Week 2 Essay: Envy and Curiosity

I've mentioned in more than one post this week the recurring themes of envy and curiosity in the Cupid and Psyche saga but haven't really gotten a chance to elaborate uponn why I believe those to be major themes throughout the reading. In what I know of Mythology (which is limited to Greek/Roman myth), most of the action and plot development is typically driven by a single, and, as in this case, sometimes two or three, powerful emotions - love, lust, fear, anger - and the story of Cupid and Psyche is no exception.

Romantic Depiction of Cupid and Psyche

You could say that envy is the "inciting incident" in the exposition of Apuleius' story, that is, the envy Venus feels toward Psyche and her beauty that has caused Venus' followers to turn their worship away from the goddess and toward a mere mortal. Everything that is to follow in the story results from Venus' envy. "Cupid and Psyche" is a story because of Venus' envy. However, envy is not merely a catalyst in the unfolding of the drama here. I believe Apuleius is attempting to convey what a destructive force extreme jealousy can prove to be. In her insane jealousy, Venus inadvertently drives her son into the arms of her rival, earning the very woman she loathes as a daughter-in-law. Further example of the negative power of envy can be observed through the subplot involving Psyche's sisters. Jealous of her good fortune, Psyche's two sisters are bent on her destruction. They fail, ultimately, in their plot against her happiness, only succeeding in meeting their own untimely demise for their trouble. We are meant to take away from this story, in my opinion, that envy is a detriment to our well-being because it requires so much energy input, yet reaps no benefit. Not only does one not benefit from coveting the lives and happiness of others, but he or she is bound to suffer at the hands envy.

Envy Personified

It has been said, and I believe it to be true that it is beneficial to possess a healthy curiosity in life. Apuleius clearly feels differently as he demonstrates several times in the story's characters, namely Psyche, encounter punishment for feeding their curiosity. However, it must be noted that it is not curiosity in itself that Apuleius condemns, but blind curiosity accompanied by a reckless tendency to scorn the advice of others. For example, I have never dropped acid, but have been told for years about its dangers and harmful effects. I could hardly pass off trying the drug with the full knowledge of all the bad things that could happen to me as merely being curious. Likewise, Psyche is curious about both the nature of her disembodied husband and about Proserpine's mysterious jar of beauty, but was warned relentlessly not to look upon either. She, not surprisingly, looks upon both, and, one could say, got what was coming to her, as she was clearly warned about what would happen to her. Another point I would like to address about the nature of curiosity in this context is the fact that Psyche's response to her own curiosity was, as I mentioned, unsurprising. For this reason, I think that Apuleius is, rather than simply condemning curiosity, warning the reader and drawing attention to this facet of human nature - Man's tendency to blindly follow his curiosity down the metaphorical rabbit hole.

Alice and the Rabbit Hole

Apuleius does indeed display a certain sense of sympathy for the human condition, as he paints Psyche as the victim throughout, though some of her suffering was brought upon by herself.

Most of the great myths can be traced back to one or two strong emotions. Envy seems to be a reoccurring theme in Classical Mythology if you look at it closely. Second only to lust perhaps envy is the driving force behind much of Greek and Roman Mythology. Curiosity alone is seen less often as the key motivation in Mythology which serves to illustrate that curiosity in itself is not detrimental, but when paired with a reckless nature - which human beings are wont to possess - well, you know what they say about the cat!

Storytelling for Week 2: Mercedes St. Romane

You could say she had that "It-girl" quality about her. All of the girls wanted to be her, and the boys - well they didn't so much as hope as to date her, but rather vied to be near her. Yes, Mercedes St. Romane, with her long dark hair, cerulean eyes, and full red lips, was strikingly beautiful. Her beauty escaped the notice of no man - young or old - so that she felt the constant gaze of her male classmates and her male professors alike. However, though her beauty was exceptional, Mercedes lived  her life alone on an unpopulated island, for her female peers resented her trance-like effect on men, and her would-be suitors were far too intimidated by her charm to deign to approach her. One such female classmate of Mercedes, Johanna, hated Mercedes with a vehemence which surpassed all reasonable understanding. Before the arrival of Mercedes to St. Olympia High School, Johanna had been the object of the envy and affection of her fellow classmates, but in the presence of Mercedes St. Romane, she was made a pauper in the company of a princess.

