Brothers Grimm (LibriVox)
Part A: Favorites
The Frog Prince
The ending of this story bothered me. A princess loses her little golden ball in a spring and a frog offers to retrieve it if she will let him live with her. The princess is shallow and agrees but really has no intention of letting the frog live with her. But he outsmarts her showing up at her palace so she is obliged to house him. After he lives with her three days, he turns into a handsome prince, revealing that he has been a cursed prince all along. The princess and the prince marry and live happily ever after. I did not like that the princess seems to be rewarded for acting shallow.
Rapunzel
This is pretty much the typical story I know of Rapunzel - a girl taken from her parents and kept in a tower alone with long hair that can be used as a ladder (her hair is not magical as Disney would have you believe). The only real difference between this story and my previous knowledge of this story is the end part about Rapunzel living in exile with her children until the prince come and rescues her. I guess most versions of this story wish to keep a chaste image of Rapunzel and leave the part about her giving birth to children out of the story.
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
This was a funny little story. I like how it involves the personification of objects rather than animals - it is pretty common to see talking animals in fairytales, but no so much inanimate objects so that was a nice change. This story also gives a little etiology for the black-eyed pea as the bean in the story laughs at the misfortune of her new friends the straw and the coal who have drowned and she explodes. Luckily for her, a man comes along who is able to sew her together, but since he uses black thread, the bean now has a black stitch holding together the two brown halves.
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage
This story I believe is a warning about the importance in realizing that everyone has their place. When these three friends try to do each other's job, each meets his demise. All it takes is a little word from some of the bird's other peers for him to think that he is bigger and more important than his position. From then, the set way of living of the three friends is changed and eventually all three die as a result. It is a good lesson in understanding that while every job may not be glamorous every job is important and specialized.
Briar Rose
Briar Rose is basically the story of sleeping beauty. This is interesting because in the Disney adaptation of Sleeping Beauty, Arora is given the alias Briar Rose while she is in hiding. This makes me curious as to why these stories are listed separately.
Part B: Favorites
The Queen Bee
This story seems to give a lesson in the importance of treating others with respect because you never know when people will come back into your life and how they will be able to help or hurt you. This is illustrated by the behavior of three brothers as they journey throughout the world. They come upon several situations in which a smaller or lesser being can be taken advantage of but the youngest of the three brothers alone stands up for these defenseless creatures. In return, later in his travels, all the creatures that the younger brother spared come back to help him when he is in need and are even able to bring him happiness by enabling to marry.
The Twelve Huntsmen
This story was very interesting as it involved the use of deception in order to obtain love. It also combined aspects of different stories with which I am familiar, for example, the Princess and the Pea. The overall message of the story was not one that I necessarily agreed with because it made it seem as though it is okay to break vows or given word. This idea is manifest in the young prince who scorns his love in favor of a princess that his father has picked out for him but then turns back and scorns this woman as well in favor of his old love. There is also, however, something to be said in this story about the power of true love and fate as the two loves end up finding each other in the end despite all odds.
Jorinda and Jorindel
This is another story that seems to illustrate the power of true love. Here we see two lovers separated and one who will not rest until his love is returned to him. The story does have a happy ending which I believe serves as a positive message about the reward perseverance and tenacity will bring.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
This happens to be one of my favorite fairy tales. A man has to find out the secret of where 12 princesses go to dance at night (for their chamber is locked up at night). The man is able to trick the princesses into leading him straight into their secret world. I think my favorite type of fairytale is one that involves the tricking of a party that believes itself too clever to be tricked. It is always fun to see the unflappable outsmarted.
Showing posts with label Reading Diary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading Diary. Show all posts
Monday, November 10, 2014
Monday, November 3, 2014
Week 12: Reading Diary - English Fairy Tales
English Fairy Tales
Part A:
Tom Tit Tot
This was one of my favorites! Ever since I joined the Once Upon a Time fandom, I've been utterly obsessed with all things to do with Rumplestiltskin. This story was very similar to the traditional Rumplestiltskin story. A mother is singing about the gluttony of her daughter who has eaten five pies in one day. A passing king overhears the mother speaking of this and, embarrassed, lies and says she was singing about how her daughter could spin skeins (which, according to Google, is like a bundle of yarn.) The king decides he would like to marry this young lady who can spin skeins and tells the mother this, but warns her that if her daughter is unable to do what the mother has promised, he will kill the daughter. The mother agrees to this thinking that after awhile the king will have forgotten about this stipulation. He, however, does not and the time comes when he puts the daughter in a room and demands she spin five skeins every night for the next month or he will kill her. Just as the daughter is sure she will die, a magical imp appears to her and promises to do her spinning for her every night, but she must guess his name by the end of the month or else he will make her his slave. The daughter guesses every name she can think of, but it isn't until she hears from her husband, the king, that he has seen an imp dancing around and singing his name, Tom Tit Tot, that she is able to outsmart the imp. The imp vanishes not to be seen again. I liked this story and found it very amusing, but it left me to wonder what the daughter would do the next time the king demanded she spin skeins - she never did learn!
The Rose Tree
I found this story a little bit more macabre than the light-hearted first story. The story begins with two half siblings, a boy and a girl. The sibling are very good friends, but the mother of the boy hates the little girl for her beauty and charm. The stepmother plots to get rid of the beautiful girl and one day tricks the girl into lying her head in the lap of the stepmother who proceeds to cut the girl's head off. The evil stepmother cooks up the poor girl and feeds it to her clueless husband but the girl's brother refuses to eat what he is given and instead finds the remains of his poor sister and buries her beneath a rose tree. One day, a white bird emerges from the rose tree - it is the girl and she sings about the brutal murder she has suffered. She entrances several people with her song into giving her items. She drops two of the items, a pair of red shoes and a gold watch as gifts for her father and brother, and when the stepmother comes out to see what gift she will receive from the sky, the bird drops a stone on her head. I like that, even with a brutal murder, the story had a sort of happy ending. That is - at least the stepmother got what was coming to her. I also liked the irony of the stepmother's greed and jealousy being the thing that killed her daughter and the thing that killed her.
The Old Woman and Her Pig
This is what is known as a cumulative story and it reminded me a lot of the song "I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly." A woman is trying to get her pig over a stile which it is too afraid to cross. So (starting at the end) she gives a cow a bundle of hay so that the cow will giver a saucer of milk to give to a cat so that the cat will kill a rat so that the rat would gnaw a piece of rope so that the rope wouldn't hang a butcher so that the butcher would be able to kill an ox so that he ox would drink water so that the water could quench a fire so that the fire would burn a stick making the stick beat a dog so that the dog would bit the pig to make the pig jump over the stile *deep breath* I enjoyed this story a lot despite the fact that there were some parts that made no sense (if a fire is quenched, how could it burn?) but I think that added an element of silliness that made this story a lot of fun to read.
Mouse and Mouser
An extremely unusual story, this was, and I don't necessarily understand the point of it. Basically, a mouse goes to visit a cat - it makes it seem as though the two are friends. Then transpires an exchange between the two in which they both speak in short verse with the mouse speaking first and the cat responding. The cat's responses seem to get more and more sinister until she eventually pounces on and kills the unsuspecting mouse. This ending was quite unexpected and abrupt; I wasn't sure how I felt about it. But nonetheless, I liked the back and forth between the cat and mouse which is why I included it.
Cap o' Rushes
This was a version of a Cinderella story. Cap o' Rushes is the name given to one of the three beautiful daughters of a rich gentleman after he turns the girl out for saying that she loves him like salt loves fresh meat (he is unimpressed by the simile). She disguises herself by making herself a cloak with a hood out of rushes and becomes a maid for another rich family. One night, there is a great dance and all the servants are allowed to go, but Cap o' Rushes says that she is too tired to go. Once everyone leaves, she sheds her disguise and attends the dance dressed in finery, capturing the heart of her own master's son. She does not reveal her true identity to anyone and leaves the party so she can het home before everyone else. She does this every time there is a dance and the poor master's son gives her a ring, but when he cannot find the mysterious woman, he becomes so heartsick that he has to take to his bed. Cap o' Rushes offers to make gruel for the sick man and places the ring at the bottom of the bowl. He quickly figures out who she is and they get married at once. She requests, though, that at their wedding banquet, all the food be prepared without salt. When her father (who is invited to the feast) tastes the unsalted food, he weeps thinking of his daughter and how now he understood how she loved him. Cap o' Rushes reveals herself to her father and soon everyone is happy. I loved the cleverness and creativity of Cap o' Rushes when she decides to reveal herself. I think it is a way of making those around her be truly appreciative of her.
The Three Little Pigs
This was basically the classic story of the Three Little Pigs that I am familiar with. The only difference really was that the Big Bad Wolf seemed a bit more tenacious. Instead of giving up once he is unable to blow down the third pig's house of brick, the Wolf continues to try to trick the Pig into leaving his house so that the Wolf can eat him. The Wolf keeps inviting the Pig to go places at a certain time, but the Wolf keeps arriving at the discussed time to find that the Pig has already gone without him. Eventually the Wolf becomes so frustrated that he decides to simply go down the Pig's chimney. The clever Pig, however, places a pot over the fire and the Wolf falls in so the Pig cooks and eats the Wolf. What a surprising twist!
Part B:
Molly Whuppie
The story begins in a very Hansel and Gretel-like way. A man takes his 3 youngest children to the woods because he has too many children to feed them all. They wander the woods for awhile before coming upon a house. They ask to be let in and given something to eat. The woman inside allows them in but warns them not to be around when her husband, a giant, returns. However, they are too late to leave and the giant comes. One of the children Molly Whuppie, tricks the giant into killing his own children instead of her and her siblings. They get away from the giant's house and end up at a castle where they tell the king of their recent adventures. The king is impressed but says he will be more so if she goes back two more times to steal from the giant. If she does so, he will marry her sisters to his sons. After she is successful, the king asks Molly to go back one more time and if she comes back, he would give his youngest son in marriage. This time when she goes back the giant is ready for her and he catches her and asks her what she would do if she was in his position. She tells him she would put him in a sack with a dog, a cat, a needle, and thread, and shears and then she would beat the bag with a stick. He plans to do just this and once she is in the bag he goes to find a stick. While in the bag, Molly tricks the giant's wife into getting into the bag herself and her husband beats the bag, unable to hear her cries over the sounds of the cat and dog. So Molly goes back and marries her prince.
Mr. Fox
This story was like something straight out of a horror movie! Lady Mary is beautiful and all the men around her want to marry her, but she only likes Mr. Fox and they decide that they will get married. Once betrothed, Mary begins to think how strange it is that Mr. Fox has never let her see where he lives so she sets out to find his castle. She finds it and to her horror discovers a room filled with the skeletons and bodies of dead women. Mr. Fox returns suddenly, dragging with him another young lady. She is wearing a ring and Mr. Fox cannot get the ring off of her so he chops off her hand which lands right in the lap of Lady Mary, who is hiding. She runs back to her home. The next time she sees Mr. Fox, she claims that she has had a bad dream in which she saw all the horrors that his home held. Mr. Fox denies that any such thing could occur at his home but Lady Mary reveals the hand of the maiden he had dragged off the day before. At once, everyone present jumps up to kill Mr. Fox. I can't imagine being told this story as a child as a bedtime story. It is positively horrifying! But at the same time, it is somewhat intriguing - just like a horror movie.
Johnny-cake
A variation of the story of the Gingerbread Man. Instead of gingerbread, this little man is a Johnny-cake that runs away from a little boy and his parents, two well diggers, two ditch diggers, a bear, and a wolf taunting each as he passes. Then when he comes upon a fox, he passes by bragging that he can outrun the fox just as he has everyone else, but the fox pretends not to hear Johnny-cake. When Johnny-cake goes closer to the fox to make himself heard the fox eats him. To me this is a classic tale of pride coming before the fall. Boasting literally was Johnny-cakes demise.
Mr. Miacca
I can imagine my mother telling me this story in order to dissuade me from misbehaving. It is pretty scary from a child's perspective. Mr. Miacca in this story, serves as the punisher of little boys who do not obey. Tommy Grimes' mother warns him not to go around the corner alone or else Mr. Miacca will get him. Indeed, one day when Tommy decides not to listen to his mother, Mr. Miacca grabs Tommy and takes him home to eat him. While Mr. Miacca is gathering herbs to cook with poor Tommy, Tommy manages to trick Mrs. Miacca into letting him go home in order to get a pudding for her. Tommy escapes but has clearly not learned his lesson as he goes off around the corner by himself and is once again snatched by Mr. Miacca. This time, Tommy is made to sit under the sofa so he doesn't escape but he once again outsmarts Mr. Miacca by sticking out a leg of the sofa to be chopped off instead of his own and then making a break for it. Finally Tommy has learned his lesson
ccs
Part A:
Tom Tit Tot
This was one of my favorites! Ever since I joined the Once Upon a Time fandom, I've been utterly obsessed with all things to do with Rumplestiltskin. This story was very similar to the traditional Rumplestiltskin story. A mother is singing about the gluttony of her daughter who has eaten five pies in one day. A passing king overhears the mother speaking of this and, embarrassed, lies and says she was singing about how her daughter could spin skeins (which, according to Google, is like a bundle of yarn.) The king decides he would like to marry this young lady who can spin skeins and tells the mother this, but warns her that if her daughter is unable to do what the mother has promised, he will kill the daughter. The mother agrees to this thinking that after awhile the king will have forgotten about this stipulation. He, however, does not and the time comes when he puts the daughter in a room and demands she spin five skeins every night for the next month or he will kill her. Just as the daughter is sure she will die, a magical imp appears to her and promises to do her spinning for her every night, but she must guess his name by the end of the month or else he will make her his slave. The daughter guesses every name she can think of, but it isn't until she hears from her husband, the king, that he has seen an imp dancing around and singing his name, Tom Tit Tot, that she is able to outsmart the imp. The imp vanishes not to be seen again. I liked this story and found it very amusing, but it left me to wonder what the daughter would do the next time the king demanded she spin skeins - she never did learn!
The Rose Tree
I found this story a little bit more macabre than the light-hearted first story. The story begins with two half siblings, a boy and a girl. The sibling are very good friends, but the mother of the boy hates the little girl for her beauty and charm. The stepmother plots to get rid of the beautiful girl and one day tricks the girl into lying her head in the lap of the stepmother who proceeds to cut the girl's head off. The evil stepmother cooks up the poor girl and feeds it to her clueless husband but the girl's brother refuses to eat what he is given and instead finds the remains of his poor sister and buries her beneath a rose tree. One day, a white bird emerges from the rose tree - it is the girl and she sings about the brutal murder she has suffered. She entrances several people with her song into giving her items. She drops two of the items, a pair of red shoes and a gold watch as gifts for her father and brother, and when the stepmother comes out to see what gift she will receive from the sky, the bird drops a stone on her head. I like that, even with a brutal murder, the story had a sort of happy ending. That is - at least the stepmother got what was coming to her. I also liked the irony of the stepmother's greed and jealousy being the thing that killed her daughter and the thing that killed her.
The Old Woman and Her Pig
This is what is known as a cumulative story and it reminded me a lot of the song "I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly." A woman is trying to get her pig over a stile which it is too afraid to cross. So (starting at the end) she gives a cow a bundle of hay so that the cow will giver a saucer of milk to give to a cat so that the cat will kill a rat so that the rat would gnaw a piece of rope so that the rope wouldn't hang a butcher so that the butcher would be able to kill an ox so that he ox would drink water so that the water could quench a fire so that the fire would burn a stick making the stick beat a dog so that the dog would bit the pig to make the pig jump over the stile *deep breath* I enjoyed this story a lot despite the fact that there were some parts that made no sense (if a fire is quenched, how could it burn?) but I think that added an element of silliness that made this story a lot of fun to read.
Mouse and Mouser
An extremely unusual story, this was, and I don't necessarily understand the point of it. Basically, a mouse goes to visit a cat - it makes it seem as though the two are friends. Then transpires an exchange between the two in which they both speak in short verse with the mouse speaking first and the cat responding. The cat's responses seem to get more and more sinister until she eventually pounces on and kills the unsuspecting mouse. This ending was quite unexpected and abrupt; I wasn't sure how I felt about it. But nonetheless, I liked the back and forth between the cat and mouse which is why I included it.
Cap o' Rushes
This was a version of a Cinderella story. Cap o' Rushes is the name given to one of the three beautiful daughters of a rich gentleman after he turns the girl out for saying that she loves him like salt loves fresh meat (he is unimpressed by the simile). She disguises herself by making herself a cloak with a hood out of rushes and becomes a maid for another rich family. One night, there is a great dance and all the servants are allowed to go, but Cap o' Rushes says that she is too tired to go. Once everyone leaves, she sheds her disguise and attends the dance dressed in finery, capturing the heart of her own master's son. She does not reveal her true identity to anyone and leaves the party so she can het home before everyone else. She does this every time there is a dance and the poor master's son gives her a ring, but when he cannot find the mysterious woman, he becomes so heartsick that he has to take to his bed. Cap o' Rushes offers to make gruel for the sick man and places the ring at the bottom of the bowl. He quickly figures out who she is and they get married at once. She requests, though, that at their wedding banquet, all the food be prepared without salt. When her father (who is invited to the feast) tastes the unsalted food, he weeps thinking of his daughter and how now he understood how she loved him. Cap o' Rushes reveals herself to her father and soon everyone is happy. I loved the cleverness and creativity of Cap o' Rushes when she decides to reveal herself. I think it is a way of making those around her be truly appreciative of her.
