed Gregory


My favorite types of stories to read are ones that are one or two cohesive stories. I liked to read stories that had a more detailed plot or storyline. Recently I have chosen stories that were shorter and ones without a lot of character building. They were less interesting to me and were harder for me to come up with alternate storylines. I read mostly on Mondays and Tuesdays. If I have enough time on Mondays, I read the whole story. I am always able to find a piece of the story that I find interesting enough to create into a story.

I have found that I like to tell stories that have some element of romance in it. This doesn’t surprise me too much seeing as those are the stories I like to read in my free time. I have found that it is hard to come back out of writing mode and into author’s note mode. I feel like I should stay in character. I am happy with the stories I have told so far. I like writing and it seems that most people like the stories as well. I think I am happy with my choice of doing a storybook. So far so good! I’m excited to connect all of the stories together as I continue this semester.

I think I need to work on stepping into the mind of the person I’m writing about. Figuring out what it was like to be that person at that time. It can sometimes be hard to figure it out when I haven’t studied the time period.

When I look at other people’s work, I admire their attention to detail. I also admire when they are so creative in taking a story and changing it into something so completely different. I would like to stay away from huge paragraphs and stories told from a bird’s eye view with hardly any details.

STORY: THE FLAMES IN THE MEADOW

Photo Credits: Randi Hausken


As the sun crept its way up in the early summer morning, there was an overwhelming sense of calm. The sun stretched out its arms, grazing its fingers along each one of the flowers in the meadow. The flowers seemed to glow with attention, reaching up to embrace the sun’s gentile caress. When the sun had made it above the mountains, the flowers looked more like a sea of fire than a meadow of flowers. With bright oranges and yellows, the meadow looked as though it were alive.


In the midst of the fiery scene stood a small shack, no bigger than one room. The couple who dwelled there were slow to rise in efforts to prolong the charm of early morning. Will and Layla had been together for almost thirty years now. Their love never weakening, through the good years and bad. They looked into each other’s eyes with the same passion and adoration as the day that they wed.


The day they wed was also the day that they ran away from their little village. Their marriage was not approved by either of their families. Sure that they would be cast out on their announcement of marriage, the new couple took all that they could carry and set off to find a new home. After walking for almost a week, they found this meadow, so beautiful and serene, they immediately knew that this was where they were to live for the rest of their lives. Tucked away from the rest of the world, they escaped the judgement of those who could not understand how profound and unadulterated this connection was they shared.


Working together they created their little house from what they could find in the surrounding woods. Growing up, Will was a carpenter’s apprentice in the village. He was good with his hands and was fluid with his work. The house was ready just before the winter winds blew from the north and covered the meadow with snow. While Will worked on the house, Layla gathered what she could before the frost came. She was talented in the way of herbal medicine and set out into the forest to find the array of herbs she liked to keep on hand.






Photo Credits: Pixabay



Winter seemed to go on forever that first year. Their rations were dwindling and there was little game in the forest. The hollows of their cheeks were more pronounced than ever and their bodies were struggling to produce enough heat to keep them going. They held each other close at night, terrified at the thought that it would be there last night together.


Just as they were about to give up hope, the snow started to melt. The two were overjoyed when they saw the vivid green slivers of grass peeking through the melting snow. They were quick to learn how to live on their own. Having been in arms reach of death, they were more determined than ever to make every moment count.


It was then that they realized that just like the waves of fiery flowers that returned every spring, their love would never end. Not even the cold grip of death could stifle something so absolute.





Bibliography: The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1903).







Author’s note:

I really loved the opening of the story that I read. It was a very vivid image in my mind and I wanted to take that and create something with it. I did not like how in the story the wife offers her child as sacrifice to the creature in the water. All of the characters in the story seem to be very self-important. The husband thought that it wasn’t fair of the wife to ask for different honey when she was very sick. So he decided once he was better that he would have her fetch water for him. It was a very childlike relationship and I didn’t want to write about those elements of the story. So I essentially just took the scene of the story and created something totally different. Although there is less of a plot in my version, I think it simply tells the story of two people who were not self-centered and cruel. I hope you liked reading my version of it!

 



READING NOTES: THE CRIMSON FAIRY BOOK (READING A)

Photo Credits: Stolz Gary M

READING A:

Motikatika:
Love this setting: they lived in a little hut surrounded by grass and flowers. Interesting that they were so happy and that he doesn’t seem overjoyed that she finally feels better. It shouldn’t be about getting even. Also strange that the woman would offer her own child. Usually there is some sort of protection instinct that mothers have for their children. Why wasn’t the child mentioned in the beginning? I could tell the story in the perspective of the woman or the man.

Motikatika (cont.):
I wonder if he has a nickname. It seems like his mother is happy to give him to the ogre to be eaten. This little boy has good ears it seems. What a creepy family. They don’t seem to care much if the other dies. I guess it is the mother’s fault to begin with.

Jackal and Spring:
I could write another poem about this. It would be about the various tricks the jackal played.

Adventures of a Jackal:
I could rewrite this story as if it were people instead of animals. 

Adventures of a Jackal (cont.):
I could write a story from the perspective of the old man who gave the advice. Not having a tail really gives him away. I could write in the perspective of the hedgehog.

Adventures of a Jackal (end):
I was not expecting that ending. It is weird that the greyhound waiting until the end to kill him. 

Adventures of Jackal's Eldest Son:
I could write as though the jackal is a human and that the other animals were his friends. 

Adventures of Jackal's Eldest Son (cont.):
I could write in the perspective of the woman who made the butter. What an evil hedgehog. Now he will never find where the butter is.

Adventures of Younger Son of Jackal:
I could tell the story in the perspective of the sheep.