A Beautiful Looking Girl

Johanna sought to undermine everyone's high opinion of Mercedes, so that she too would experience a fall from grace. She bullied her meek stepbrother, Charles, into assisting in a plan that would humiliate Mercedes in front of the entire school.
"We'll Catfish her!" exclaimed Johanna deviously, "You'll pose as her secret admirer and contact her through her Facebook. You'll make her fall in love with you, invite her to Senior Prom, and then stand her up! She will be humiliated in front of the whole senior class!" Poor Charles, forever seeking to avoid his sister's anger and wrath, complied.
Charles did as he was told and messaged Mercedes, expressing his secret love for her, and Mercedes, who had begun to view her beauty as curse and was desperate for affection, replied gratefully.What his vindictive stepsister did not know, however, was that Charles was playing no part -he indeed harbored deep feelings of love and passion for Mercedes, but had been to shy to ever even speak to her. So out of this initial exchange blossomed a deep and caring friendship and eventually, a romantic relationship. The two never met - Charles deterred every request of Mercedes' to meet in person, and Mercedes was so happy to have a true friend, that she never pressed the issue. Mercedes didn't even know the name of her new found love, for Charles had set up a fake Facebook profile that bore a false name and a profile picture of a cat. St. Olympia was so big a high school that the two never crossed paths accidentally, but every now and then Charles would journey to a part of the school to which he would not normally venture in order to catch a glimpse of his beloved. It did not escape the notice of her fellow classmates that Mercedes walked with lighter step and smiled more frequently and the boys mourned at the prospect that she must have, at last, taken a boyfriend. The girls whispered fervently, supposing this boy must be in college or go to school in another town for no man in St. Olympia would accept the honor of dating Mercedes St. Romane and keep quiet about it. Thus, the whole school was a-chatter with speculation about the nature of Mercedes' mysterious boyfriend.

Mercedes' Invisible Boyfriend

Author's Note: This is a retelling of The Mysterious Husband, an installment found in the Cupid and Psyche unit. In the original story, the goddess Venus becomes enraged because people have stopped worshiping her and her beauty in favor of that of the young girl Psyche. Venus demands that Cupid, her son, make her fall in love with some vile creature but he takes pity on Psyche and instead shoots himself with one of his arrows, enticing him to fall in love with Psyche. He takes her as his wife, but she is not allowed to look upon his face. I changed this to a Catfish-esque hoax to give the story more modern context and also to make it more relatable. The entire unit deals with the main themes of the destructive power of both envy and curiosity. Both cause untold misery for Psyche as the story progresses.

Bibliography: "The Mysterious Husband."Apuleius' Golden Ass. Trans. Tony Cline. 2013

Week 2: reading Diary - Cupid and Psyche

These were some of my favorite episodes from the story of Cupid and Psyche. I've read about this story so I had a general idea of the plot, but the story itself has so many twists and turns that can only be fully appreciated in the text itself!

The Captive Woman

So this story is actually a story within a story - a novel entitled Apuleis's Golden Ass. This is interesting because the first character we are introduced to is the narrator, Lucius, formerly a man, now a donkey. This is just accepted as fact at the beginning of the first episode of this narrative and no background information is given (Who turned this man into a donkey? Why?).

Lucius the Donkey

 The fact that that this donkey anamagus is not central to the story ( the story within the story that is) acts as a precursor to the absurd events that are to take place in later episodes. As Lucius the donkey looks on from his recent position as pack mule to a band of robbers, the band takes captive a young woman just as she is about to marry. The young woman is understandably distressed. Really, this isn't the most exciting story as far as this reading goes, but I found the plot development in this story (and the two following) very interesting. These stories include the introduction of the story within the story and have nothing to do with the actual story of Cupid and Psyche (as far as I know at this point)

The Mysterious Husband

Okay. So fast forward a bit. We're now in the middle of the actual story of Cupid and Psyche. To summarize what has happened up to this point, Psyche, because of her unworldly beauty, has been cursed by a jealous Venus to fall in love, at the hands of her son, Cupid, with some vile creature unworthy of such beauty. Venus bids Cupid do the deed, but Cupid takes pity on her (and is also most likely taken with her beauty.) Meanwhile, it has been prophesied that Psyche will meet her husband, a horrible creature, on top of a mountain. Not wanting to displease the gods, Psyche's parents leave her there to await her husband. She is swept away to a magical palace and joined by an unseen husband, who we know to be Cupid, but Psyche is clueless. Cupid warns her to never inquire about his appearance or he will have to leave her.