The Three Little Pigs
This was basically the classic story of the Three Little Pigs that I am familiar with. The only difference really was that the Big Bad Wolf seemed a bit more tenacious. Instead of giving up once he is unable to blow down the third pig's house of brick, the Wolf continues to try to trick the Pig into leaving his house so that the Wolf can eat him. The Wolf keeps inviting the Pig to go places at a certain time, but the Wolf keeps arriving at the discussed time to find that the Pig has already gone without him. Eventually the Wolf becomes so frustrated that he decides to simply go down the Pig's chimney. The clever Pig, however, places a pot over the fire and the Wolf falls in so the Pig cooks and eats the Wolf. What a surprising twist!
Part B:
Molly Whuppie
The story begins in a very Hansel and Gretel-like way. A man takes his 3 youngest children to the woods because he has too many children to feed them all. They wander the woods for awhile before coming upon a house. They ask to be let in and given something to eat. The woman inside allows them in but warns them not to be around when her husband, a giant, returns. However, they are too late to leave and the giant comes. One of the children Molly Whuppie, tricks the giant into killing his own children instead of her and her siblings. They get away from the giant's house and end up at a castle where they tell the king of their recent adventures. The king is impressed but says he will be more so if she goes back two more times to steal from the giant. If she does so, he will marry her sisters to his sons. After she is successful, the king asks Molly to go back one more time and if she comes back, he would give his youngest son in marriage. This time when she goes back the giant is ready for her and he catches her and asks her what she would do if she was in his position. She tells him she would put him in a sack with a dog, a cat, a needle, and thread, and shears and then she would beat the bag with a stick. He plans to do just this and once she is in the bag he goes to find a stick. While in the bag, Molly tricks the giant's wife into getting into the bag herself and her husband beats the bag, unable to hear her cries over the sounds of the cat and dog. So Molly goes back and marries her prince.
Mr. Fox
This story was like something straight out of a horror movie! Lady Mary is beautiful and all the men around her want to marry her, but she only likes Mr. Fox and they decide that they will get married. Once betrothed, Mary begins to think how strange it is that Mr. Fox has never let her see where he lives so she sets out to find his castle. She finds it and to her horror discovers a room filled with the skeletons and bodies of dead women. Mr. Fox returns suddenly, dragging with him another young lady. She is wearing a ring and Mr. Fox cannot get the ring off of her so he chops off her hand which lands right in the lap of Lady Mary, who is hiding. She runs back to her home. The next time she sees Mr. Fox, she claims that she has had a bad dream in which she saw all the horrors that his home held. Mr. Fox denies that any such thing could occur at his home but Lady Mary reveals the hand of the maiden he had dragged off the day before. At once, everyone present jumps up to kill Mr. Fox. I can't imagine being told this story as a child as a bedtime story. It is positively horrifying! But at the same time, it is somewhat intriguing - just like a horror movie.
Johnny-cake
A variation of the story of the Gingerbread Man. Instead of gingerbread, this little man is a Johnny-cake that runs away from a little boy and his parents, two well diggers, two ditch diggers, a bear, and a wolf taunting each as he passes. Then when he comes upon a fox, he passes by bragging that he can outrun the fox just as he has everyone else, but the fox pretends not to hear Johnny-cake. When Johnny-cake goes closer to the fox to make himself heard the fox eats him. To me this is a classic tale of pride coming before the fall. Boasting literally was Johnny-cakes demise.
Mr. Miacca
I can imagine my mother telling me this story in order to dissuade me from misbehaving. It is pretty scary from a child's perspective. Mr. Miacca in this story, serves as the punisher of little boys who do not obey. Tommy Grimes' mother warns him not to go around the corner alone or else Mr. Miacca will get him. Indeed, one day when Tommy decides not to listen to his mother, Mr. Miacca grabs Tommy and takes him home to eat him. While Mr. Miacca is gathering herbs to cook with poor Tommy, Tommy manages to trick Mrs. Miacca into letting him go home in order to get a pudding for her. Tommy escapes but has clearly not learned his lesson as he goes off around the corner by himself and is once again snatched by Mr. Miacca. This time, Tommy is made to sit under the sofa so he doesn't escape but he once again outsmarts Mr. Miacca by sticking out a leg of the sofa to be chopped off instead of his own and then making a break for it. Finally Tommy has learned his lesson
ccs
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Week 11: Reading Diary - Alice in Wonderland
Alice and Wonderland
This unit is a little unusual because it skips around the book quite a bit condensing some of the chapters and leaving some out. I've included some of my favorite stories!
Part A: Favorites
Down the Rabbit Hole
I have always loved Alice in Wonderland! As I read, I can't help but use my memories of the Disney movie to provide myself with visuals of the action (it is such a visual story!) In this first story, as it suggests, we see Alice go down her famous rabbit hole. I think it was very interesting how even in the story it says that she never gave any thought to how she was going to get out - that was something I always wondered at as a child. I love the little monologue she has with herself as she fall, quite calmly, down the deep dark well. I've always thought Alice a very strange character as she doesn't seem to wonder at what a typical person would wonder at, at least not to the same degree.
Down the Rabbit Hole (cont...)
I think that this chapter does a good job of capturing the very essence of childlike sensibility that characterizes Alice. When she finally lands at the bottom of the well, Alice finds herself in a room of many doors. She finds a key but the only door that the key will fit is no bigger than a rat hole. She despairs momentarily at not being able to fit through the door but is soon distracted when she finds a bottle that is labeled"drink me." However, Alice is very wise and realizes that she must first check to make sure that the bottle is not also marked poison as well. Of course the bottle could only contain poison if it is marked as such! I love this and the other statements she makes about the things that only wise little children remember from stories. It is comical but it is very true that children due seem to lack the most basic of common sense in many stories and fairytales which Alice has not failed to notice.
Down the Rabbit Hole (end)
After drinking from the mysterious bottle, Alice finds herself no more than 10 inches tall. To her delight, she is small enough to pass through the very small door, However, she soon realizes that she left the key on top of the table and is now to small to reach it! She begins to cry in despair but only for a bit before she sharply chastises herself for being so silly. Suddenly, she discovers under the table a box and inside the box she finds a very small cake on which is written "eat me" she does so thinking that this will cause her to grow taller. She does indeed begin to grow but much much bigger than she had anticipated - much too tall to fit through the small door. She begins to cry once more at her bad luck! The story skips a bit during which time I know from reading the book and seeing the movie that Alice is indeed able to shrink herself back down again and fit through the tiny door at last. When the story picks back up, she meets a large caterpillar smoking hookah on a mushroom.
Advice from a Caterpillar
Now commences Alice's famous conversation with the Caterpillar. He asks who she is and she replies that she isn't quite sure. This seems to annoy the Caterpillar, but if you think about it, this is a pretty existential answer, for how often are we unsure of who we are really, especially if you have spent the day growing and shrinking! The Caterpillar seems to talk in circles, which aggravates poor Alice. The Caterpillar in turn advises Alice to keep her temper.
Advice from a Caterpillar (cont...)
Alice begins to find the Caterpillar a rather contradictory sort. He asks her to recite the poem You are Old, Father William only to have him tell her that she has recited the entire thing incorrectly. She begins to lose her patience again. The Caterpillar does not seem to be able to help her. I think this is an interesting point - just because someone doesn't tell you exactly what you want to hear, it doesn't mean that they can't help you. In this case, the Caterpillar does eventually provide Alice with the information she seems to be seeking. He tells her that eating one side of the mushroom upon which he sits will make her larger and the other side will make her smaller. She chooses a side to eat and is rewarded by growing a very large chin.
Advice from a Caterpillar (end)
Eventually, her neck stretches up so tall that is rises above the trees and is mistaking for a serpent by a mother Pigeon and spends a great deal of time arguing with the bird about whether she is a girl or a serpent. After some time, Alice recalls that she is still holding the other side of the mushroom and can use it to shrink herself again. When she eats the mushroom, she finds herself only 9 inches high.
Pig and Pepper
The next three stories involve Alice's meeting with a very ill-tempered duchess who is preparing a very pepper-y soup for her young baby who is wailing horribly. It is here that Alice meets the Chesire cat for the first time with his all too pleasant grin.
Part B:
I've decided for Part B to combine the separate parts of each chapter into one set of notes for each chapter so as to help the continuity of the story for my notes.
A Mad Tea Party
This is where we are first introduced to my favorite character in this story: the Mad Hatter. He is accompanied in this story by, of course, the March Hare and the Dormouse. We learn that they are in a constant state of tea time because the Hatter was once accused of murdering Time while he recited for the Queen of Hearts and now Time has refused to do anything for the poor Hatter. Thus, it is always 6:00pm - tea time. Alice joins this strange, eternal tea party and finds herself equal parts intrigued and frustrated by her strange new companions. They are constantly speaking in riddles with no answer (how IS a raven like a writing desk?) and using clever wordplay. That is probably my favorite thing about this story - the wordplay which makes all of the characters seem rather daft or mad, but in reality paints them to be more clever than is initially understood. (Also see A Mad Tea Party (cont...) and A Mad Tea Party (end) )
The Queen's Croquet Ground
We finally are introduced to the crazy Queen of Hearts. I love the way she is described in the story - almost like a petulant child, screaming "off with his head!" every few moments. She invites Alice to play in her game of croquet after Alice stands up to the mad queen on behalf of her royal gardeners who have been painting the white roses that were accidentally planted in the queen's garden red. The game of croquet is very strange - the balls are hedgehogs and the malts are flamingos. The more time Alice spends around the queen, the more sure she is that she will at some point lose her head and realizes that she needs to do her best to stay on the queen's good side. To Alice's great delight, her friend, the Cheshire Cat, makes an appearance (just his head). However, he manages to insult the king and when the king brings the problem to his wife, her very Procrustean solution is to cut off the Cat's head. This sparks a debate - how will they behead a head? (Also See The Queen's Croquet Ground (cont...) and The Queen's Croquet Ground (end) )
Who Stole the Tarts?
A trial commences to determine who has stolen the Queen's Tarts. This scene seems to take place a little helter-skelter - nothing really seems to make sense, which is part of the charm of this story. The judge is the King of Hearts who seems to latch onto the most inane of details presented by the witnesses, the jury is made up of a collection of beasts with slates. Their notes do not particularly seem to pertain to what is happening in the trial. The witnesses called includes the Mad Hatter, the Duchess' cook, and Alice herself! I wonder if the chaos that ensues in this so-called court is meant to be a satire about the proceedings of actual court and how they too can seem helter-skelter or nonsensical. (Also see Who Stole the Tarts (cont...) )
Alice's Evidence (cont...)
When it is her turn to give evidence (what evidence could she possibly have) Alice discovers that she has been growing and has almost reached her full size. This makes her very unafraid of the Queen and she begins to get a little mouthy calling them all nothing but a pack of cards. When the cards begin to attack her, she wakes realizing that all she has experienced has been nothing but a dream! A wonderful dream! This explains her willingness throughout the story to accept all of the events that are transpiring around her.
This unit is a little unusual because it skips around the book quite a bit condensing some of the chapters and leaving some out. I've included some of my favorite stories!
Part A: Favorites
Down the Rabbit Hole
I have always loved Alice in Wonderland! As I read, I can't help but use my memories of the Disney movie to provide myself with visuals of the action (it is such a visual story!) In this first story, as it suggests, we see Alice go down her famous rabbit hole. I think it was very interesting how even in the story it says that she never gave any thought to how she was going to get out - that was something I always wondered at as a child. I love the little monologue she has with herself as she fall, quite calmly, down the deep dark well. I've always thought Alice a very strange character as she doesn't seem to wonder at what a typical person would wonder at, at least not to the same degree.
Down the Rabbit Hole (cont...)
I think that this chapter does a good job of capturing the very essence of childlike sensibility that characterizes Alice. When she finally lands at the bottom of the well, Alice finds herself in a room of many doors. She finds a key but the only door that the key will fit is no bigger than a rat hole. She despairs momentarily at not being able to fit through the door but is soon distracted when she finds a bottle that is labeled"drink me." However, Alice is very wise and realizes that she must first check to make sure that the bottle is not also marked poison as well. Of course the bottle could only contain poison if it is marked as such! I love this and the other statements she makes about the things that only wise little children remember from stories. It is comical but it is very true that children due seem to lack the most basic of common sense in many stories and fairytales which Alice has not failed to notice.
Down the Rabbit Hole (end)
After drinking from the mysterious bottle, Alice finds herself no more than 10 inches tall. To her delight, she is small enough to pass through the very small door, However, she soon realizes that she left the key on top of the table and is now to small to reach it! She begins to cry in despair but only for a bit before she sharply chastises herself for being so silly. Suddenly, she discovers under the table a box and inside the box she finds a very small cake on which is written "eat me" she does so thinking that this will cause her to grow taller. She does indeed begin to grow but much much bigger than she had anticipated - much too tall to fit through the small door. She begins to cry once more at her bad luck! The story skips a bit during which time I know from reading the book and seeing the movie that Alice is indeed able to shrink herself back down again and fit through the tiny door at last. When the story picks back up, she meets a large caterpillar smoking hookah on a mushroom.
Advice from a Caterpillar
Now commences Alice's famous conversation with the Caterpillar. He asks who she is and she replies that she isn't quite sure. This seems to annoy the Caterpillar, but if you think about it, this is a pretty existential answer, for how often are we unsure of who we are really, especially if you have spent the day growing and shrinking! The Caterpillar seems to talk in circles, which aggravates poor Alice. The Caterpillar in turn advises Alice to keep her temper.
Advice from a Caterpillar (cont...)
Alice begins to find the Caterpillar a rather contradictory sort. He asks her to recite the poem You are Old, Father William only to have him tell her that she has recited the entire thing incorrectly. She begins to lose her patience again. The Caterpillar does not seem to be able to help her. I think this is an interesting point - just because someone doesn't tell you exactly what you want to hear, it doesn't mean that they can't help you. In this case, the Caterpillar does eventually provide Alice with the information she seems to be seeking. He tells her that eating one side of the mushroom upon which he sits will make her larger and the other side will make her smaller. She chooses a side to eat and is rewarded by growing a very large chin.
Advice from a Caterpillar (end)
Eventually, her neck stretches up so tall that is rises above the trees and is mistaking for a serpent by a mother Pigeon and spends a great deal of time arguing with the bird about whether she is a girl or a serpent. After some time, Alice recalls that she is still holding the other side of the mushroom and can use it to shrink herself again. When she eats the mushroom, she finds herself only 9 inches high.
Pig and Pepper
The next three stories involve Alice's meeting with a very ill-tempered duchess who is preparing a very pepper-y soup for her young baby who is wailing horribly. It is here that Alice meets the Chesire cat for the first time with his all too pleasant grin.
Part B:
I've decided for Part B to combine the separate parts of each chapter into one set of notes for each chapter so as to help the continuity of the story for my notes.
A Mad Tea Party
This is where we are first introduced to my favorite character in this story: the Mad Hatter. He is accompanied in this story by, of course, the March Hare and the Dormouse. We learn that they are in a constant state of tea time because the Hatter was once accused of murdering Time while he recited for the Queen of Hearts and now Time has refused to do anything for the poor Hatter. Thus, it is always 6:00pm - tea time. Alice joins this strange, eternal tea party and finds herself equal parts intrigued and frustrated by her strange new companions. They are constantly speaking in riddles with no answer (how IS a raven like a writing desk?) and using clever wordplay. That is probably my favorite thing about this story - the wordplay which makes all of the characters seem rather daft or mad, but in reality paints them to be more clever than is initially understood. (Also see A Mad Tea Party (cont...) and A Mad Tea Party (end) )
The Queen's Croquet Ground
We finally are introduced to the crazy Queen of Hearts. I love the way she is described in the story - almost like a petulant child, screaming "off with his head!" every few moments. She invites Alice to play in her game of croquet after Alice stands up to the mad queen on behalf of her royal gardeners who have been painting the white roses that were accidentally planted in the queen's garden red. The game of croquet is very strange - the balls are hedgehogs and the malts are flamingos. The more time Alice spends around the queen, the more sure she is that she will at some point lose her head and realizes that she needs to do her best to stay on the queen's good side. To Alice's great delight, her friend, the Cheshire Cat, makes an appearance (just his head). However, he manages to insult the king and when the king brings the problem to his wife, her very Procrustean solution is to cut off the Cat's head. This sparks a debate - how will they behead a head? (Also See The Queen's Croquet Ground (cont...) and The Queen's Croquet Ground (end) )
Who Stole the Tarts?
