Reading Notes: Hero Tales, Part B

Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

The first reading of this part of the unit, Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away, really caught my eye because it was, to an extent, one story. However, there are several individual stories that lie within this one project. The story begins with how the two twin brothers were separated at birth but then eventually reunited by their father. The mini-stories follow the same sort of pattern: the father warns them about a certain danger, the boys don't listen to him and go head first into the fire, and somehow they manage to escape unscathed. The boys themselves are rather intuitive but are also a little arrogant, as if they know that they'll get themselves out of whatever sticky situation they face. The language is similar to much of the readings from Part A: fairly casual, yet descriptive at the same time. That's the type of writing I strive for, and I definitely got some good insight from this unit as a whole. I breezed through the rest of the stories, but none of them had the same effect on me as that story did. For my story this week, I think I could write a few stories similar to these, but I'd like to throw a twist in the plot. I guess I'll have something to think about for tomorrow!

There's no way Lodge-Boy isn't a fan of these, right?

Reading Notes: Hero Tales, Part A

1Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

I really enjoyed reading this first part of the Hero Tales unit for several reasons. First of all, the stories flow well and are easy to follow, which kept me engaged the entire time. Second of all, the plotline for some of these is really unique. I was not expecting to read a story like The Jealous Uncle where the antagonist is out to kill his nephews. This is an unconventional theme, but the writing really makes you believe this could happen (although obviously not in the same setting). That story was probably my favorite one of this part of the reading unit simply because I enjoyed reading the different ways that the protagonist escaped his uncle's traps. There were also some elements in the story that represented unique aspects of Native American culture, such as the personification of the log and the eagle-skin. Another story I enjoyed was Dug-from-Ground. The idea of a special root being dug up and leading to a child rolling down the chimney is unorthodox as well, but the writing doesn't focus as much on that. Instead, just like the first story I mentioned, the tale revolves around the development of the protagonist and how he overcomes the challenges he faces.

A freshly-dug root, perhaps the one that caused the baby to be born.

Reading Notes: Cherokee Part B

Story source: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

I feel like I'm learning more about Cherokee culture with every reading. That's not something I really felt with all the other units because, for the most part, I had some prior knowledge. There were a few that I didn't know about going into it, but I don't think I connected with those as much as this one. One unique aspect of these stories is that there are variations in how some of the stories pan out. For example, in The Terrapin's Escape From the Wolves, one version ends in the terrapin escaping, while the other version resulted in him breaking his back on a rock before being healed by a medicine song. This shows a few different facets of the culture and reveals some of the oral tradition that led to the transcription of these tales. One theme in particular from a few of these tales that intrigued me was incorporating the competition of sport into their storytelling. Several stories, including The Race Between the Crane and the Hummingbird and The Ball Game of the Birds And Animals, pit animals against each other and essentially let natural selection do the rest. I think that's a fun aspect of these stories that I could build this week's story around.

In case you weren't sure what a terrapin looks like...

Reading Notes: Cherokee, Part A

Story source: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

I was looking forward to this week of reading because I wanted to learn more about Cherokee culture, which is a part of my ancestry. One thing that quickly stood out to me was the prevalence of nature as a theme in the stories. While there are some instances where man plays a role, many of the tales revolve around animals, and the author personifies these creatures to make them more relatable to the audience. Some of the stories in this part of the unit reminded me of the creation of the world from the Bible, only a little more intricate. Rather than focusing on broad themes, these stories focused on detailed aspects of the world, such as pine trees or fire. This further emphasizes the theme I've noticed from this unit of glorifying nature as a whole. Many of these stories rely on description rather than dialogue, and that works for tales like these. For example, "The Moon and the Thunders" depicts a scene between the Sun and the Moon, but it's hard enough to imagine these human-like characters without that conversation. I think if I were to focus on an individual aspect of the stories or the unit as a whole, it could work to have a little more interaction between the characters.

The Moon and the Thunder.

Week 9 Story: The Man, The Horse, and The Longhorn

It was a quiet day along the Red River. The sun shined down on the clay-colored water and evergreen trees that stretched for miles.
A Longhorn was trudging down the coast of the river, his dusty orange fur bouncing up and down as it trotted along. He had been looking for food for hours, but all the bugs and animals were hiding in trees and bushes to avoid the sun bearing down on them. All of a sudden, on the other side of the coast, he heard some bushes moving.
Out of the shrubbery came out a Man on top of a Horse. The Man looked quite normal and dressed the part as well.
"Finally, some fresh meat!" the Longhorn thought. "The coastline ends on both sides, and they'll have no choice but to cross! This guy doesn't stand a chance."
"Hey!" he shouted. For the first time, he caught a glimpse of the man. Behind his clean-shaven look, the Longhorn saw a glimpse of confidence in his eyes. But that didn't matter now.
"You're in my territory now," said the Longhorn. "I'm guessing you're trying to cross?"
"Don't worry," said the Man. "We'll be out of your way in a second."
Suddenly, the Horse darted to the right. The Longhorn tried to trap him, but the Horse was simply too fast to stop. The Man and the Horse easily made their way past the Longhorn, and there was no way he would catch up to them. He looked sadly as they trotted off into the horizon.
Another day passed, and the Longhorn grew hungrier with every minute. Suddenly, he saw the Man and the Horse heading back towards him. He knew what to do this time, and he was ready for any sudden moves.
"You really have the nerve to come back here after yesterday?" he said. "There's no way I'm letting you past me this time."
The Man chuckled, as if he already knew what would happen.
"We'll see about that."
The Horse jumped to the right, but this time the Longhorn was prepared. He ran over and tried driving his sharp horns in the horse's side. But when the Longhorn bumped into the Horse, he bounced off and kept going. The Longhorn was rattled and watched as the Man and the Horse went back the way they came.