Depiction of Psyche and her Unseen Husband

 I really like this story because it serves as a nod to human nature in terms of both jealousy and the tendency we have not to accept the advise of others. Cupid senses danger coming at the hands of Psyche's two older sisters who have presumed Psyche to be dead. He warns her against having any interaction with them at all but Psyche refuses to listen, lamenting the suffering of her sisters. Psyche's sisters do eventually prove to be Psyche's undoing, just as Cupid warned.

Venus and the Goddesses
My favorite part of this story is that this is the point at which Venus essentially loses her cool (only to have it returned at the end of the story.) At this point of the Cupid and Psyche Saga, Psyche has been left by her dear husband because she chanced a look at his face while he was asleep at the suggestion of her envious sisters. Filled with grief at her loss, wanders, looking for her lost husband. Meanwhile Venus hatred for Psyche is further magnified at the knowledge of her son's betrayal. Remember when I said she loses her cool? Turns out this is a gross understatement. Venus heaps threat upon threat, and curse upon curse upon the disloyal Cupid and all he can really do is listen. The rant itself makes up the majority of this episode and is almost humorous in its vehemence and lack of rationality.

The Splendor of Venus

Venus and Mercury
Psyche, through all of this, is aware of Venus' personal vendetta against her (In the episode Psyche's Prayer, Psyche seeks in the vain the help of the goddesses Juno and Ceres who, though moved by her reverence for the gods even in her despair, remain loyal to Venus) and has just about resolved to give herself up hoping to assuage Venus' fury in this way. Meanwhile, Venus has gone to Mercury, messenger to the gods, to ask him to announce a reward for the capture and deliverance of the elusive Psyche. Basically, the entire male population of Olympus turns on Psyche at the prospect of seven kisses delivered by Venus herself. I believe this story serves to demonstrate how people (not necessarily just men) are driven to evil by the most trifling of desires.

The Jar of Beauty
You'd think Psyche would have learned something from her past misfortune...Okay, so at this point in the story, Psyche has been turned over to the vengeful Venus. Venus, in addition to physically abusing the poor girl, keeps setting her to what she calls "impossible" tasks - tasks which are either Psyche should be simply unable to perform, or will be killed in the process (see stories Venus and Psyche, Psyche's Next Task, and The Third Task). Psyche completes them all with the help of the world around her, which has taken pity on her suffering. Venus, infuriated by Psyche's resilience, sets Psyche on one final task - to go down to the Underworld and retrieve a jar of Proserpine's beauty

Proserpine in the Underworld

Psyche is given a complicated set of instructions by a castle turret concerning how to retrieve the jar without becoming trapped in the Underworld for good. The last of these instructions is this: whatever you do, don't open the jar! Psyche manages to get herself in and out of the Underworld with the jar of beauty given to her by the goddess of the Underworld herself. She is in the clear - or so it would appear. Once again, despite the warning of those more knowledgeable than she, Psyche finds herself led by her curiosity to open the jar. This is a nod at the destructive nature of curiosity (you know what they say about curiosity!) which is an important theme throughout this reading.

These were my favorite readings from this unit. The main themes in this reading were of the destructive forces of envy (illustrated by the goddess Venus and Psyche's jealous sisters) and the danger of uncurbed curiosity.

Note: After opening the jar of beauty, Psyche is overcome by the drought of sleep that was actually contained in the jar (go figure) but is quickly revived by Cupid. Cupid pleads with Zeus to allow him to officially marry Psyche. Zeus obliges, they marry, and everyone lives happily ever after. After the story is told, Lucius and the captive girl make their escape from the band of robbers who have enslaved them both. 

Week 1 Introduction - Working, Learning, Living Life!