A trial commences to determine who has stolen the Queen's Tarts. This scene seems to take place a little helter-skelter - nothing really seems to make sense, which is part of the charm of this story. The judge is the King of Hearts who seems to latch onto the most inane of details presented by the witnesses, the jury is made up of a collection of beasts with slates. Their notes do not particularly seem to pertain to what is happening in the trial. The witnesses called includes the Mad Hatter, the Duchess' cook, and Alice herself! I wonder if the chaos that ensues in this so-called court is meant to be a satire about the proceedings of actual court and how they too can seem helter-skelter or nonsensical. (Also see Who Stole the Tarts (cont...) )
Alice's Evidence (cont...)
When it is her turn to give evidence (what evidence could she possibly have) Alice discovers that she has been growing and has almost reached her full size. This makes her very unafraid of the Queen and she begins to get a little mouthy calling them all nothing but a pack of cards. When the cards begin to attack her, she wakes realizing that all she has experienced has been nothing but a dream! A wonderful dream! This explains her willingness throughout the story to accept all of the events that are transpiring around her.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Week 10: Reading Diary - Legends of the Pacific Northwest
Legends of the Pacific Northwest Unit
Part A: Favorites
How Silver-Fox Created the World
This was one of the most unusual creation stories I have read thus far. Instead of some fantastic supreme being creating the world, in this story it is done by Silver-Fox with the help of his companion (slash servant?), Coyote. Silver-Fox and Coyote live in the sky above that which was only water. Silver-Fox goes behind Coyote's back and begins to create the world (Coyote is against this for some reason). Throughout the actions of Silver-Fox to create the world, his character is made increasing unlikable - he is bossy, superior, and sneaky. There are many arguments between Silver-Fox and Coyote about how the seasons should be divided and what type of food should be provided on earth. I imagine that Silver-Fox and Coyote will continue to be opposing forces as I continue the reading.
Three Coyote Stories
The Creation of Mankind: the rivalry between Silver-Fox and Coyote is reintroduced - Silver-Fox makes people out of sticks and Coyote wishes to do the same and tries to do as he saw Silver-Fox do, but his people turn into wood-shavings when he touches them
How Coyote Got His Cunning: Here we meet Chareya, the Old Man Above, who is also attributed with creation in these folktales. He tells the animals that in order to rank them, each would be given a bow and the length of the bow determined which animal was the most important. Coyote resolves to stay awake so he can get to Chareya first and get the longest bow. He falls asleep, however, and is the very last animal to get his bow. Taking pity on the Coyote, Chareya grants the now unimportant the most cunning of all the animals.
How Coyote was Killed: Coyote decided he wanted to travel the sky world. He is, after much pleading, able to convince Star to take him into the sky. As they travel, Coyote becomes very cold because he is very high up in the sky world and Star is not warm like Sun. He falls back to the earth and is squashed flat.
Coyote seems to serve as the hardluck comedic character in these folktales, the foil of the clever Silver-Fox.
How the Old Man Above Created the World\
This unit contains multiple creation stories which is very interesting. They don't all exactly align which makes me wonder how it was decided which creation story was the true one within this culture. In this story, Chareya, the Old Man Above creates a hole in the sky so that he can get down to the earth and so that the sun can shine and melt the mass of ice and snow that is the earth. After the earth is melted, he creates animals from sticks and leaves and makes the grizzly bear to be master of them all. The Old Man lives in an ice teepee because he comes to fear the grizzly he has created. The story ends with the coming of the "pale-face" the White Man. According to the story, after the White Men came, the Old Man went away. This paints an interesting parallel of how the culture of the Native peoples of North America slowly went away with the coming of the European colonizers.
How Beaver Stole Fire
This is my favorite story from this unit thus far. In this world, all living things are personified including animals and even trees. The Pine Trees it seemed held the secret of fire but refused to share it with the animals. Without fire, the animals nearly froze to death come winter. Beaver decides to steal the fire from the Pine Trees while they are holding council. The action following, the Pine Trees' pursuit of the thief gives a bit of an etiology of the geography of the Pacific Northwest - where certain trees stand today, is where each tree gave up in its pursuit of beaver. Old Cedar chased Beaver for the longest but eventually gives up at the top of a very high hill atop which, to this day, he stands alone.
Chinook Wind
This story reminded me a bit of the Hatfields and McCoys and the generations long feud that existed between the two families. Here, the two rival families are the Chinook brothers, who cause the warm wind to blow, and the Walla Walla family, who causes the cold wind to blow. They decide to finally hash out all of their differences in the form of the wrestling match. Whoever loses must have his head cut off. Coyotes is set to be the judge but he cleverly fixes the contest so that the Chinook brothers would fall and so they are all killed. One of the Chinook brothers leaves behind a son and wife and the wife tells her son that he must avenge his father's death when he grows older. Meanwhile, the Walla Walla brothers are wreaking havoc in Umatilla where his grandparents live - they constantly make the cold wind blow and steal the fist of Young Chinook's grandparents. Young Chinook is able to outwit the Walla Walla brothers so that they can no longer steal fish from his family. They challenge him to the same wrestling match that his father had fallen in, but this time, Coyote fixes the contest in Young Chinook's favor so that a balance could be restored between the two winds.
As-ai-yahal
This story gives several etiologies, but the most prominent is the etiology for summer and winter. As-ai-yahal tricks the East Wind, who freezes the earth so no one can obtain food, into believing that melting water is herring so the Wind stopped blowing and the snow and ice melted giving way to a much warmer season.
Three Raven Stories
The Origin of Daylight: The cousin of the Raven, Gull kept the light of the earth in a small box which he guarded carefully. That was the only light on earth. So Raven tricks his cousin into opening the box by causing a thorn to be stuck in Gull's foot and claiming that he cannot remove it without light.
Owl and Raven: Owl, who is close friends with Raven, makes a dress for Raven but Raven refuses to sit still as Owl tries to fit the dress. Annoyed with Raven, Owl, dumps the contents of a blubber lamp all of the white dress of Raven, and since then Raven is black all over.
The Spell of the Laughing Raven: A pair of moccasins is stolen and in a series of events, makes its way into the hand of grizzly, who is killed by Old Gray Wolf for possession of the moccasins. Because Old Grizzly was killed, the Klamath Lake People fight the Northerners while Raven laughs and laughs.
Woodrat and Rabbits
This story is surprisingly morbid. The jist is that Woodrat challenges several rabbits to a quarrel and when they refuse he quarrels with them anyway ultimately killing 5 of them and eating them with is other. Eventually, Woodrat and his mother are caught and burned to death. Morbid as it was, I liked the sudden turn the story took. It was unexpected which made the story that much more interesting.
Why There are no Snakes in Takhoma
This is a sort of a version of the flood that is required to reset creation after the creator becomes disgusted by its wickedness. However, there is a twist in that it is the animals, not mankind, that need to be reset. A medicine man shoots arrows into a cloud to make a chain for all of the good animals to go up to escape the flood. However, it is discovered soon that some bad animals as well as snakes are trying to ascend. The medicine man breaks the chain of arrow causing the bad animals to fall back to the earth and be drowned in the flood.
Part B: Favorites
Cry-Because-He-Had-No-Wife
This story was a bit difficult to follow - it has so many different twists and turns and parts that seem somewhat disconnected from the rest of the story. However, it was a very interesting story, nonetheless. A boy is known for crying day and night because he wishes for a wife. He starts on a tremendous journey to find the girl that will be his wife. He must outsmart a giant, get past a deadly cliff, and then outrun a great horse that guards the girl's house. He does all these things and is able to marry the girl, after which, he has a man's body. The two then travel back to the man's home and must use different types of whips in order to get home on the horse. This story in its entirety made me think of a Greek Epic like the Odyssey in which the hero must encounter several strange obstacles and characters throughout his journey. Some parts of the journey were difficult to understand completely like the bit about the whips.
Two Thunder-Bird Stories
The Golden Age: This story tells of how the Tinne people lost their immortality because they failed to obey the Thunderbird. As long as they kept a sacred arrow given to them by the Thunderbird, they would not have to die, but eventually, they use the arrow and they have to die like everyone else.
Origin of the Thunderbird - we learn here where this mystical Thunderbird even came from.
The Thunderbird was created when the south wind catches a whale and cuts it across the back instead of longways. The whale turns into a bird which was the Thunderbird
An Indian's Vow to the Thunder Gods
This story was a little sad. It reminded me of the story of Rumplestiltskin but without the happy ending. A woman promises to give her first child to the Thunder Gods as a tribute, but after her son is born, she is overcome with joy and love for the boy and forgets all about her promise. Eventually, the Thunder Gods strike the boy dead, finally claiming his life as their own and the woman mourns heavily and as she ages, her story comes to be known through the sad song she sings about her loss.
Chinook Ghosts
In this story, a group of ghosts decide they wish to have a wife and thus take away Blue Jay's sister Ioi. Blue Jay goes to the land of the dead which appears as a large village where the men are skeletons, the people of the village fish for leaves and branches which are their trout and salmon, and the canoes used are old and worn. Blue Jay proves to be a menace in this world and the ghosts command Ioi to send Blue Jay home, Blue Jay does not follow his sister's instructions and dies on the way back. Now that he is to be a resident of the land of the living rather than a visitor, he can see the town as those living see it: full of men, not skeletons, actual salmon and trout, and new gleaming canoes. This was a very interesting twist to the story and it was cool to note the contrast drawn here between life and death especially to those who are not dead yet.
The Memaloose Islands
This is another story involving a visit to the land of the dead by one who is not yet dead. A maiden loses her husband and visits the death island to find him. She and her father journey by canoe and once they reach the island, the maiden steps out on the shore where she meets her husband but her father returns. The maiden and her husband dance all evening and they fall asleep. When she awakes, the maiden discovers that she is actually in the land of the dead rather than just on its shoes and flees back to her own village. Eventually, a baby is born to the woman, half human half spirit, and the woman's father wishes for his mother to meet the baby. He warns his mother not to look upon the child until it is ten days old, but predictably, the old woman cannot wait and gazes at the child who promptly dies. This angers the spirits and from then on, living people were not able to visit the land of the dead. This was interesting to me and I wondered if it had some sort of symbolic meaning, like people who were in the habit of living in the past learned how not to do so.
Coyote and Grizzly
The story begins with Old Grizzly becoming ill from eating too many Indians (talk about morbid!) and so she sends for Coyote as a medicine man. But Coyote decides that it is really in everyone's best interest for Grizzly to just die. He tells the grizzly that she is sick from eating too many Indians and she becomes angry at this for some reason, jumping up to chase him. Coyote runs from Grizzly all the time taunting her and finally tricks her into crossing a bridge which cannot support her weight. She falls and drown and Coyote is able to go back and tell his people that he has killed the troublesome Grizzly. Throughout this reading, I've sensed that Coyote has a bit of a complex - he needs to feel important which I suppose arises from his low rank derived from his story in the beginning of the reading.
Coyote and the Dragon
This is another testament to Coyote's apparent inferiority complex. He resolves to kill a dragon that had been plaguing the countryside. The dragon can only exist in the darkness so Coyote ropes down the sun to draw the dragon out of his lair, then releases this sun so that the dragon is killed.
Part A: Favorites
How Silver-Fox Created the World
This was one of the most unusual creation stories I have read thus far. Instead of some fantastic supreme being creating the world, in this story it is done by Silver-Fox with the help of his companion (slash servant?), Coyote. Silver-Fox and Coyote live in the sky above that which was only water. Silver-Fox goes behind Coyote's back and begins to create the world (Coyote is against this for some reason). Throughout the actions of Silver-Fox to create the world, his character is made increasing unlikable - he is bossy, superior, and sneaky. There are many arguments between Silver-Fox and Coyote about how the seasons should be divided and what type of food should be provided on earth. I imagine that Silver-Fox and Coyote will continue to be opposing forces as I continue the reading.
Three Coyote Stories
The Creation of Mankind: the rivalry between Silver-Fox and Coyote is reintroduced - Silver-Fox makes people out of sticks and Coyote wishes to do the same and tries to do as he saw Silver-Fox do, but his people turn into wood-shavings when he touches them
How Coyote Got His Cunning: Here we meet Chareya, the Old Man Above, who is also attributed with creation in these folktales. He tells the animals that in order to rank them, each would be given a bow and the length of the bow determined which animal was the most important. Coyote resolves to stay awake so he can get to Chareya first and get the longest bow. He falls asleep, however, and is the very last animal to get his bow. Taking pity on the Coyote, Chareya grants the now unimportant the most cunning of all the animals.
How Coyote was Killed: Coyote decided he wanted to travel the sky world. He is, after much pleading, able to convince Star to take him into the sky. As they travel, Coyote becomes very cold because he is very high up in the sky world and Star is not warm like Sun. He falls back to the earth and is squashed flat.
Coyote seems to serve as the hardluck comedic character in these folktales, the foil of the clever Silver-Fox.
How the Old Man Above Created the World\
This unit contains multiple creation stories which is very interesting. They don't all exactly align which makes me wonder how it was decided which creation story was the true one within this culture. In this story, Chareya, the Old Man Above creates a hole in the sky so that he can get down to the earth and so that the sun can shine and melt the mass of ice and snow that is the earth. After the earth is melted, he creates animals from sticks and leaves and makes the grizzly bear to be master of them all. The Old Man lives in an ice teepee because he comes to fear the grizzly he has created. The story ends with the coming of the "pale-face" the White Man. According to the story, after the White Men came, the Old Man went away. This paints an interesting parallel of how the culture of the Native peoples of North America slowly went away with the coming of the European colonizers.
How Beaver Stole Fire
This is my favorite story from this unit thus far. In this world, all living things are personified including animals and even trees. The Pine Trees it seemed held the secret of fire but refused to share it with the animals. Without fire, the animals nearly froze to death come winter. Beaver decides to steal the fire from the Pine Trees while they are holding council. The action following, the Pine Trees' pursuit of the thief gives a bit of an etiology of the geography of the Pacific Northwest - where certain trees stand today, is where each tree gave up in its pursuit of beaver. Old Cedar chased Beaver for the longest but eventually gives up at the top of a very high hill atop which, to this day, he stands alone.
Chinook Wind
This story reminded me a bit of the Hatfields and McCoys and the generations long feud that existed between the two families. Here, the two rival families are the Chinook brothers, who cause the warm wind to blow, and the Walla Walla family, who causes the cold wind to blow. They decide to finally hash out all of their differences in the form of the wrestling match. Whoever loses must have his head cut off. Coyotes is set to be the judge but he cleverly fixes the contest so that the Chinook brothers would fall and so they are all killed. One of the Chinook brothers leaves behind a son and wife and the wife tells her son that he must avenge his father's death when he grows older. Meanwhile, the Walla Walla brothers are wreaking havoc in Umatilla where his grandparents live - they constantly make the cold wind blow and steal the fist of Young Chinook's grandparents. Young Chinook is able to outwit the Walla Walla brothers so that they can no longer steal fish from his family. They challenge him to the same wrestling match that his father had fallen in, but this time, Coyote fixes the contest in Young Chinook's favor so that a balance could be restored between the two winds.
As-ai-yahal
This story gives several etiologies, but the most prominent is the etiology for summer and winter. As-ai-yahal tricks the East Wind, who freezes the earth so no one can obtain food, into believing that melting water is herring so the Wind stopped blowing and the snow and ice melted giving way to a much warmer season.
Three Raven Stories
The Origin of Daylight: The cousin of the Raven, Gull kept the light of the earth in a small box which he guarded carefully. That was the only light on earth. So Raven tricks his cousin into opening the box by causing a thorn to be stuck in Gull's foot and claiming that he cannot remove it without light.
Owl and Raven: Owl, who is close friends with Raven, makes a dress for Raven but Raven refuses to sit still as Owl tries to fit the dress. Annoyed with Raven, Owl, dumps the contents of a blubber lamp all of the white dress of Raven, and since then Raven is black all over.
The Spell of the Laughing Raven: A pair of moccasins is stolen and in a series of events, makes its way into the hand of grizzly, who is killed by Old Gray Wolf for possession of the moccasins. Because Old Grizzly was killed, the Klamath Lake People fight the Northerners while Raven laughs and laughs.
Woodrat and Rabbits
This story is surprisingly morbid. The jist is that Woodrat challenges several rabbits to a quarrel and when they refuse he quarrels with them anyway ultimately killing 5 of them and eating them with is other. Eventually, Woodrat and his mother are caught and burned to death. Morbid as it was, I liked the sudden turn the story took. It was unexpected which made the story that much more interesting.
Why There are no Snakes in Takhoma
This is a sort of a version of the flood that is required to reset creation after the creator becomes disgusted by its wickedness. However, there is a twist in that it is the animals, not mankind, that need to be reset. A medicine man shoots arrows into a cloud to make a chain for all of the good animals to go up to escape the flood. However, it is discovered soon that some bad animals as well as snakes are trying to ascend. The medicine man breaks the chain of arrow causing the bad animals to fall back to the earth and be drowned in the flood.