The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1903).

STORY: TRANSFORMATION



Photo Credits: Wikipedia

 
The cave was covered by a waterfall so blue,
That no one could see past it, some couldn’t get through.
But one was so brave, to go through the water,
He shouted “I am Sir Yang, the most valiant martyr.”
Through the water he went where his enemy stood waiting,
A giant with a black face and red hair that was blazing.

Some time did pass once the fighting commenced,
The giant took flight, he knew he was losing, he was not dense.
Up in the air, the giant turned into a sparrow,
Now light and agile, the bird could dodge any arrow.
Quick behind him came the transformed Sir Yang,
So fast the birds flew to escape death’s fangs.

With Sir Yang too near, the giant made a wish,
Hitting the water with a splash, the once giant turned into a scaly fish.
The bird was no longer in sight and Sir Yang cursed,
“Damn this creature! This couldn’t be worse!”
As soon as he said it, his luck turned around,
There was movement in the water, the giant was found.
“A fish! A fish! That is what I need to be.”
So Sir Yang was to change so he could swim deep in the sea.

The fish saw then that Sir Yang had found him,
“What now?” he asked, fins flapping to swim.
Right before the change took place,
The fish (once giant) turned into a snake.
Knowing that the sparrow was too small,
Sir Yang changed instead to an eagle with enormous claws.
Quick Sir Yang was to keep on the snake’s trail,
He was soon upon him again, and the snake let out a loud wail. 

But once more the snake changed just before he was seized,
At this point to Sir Yang, it all seemed like a tease.
On the edge of a cliff, Sir Yang found the old snake,
But now again he was a bird in idle wait.
Sir Yang grew tired of these games and took out his arrow,
And with the skill of an archer he hit the small little sparrow. 

Off of the side of the cliff the sparrow tumbled with ease,
Down to the base of it with the help of a soft breeze.
Looking down from the edge Sir Yang stood disgraced,
For the giant tried to trick him into the chapel from which the giant was shaped. 

“Nice try, you giant, but you will not trick me!”
“For I will break your windows and doors, just you see!”
When the giant heard Sir Yang’s threats he was chilled to the bone,
For he knew that his threats were not idle ones, they were written in stone. 

As fast as a tiger the giant changed one more time,
But first he went to a place he thought Sir Yang would never find.
The giant was right, Sir Yang could not find a trace,
So he went to the Gods to find the giant’s hiding place.

The Gods laughed at the giant’s cleverness and said “Do you see?”
When he did he was astonished saying, “The giant pretends to be me?”
 

Right under Sir Yang’s nose did the giant hide,
In his own shape, his own throne, drinking his own wine!
In anger, he hastened back to his own home,
To the place where the giant sat, enjoying the life that was his own.
 

Confused as they were as to why two kings appeared,
The giant laughed and resumed his form and all of Sir Yang’s subjects ran in fear.
The fighting resumed but not long after,
Sir Yang came up with a plan for the giant’s capture.
 

Catching the giant’s leg with a rope,
The giant tripped and fell just as Sir Yang hoped.
Sir Yang’s followers soon realized they had an advantage,
And started tying him down as well as they could manage.

Sir Yang secured the final strap,
And gave himself a pat on the back.
This is the end of the giant’s mean life,
For Sir Yang’s sword killed him with one clean swipe.   

Author's Note:
There were a few scenes that stood out to me in this story. One of those being the scene where Yang Oerlang was sent to capture Sun Wu Kung and bring him to Heaven to pay for his crimes. They change into many forms while fighting each other so I thought that kind of repetitive nature of the story would go well in the form of a poem. In the end, Yang brings Sun to Heaven and they try to kill him there in the oven but it doesn’t work. So, for the sake of ending the story without a cliff hanger, I just had Yang kill him. This wouldn’t have worked in the original story because Sun was immortal. I had fun writing this story and I hope you enjoyed it!



Bibliography: "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

READING NOTES: THE APE SUN WU KUNG (READING B)

Photo Credits: Yun Huang Yong

Reading B:

The Lord of the Heavens:
So the ape gets a second chance at redemption. I wonder why there were no charges. He was almost sent to death for what he did and then he was let off to work in the stables. I could write in the perspective of the northern star how it spoke for the ape and then wasn’t very grateful for it.
The Great Saint:
He is very ungrateful for what he has now knowing that his position isn’t as highly ranked as he would have hoped because of his former title of king. I could write about the way he exited heaven from the perspective of someone in heaven watching. Interesting that he trusted devil-king leaders. Maybe there could be more to the robe…that it held some sort of evil magic.
Notscha, Son of Li Dsing:
I could write this like the ape is the son and the heavenly king is his father. He tries to make him humble but fails and his teachings make the ape rebellious and a brat. I don’t know why the star is trying to help him.

The Queen-Mother of the West:
So he acts like a brat and gets what he wants and more. This story doesn’t seem to have good life lessons. Essentially it is saying take what you want and don’t let anyone stand in your way because you were born better than everyone else. The trees would go nicely in a rhyme.

Laotzse:
I could write about the feast or the preparation of the feast. He knows he did something wrong so all he knows to do now is run. He got away with everything before, why not now?

Guan Yin:
I could write about Yang Oerlang or his parent’s love story.

Yang Oerlang:
I could write a poem about all of the different forms they took when fighting each other.

Buddha:
It would not be fun to be sentenced to death by oven. 

The Destiny of Sun Wu Kung:
It wasn’t by force but by the way of Buddha that the ape was finally tamed. I wonder why he was not called in the first place.

Journey to the West (synopsis):
This was the overview of the story.
Journey to the West (conclusion):
Other endings to the story.

Bibliography: "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).