Hey guys! I'm Jada and this is my first blog ever! Okay so to get some of the more boring stuff about me out of the way: I'm an Oklahoma native (Edmond for my fellow Okies, for those of you in other places, just think of it as a suburb of Oklahoma City), I'm a junior, Microbiology Pre-Med (so LOTS  of science), I'm 20, and I want to be a pediatrician. Some additional things about myself (which I think are just a touch more interesting) are that I play violin, I LOVE Zumba and am actually a certified instructor, I love kids and work at a daycare (*Ahem* child development center) I am Sigma Phi Lambda (A Christian Sorority - the girl version of BYX!) I love reading and books, especially the classics (Currently reading: A Tale of Two Cites by Charles Dickens), and I have a borderline obsession with all things Harry Potter and Disney.

Do you want to build a snowman

Something interesting I did this summer: I was a counselor at a Christian athletic camp called Camp Ozark. I must have overlooked the athletic part when I applied, but was quickly made aware of that little caveat when I arrived for orientation and was expected to participate in sports and be good at them. Now its not like I'm completely unathletic - I cheered competitively for almost 12 years -  but I had never played basketball before and now I was expected to coach it. It was really a hilarious experience. I definitely believe that you should, if you have the opportunity, work at a summer camp. It's an experience every college kid should have before graduating!

As I mentioned, I work in childcare which is a pretty big part of my life. So about 75% of the things that come out of my mouth (that don't have to do with Harry Potter or Once Upon a Time) start with "Okay so one of my kids -" I post about the crazy shenanigans I experience at work on my Facebook page from time to time. I've worked with every age group and my favorite are still probably my infants. I've been moving classrooms a lot recently just because of my other summer job and my school schedule. Right now I'm in the 3s classroom (dun dun duuuuuun!). We'll see how that works out for me.

Kids Running

I hope this post has given you at least a little bit of a sense of who I am! Thunder UP!





OKC Thunder

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

In my head I know that I'm going to have to create one of these Storybooks, but wow have I got some big shoes to fill! I clicked on each of these links because the titles stood out to me and then I just couldn't stop reading. They were all really impressive! Here are the Storybooks I read:

Flipped Scripts
In reading this storybook, I was reminded of something I've heard multiple history teachers state at the beginning of a school year: "History is written by the winners." Can you imagine what our history books would look like if WWII was recorded from the perspective of the Nazi's. I've always wondered if the American Revolution is treated as a mere blip in England's history books or if they devote a full chapter to it as we do. This storybook didn't touch on World history but instead retold Mythology from the perspective of the "villains." It gave characters like Medusa and Polyphemus of Classical Mythology more depth and insight as to why they were the way that they were. The presentation of these "flipped scripts" equaled the concept of the stories in cleverness. The stories were told in interview format with interviewers that brought a light-hearted comedic air to some of these heavier stories.

Mermaids - CSI
This storybook actually ended up being somewhat different than what I expected but I loved it all the more. The stories are related from the perspective of an immortal murder detective to whom we are introduced in the introduction of the storybook. What I expected was an alternate telling of the story of the Little Mermaid but instead the storybook devoted attention to several different stories having to do with actual mermaids and maidens who have close ties to the sea and in which a murder is somehow involved. My favorite part about the presentation of the stories is that the narrator is incorporated into the action of some of retold stories giving the stories another dimension and perspective.
FRIENDS: The One with All the Stories
*Opening guitar riff from I'll Be There For You plays*
Of the storybooks I read, this one probably had my favorite concept, and not because I am a HUGE fan of Friends. My favorite part about these stories was that I had no idea while I was reading each of them that these were retold Aesop Fables. The stories fit so well with the Friends theme that I thought they were just short Friends episode concepts. The author did such a good job of fitting the stories to each of the personalities of each character that I had no trouble visualizing each of the scenarios as if I were watching an episode of Friends. Then when I read the Author's notes I was blown away that each story had been adapted to this modern day setting. Brilliant!

Week 1: The UNTextbook

There were so many fascinating options, I had trouble selecting just five! Here are my top picks though:

Egyptian Myth
I've always found the Egyptian gods and goddesses some of the most interesting in all of mythology. There are so many! The Egyptian perspective on death and the afterlife has also always interested me.

Brothers Grimm (Ashilman)
The fairytales we think we know best are not the neat and tidy stories that Disney has painted them to be. I know about a few of the original Grimm fairytales but I would love to know more about the origins of some of my favorite Disney characters.

Homer's Iliad
I love all things Greek Mythology and one of my favorite stories is the fall of Troy. The movie starring Brad Pitt doesn't really get much into to the gods and goddesses aspect of the Trojan War which I think is the most interesting part! (I still love the movie. Brad Pitt *swoon*)
King Arthur
What happened to King Arthur post Sword in the Stone? We touched a little bit on Arthurian legend in high school, but not nearly enough!