Part B: Favorites
Cry-Because-He-Had-No-Wife
This story was a bit difficult to follow - it has so many different twists and turns and parts that seem somewhat disconnected from the rest of the story. However, it was a very interesting story, nonetheless. A boy is known for crying day and night because he wishes for a wife. He starts on a tremendous journey to find the girl that will be his wife. He must outsmart a giant, get past a deadly cliff, and then outrun a great horse that guards the girl's house. He does all these things and is able to marry the girl, after which, he has a man's body. The two then travel back to the man's home and must use different types of whips in order to get home on the horse. This story in its entirety made me think of a Greek Epic like the Odyssey in which the hero must encounter several strange obstacles and characters throughout his journey. Some parts of the journey were difficult to understand completely like the bit about the whips.
Two Thunder-Bird Stories
The Golden Age: This story tells of how the Tinne people lost their immortality because they failed to obey the Thunderbird. As long as they kept a sacred arrow given to them by the Thunderbird, they would not have to die, but eventually, they use the arrow and they have to die like everyone else.
Origin of the Thunderbird - we learn here where this mystical Thunderbird even came from.
The Thunderbird was created when the south wind catches a whale and cuts it across the back instead of longways. The whale turns into a bird which was the Thunderbird
An Indian's Vow to the Thunder Gods
This story was a little sad. It reminded me of the story of Rumplestiltskin but without the happy ending. A woman promises to give her first child to the Thunder Gods as a tribute, but after her son is born, she is overcome with joy and love for the boy and forgets all about her promise. Eventually, the Thunder Gods strike the boy dead, finally claiming his life as their own and the woman mourns heavily and as she ages, her story comes to be known through the sad song she sings about her loss.
Chinook Ghosts
In this story, a group of ghosts decide they wish to have a wife and thus take away Blue Jay's sister Ioi. Blue Jay goes to the land of the dead which appears as a large village where the men are skeletons, the people of the village fish for leaves and branches which are their trout and salmon, and the canoes used are old and worn. Blue Jay proves to be a menace in this world and the ghosts command Ioi to send Blue Jay home, Blue Jay does not follow his sister's instructions and dies on the way back. Now that he is to be a resident of the land of the living rather than a visitor, he can see the town as those living see it: full of men, not skeletons, actual salmon and trout, and new gleaming canoes. This was a very interesting twist to the story and it was cool to note the contrast drawn here between life and death especially to those who are not dead yet.
The Memaloose Islands
This is another story involving a visit to the land of the dead by one who is not yet dead. A maiden loses her husband and visits the death island to find him. She and her father journey by canoe and once they reach the island, the maiden steps out on the shore where she meets her husband but her father returns. The maiden and her husband dance all evening and they fall asleep. When she awakes, the maiden discovers that she is actually in the land of the dead rather than just on its shoes and flees back to her own village. Eventually, a baby is born to the woman, half human half spirit, and the woman's father wishes for his mother to meet the baby. He warns his mother not to look upon the child until it is ten days old, but predictably, the old woman cannot wait and gazes at the child who promptly dies. This angers the spirits and from then on, living people were not able to visit the land of the dead. This was interesting to me and I wondered if it had some sort of symbolic meaning, like people who were in the habit of living in the past learned how not to do so.
Coyote and Grizzly
The story begins with Old Grizzly becoming ill from eating too many Indians (talk about morbid!) and so she sends for Coyote as a medicine man. But Coyote decides that it is really in everyone's best interest for Grizzly to just die. He tells the grizzly that she is sick from eating too many Indians and she becomes angry at this for some reason, jumping up to chase him. Coyote runs from Grizzly all the time taunting her and finally tricks her into crossing a bridge which cannot support her weight. She falls and drown and Coyote is able to go back and tell his people that he has killed the troublesome Grizzly. Throughout this reading, I've sensed that Coyote has a bit of a complex - he needs to feel important which I suppose arises from his low rank derived from his story in the beginning of the reading.
Coyote and the Dragon
This is another testament to Coyote's apparent inferiority complex. He resolves to kill a dragon that had been plaguing the countryside. The dragon can only exist in the darkness so Coyote ropes down the sun to draw the dragon out of his lair, then releases this sun so that the dragon is killed.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Week 9: Reading Diary
Eskimo Folk Tales Unit
Part A: Favorites
The Coming of Men
This creation story was different from most of the other creation stories that I have read in that it leaves many phenomena within the story itself open to speculation. For example, in the beginning of the story, the Earth falls down from the sky, but there is no account for how the sky came to be. From the earth came up little children who lived on the from the earth until a woman (no one knows from whence she came) sewed clothing for the children and brought them up, and so men grew to be a race. However, in these early days, man did not know how to die and there was no sun, so the Earth was crowded and dark as man grew old but no one died and there was no sun to give light. That is, until a great flood came and took out many of the men after which two old women saw that it was good that men could die. One of the women wishes for there to be light and that man would be taught how to die. Both of these things are granted. I think the ambiguity in some of the aspects of the story makes the story more interesting because it leaves room for storytellers to add in their own bits and pieces to the legend. Since this likely began as an oral history, it is possible this is what happened.
Nukunguasik, who Escaped from the Tupilak
I noticed that this unit, unlike other units, does not seem to follow the story of one or even a few central characters - we meet many who, although share some characteristics, have distinct stories. Here we meet Nukunguasik, who is one of many brothers and has no wife. One day, he stumbles upon one of his brothers creating a monster - a Tupilak - which is to kill Nukunguasik. Nukunguasik sneaks up and takes his brother by surprise, literally frightening him to death. When the brother does not return from his hunting, the other brothers become worried and set out to find him. They find him and the spot where he died being nibbled on by the Tupalik. Nukunguasik goes on to live for many more years. This story was a bit macabre but I found it entertaining nonetheless. It is unclear from the reading alone why exactly Nukunguasik's brother set out to kill him, but it is implied that it is due to some sort of vengeance.
The Woman who Had a Bear as a Son
I think I can say that this story is my favorite that I've read so far. The story begins with a hunter who we are told occasionally brings home a bear so that he and his wife frequently eat bear meat. He one day asks if she would like to have a bear cub. I was unsure if the man meant for the woman to eat the cub or if the hunter felt guilty at likely having killed the cub's mother and meant for his wife to tae the animal in as her own. Whatever the man's intention for the woman, she does the latter and grows to love the bear cub as her own. It becomes something of a sort of town pet, played with by all, until the bear grows so big and strong that it can no longer play without hurting people. This is when the men of the town decide to make the bear their hunting companion. They soon learn that they will have to disguise the bear's scent to protect it from other hunters, so they make the bear a collar out of plaited sinews and the bear becomes a wonderful hunting companion. The woman cautions her bear to always be kind to man, and not to seek to harm them unless he is harmed first. One day, the bear comes home with a dead man. His fellow hunters say that the men belonging to the dead man's hunting party encouraged the bear to kill the man because he would not let the bear alone. The woman begins to fear for the bear's safety if he stays with her and tells him sadly that he must leave her. Before the bear leaves, she streaks one side of him with oil and soot so that she will always know him when she sees him. I like that this story encompasses the many facets of human nature - the kindness of the women, the empathy of the hunter, the greed of the man that opposed the bear - it shows that man has many faces. Men are not completely good or bad.
Qalaganguase, Who Passed to the Land of Ghosts
Here we meet an orphaned boy named Qalaganguase who is a sickly boy with no strength in his legs so he must remain in his home while others go hunting. While he is alone, he is often visited by ghosts who always leave before the hunters return home. Among the ghosts that visit him in his solitude are his sister and his parents. His parents convince Qalaganguase to come with them so he goes with them to the spirit world and is never seen again. This may have been to show how death is a better fate than loneliness or missing one's family.
The Insects that Wooed a Wifeless Man
This story was a little strange but it was entertaining to read. There were a few parts in the story in which I was a bit confused about what was happening. We are first introduced to a wifeless man. The idea of the wifeless man has been a recurring theme in this unit. I am not sure what implications this title has associated with it in this culture, but I think it's fair to assume that it is not a title of honor. This wifeless man in particular was known for chasing down girls who fled from him and sleeping too late to go hunting. One day, waking at sunset, he hears a man yelling for help and rushes to rescue a man who has overturned his boat. The man turns out to be magical, and repays the wifeless man by granting the man the ability to hunt one beast of his choosing. As long as the man keeps a secret the origin of his skill in hunting this particular creature, he will possess the ability to hunt it and well. So the man becomes a skilled seal hunter and eventually takes a wife who is, at first, impressed by his hunting ability, but soon grows weary of only ever having seal. She nags him endlessly asking why he only brings home seal and he ultimately tells her, which of course, looses him his ability to hunt. The wife runs off when the man can no longer provide for her and he runs after her. Here is where I began to get confused with the story. She escapes through a crevice and he waits for her. While he waits a series of insects come out and ask him to take each one of them as his wife, but he refuses them all, mocking them. Eventually, his wife calls to him and he squeezes through the crevice to her and they are husband and wife again. She lulls him to sleep, and when he wakes, he is alone again. I was not sure what to make of the insects and the wife escaping again other than that it added an interesting twist to the story.
Part B: Favorites
Papik, Who Killed His Wife's Brother
There is a little bit of a murder mystery in this story. From the title, we assume that Papik did indeed murder his wife's brother, but it is never explicitly stated in the story. The two men, Papik and his brother-in-law, Allaq, are hunting companions though Allaq's talent far surpasses that of Papik. Papik grows jealous as the days pass and here the story basically says that one day Allaq disappears. There may be doubt in the reader's mind about whether or not Papik actually committed the crime implied, but there is no doubt in the mind of the old woman who is Allaq's mother and Papik's mother-in-law about what has happened to Allaq. She vows revenge and then drowns herself in the sea so that she may take her revenge as a ghost. Some time passes, and Papik grows to forget his mother-in-law's curse and he returns to his hunting. He has taken position at an ice hole when a monster overtakes him. He knows the monster is Allaq's mother. He and a group of people from the nearby town are able to escape but the monster relentlessly pursues them until finally it falls on Papik, ripping him limb from limb. This is supposed to show the proper consequence of killing other men without due cause. Murder is something this culture does not take lightly, apparently, which is a great contrast to the flippant attitude toward death many of the other mythologies seem to take.
Patussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle
This story, too, demonstrates the consequences of killing someone unjustly. A man by the name of Alataq is married to a woman named Kugkat, who is known to be very beautiful. Alataq's nephew, Patussorssuaq, who is also married, livees with Alataq and his wife. Patussorssuaq greatly covets Alataq's wife and plots to get rid of Alataq in order that he may assume his wife. Alataq, decides one day to go on a great journey and to take his wife with him. Patussorssuaq, overcome with fury at the idea of Kugkat leaving, kills his uncle on the spot. Kugkat sees this and flees to the land where her parents live. Patussorssuaq gets it into his mind to also kill his wife so that she is out of the way, but she flees, leaving Patussorssuaq without either of the women he feels belongs to him. Eventually, however, he does track down his aunt and takes her as his wife, but she soon dies. His misfortune is soon doubled when he attacked by a fox, who is really the spirit of his vengeful uncle. Patussorssuaq is killed brutally, thus (hopefully) deterring the reader from the act of murder without cause.
The Wife who Lied
This is not the first story to involve a lying wife. Such a character appeared briefly in a story from the first half of the reading, and she met such a immediate punishment, that from the title, I knew this was not going to be a good story for the uAntrue wife. Navaranapaluk was married to a man from a different tribe than hers and is taken to live in her husband's land. She decides to go, one day and visit her people, and she fabricates a story to make her people believe that she is treated badly in her marriage. It is not stated why she does this - the story never implies that her marriage is an unhappy one, so it is unclear why she seeks to destroy her husband. Her people, taking pity of her, set out for her husband's land and kill the women in the area (the men were out hunting) there save three women who had hidden themselves cleverly. When the men return to see all of the women dead, they devise a plan to kill the people responsible. They slaughter Navaranapaluk's people and two of her enemies carry her off, dismember her, and leave her to die. This may seem a harsh punishment for lying, but I think it shows how speaking falsely can ultimately cause despair and anguish in many forms.
Atdlarneq, the Great Glutton
In a different story, we see a woman who is punished for her infidelity, while her lover is left off the hook. This story shows, however, that this culture recognizes that not only women are to blame for infidelity. Atdlarneq is a great hunter and always bring home seal from his hunt. One day while out on the sea, he sees three beautiful women emerge from a house, and he resolves to go to them. They receive him warmly giving him a great feast. Then, the husband of the three young girls returns home. This is where the story gets interesting. Instead of killing Atdlarneq on the spot (which is what I was expecting to happen) the husband sustains the role of welcoming host, serving Atdlarneq more and more food that he is obligated by the husband to eat. He would have eaten himself to death had he not preceded the meal with a grass stalk. Nonetheless, Atdlarneq learns his lesson and never ventures that way again.
Angangujuk
The thing that stuck out about this story to me was not the actual plotline, per se, but rather a small detail. In the beginning of the story, a woman looses track of her son. What stuck with me, though, is that she doesn't really seem to show much concern for the child, Angangujuk, but rather fears her husband's wrath upon losing the boy. This, to me, demonstrates the view of women and children as property belonging to a man rather than person. Ultimately, we discover that the child has been taken by a couple who and the boy's father happen upom their dwelling as they are arguing about whether or not to keep the boy. The father quickly retrieves his son, but when they return home, they are greeted by nothing and no one.
Tungujuluk and Saunikoq
I liked this story because it was a bit more light-hearted that many of the tales up to this point. I feel almost as though the unit is getting darker and darker as I read, so this was a refreshing change. Both Tungujuluk and Saunikoq are shape shifting wizards and can turn themselves into a walrus and a bear respectively. Saunikoq soon grows jealous of Tungujuluk because he had a son and Saunikoq does not and he begins to plot evil against Tungujuluk. He sets out to kill the son of Tungujuluk and just as he is about to, the son runs home to his father. Saunikoq follows in his bear form, frightening Tungujuluk before he remembers that his neighbor can change himself into a bear. To get back at the bear-man for mocking them, Tungujuluk steals Saunikoq's bladder float basically out from under him in his walrus form. He brings it up at meal time that evening and all present have a good laugh, but Saunikoq is so ashamed that he is never seen again. This story was a bit difficult to follow and I found myself having to read several parts over and over again, but still I enjoyed it. No one was murdered (though it was intended) and I love a good trickery.
Kanagssuaq
Part A: Favorites
The Coming of Men
This creation story was different from most of the other creation stories that I have read in that it leaves many phenomena within the story itself open to speculation. For example, in the beginning of the story, the Earth falls down from the sky, but there is no account for how the sky came to be. From the earth came up little children who lived on the from the earth until a woman (no one knows from whence she came) sewed clothing for the children and brought them up, and so men grew to be a race. However, in these early days, man did not know how to die and there was no sun, so the Earth was crowded and dark as man grew old but no one died and there was no sun to give light. That is, until a great flood came and took out many of the men after which two old women saw that it was good that men could die. One of the women wishes for there to be light and that man would be taught how to die. Both of these things are granted. I think the ambiguity in some of the aspects of the story makes the story more interesting because it leaves room for storytellers to add in their own bits and pieces to the legend. Since this likely began as an oral history, it is possible this is what happened.
Nukunguasik, who Escaped from the Tupilak
I noticed that this unit, unlike other units, does not seem to follow the story of one or even a few central characters - we meet many who, although share some characteristics, have distinct stories. Here we meet Nukunguasik, who is one of many brothers and has no wife. One day, he stumbles upon one of his brothers creating a monster - a Tupilak - which is to kill Nukunguasik. Nukunguasik sneaks up and takes his brother by surprise, literally frightening him to death. When the brother does not return from his hunting, the other brothers become worried and set out to find him. They find him and the spot where he died being nibbled on by the Tupalik. Nukunguasik goes on to live for many more years. This story was a bit macabre but I found it entertaining nonetheless. It is unclear from the reading alone why exactly Nukunguasik's brother set out to kill him, but it is implied that it is due to some sort of vengeance.
The Woman who Had a Bear as a Son
I think I can say that this story is my favorite that I've read so far. The story begins with a hunter who we are told occasionally brings home a bear so that he and his wife frequently eat bear meat. He one day asks if she would like to have a bear cub. I was unsure if the man meant for the woman to eat the cub or if the hunter felt guilty at likely having killed the cub's mother and meant for his wife to tae the animal in as her own. Whatever the man's intention for the woman, she does the latter and grows to love the bear cub as her own. It becomes something of a sort of town pet, played with by all, until the bear grows so big and strong that it can no longer play without hurting people. This is when the men of the town decide to make the bear their hunting companion. They soon learn that they will have to disguise the bear's scent to protect it from other hunters, so they make the bear a collar out of plaited sinews and the bear becomes a wonderful hunting companion. The woman cautions her bear to always be kind to man, and not to seek to harm them unless he is harmed first. One day, the bear comes home with a dead man. His fellow hunters say that the men belonging to the dead man's hunting party encouraged the bear to kill the man because he would not let the bear alone. The woman begins to fear for the bear's safety if he stays with her and tells him sadly that he must leave her. Before the bear leaves, she streaks one side of him with oil and soot so that she will always know him when she sees him. I like that this story encompasses the many facets of human nature - the kindness of the women, the empathy of the hunter, the greed of the man that opposed the bear - it shows that man has many faces. Men are not completely good or bad.
