Reading Notes: Ashliman, Part B

Story source: The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2013).

The first story, "The Fox and the Cat" reminded me to an extent of one of Aesop's Fables, albeit with a slightly more gruesome ending. Right from the bat, you get a sense of these two characters' personalities: the cat is the humble, curious creature, while the fox is cunning yet cocky. This attitude comes back to bite the fox when he is captured by the dogs, all while the cat is comfortably sitting up in a tree. I felt like the story was trying to convey some kind of moral, like they're trying to demonstrate the flaws of arrogance. One story in particular that really stood out to me was "The Duration of Life". I thought the Grimm Brothers did an incredible job at personifying the stages of human life through animals. The donkey's lifetime represents the working life of the human, while the dog represents their time in retirement and the monkey's life represents their older life. You also find out a lot about the Grimm Brothers themselves; their faith is clearly represented in this story as well as their perspective on mankind. That's not something I can particularly replicate, but I think the story itself is one I could definitely play with. Overall, this was definitely one of my favorite reading units of the semester. The stories were easy to follow yet so descriptive at the same time, and the plots were all very interesting.

God granting Man more life in "The Duration of Life".

Reading Notes: Ashliman, Part A

Story source: The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2013).

The first story, "Cat and Mouse in Partnership", was kind of odd in terms of how the plot developed. The two animals become friends and share a shelter together during the winter, yet the cat continuously betrays the mouse and eats all the food they stored. He is essentially rubbing it in the mouse's face, yet the mouse is too gullible to realize it until it's too late. I think the author was trying to showcase the personification of the two animals more than anything. I really enjoyed "The Seven Ravens", though! The author introduces the seven brothers early on, but then they don't reappear until the end of the story. By doing so, he succeeds in keeping our attention as the plot moves along. It also helps focus on the protagonist and her development throughout the story. As a whole, the stories aren't incredibly descriptive. Instead, the Grimm Brothers focus on the plot itself. It's very fast-paced, and the plot is very intricate leading to the climax. That's definitely something I will have to incorporate in this week's story.

The Seven Ravens.

Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland, Part A

Story source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865).

Another week, another reading unit to look forward to! I feel like everyone has seen the Alice in Wonderland movie, but not many people (including myself) have actually read the story. One thing that really stands out to me is how descriptive the writing is. I could practically paint the scene in my head because of all the vivid imagery. For example, in "Pig and Pepper", Lewis Carroll describes the Footmen in detail, down to the "powdered hair that curled all over their heads". I also think the story is unique because there are instances where the plot stalls to dive into Alice's thoughts. For example, in "Down the Rabbit-Hole", Alice thinks about where she might be going, whether her cat will miss her, and more. I think that allows the writer to show a little more of Alice's personality, which is a feature I'd like to include in my writing. As the story goes on, Alice's true character shows: she's an innocent girl, but she is courageous enough to embark on this mission at the same time.

The Mad Hatter.

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables, Part A

Story source: Aesop's Fables (English).

I'm not going to lie: I've been looking forward to this unit for a few weeks now. The last few reading units have all been really interesting, but they weren't really topics I knew much about. It was a little hard understanding some of the stories at times, so it was nice to go back to something I was somewhat familiar with. It was really refreshing going through some of the fables for the first time in years. There were a lot of them that I had not read before, but many of the trends from those I knew carried over to these. It may just be that the last time I read these was middle school, but the language was particularly confusing for some reason. Classical and Middle Age English has always been difficult for me to sort at times, so this was definitely an interesting challenge. I think these stories also revealed the role that historical context plays in the plot. Aesop is believed to have written these stories in Ancient Greek times, and that shows when you read fables like the ones from "The Gods". When I write my story later this week, I'll have to keep length in mind. Aesop manages to get his theme across in every fable, often in 16 lines or less. That succinctness is a defining aspect of his storytelling, and it's definitely something I want to incorporate in mine.

Apollo and Jupiter.

Week 12 Story: The Two Brothers

There was once a pair of brothers, the Elder and the Younger. The Younger was always the favorite of their parents; he was always given preferential treatment compared to his older brother. This was much to the jealousy of the Elder, and one day, he sought to exact revenge for all the years of unfair punishment.

The family lived in a rather isolated house in the countryside with a huge wheat field as their backyard. They lived off the wildlife surrounding their home, using whatever resources they could gather. The Elder, who was excellent at hunting and trapping animals, went out into the field and caught a snake. He then returned to the home and let the snake loose when the parents weren't looking. His parents finally noticed the loose reptile and exclaimed, but before the Elder could do anything, the Younger ran over and grabbed the snake by the tail. The snake swung around, trying to bite the Younger, but he didn't flinch as he ran outside and threw it back into the field. As the snake slithered away, the Elder tried to convince his parents that his younger brother had brought the creature in, but it was to no avail as they showered the Younger with thanks.

This trend continued for some time, and the Elder grew angrier and angrier with every passing day. However, he decided he would not try and set the Younger up again; he would simply wait until his brother slipped up so that he can pounce on the opportunity. Days passed until one night, where the Younger became ill. Because of this sickness, the Younger missed his morning chores. The Elder seized the opportunity and brought the issue up to his parents. In this family, being sick was not typically an excuse, at least not when it came to the Elder; every member of the family has to put in their equal share of the work. Yet, the parents largely ignored his complaints, instead making sure that the Younger was recovering well and had everything he needed. When the Elder insisted that his brother should be punished for his mistake, his parents scolded him for being so heartless. The Elder was sent outside to take care of the Younger's tasks as punishment, and he continued to live in the shadow of his brother.

Speaking of favorites, which brother is my mom's favorite? You decide...

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

Author's Note: I meant to write this story during Week 11, but I figured I'd post it this week simply because I enjoyed writing it so much. This story was inspired originally by "The Jealous Uncle", a tale about an uncle who killed his first two nephews within a few years of their birth before being stumped on several occasions by the third one, who had been disguised by his family as a girl for the years prior. I chose to change the perspective a little to tell the story of two siblings. I think that some people could relate to either being the favorite child or having a sibling who is, and it allowed me to get more creative with my storytelling instead of slightly altering the original story. I chose to avoid dialogue in this story because I wanted to tell the story in a sort of ironic fashion. While the writing provides a rather basic portrayal of the facts of this story, the tale itself features decisions made by the characters based almost solely off of emotion.