Alice's Looking Glass
I read Alice in Wonderland as a child and would love to continue to delve into that magical realm full of nonsensical twists and turns. Especially after the attention given to Wonderland in the ABC series Once Upon a Time

Week 1: Story(Re)Telling - The Okie Mouse

Author's note: This story is adapted from the Aesop Fable The Town Mouse and the CountryMouse. In this fable a simple country mouse learns after visiting her cousin in a big town that it is better to have little and feel safe than to have plenty and live in fear.

The Mouse Cousins The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Mavery Mouse had never been anywhere outside of her little farm in Oklahoma, and that was just fine with her. Life in Oklahoma was simple - she ate simple things, she enjoyed simple fun like snooping around the Farmer's fields, and she lived in a simple roundish hole in the wall of the Farmhouse. Mavery began to wonder, however, whether her cousin Millicent - a big-city mouse from Dallas - would be equally satisfied with the simplicity of country living when she came to visit the next day. Mavery got her answer the moment Cousin Millie saw Mavery's bare little mouse hole
"But where's all your stuff?" Millie asked rather tactlessly
"It's all here," replied Mavery evenly
"Well what is there to do?" Millie practically whined
"We can explore the House. Or the fields. Maybe give the Farmer's wife a good scare," answered Mavery with a snicker.
"Oh you should have come to Dallas, Maves!" began Millicent excitedly, "There's lots to do! They have these gigantic parks where humans go and climb on all these metal contraptions for fun. Some of them spin really fast and some of them look like trains only they go a lot faster than any train I've ever seen! I don't see what's so fun about it because they're always screaming and yelling. But the main thing is that these places have the best food and the humans are always dropping it all over the place! You gotta come see it!"
Mavery didn't have the heart to disappoint her cousin (who really did mean well) so she agreed that they could make the trip to Dallas the next day.
After several days journey, the Mouse cousins arrived at the Big Park in Dallas. It was enormous! And there were all types of food that Mavery had only ever heard about - bread that was twisted up and salted, some sort of sweet that looked like a pink cloud, and puffy white stuff that tasted like butter. Mavery was just about to enjoy some of that pink stuff when she heard a scream.
"EEEEEKKK!! It's a rat!" a woman screamed. Soon there were multiple screams coming from every direction. A man appeared with a giant net and began to run toward Mavery and Millicent. The cousins ran for their lives! Millicent ducked into a small space between two food carts and Mavery followed her. The man with the net had not seen them and ran past. Once the mice had caught their breath, Mavery turned to Millicent.
"There may be more excitement and more to eat here in Dallas, Millie, but I think I like it better in Oklahoma. It's quiet and there's not as much to, but by Golly there's nobody chasing me around with a net!" Millie nodded appreciatively.
"And another thing!" Mavery added indignantly, "We Okies know the difference between a mouse and a rat!

Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter (1919).Web Source:Project Gutenberg

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Week 1: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - My Favorite Place

I am, quite possibly, the biggest Potterhead there is. I've read all the books (multiple times) seen the movies (multiple times),waited, in full costume, for hours for both movie and book releases, and have been sorted into a house on Pottermore (Hufflepuff, thank you very much.) Talk to me about Harry Potter for about five minutes and I'll count you as one of my best friends. I could go on and on but long story short is that I. Love. Harry. Potter. Imagine, then, my excitement (if that's even a strong enough word to describe my emotions) when I learned that my family was planning a vacation to Universal Studios Orlando, Florida and subsequently, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  I kid you not there were tears in my eyes as I walked into Hogsmeade for the first time. Walking through the Hogwarts castle and seeing all my favorite characters in front of me and talking to me - there are just no words. I would have been happy spending the entire vacation there, but even my supportive parents and equally nerdy boyfriend had their limits. I have not been back since its been revamped and Diagon Alley was added, which is probably just as well - I would probably pass out before I crossed the threshold. You could say I'm a little obsessed (I warned you) but in what other way could we Muggles (I guess my letter really isn't coming...) ever experience Hogwarts? Visiting the Wizarding World of Harry potter was seriously like a dream come true!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Testing New Blog

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