Qalaganguase, Who Passed to the Land of Ghosts
Here we meet an orphaned boy named Qalaganguase who is a sickly boy with no strength in his legs so he must remain in his home while others go hunting. While he is alone, he is often visited by ghosts who always leave before the hunters return home. Among the ghosts that visit him in his solitude are his sister and his parents. His parents convince Qalaganguase to come with them so he goes with them to the spirit world and is never seen again. This may have been to show how death is a better fate than loneliness or missing one's family.
The Insects that Wooed a Wifeless Man
This story was a little strange but it was entertaining to read. There were a few parts in the story in which I was a bit confused about what was happening. We are first introduced to a wifeless man. The idea of the wifeless man has been a recurring theme in this unit. I am not sure what implications this title has associated with it in this culture, but I think it's fair to assume that it is not a title of honor. This wifeless man in particular was known for chasing down girls who fled from him and sleeping too late to go hunting. One day, waking at sunset, he hears a man yelling for help and rushes to rescue a man who has overturned his boat. The man turns out to be magical, and repays the wifeless man by granting the man the ability to hunt one beast of his choosing. As long as the man keeps a secret the origin of his skill in hunting this particular creature, he will possess the ability to hunt it and well. So the man becomes a skilled seal hunter and eventually takes a wife who is, at first, impressed by his hunting ability, but soon grows weary of only ever having seal. She nags him endlessly asking why he only brings home seal and he ultimately tells her, which of course, looses him his ability to hunt. The wife runs off when the man can no longer provide for her and he runs after her. Here is where I began to get confused with the story. She escapes through a crevice and he waits for her. While he waits a series of insects come out and ask him to take each one of them as his wife, but he refuses them all, mocking them. Eventually, his wife calls to him and he squeezes through the crevice to her and they are husband and wife again. She lulls him to sleep, and when he wakes, he is alone again. I was not sure what to make of the insects and the wife escaping again other than that it added an interesting twist to the story.
Part B: Favorites
Papik, Who Killed His Wife's Brother
There is a little bit of a murder mystery in this story. From the title, we assume that Papik did indeed murder his wife's brother, but it is never explicitly stated in the story. The two men, Papik and his brother-in-law, Allaq, are hunting companions though Allaq's talent far surpasses that of Papik. Papik grows jealous as the days pass and here the story basically says that one day Allaq disappears. There may be doubt in the reader's mind about whether or not Papik actually committed the crime implied, but there is no doubt in the mind of the old woman who is Allaq's mother and Papik's mother-in-law about what has happened to Allaq. She vows revenge and then drowns herself in the sea so that she may take her revenge as a ghost. Some time passes, and Papik grows to forget his mother-in-law's curse and he returns to his hunting. He has taken position at an ice hole when a monster overtakes him. He knows the monster is Allaq's mother. He and a group of people from the nearby town are able to escape but the monster relentlessly pursues them until finally it falls on Papik, ripping him limb from limb. This is supposed to show the proper consequence of killing other men without due cause. Murder is something this culture does not take lightly, apparently, which is a great contrast to the flippant attitude toward death many of the other mythologies seem to take.
Patussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle
This story, too, demonstrates the consequences of killing someone unjustly. A man by the name of Alataq is married to a woman named Kugkat, who is known to be very beautiful. Alataq's nephew, Patussorssuaq, who is also married, livees with Alataq and his wife. Patussorssuaq greatly covets Alataq's wife and plots to get rid of Alataq in order that he may assume his wife. Alataq, decides one day to go on a great journey and to take his wife with him. Patussorssuaq, overcome with fury at the idea of Kugkat leaving, kills his uncle on the spot. Kugkat sees this and flees to the land where her parents live. Patussorssuaq gets it into his mind to also kill his wife so that she is out of the way, but she flees, leaving Patussorssuaq without either of the women he feels belongs to him. Eventually, however, he does track down his aunt and takes her as his wife, but she soon dies. His misfortune is soon doubled when he attacked by a fox, who is really the spirit of his vengeful uncle. Patussorssuaq is killed brutally, thus (hopefully) deterring the reader from the act of murder without cause.
The Wife who Lied
This is not the first story to involve a lying wife. Such a character appeared briefly in a story from the first half of the reading, and she met such a immediate punishment, that from the title, I knew this was not going to be a good story for the uAntrue wife. Navaranapaluk was married to a man from a different tribe than hers and is taken to live in her husband's land. She decides to go, one day and visit her people, and she fabricates a story to make her people believe that she is treated badly in her marriage. It is not stated why she does this - the story never implies that her marriage is an unhappy one, so it is unclear why she seeks to destroy her husband. Her people, taking pity of her, set out for her husband's land and kill the women in the area (the men were out hunting) there save three women who had hidden themselves cleverly. When the men return to see all of the women dead, they devise a plan to kill the people responsible. They slaughter Navaranapaluk's people and two of her enemies carry her off, dismember her, and leave her to die. This may seem a harsh punishment for lying, but I think it shows how speaking falsely can ultimately cause despair and anguish in many forms.
Atdlarneq, the Great Glutton
In a different story, we see a woman who is punished for her infidelity, while her lover is left off the hook. This story shows, however, that this culture recognizes that not only women are to blame for infidelity. Atdlarneq is a great hunter and always bring home seal from his hunt. One day while out on the sea, he sees three beautiful women emerge from a house, and he resolves to go to them. They receive him warmly giving him a great feast. Then, the husband of the three young girls returns home. This is where the story gets interesting. Instead of killing Atdlarneq on the spot (which is what I was expecting to happen) the husband sustains the role of welcoming host, serving Atdlarneq more and more food that he is obligated by the husband to eat. He would have eaten himself to death had he not preceded the meal with a grass stalk. Nonetheless, Atdlarneq learns his lesson and never ventures that way again.
Angangujuk
The thing that stuck out about this story to me was not the actual plotline, per se, but rather a small detail. In the beginning of the story, a woman looses track of her son. What stuck with me, though, is that she doesn't really seem to show much concern for the child, Angangujuk, but rather fears her husband's wrath upon losing the boy. This, to me, demonstrates the view of women and children as property belonging to a man rather than person. Ultimately, we discover that the child has been taken by a couple who and the boy's father happen upom their dwelling as they are arguing about whether or not to keep the boy. The father quickly retrieves his son, but when they return home, they are greeted by nothing and no one.
Tungujuluk and Saunikoq
I liked this story because it was a bit more light-hearted that many of the tales up to this point. I feel almost as though the unit is getting darker and darker as I read, so this was a refreshing change. Both Tungujuluk and Saunikoq are shape shifting wizards and can turn themselves into a walrus and a bear respectively. Saunikoq soon grows jealous of Tungujuluk because he had a son and Saunikoq does not and he begins to plot evil against Tungujuluk. He sets out to kill the son of Tungujuluk and just as he is about to, the son runs home to his father. Saunikoq follows in his bear form, frightening Tungujuluk before he remembers that his neighbor can change himself into a bear. To get back at the bear-man for mocking them, Tungujuluk steals Saunikoq's bladder float basically out from under him in his walrus form. He brings it up at meal time that evening and all present have a good laugh, but Saunikoq is so ashamed that he is never seen again. This story was a bit difficult to follow and I found myself having to read several parts over and over again, but still I enjoyed it. No one was murdered (though it was intended) and I love a good trickery.
Kanagssuaq
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Week 8: Reading Diary
In reading back through my reading diary posts, I've noticed I follow a sort of pattern. First, I typically do not take notes over all of the readings. I try my best to pick out which stories contribute (in my opinion) the most to the reading as a whole. There are, however, some weeks in which I take notes for nearly all of the stories. When I leave out stories, it is usually because the theme translated through a certain story has been repeated multiple times (I do take notes on theme repeat stories in order to draw conclusions about central themes within the reading as a whole, but typically for one theme-repeating story) or because the action in a certain story is somewhat transitional in that it contributes to the content of following stories, but can be summed up in a few sentences within the notes for a following story. Sometimes, however, every or most of the stories contain some distinct significant element that I feel I will need to remember for either my weekly essay, or for my storytelling post.
Another feature of my reading diary posts thus far is that I tend to go back and connect previous reading with the reading I am currently doing. For example, many of the readings I have done thus far involve creation stories, so I have briefly made note of the similarities and differences in a few of the mythologies concerning creation. I also make note of similarities in theme, characterization, and portrayal of human nature. I think it is important to be able to make connection while reading so as to perhaps gain an understanding of how mythology and folklore across different cultures can all be linked to one another. Also, by making connections between my weekly readings, I am able to retain what I have read from week to week. We do a lot of reading in this class, obviously, not to mention the reading I do for my other classes, so thinking back to previous readings and trying to somehow make it applicable to what I am currently doing is a helpful tool in remember all of the cool information I have learned thus far.
When doing my diary posts, I typically try to add commentary to what I have read in addition to a short synopsis of the action within each story. I find this helps when writing other blog posts for the week, particularly my essay. Giving commentary for each story really helps when picking out an essay topic for the week. I try to make note of recurring themes, archetypes, and morals which are all subjects that can be easily expanded into an essay. Some weeks this is more difficult than others because sometimes I'll run across stories in which the theme is unclear or there doesn't appear to be a moral. In these cases, I do my best to try and discern and analyze these elements so as to gain a better understanding of the story and the unit as a whole. It is difficult, but I believe it allows me to walk away from the reading with a greater clarity of the unit, and sometimes, the culture from which the reading derives.
Overall, I would say my reading diary posts are relatively well done and thought out. If they weren't I suppose, I wouldn't be able to use them as a guide for my other class posts.
Another feature of my reading diary posts thus far is that I tend to go back and connect previous reading with the reading I am currently doing. For example, many of the readings I have done thus far involve creation stories, so I have briefly made note of the similarities and differences in a few of the mythologies concerning creation. I also make note of similarities in theme, characterization, and portrayal of human nature. I think it is important to be able to make connection while reading so as to perhaps gain an understanding of how mythology and folklore across different cultures can all be linked to one another. Also, by making connections between my weekly readings, I am able to retain what I have read from week to week. We do a lot of reading in this class, obviously, not to mention the reading I do for my other classes, so thinking back to previous readings and trying to somehow make it applicable to what I am currently doing is a helpful tool in remember all of the cool information I have learned thus far.
When doing my diary posts, I typically try to add commentary to what I have read in addition to a short synopsis of the action within each story. I find this helps when writing other blog posts for the week, particularly my essay. Giving commentary for each story really helps when picking out an essay topic for the week. I try to make note of recurring themes, archetypes, and morals which are all subjects that can be easily expanded into an essay. Some weeks this is more difficult than others because sometimes I'll run across stories in which the theme is unclear or there doesn't appear to be a moral. In these cases, I do my best to try and discern and analyze these elements so as to gain a better understanding of the story and the unit as a whole. It is difficult, but I believe it allows me to walk away from the reading with a greater clarity of the unit, and sometimes, the culture from which the reading derives.
Overall, I would say my reading diary posts are relatively well done and thought out. If they weren't I suppose, I wouldn't be able to use them as a guide for my other class posts.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Week 7: Reading Diary - The Monkey King
The Monkey King Unit
Part A: Favorites
Handsome King of the Apes
From a high rock in the Great Sea, a stone ape is hatched from an egg. The Lord of the Heavens, frightened by the sudden golden radiance that emanates from the ape's eyes, sends two gods to see what has happened. They report that a stone ape has been born by magic and need not be feared. The stone ape grows up among the other apes and one day they decide that whichever ape can get through a waterfall which sits high up on a mountain without getting hurt will be the king. The stone ape, of course is able to do such, leaping in and out of the waterfall and showing the others what he finds behind the fall. He is appointed king, with other monkeys as his attendants.
The Great Sea
The Monkey King is distressed by the imminence of death and despairs to his subjects. An older ape tells the King that there exist three beings that can escape death: the Buddhas, Blessed Spirits, and gods. The King asks where these beings can be found and the old ape tells him at the tops of the highest mountain and goes out to seek their knowledge. While he is searching, he happens to hear a man singing in the woods...This reminds me very much of the Tales of Buddha in that the despair of death and suffering leads the king on a quest.
Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name
The singing belongs to a woodcutter, who the Monkey King mistakes for a saint. The woodcutter tells the King where he can find the actual saint. The Saint welcomes the Monkey King into his home and makes the King his student, giving him the name Sun Wu Kung. But the Monkey King has trouble leaving off his wild nature and is reproached by the master.
The Master
I found this story pretty funny. The Master inquires of the Monkey King what he wishes to learn. Sun Wu Kung declines to learn about anything that will not earn him eternal life. The Master, apparently, becomes frustrated with the King and strikes him over the head 3 times before withdrawing to his own quarters. We learn, however, that the Master was only pretending to be angry and is giving Sun Wu Kung a coded message. The message is that the Monkey King must meet the Master in secret and then will he be given the Great Truth. Sun Wu Kung picks up on the message immediately showing that the Monkey King does possess wisdom even though he is portrayed rather comically at times.
Learning the Art
The Master is impressed with the Monkey King's perception of his message and decides to reveal to him the incantation that would allow him to concentrate his powers. The Monkey King masters this art after a relatively short time, but the Master reveals that while he is seeking truth and knowledge, the Monkey King will be in danger of three beings. In order to protect himself, the Monkey King must learn the incantation that will allow him to transform himself 72 times - it does not state why there is a limit on the number of times he can transform, maybe that will come into play in a later story. Soon the Monkey King masters this art as well and is able to fly up to the clouds and walk on them. I think this may be a metaphor for the elevated level and truth and knowledge that the Monkey King now possesses that is far above the heads of all, including his very own teacher.
Sun Wu Kung Departs
I feel that this story may be foreshadowing what will become of the Monkey King and his "monkey-mindedness." Sun Wu is talking with the other disciples of his Master teacher and tells them that he can change his shape to whatever he wishes. The disciples demand a demonstration, telling the Monkey King to transform himself into a pine tree. Eager to impress the other disciples, Sun Wu obliges, despite the fact that the secret to his transformation is supposed to remain just that - secret. When the Master happens upon the display, he is angry and reprimands the Monkey King, demanding that he leave and tell no one who his teacher was. If he tells, the Master threatens, he will have his soul locked up in the deepest part of hell. Sadly, the Monkey King swears not to tell a soul and departs from the company of the Master and his disciples. I believe with near certainty, simply based on the character that has been revealed thus far, that Sun Wu Kung will be unable to keep this promise and will suffer consequences.
The Devil-King
This story was a little strange, but probably my favorite so far. When Sun Wu Kung returns home, he is greeted by his apes who tell him that not long ago a Devil-King arrived and tried to take their home by force. They were able to fight him off, but he carried away many of their children and was expected to return. Sun Wu is outraged and flies off to the north where this Devil-King is said to live. He demands to see the Devil-King who scoffs at his seemingly unimpressive appearance. The Devil-King is huge and clad in black armor, but he is clumsy and so Sun Wu Kung is able to fight him. This is where things begin to get a little strange. During the fight, Sun Wu pulls a hair from his body, chews it up and spits it out, and commands it to transform into hundreds of small apes that can fight the Devil-King. He does this with all 84,000 of the hairs on his body, thus demonstrating the power he has learned from the Master. After the Devil-King is defeated, Sun Wu releases the apes that had been prisoners and returns home in a cloud of triumph with the Devil-King's knife as a trophy.
The Nether World
After finally obtaining a weapon worthy to protect his family and his home from the Dragon-King - a long powerful rod that grows and shrinks as commanded - the Monkey King falls into a sleep. He dreams that he is led down to the Nether World. He is furious because he has learned from the Master how Death can be conquered. He demands of the princes of Death to see the book of life where he finds his own date of mortality. He strikes his name and the entire ape family from the book, so that they will now be immortal. When he wakes up, all that he has done in his dream takes effect, and none of the apes ever die.
Part B: Favorites
The Lord of the Heavens
The Lord of the Heavens, Jade Emperor, receives complaints about the Monkey king from both the Dragon King and the princes of Death. Everyone in Heaven seems to want to punish Sun Wu but the Evening Star alone speaks on his behalf, saying that he has attained truth and knowledge and should be forgiven his sins. Then, the Evening Star is sent down to retrieve the Monkey King and bring him up to Heaven so that he might be given a charge. He is placed in charge of the heavenly stables, albeit with some misgivings from those in Heaven whom he immediately offends, but nonetheless, he excels at his charge.
The Great Saint
Once again it is demonstrated that Hubris is not a strictly Greek vice, because this is where the Monkey King begins to get himself into serious trouble. He discovers, at the feast in his honor that his title of stablemaster is not one of great honor. He is furious and decides to go back down to earth to reign as a true king, forcing his way out of Heaven using his magic rod. When he arrives back at his mountain, his apes tell him that he has been gone for ten years (he thought he had only been gone a few days). Monkey King decides that he is better suited to live on earth and decides that he should henceforth be known as The Great Saint Who is Heaven's Equal.