Story source: South African Folk-Tales by James Honey (1910).

Author's Note

I based my story off of "The Lion, The Jackal, and The Man". However, with OU's win over Texas last weekend, I wanted to have a little fun with this story and base it off the Sooners' big win. I changed the characters and the story, but I wanted to keep the part where the antagonist loses in the end because of his arrogance. I also kept the capitalization of the characters because I think that's a good way of giving these animals a more human personality.

The Longhorn staring sadly as the Man and Horse escape him time after time.

Reading Notes: South Africa, Part A

Story source: South African Folk-Tales by James Honey (1910).

Reading through the first part of the South Africa unit reminded me a little of the Aesop's Fables, except without the moral written out at the end. Both types of stories are revolved around animals who are given human-like personalities, but the fable of the readings from South African culture are more indirect. While it was easy to read through the stories, I also had to try a little harder to figure out what the author was trying to convey. I like the perspective of the protagonist in each of the stories. For the most part, these characters are smart and cunning, which usually helps them get out of sticky situations. The manner by which they do it is also different from stories I've read in the past. For example, in "The Tiger, The Ram, and The Jackal", the ram makes the tiger believe he is being trapped by him and the jackal, and he escapes an attack from the two as a result. If I were to pick my favorite story from the bunch, I would choose "The Lion, The Jackal, and The Man". The lion's respect for the spirit of the fighting man is an interesting concept, and I could write a story from the perspective of the hunter himself.

A lion fighting a man. Not gonna lie, I'm taking the lion nine times out of ten

Week 8 Progress

First of all, it’s crazy that we’re already halfway through the semester. I remember starting this class the first week, not knowing what to expect. However, I’ve definitely improved several skills throughout the semester thanks to this course. First, the constant writing has definitely helped my creativity. It can be hard to write all these stories without sounding repetitive, but I’ve found more variety in my wording. I also think that because of the comments we have to post on other students’ pages, I’ve done a better job at reading analytically rather than just skimming for content. I haven’t done a lot of peer review in my other classes, so this has definitely helped me in regards to how I give feedback. However, one weakness of mine that this class has exposed is my time management. Having an assignment due nearly everyday definitely caught me off guard at times so far, and I definitely need to stay on top of my writings a little better in the back end of the semester.

A flashback to OU/Texas my sophomore year, crazy how far we've come!

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

Overall, I'd say I'm definitely getting a lot of positive feedback from my classmates so far. The best thing about the feedback is that all the comments are effective in one way or another, but they cover a variety of aspects of my storybook project and blog posts. That has also helped me give better feedback in my comments, which I think I'm doing well with so far. One habit I've picked up throughout the semester is reading through my classmates' stories and posts a few times before leaving a comment. That way, I can pinpoint things that I may have missed the first time. I also think I'm getting to learn about a lot of people through this class. Obviously, it's hard considering there isn't any face-to-face interaction, but it could easily be worse. I would also say the online side of things makes me think more about the language I use when making comments. I definitely have to pay attention to the way I come across because as a whole, I think language used in an online forum is subject to interpretation more than face-to-face.

I think this caption is a great representation of what we should be keeping in mind when giving feedback to each other online.

Week 7 Reading Notes: The Monkey King Part B

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

The Monkey King was another story that I had no prior knowledge of, and I've gotta say, this protagonist is much different from those I've read this semester. Sun Wu Kung seems like your average happy-go-lucky guy, except for the part where he can turn into "a figure with three heads and six arms". That's a little terrifying. He's a hero who loves a challenge, and somehow he always seems to come out on top ... until the Buddha traps him under a mountain. That was definitely a twist that I was not expecting, but it's quite understandable that he was overmatched by the Buddha. I think the hubris that he suffers from is something that can be seen across several readings from this course, and it could be something I incorporate into my story.

This writing placed a heavy emphasis on shapeshifting, whether it was for the purpose of fighting, deceiving, or something else. That aspect of the story is so effective because of how descriptive the author is. That's definitely a challenge for me since I struggle with creative writing, but I think that reading these also gave me some ideas that I'm hoping to add to my next story.

Sun Wu Kung and Jade Rabbit.