Notscha, Son of Li Dsing
The Lord of the Heavens is concerned by the Monkey King's abrupt exist and sends a party to capture Sun Wu and imprison him. Among this party is Notscha, the third son of the Lord of the Heavens. He is a great warrior, but even he is no match for the clever trickery of the arrogant Monkey King. Once again, the Evening Star intercedes on behalf of Sun Wu and proposes that Sun Wu be given an empty title in order to appease the Monkey King's ego but not give him any real power. He is officially given the title the Great Saint Who is Heaven's Equal, which is, apparently, a very high title. The fact that the Monkey King blindly accepts the title without questioning its charge or real meaning show that, for all his cleverness, his arrogance leads him repeatedly to foolish acts and decisions.
The Queen Mother of the West
Per his chargeless title, the Great Saint spends a great deal of time loafing around and doing as he pleases. The Lord of the Heavens begins to worry that with such idleness mischief was sure to ensue (as they say, the idle mind is the devil's playground). He decides to give the Great Saint a seemingly small charge - guarding the sacred life-giving peaches of the Queen-Mother. The Great Saint accepts this charge with great enthusiasm and it seems that all will go well, that is, until he discovers the power of the sacred fruit he is to protect. One group has the power to give great health, another prevents the consumer from aging, and still another group gives everlasting life. The Great Saint eats to his hearts content. Meanwhile, the Queen-Mother is preparing for the banquet and sends her fairies to collect the fruit in baskets. They discover that much of the fruit is missing.
Laotzse
This story provides really the straw (or series of straws) that broke the camel's back, if you will, in terms of the patience of the Lord of the Heavens for the Monkey King. His true selfish nature is revealed once and for all. From the fairies, the Great Saint learns of the banquet (to which he was not invited) and freezes them where they are so they are unable to tell anyone anything. Through a series of deceptive acts and trickery, the Great Saint manages to divert a god from the banquet, get himself drunk on the sacred nectar of the Heaven, and consume a great deal of life giving pills from the sage Laotzse. Feeling that he has gone maybe just a little too far this time, the Monkey King decides to returen to earth once and for all. For a moment, I feel that he may feel remorse for what he has done, however, he then steals more nectar from its storehouse to take to his ape children proving that he is not sorry for what he has done, but worried that he will be caught.
Yang Oerlang
So the Lord of the Heaven's is reasonably furious about the entire situation and considers how this rogue ape might be stopped. His daughter suggests that he send his grandson, Yang Oerlang, to defeat the Monkey King. They are pretty evenly matched, both can shift shapes, both are strong, and both possess special weapons. So they fall into a battle - one of strength, wit, and wills. Neither can seem to outdo the other.
The Destiny of Sun Wu Kung
After enlisting the help of Buddha to help subdue the out of control Monkey King, those in the Heavens manage to temporarily trap the Monkey King. Once he escapes the Buddha calmly approaches the Monkey King and tells him of his desire to tame the ape. Sun Wu is that anyone try to tame someone as powerful as he. Buddha says that if he is so powerful, Sun Wu should be able to leave Buddha's hand - if he does so, Buddha will beg for pardon of the Lord of the Heavens and if not, we will have to yield to Buddha. The Monkey King somersaults and somersaults until he believes he has reached the edge of the earth. He writes his name so that he can prove that he has been there and then returns to Buddha, feeling triumphant. However, Buddha reveals that what Sun Wu thought was the edge of the earth was really Buddha's middle finger. So Sun Wu has lost and is captured under a mountain for hundreds of years. Once he is reformed, he becomes an assistant to a Monk and is then know as the Wanderer. On his head, he wears a golden circlet that the Monk has the power to tighten if Sun Wu disobeys, but it is, apparently, rarely needed. Maybe the Monkey King has learned after all.
Part A: Favorites
Handsome King of the Apes
From a high rock in the Great Sea, a stone ape is hatched from an egg. The Lord of the Heavens, frightened by the sudden golden radiance that emanates from the ape's eyes, sends two gods to see what has happened. They report that a stone ape has been born by magic and need not be feared. The stone ape grows up among the other apes and one day they decide that whichever ape can get through a waterfall which sits high up on a mountain without getting hurt will be the king. The stone ape, of course is able to do such, leaping in and out of the waterfall and showing the others what he finds behind the fall. He is appointed king, with other monkeys as his attendants.
The Great Sea
The Monkey King is distressed by the imminence of death and despairs to his subjects. An older ape tells the King that there exist three beings that can escape death: the Buddhas, Blessed Spirits, and gods. The King asks where these beings can be found and the old ape tells him at the tops of the highest mountain and goes out to seek their knowledge. While he is searching, he happens to hear a man singing in the woods...This reminds me very much of the Tales of Buddha in that the despair of death and suffering leads the king on a quest.
Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name
The singing belongs to a woodcutter, who the Monkey King mistakes for a saint. The woodcutter tells the King where he can find the actual saint. The Saint welcomes the Monkey King into his home and makes the King his student, giving him the name Sun Wu Kung. But the Monkey King has trouble leaving off his wild nature and is reproached by the master.
The Master
I found this story pretty funny. The Master inquires of the Monkey King what he wishes to learn. Sun Wu Kung declines to learn about anything that will not earn him eternal life. The Master, apparently, becomes frustrated with the King and strikes him over the head 3 times before withdrawing to his own quarters. We learn, however, that the Master was only pretending to be angry and is giving Sun Wu Kung a coded message. The message is that the Monkey King must meet the Master in secret and then will he be given the Great Truth. Sun Wu Kung picks up on the message immediately showing that the Monkey King does possess wisdom even though he is portrayed rather comically at times.
Learning the Art
The Master is impressed with the Monkey King's perception of his message and decides to reveal to him the incantation that would allow him to concentrate his powers. The Monkey King masters this art after a relatively short time, but the Master reveals that while he is seeking truth and knowledge, the Monkey King will be in danger of three beings. In order to protect himself, the Monkey King must learn the incantation that will allow him to transform himself 72 times - it does not state why there is a limit on the number of times he can transform, maybe that will come into play in a later story. Soon the Monkey King masters this art as well and is able to fly up to the clouds and walk on them. I think this may be a metaphor for the elevated level and truth and knowledge that the Monkey King now possesses that is far above the heads of all, including his very own teacher.
Sun Wu Kung Departs
I feel that this story may be foreshadowing what will become of the Monkey King and his "monkey-mindedness." Sun Wu is talking with the other disciples of his Master teacher and tells them that he can change his shape to whatever he wishes. The disciples demand a demonstration, telling the Monkey King to transform himself into a pine tree. Eager to impress the other disciples, Sun Wu obliges, despite the fact that the secret to his transformation is supposed to remain just that - secret. When the Master happens upon the display, he is angry and reprimands the Monkey King, demanding that he leave and tell no one who his teacher was. If he tells, the Master threatens, he will have his soul locked up in the deepest part of hell. Sadly, the Monkey King swears not to tell a soul and departs from the company of the Master and his disciples. I believe with near certainty, simply based on the character that has been revealed thus far, that Sun Wu Kung will be unable to keep this promise and will suffer consequences.
The Devil-King
This story was a little strange, but probably my favorite so far. When Sun Wu Kung returns home, he is greeted by his apes who tell him that not long ago a Devil-King arrived and tried to take their home by force. They were able to fight him off, but he carried away many of their children and was expected to return. Sun Wu is outraged and flies off to the north where this Devil-King is said to live. He demands to see the Devil-King who scoffs at his seemingly unimpressive appearance. The Devil-King is huge and clad in black armor, but he is clumsy and so Sun Wu Kung is able to fight him. This is where things begin to get a little strange. During the fight, Sun Wu pulls a hair from his body, chews it up and spits it out, and commands it to transform into hundreds of small apes that can fight the Devil-King. He does this with all 84,000 of the hairs on his body, thus demonstrating the power he has learned from the Master. After the Devil-King is defeated, Sun Wu releases the apes that had been prisoners and returns home in a cloud of triumph with the Devil-King's knife as a trophy.
The Nether World
After finally obtaining a weapon worthy to protect his family and his home from the Dragon-King - a long powerful rod that grows and shrinks as commanded - the Monkey King falls into a sleep. He dreams that he is led down to the Nether World. He is furious because he has learned from the Master how Death can be conquered. He demands of the princes of Death to see the book of life where he finds his own date of mortality. He strikes his name and the entire ape family from the book, so that they will now be immortal. When he wakes up, all that he has done in his dream takes effect, and none of the apes ever die.
Part B: Favorites
The Lord of the Heavens
The Lord of the Heavens, Jade Emperor, receives complaints about the Monkey king from both the Dragon King and the princes of Death. Everyone in Heaven seems to want to punish Sun Wu but the Evening Star alone speaks on his behalf, saying that he has attained truth and knowledge and should be forgiven his sins. Then, the Evening Star is sent down to retrieve the Monkey King and bring him up to Heaven so that he might be given a charge. He is placed in charge of the heavenly stables, albeit with some misgivings from those in Heaven whom he immediately offends, but nonetheless, he excels at his charge.
The Great Saint
Once again it is demonstrated that Hubris is not a strictly Greek vice, because this is where the Monkey King begins to get himself into serious trouble. He discovers, at the feast in his honor that his title of stablemaster is not one of great honor. He is furious and decides to go back down to earth to reign as a true king, forcing his way out of Heaven using his magic rod. When he arrives back at his mountain, his apes tell him that he has been gone for ten years (he thought he had only been gone a few days). Monkey King decides that he is better suited to live on earth and decides that he should henceforth be known as The Great Saint Who is Heaven's Equal.
Notscha, Son of Li Dsing
The Lord of the Heavens is concerned by the Monkey King's abrupt exist and sends a party to capture Sun Wu and imprison him. Among this party is Notscha, the third son of the Lord of the Heavens. He is a great warrior, but even he is no match for the clever trickery of the arrogant Monkey King. Once again, the Evening Star intercedes on behalf of Sun Wu and proposes that Sun Wu be given an empty title in order to appease the Monkey King's ego but not give him any real power. He is officially given the title the Great Saint Who is Heaven's Equal, which is, apparently, a very high title. The fact that the Monkey King blindly accepts the title without questioning its charge or real meaning show that, for all his cleverness, his arrogance leads him repeatedly to foolish acts and decisions.
The Queen Mother of the West
Per his chargeless title, the Great Saint spends a great deal of time loafing around and doing as he pleases. The Lord of the Heavens begins to worry that with such idleness mischief was sure to ensue (as they say, the idle mind is the devil's playground). He decides to give the Great Saint a seemingly small charge - guarding the sacred life-giving peaches of the Queen-Mother. The Great Saint accepts this charge with great enthusiasm and it seems that all will go well, that is, until he discovers the power of the sacred fruit he is to protect. One group has the power to give great health, another prevents the consumer from aging, and still another group gives everlasting life. The Great Saint eats to his hearts content. Meanwhile, the Queen-Mother is preparing for the banquet and sends her fairies to collect the fruit in baskets. They discover that much of the fruit is missing.
Laotzse
This story provides really the straw (or series of straws) that broke the camel's back, if you will, in terms of the patience of the Lord of the Heavens for the Monkey King. His true selfish nature is revealed once and for all. From the fairies, the Great Saint learns of the banquet (to which he was not invited) and freezes them where they are so they are unable to tell anyone anything. Through a series of deceptive acts and trickery, the Great Saint manages to divert a god from the banquet, get himself drunk on the sacred nectar of the Heaven, and consume a great deal of life giving pills from the sage Laotzse. Feeling that he has gone maybe just a little too far this time, the Monkey King decides to returen to earth once and for all. For a moment, I feel that he may feel remorse for what he has done, however, he then steals more nectar from its storehouse to take to his ape children proving that he is not sorry for what he has done, but worried that he will be caught.
Yang Oerlang
So the Lord of the Heaven's is reasonably furious about the entire situation and considers how this rogue ape might be stopped. His daughter suggests that he send his grandson, Yang Oerlang, to defeat the Monkey King. They are pretty evenly matched, both can shift shapes, both are strong, and both possess special weapons. So they fall into a battle - one of strength, wit, and wills. Neither can seem to outdo the other.
The Destiny of Sun Wu Kung
After enlisting the help of Buddha to help subdue the out of control Monkey King, those in the Heavens manage to temporarily trap the Monkey King. Once he escapes the Buddha calmly approaches the Monkey King and tells him of his desire to tame the ape. Sun Wu is that anyone try to tame someone as powerful as he. Buddha says that if he is so powerful, Sun Wu should be able to leave Buddha's hand - if he does so, Buddha will beg for pardon of the Lord of the Heavens and if not, we will have to yield to Buddha. The Monkey King somersaults and somersaults until he believes he has reached the edge of the earth. He writes his name so that he can prove that he has been there and then returns to Buddha, feeling triumphant. However, Buddha reveals that what Sun Wu thought was the edge of the earth was really Buddha's middle finger. So Sun Wu has lost and is captured under a mountain for hundreds of years. Once he is reformed, he becomes an assistant to a Monk and is then know as the Wanderer. On his head, he wears a golden circlet that the Monk has the power to tighten if Sun Wu disobeys, but it is, apparently, rarely needed. Maybe the Monkey King has learned after all.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Week 6: Reading Diary - West African Folktales
West African Folktales Part A: Favorites
How We Got the Name Spider Tales
I found this story interesting in that it appears that excessive pride does not seem to warrant the punishment it does in Mythology of other cultures. In this story, Spider, also called Anansi, decides that he wants all of the stories told to be about him rather than the god Nyankupon and Nyankupon agrees as long as Anansi can perform three tasks - produce a jar of live bees, a boa constrictor, and a tiger. Through cunning and trickery, Anansi is able to perform all of these tasks and so now the stories are called Anansi Tales.
How Wisdom became Property of the Human Race
This is another example of folklore in which the supreme being, in this case, Father Anansi, becomes angry with humanity and seeks to punish it. In this case, however, the attempt of the god is almost a comical failure. Anansi, as previously stated, has become angry with the human race and decides to take all the world's knowledge from them. He throws all the wisdom in a pot and attempts to climb a high tree to put the wisdom just out of reach to all but himself. However, as he is climbing the tree, with the way he has the pot situated upon himself - on his front - he is unable to climb. Anansi's son Kweku Tsin witnesses his father's struggle and suggests that Anansi place the pot on his back instead. Frustrated by his son's apparent possession of knowledge despite Anansi's attempt to hide it, Anansi throws the pot down onto the ground, releasing all the world's knowledge back to the human race.
Anansi and Nothing
This story made me chuckle to myself. Not because of the content - the story itself is a bit sad - but because it involves a play on words. Anansi and his rich friend Nothing decide to go get wives from a neighboring town. Anansi convinces Nothing to let him wear Nothing's fancy clothes in exchange for Anansi's threadbare ones so that when they get to town, Anansi takes several wives and Nothing is only able to procure one, and out of pity. However, upon returning to their homes, Anansi's wives are distressed to see the hovel in which they are to live, so Nothing's wife, feeling pity for her friends, invites all of Anansi's wives to live in her palace. When Anansi's wives refuse to return home, Anansi grows angry and plots to kill Nothing. When he does, Nothing's wife mourns for him and travels about sharing her suffering with the village children so that they may join her in mourning. This is why it is said that when a child is found crying, seemingly for no reason, that the child is "crying for nothing."
Thunder and Anansi
Anansi, for all his selfish and trickster ways, seems to learn a bit of a lesson in this story. He and his family are very much in want of food. He goes out in search of food and through a series of events finds himself at the hut of Thunder who lives in the sea. After hearing Anansi's sad tale, Thunder provides Anansi a pot with which will provide him and his family with plenty of food. Anansi selfishly decides to keep the pot and the food from his family. They eventually find out about it, however, with the help of Anansi's eldest son who follows Anansi around in the form of a fly. The family uses the pot to provide the whole town with a meal but the large order causes the pot to melt away. Anansi discovers this and, resolving to punish his family, returns to Thunder. Thunder listens to his tale and provides him with a stick that beats Anansi until he regrets not being wiser with his fortune in the first place.
Tit for Tat
This story contrasts all the good virtues and characteristics of Kweku Tsin with the faults and vices of his father, Anansi. During a famine, Kweku discovers a wood in which he can hunt animals and sell them in town. Anansi soon becomes jealous of his son's growing wealth and sets out to steal from him. Anansi discovers where his son has been hunting and drives Kweku out of the wood to take all the game for himself. Kweku, however devises a clever scheme to trick his father into giving the meat back by making Anansi think that he has angered the gods. Once the famine is over, Anansi is forced to acknowledge his son's virtues and wisdom and promises to give over his selfish, trickster ways. He will soon break this promise.
Why White Ants Always Harm Man's Property
*I am unsure if, when the story mentions Spider, it is referring to Anansi
Spider, in the midst of another famine, happens upon a dead antelope and decides to take it for himself, concealing it cleverly. Wolf and Leopard suspect that Spider is up to something and eventually succeed in tricking Spider into losing his prize. Spider is angry and strings up Wolf and Leopard. A group of white ants (termites) happen by and help the two down so the Wolf and Leopard invite the white ants to a feast. Well, Spider disguises he and his family as white ants and attend the feast. When the real ants show up, Wolf and Leopard assume that they are Spider's family in disguise so they pour boiling water on the ants killing them all except the father. In his anger at this betrayal, White Ant vows to never help man again and instead be known as a perfect pest.
Squirrel and Spider
Spider is hit with some major karma in this story. HE steals crops from a hardworking squirrel saying that because there is no road leading to the farm, the farm cannot possibly be his. But then the same thing happens to spider: his bundles of crop are stolen by a crow who claims that no one would leave bundles by the road so the bundles clearly belong to the crow. Maybe now we will see if Spider will begin to change his conniving ways...
Why We See Ants Carrying Bundles as Big as Themselves
I cannot quite tell reading these stories if these creatures are actually figured as the creatures they represent or if these are people that represent each creature. However in this story we see Anansi again with his son Kweku, who is the opposite of his father in terms of virtue. Anansi's greed gets the better of him once again and he ends up killing the King's favorite jesters in the pursuit of "more." So the King wraps up the body of the poor jester and makes Anansi carry it on his head and he must continue to do so unless someone takes the load from him. Anansi, crafty fellow that he is, convinces Mr. Ant to hold the body for just a moment and Anansi promises to return. Being Anansi, however, he does not return, and poor Mr. Ant is doomed to carry that huge bundle on top of his head forever.
Part B: Favorites
The Moon and Stars
This story does not emphasize the faults and poor characteristics of Anansi, but rather makes him part of a heroic tale. Anansi and his son Kweku are captured by a dragon and held captive in the dragon's lair with a group of other unfortunates who were also captured by the dragon. Kweku soon devises a plan for escape that involves the group making a rope ladder and throwing it up to heaven to out climb the dragon. The group also employs several tricks along the way that keep the dragon from ascending the ladder, one of which includes playing a magic violin so that the dragon will have to return to the ground to dance. When the group reaches the heavens, the gods are so pleased with Kweku that they make him the sun in the sky. Anansi is made the moon and their friends are made the stars.
The Hunter and the Tortoise
This story is actually meant to teach a lesson rather than entertain or provide an etiology. A hunter hears the beautiful song of a tortoise and asks the tortoise to come home with him so that the hunter may hear her song everyday. The tortoise agrees, as long as the hunter promises to keep the tortoise a secret. Not unpredictably, the hunter does not keep his promise and begins to brag about his singing tortoise, so much so that the ruler of the land hears of the tale. The ruler and his officials do not believe the hunter's story, but the hunter swears that he is telling the truth and that if he cannot prove himself, he may be killed. So he brings the tortoise before the court to sing, but the tortoise will not utter a word. The hunter is executed, per his agreement with the ruler, and only then does the tortoise speak saying that if the hunter had been content to keep the tortoise a secret, no ill would have befallen him.
The Leopard and the Ram
Another etiology, this story explains why rams are domesticated while leopards live in the wild. This is one of the more humorous stories in my opinion. In the story, through an odd turn of events, a ram and a leopard end up helping each other build the same house without either one of them realizing it. After they discover that they have both built the house, they decide to live together, becoming good friends. Both wonder at the other's keen hunting ability and sends his son to discover the secret of the other's hunting success. The leopard's son discovers that the ram backs up and runs its head into its prey and thus warns his father that if he ever sees the ram backing up, he should fear for his life. One day, the ram slips on the wet floor of the hut and slides backward. Remembering his son's warning, the leopard runs for his life into the woods never to return to civilization. This is why leopards live in the wild
The Elephant and the Wren
Ah, the reappearance of the trickster, Spider! Spider wins a contest, through cunning and trickery of course, in which he chops down a great tree. His prize is an elephant. Spider, showing his selfish character once again, decides that he does not want to have to share the elephant with his family. He decides to try to catch a wren and act as though that is all that he has procured for the day. He ties up his elephant and goes after the wren. He is unsuccessful in catching the wren, and then while he is trying to catch the bird, the elephant gets loose. Now he has absolutely nothing to show for the day, and both he and his family must go hungry for the day. Spider seems to not learn from his past experiences as he keeps running into similar outcomes in return for his deceit and coveting.
Why Tigers Never Attack Men Unless They are Provoked
I have to admit that this story made me feel a bit uncomfortable - I am terrified of both tigers and lions. I also thought that it was interesting to include in folktales from Africa tigers, which are not found in Africa. As the story goes, a man befriends a tiger and convinces the tiger to come live with him for a time. The tiger agrees despite apprehensions that the man's friends will try to kill the tiger. On his way to visit the man sometime later, the tiger is shot, but not killed, by some of the man's friends. Fearing that he had been betrayed by his friend, the tiger feigns death to gage the reaction of the man in order to determine whether or not the man had anything to do with the shooting. When the man discovers the apparently dead tiger, the man mourns the loss of his friend and determines to protect the tiger's body as well as the tiger's cub. Upon seeing this, the tiger tells the man that he will never attack any man unless he is first provoked.
How We Got the Name Spider Tales
I found this story interesting in that it appears that excessive pride does not seem to warrant the punishment it does in Mythology of other cultures. In this story, Spider, also called Anansi, decides that he wants all of the stories told to be about him rather than the god Nyankupon and Nyankupon agrees as long as Anansi can perform three tasks - produce a jar of live bees, a boa constrictor, and a tiger. Through cunning and trickery, Anansi is able to perform all of these tasks and so now the stories are called Anansi Tales.
How Wisdom became Property of the Human Race
This is another example of folklore in which the supreme being, in this case, Father Anansi, becomes angry with humanity and seeks to punish it. In this case, however, the attempt of the god is almost a comical failure. Anansi, as previously stated, has become angry with the human race and decides to take all the world's knowledge from them. He throws all the wisdom in a pot and attempts to climb a high tree to put the wisdom just out of reach to all but himself. However, as he is climbing the tree, with the way he has the pot situated upon himself - on his front - he is unable to climb. Anansi's son Kweku Tsin witnesses his father's struggle and suggests that Anansi place the pot on his back instead. Frustrated by his son's apparent possession of knowledge despite Anansi's attempt to hide it, Anansi throws the pot down onto the ground, releasing all the world's knowledge back to the human race.
Anansi and Nothing
This story made me chuckle to myself. Not because of the content - the story itself is a bit sad - but because it involves a play on words. Anansi and his rich friend Nothing decide to go get wives from a neighboring town. Anansi convinces Nothing to let him wear Nothing's fancy clothes in exchange for Anansi's threadbare ones so that when they get to town, Anansi takes several wives and Nothing is only able to procure one, and out of pity. However, upon returning to their homes, Anansi's wives are distressed to see the hovel in which they are to live, so Nothing's wife, feeling pity for her friends, invites all of Anansi's wives to live in her palace. When Anansi's wives refuse to return home, Anansi grows angry and plots to kill Nothing. When he does, Nothing's wife mourns for him and travels about sharing her suffering with the village children so that they may join her in mourning. This is why it is said that when a child is found crying, seemingly for no reason, that the child is "crying for nothing."
Thunder and Anansi
Anansi, for all his selfish and trickster ways, seems to learn a bit of a lesson in this story. He and his family are very much in want of food. He goes out in search of food and through a series of events finds himself at the hut of Thunder who lives in the sea. After hearing Anansi's sad tale, Thunder provides Anansi a pot with which will provide him and his family with plenty of food. Anansi selfishly decides to keep the pot and the food from his family. They eventually find out about it, however, with the help of Anansi's eldest son who follows Anansi around in the form of a fly. The family uses the pot to provide the whole town with a meal but the large order causes the pot to melt away. Anansi discovers this and, resolving to punish his family, returns to Thunder. Thunder listens to his tale and provides him with a stick that beats Anansi until he regrets not being wiser with his fortune in the first place.
Tit for Tat
This story contrasts all the good virtues and characteristics of Kweku Tsin with the faults and vices of his father, Anansi. During a famine, Kweku discovers a wood in which he can hunt animals and sell them in town. Anansi soon becomes jealous of his son's growing wealth and sets out to steal from him. Anansi discovers where his son has been hunting and drives Kweku out of the wood to take all the game for himself. Kweku, however devises a clever scheme to trick his father into giving the meat back by making Anansi think that he has angered the gods. Once the famine is over, Anansi is forced to acknowledge his son's virtues and wisdom and promises to give over his selfish, trickster ways. He will soon break this promise.
Why White Ants Always Harm Man's Property
*I am unsure if, when the story mentions Spider, it is referring to Anansi
Spider, in the midst of another famine, happens upon a dead antelope and decides to take it for himself, concealing it cleverly. Wolf and Leopard suspect that Spider is up to something and eventually succeed in tricking Spider into losing his prize. Spider is angry and strings up Wolf and Leopard. A group of white ants (termites) happen by and help the two down so the Wolf and Leopard invite the white ants to a feast. Well, Spider disguises he and his family as white ants and attend the feast. When the real ants show up, Wolf and Leopard assume that they are Spider's family in disguise so they pour boiling water on the ants killing them all except the father. In his anger at this betrayal, White Ant vows to never help man again and instead be known as a perfect pest.
Squirrel and Spider
Spider is hit with some major karma in this story. HE steals crops from a hardworking squirrel saying that because there is no road leading to the farm, the farm cannot possibly be his. But then the same thing happens to spider: his bundles of crop are stolen by a crow who claims that no one would leave bundles by the road so the bundles clearly belong to the crow. Maybe now we will see if Spider will begin to change his conniving ways...
Why We See Ants Carrying Bundles as Big as Themselves
I cannot quite tell reading these stories if these creatures are actually figured as the creatures they represent or if these are people that represent each creature. However in this story we see Anansi again with his son Kweku, who is the opposite of his father in terms of virtue. Anansi's greed gets the better of him once again and he ends up killing the King's favorite jesters in the pursuit of "more." So the King wraps up the body of the poor jester and makes Anansi carry it on his head and he must continue to do so unless someone takes the load from him. Anansi, crafty fellow that he is, convinces Mr. Ant to hold the body for just a moment and Anansi promises to return. Being Anansi, however, he does not return, and poor Mr. Ant is doomed to carry that huge bundle on top of his head forever.
Part B: Favorites
The Moon and Stars
This story does not emphasize the faults and poor characteristics of Anansi, but rather makes him part of a heroic tale. Anansi and his son Kweku are captured by a dragon and held captive in the dragon's lair with a group of other unfortunates who were also captured by the dragon. Kweku soon devises a plan for escape that involves the group making a rope ladder and throwing it up to heaven to out climb the dragon. The group also employs several tricks along the way that keep the dragon from ascending the ladder, one of which includes playing a magic violin so that the dragon will have to return to the ground to dance. When the group reaches the heavens, the gods are so pleased with Kweku that they make him the sun in the sky. Anansi is made the moon and their friends are made the stars.
The Hunter and the Tortoise
This story is actually meant to teach a lesson rather than entertain or provide an etiology. A hunter hears the beautiful song of a tortoise and asks the tortoise to come home with him so that the hunter may hear her song everyday. The tortoise agrees, as long as the hunter promises to keep the tortoise a secret. Not unpredictably, the hunter does not keep his promise and begins to brag about his singing tortoise, so much so that the ruler of the land hears of the tale. The ruler and his officials do not believe the hunter's story, but the hunter swears that he is telling the truth and that if he cannot prove himself, he may be killed. So he brings the tortoise before the court to sing, but the tortoise will not utter a word. The hunter is executed, per his agreement with the ruler, and only then does the tortoise speak saying that if the hunter had been content to keep the tortoise a secret, no ill would have befallen him.
The Leopard and the Ram
Another etiology, this story explains why rams are domesticated while leopards live in the wild. This is one of the more humorous stories in my opinion. In the story, through an odd turn of events, a ram and a leopard end up helping each other build the same house without either one of them realizing it. After they discover that they have both built the house, they decide to live together, becoming good friends. Both wonder at the other's keen hunting ability and sends his son to discover the secret of the other's hunting success. The leopard's son discovers that the ram backs up and runs its head into its prey and thus warns his father that if he ever sees the ram backing up, he should fear for his life. One day, the ram slips on the wet floor of the hut and slides backward. Remembering his son's warning, the leopard runs for his life into the woods never to return to civilization. This is why leopards live in the wild
The Elephant and the Wren
Ah, the reappearance of the trickster, Spider! Spider wins a contest, through cunning and trickery of course, in which he chops down a great tree. His prize is an elephant. Spider, showing his selfish character once again, decides that he does not want to have to share the elephant with his family. He decides to try to catch a wren and act as though that is all that he has procured for the day. He ties up his elephant and goes after the wren. He is unsuccessful in catching the wren, and then while he is trying to catch the bird, the elephant gets loose. Now he has absolutely nothing to show for the day, and both he and his family must go hungry for the day. Spider seems to not learn from his past experiences as he keeps running into similar outcomes in return for his deceit and coveting.
Why Tigers Never Attack Men Unless They are Provoked
I have to admit that this story made me feel a bit uncomfortable - I am terrified of both tigers and lions. I also thought that it was interesting to include in folktales from Africa tigers, which are not found in Africa. As the story goes, a man befriends a tiger and convinces the tiger to come live with him for a time. The tiger agrees despite apprehensions that the man's friends will try to kill the tiger. On his way to visit the man sometime later, the tiger is shot, but not killed, by some of the man's friends. Fearing that he had been betrayed by his friend, the tiger feigns death to gage the reaction of the man in order to determine whether or not the man had anything to do with the shooting. When the man discovers the apparently dead tiger, the man mourns the loss of his friend and determines to protect the tiger's body as well as the tiger's cub. Upon seeing this, the tiger tells the man that he will never attack any man unless he is first provoked.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Week 5: Reading Diary - The Life of Buddha
Part A: Favorites from the Buddha Unit
Maya's Dream
I just find it really interesting how much I can interrelate so many of the different mythologies. This story was about the conception (immaculate) of Buddha, which, of course, made me think of the virgin Mary. Maya, Buddha's mother, and the king are given visions concerning the importance their son will have in the world, not unlike when the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was giving birth to the savior. In this story however, Maya is praised, not ostracized for her immaculate conception like Mary is and the mere essence of her unborn son allows Maya to heal the sick and suffering.
The Birth of Siddhartha
This story tells about how the birth of Maya's son, who is given the name Siddhartha, brings about joy and peace throughout the land. There is such great joy at the child's birth that all bow to him and praise him.
Asita's Prediction and Siddhartha at the Temple
Both of these stories really emphasize the view of Siddhartha as a god. See Buddha was a real person, and I think I've heard before that he never wanted anyone to think of him as a god. These two stories set the tone for the stereotypical "god" vision most of us have concerning the gods. At one point, the gods actually bow down to Siddhartha. It is said over and over again that this child is the hope of breaking the cruel cycle of reincarnation. I would imagine this is where a lot of the myth that we have based on the life of Buddha comes from.
First Encounter
This is where we begin to get into the part of Buddha's history in which he begins to travel outside the sheltered walls of his palace, and what he sees on the outside causes him great distress and suffering. This marks a great turning point in the life of Buddha. The gods, jealous of the praise afforded Siddhartha, create an old man so that he will cross the path of Siddhartha (His father had ordered that only the young and beautiful be out on the streets on his son's path). Upon seeing the old man - he has never seen an old person - Siddhartha is greatly distressed, especially when he learns that this fate is inevitable. This is a perfect illustration of the way people become isolated in their own lives and remain clueless about what is happening in their own backyard.
Two More Encounters
This is also an important part of the turning point to the life of Buddha that is really what shaped the Buddha we recognize today as a religious figure. Siddhartha travels outside his palace once again and this time he sees a man ravaged by sickness as well as a corpse, two things he had never seen before due to the attempts of his parents to shelter him from disquietude. I like the portrayal of the Buddha's parents who are just like any other parents, concerned for their child's happiness and well meaning, but sometimes that well-meaning protectiveness can prove detrimental to the child. In this case, Siddhartha is extremely disturbed by these things he has seen - death, sickness, old age - and the inevitability of them all because he has never before encountered them. Imagine how traumatizing it would be to be college age and not knowing that you will eventually get sick, you will eventually grow old, and you will eventually die. It may not be something we dwell on daily, but at least we are aware of it, whereas Siddhartha had no idea.
The Fair Maidens and Gopa's Dream
This story illustrates the magnitude of the disquietude felt by Siddhartha at his discovery of death and sickness. He is tempted in a wood by a group of beautiful maidens but for all their charms and loveliness, they cannot stir poor Siddhartha for all he can think of is how their youth and beauty will be taken from them as well as himself. It must be difficult to come to terms with one's mortality because suddenly, everything could seem pointless. If we are all going the same way, then what is the point of doing anything? So in the story, Siddhartha begins to shun all types of pleasure and his father becomes quite worried.
The Great Truths
It's at this time that we see Siddhartha's life really begin to take shape into the life of Buddha. He wants to leave the comforts and pleasures of his home in order to gain a sense of the greater truths of the world. His father is distressed and begs him not to leave, but Siddhartha says that unless his father can promise that he will not become sick, or old, or die, he must leave. His father, or course, cannot promise any of these things so Siddhartha leaves. And this is where the real journey of the Buddha will begin
Part B:
Siddhartha Leaves
Siddhartha has become determined to enter into the life of the hermit. His ultimate goal is to conquer old age and death. Whether he means to metaphorically or literally conquer death. I cannot be sure. In this episode, we see the strength of Siddhartha's resolve - he claims that he will never return to his kingdom - yet he has peace and joy due to his decision. He is leaving his family behind, yet feels no regret. Sometimes, it seems, decisions made in faith bring about the greatest feelings of peace.
Siddhartha the Hermit
We gain, in this episode, and understanding of some of Siddhartha's reasons for leaving home. It must be unfathomable to someone who lived in the midst of the caste system, someone like Siddhartha's attendant, Chandaka, that a prince, especially one that is esteemed to the degree at which Siddhartha is esteemed (it is seen in the following story the great lamentation that ensues once it is discovered that Siddhartha has gone), would sacrifice that position for anything.
Arata Kalama
I found this very interesting. Siddhartha, in this story, is seeking knowledge of the great truth from a hermit, Arata Kalama. Siddhartha's apparent knowledge of the great truth seems, at least to Arata Kalama, to have matched or even surpassed that of his own. Arata Kalama asks Siddhartha to take part in teaching Arata's own disciples. Interestingly enough, Siddhartha begins to ponder Arata's Kalama real understanding of great truth and ascertains that Arata knows nothing. It is because through denying themselves sustenance, per the doctrine of Arata Kalama, they are only contributing to the cycle of rebirth (which Siddhartha hopes to break) by trying to receive a good position in the next life. This really made me think about what might our motivation to do anything be. To be rewarded, to get ahead?
Siddhartha and King Vimbasara
I think it is interesting how now matter how he tries to be a hermit, to go unnoticed and live simply, the world does not seem to want Siddhartha to do that. It has even been said that he would be horrified to see that he has been elevated to the status of god. Even as a beggar, Siddhartha's inherent radiance transcends his beggar costume and he gains the notice of a king who desires to make Siddhartha his companion. Siddhartha gently refuses - here I though sure that this would be someone who would find fault in Siddhartha, or be offended by his rejection, yet he is praised for his piety. It is strange how, those who have the most effect, often are not trying to do so.
Mara's Defeat
Here I found yet another parallel I can draw between this mythology and bible - the attack on a holy, pious, man from the Evil One. However, unlike in the story of Job, the bible story which comes to mind in conjunction with this story, the assaults of the Evil One do not even land on Siddhartha. It is his essence that protects him from the attack of the Evil One and his army - Siddhartha himself doesn't even seem to register the attack. Once the Evil One is put into his place, Siddhartha ascends to the role of the Buddha.
Maya's Dream
I just find it really interesting how much I can interrelate so many of the different mythologies. This story was about the conception (immaculate) of Buddha, which, of course, made me think of the virgin Mary. Maya, Buddha's mother, and the king are given visions concerning the importance their son will have in the world, not unlike when the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was giving birth to the savior. In this story however, Maya is praised, not ostracized for her immaculate conception like Mary is and the mere essence of her unborn son allows Maya to heal the sick and suffering.
The Birth of Siddhartha
This story tells about how the birth of Maya's son, who is given the name Siddhartha, brings about joy and peace throughout the land. There is such great joy at the child's birth that all bow to him and praise him.
Asita's Prediction and Siddhartha at the Temple
Both of these stories really emphasize the view of Siddhartha as a god. See Buddha was a real person, and I think I've heard before that he never wanted anyone to think of him as a god. These two stories set the tone for the stereotypical "god" vision most of us have concerning the gods. At one point, the gods actually bow down to Siddhartha. It is said over and over again that this child is the hope of breaking the cruel cycle of reincarnation. I would imagine this is where a lot of the myth that we have based on the life of Buddha comes from.
First Encounter
This is where we begin to get into the part of Buddha's history in which he begins to travel outside the sheltered walls of his palace, and what he sees on the outside causes him great distress and suffering. This marks a great turning point in the life of Buddha. The gods, jealous of the praise afforded Siddhartha, create an old man so that he will cross the path of Siddhartha (His father had ordered that only the young and beautiful be out on the streets on his son's path). Upon seeing the old man - he has never seen an old person - Siddhartha is greatly distressed, especially when he learns that this fate is inevitable. This is a perfect illustration of the way people become isolated in their own lives and remain clueless about what is happening in their own backyard.
Two More Encounters
This is also an important part of the turning point to the life of Buddha that is really what shaped the Buddha we recognize today as a religious figure. Siddhartha travels outside his palace once again and this time he sees a man ravaged by sickness as well as a corpse, two things he had never seen before due to the attempts of his parents to shelter him from disquietude. I like the portrayal of the Buddha's parents who are just like any other parents, concerned for their child's happiness and well meaning, but sometimes that well-meaning protectiveness can prove detrimental to the child. In this case, Siddhartha is extremely disturbed by these things he has seen - death, sickness, old age - and the inevitability of them all because he has never before encountered them. Imagine how traumatizing it would be to be college age and not knowing that you will eventually get sick, you will eventually grow old, and you will eventually die. It may not be something we dwell on daily, but at least we are aware of it, whereas Siddhartha had no idea.
The Fair Maidens and Gopa's Dream
This story illustrates the magnitude of the disquietude felt by Siddhartha at his discovery of death and sickness. He is tempted in a wood by a group of beautiful maidens but for all their charms and loveliness, they cannot stir poor Siddhartha for all he can think of is how their youth and beauty will be taken from them as well as himself. It must be difficult to come to terms with one's mortality because suddenly, everything could seem pointless. If we are all going the same way, then what is the point of doing anything? So in the story, Siddhartha begins to shun all types of pleasure and his father becomes quite worried.
The Great Truths
It's at this time that we see Siddhartha's life really begin to take shape into the life of Buddha. He wants to leave the comforts and pleasures of his home in order to gain a sense of the greater truths of the world. His father is distressed and begs him not to leave, but Siddhartha says that unless his father can promise that he will not become sick, or old, or die, he must leave. His father, or course, cannot promise any of these things so Siddhartha leaves. And this is where the real journey of the Buddha will begin
Part B:
Siddhartha Leaves
Siddhartha has become determined to enter into the life of the hermit. His ultimate goal is to conquer old age and death. Whether he means to metaphorically or literally conquer death. I cannot be sure. In this episode, we see the strength of Siddhartha's resolve - he claims that he will never return to his kingdom - yet he has peace and joy due to his decision. He is leaving his family behind, yet feels no regret. Sometimes, it seems, decisions made in faith bring about the greatest feelings of peace.
Siddhartha the Hermit
We gain, in this episode, and understanding of some of Siddhartha's reasons for leaving home. It must be unfathomable to someone who lived in the midst of the caste system, someone like Siddhartha's attendant, Chandaka, that a prince, especially one that is esteemed to the degree at which Siddhartha is esteemed (it is seen in the following story the great lamentation that ensues once it is discovered that Siddhartha has gone), would sacrifice that position for anything.
Arata Kalama
I found this very interesting. Siddhartha, in this story, is seeking knowledge of the great truth from a hermit, Arata Kalama. Siddhartha's apparent knowledge of the great truth seems, at least to Arata Kalama, to have matched or even surpassed that of his own. Arata Kalama asks Siddhartha to take part in teaching Arata's own disciples. Interestingly enough, Siddhartha begins to ponder Arata's Kalama real understanding of great truth and ascertains that Arata knows nothing. It is because through denying themselves sustenance, per the doctrine of Arata Kalama, they are only contributing to the cycle of rebirth (which Siddhartha hopes to break) by trying to receive a good position in the next life. This really made me think about what might our motivation to do anything be. To be rewarded, to get ahead?
Siddhartha and King Vimbasara
I think it is interesting how now matter how he tries to be a hermit, to go unnoticed and live simply, the world does not seem to want Siddhartha to do that. It has even been said that he would be horrified to see that he has been elevated to the status of god. Even as a beggar, Siddhartha's inherent radiance transcends his beggar costume and he gains the notice of a king who desires to make Siddhartha his companion. Siddhartha gently refuses - here I though sure that this would be someone who would find fault in Siddhartha, or be offended by his rejection, yet he is praised for his piety. It is strange how, those who have the most effect, often are not trying to do so.
Mara's Defeat
Here I found yet another parallel I can draw between this mythology and bible - the attack on a holy, pious, man from the Evil One. However, unlike in the story of Job, the bible story which comes to mind in conjunction with this story, the assaults of the Evil One do not even land on Siddhartha. It is his essence that protects him from the attack of the Evil One and his army - Siddhartha himself doesn't even seem to register the attack. Once the Evil One is put into his place, Siddhartha ascends to the role of the Buddha.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Week 4: Reading Diary - Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt Unit
Part A: My favorites
The Secret Name of Ra
Ra, the god of the sun, is known by many names but one is kept secret and it is this name that gives him his power. The goddess Isis become jealous of the god's great power and longs to know the secret name that Ra keeps hidden in his heart. She devises a scheme in which a serpent of her creation (she is an enchantress) bites Ra and she tells him that the only way she can do the spell that will save Ra's life is for him to reveal to her his secret name. I found myself really invested in this story - I really wanted the secret name. In the end, Ra transfers the secret name from his heart into that of Isis, so the name is not revealed to us. I was disappointed, but when I thought about it, it made sense that this secret name had to remain secret even in the telling of the story. I think this shows how devoted the Egyptian people were to their gods, that even in their storytelling, they kept the law of the gods.
Ra and Hathor
This story seems to be a staple of Mythology and folklore - the humans that the gods have created have turned against the gods and thusly need to be destroyed. In this instance, Ra bids the goddess Hathor to slaughter all of mankind. Before she is finished with her work, Ra has a change of heart and sets out to save what is left of mankind. He sends out his subordinate gods to collect the blood of Man mixed with barley which is made into beer. The gods flood the earth with beer so that Hathor will drink it, become drunk, and leave over her work destroying Man. After all of this comes to pass, Ra grows weary of his time on earth and ascends back to the heavens at the great sorrow of his people.
The Sun's Journey
When Ra decides to enter the heavens, he must pass through the 12 divisions of night. After the twelfth (at dawn), he is taken up by Nut and born of Nut in the heavens. The description of each of the divisions reminded me a lot of the levels of hell depicted in Dante's Inferno - horrible creatures, domains of punishment, suffering, and just really "out there." The gods of this culture are not to be viewed as beautiful creatures like those in Classical Mythology. Instead, these mighty gods are revered for their power and their power alone.
Osiris
I liked this story because though I love Mythology, much of it can be pretty negative, so it was a nice change to read a story in which the events are purely positive. This story tells of the reign of Osiris the Good who sat in Ra's seat after he'd ascended to the heavens. Osiris gave the scattered, savage humans law and order, taught them agriculture, and taught them to worship the gods. Isis, his wife, brought wisdom. At the very end of the story, there is a notion that this time of goodness is going to end soon with a rebellion at the hands of the jealous god, Set.
The Death of Osiris
As I predicted, and as the title of the story implies, the peace, joy, and prosperity of the time of Osiris came to a crashing halt. Set, during a celebration of Osiris, tricks the god to lay down in a chest that is perfectly sized to fit him. Once Osiris is in the chest, Set's followers appear and seal the chest so that Osiris dies. They dispose of the body in secret (much to Isis' chagrin), Set ascends the now vacant throne, and the world plunges into a time of disorder and corruption. Meanwhile, a broken Isis searches for the lost body of her slain husband under the protection of seven scorpions that follow her. Ra, seeing her from heaven, feels pity for he suffering and sends Anubis, the opener of ways, to be her guide. This story, to me, illustrates Man's inherent discontentment with peace. Despite the fact that the time of Osiris was described as a time of peace and prosperity, Set was able to drum up some supporters who were not satisfied with the way things were.
The Journey of Isis
Wow, Okay so this story was pretty complex. Isis has a son, Horus, who she places in the care of Uazit to keep him safe from his uncle, Set, lest he kill the child to keep him from taking his rightful place on the throne as the heir of Osiris. Meanwhile, the body of Osiris has been floating down the Nile River and lands upon the shores of a land and immediately a tree grows around the chest in which Osiris' body lie. The king of this land has the tree cut down and declares it a sacred pillar. Isis manages to convince the king to allow her to take the pillar back to Egypt. However, Set discovers the body where Isis has hidden it and tears it into pieces, scattering it into the river. Isis does eventually find all of the pieces and creates a tomb over which temples have been dedicated to the worship of Osiris. Possibly the most striking feature of this story is the tenacity of Isis. So often is she hindered in her quest to put her husband's body to rest and yet she remains undeterred and determined that her husband find rest.
The King of the Dead
In this story, Horus, Osiris' son, avenges his father's death by reclaiming his rightful place on the throne. We are also given an etiology of the mummy god: upon hearing the broken laments of Osiris' consorts, Isis and Nepthys, Ra joins the pieces of Osiris' mutilated body together with cloth wrap. Isis is then able to give life to him, and he rises to become the King of the Dead. So far, in Egyptian storytelling as opposed to Greco-Roman, it seems that there is a sense of justice for those wronged and a restoration of the natural order of things. Osiris was wronged, to be sure, however, in the end the good guy came out on top and wickedness was punished.
The Wax Crocodile
This story is interesting to me, not because of its content (though it was a very entertaining story), but because it gives an instance of infidelity in which both the man and the woman are punished. It is common to see stories in which women are seen as the sole perpetrators in acts of adultery (i.e. The Scarlett Letter, the woman to be stoned in the Bible, every woman who had the misfortune to appeal to Zeus in Greco-Roman Mythology). The fact that both the man and the woman are punished alludes to the forward thinking of the Egyptian people who gave us things like written language and paper. In the story, the Scribes wife is having an affair with a handsome youth. The Scribe finds out and captures the youth with a wax crocodile that can be brought to life and readily commanded. The wife is burnt at the stake.
Part B: Favorites
The Two Brothers: Part 1
This story reminded me of the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife in the Bible. The younger of the two brothers, Bata, lives almost as a son to his elder brother, Anpu, and his wife. Bata is essentially the perfect house-guest, waiting on his brother and his wife, plowing their fields, and preparing meals. All is well until the day that Anpu's wife sets her sights on Bata and he rejects her angrily. She then makes it look as though she has been attacked and tells her husband that it was at the hands of Bata. Furious, Anpu seeks to destroy his younger brother. It is strange how often this theme occurs in much of Mythology: the blameless being persecuted despite their loyalty to their persecutor. I suppose martyrs are extremely important in all cultures.
The Two Brothers: Part 2
In this story, we observe the redemption of the younger brother in the eyes of the older, but by the time this redemption comes, too much has happened between the two for things to go back to the way they were. As Anpu pursues Bata, Ra has pity on Bata and creates a wide stream full of crocodiles to separate the brothers. From the bank opposite his brother, Bata relates the truth of what occurred with his brother's unfaithful wife and says also that because of all that has occurred, Bata must travel on his own and no longer live with his brother. Anpu, finally seeing clearly, mourns the loss of his brother by killing his wife. Meanwhile, the gods find Bata in his travels and decide to create for him a wife so that he is not lonely. He loves her dearly and warns her not to step outside or she will be swept away by the sea, for it has been prophesized that she will only live a short time. This is all too familiar, the giving of an explicit warning with clear consequences that is sure to be ignored which also seems to be a unifying feature of Mythology/Folklore.
The Two Brothers: Part 3
So surprise, despite her husband's warning, the created wife of Bata decides to go on a walk and captures the love of the sea god who pursues her. She escapes and the sea mourns. Now there is a sacred acacia tree that bears the soul of Bata in its topmost blossom and as it perceives the sea spirit's sorrow, it cuts a lock of sweet smelling hair from the girl and casts it into the water. The fragrance from the girl's hair is so strong and enticing that the king of the land, after discovering the source of the lovely smell, orders that the girl be brought to him. Once she is with him, he praises her beauty and orders that the acacia tree bearing the soul of the girl's husband be cut down that he might die (he was advised on this by Bata's wife). Bata dies, and through a number of signs, Anpu is made aware of this and he sets out to find Bata's soul. After three years, Anpu finds the soul of his slain brother and places it into a vessel of water which returns the soul to the body of Bata. Thus, the brothers are happily reunited! I like the roundabout way these stories link. Bata told Anpu that the tree bearing his spirit would fall and he would die, but it did not occur in the way that I expected, so it made for an interesting plot twist that he was killed in the name of love/lust.
The Two Brothers: Part 4
Bata goes to great lengths to expose his wife for her betrayal of him. Ultimately he makes it so that he is born her son and given favor by the king and made king of Ethiopia. Once he is made king, Bata exposes his wife's disloyalty and she is sentenced for her crimes. From this story, I gain a sense of the importance of justice to the Egyptian people - Bata is tenacious in his plight for justice and he is rewarded for it. In this culture it appears that you always sew what you reap, which is dissimilar to the Classical Mythology I studied in the last unit in which the main question I asked was "why do such bad things happen to good people." The Egyptian school of thought seems to be more along te lines of "bad things happen to good people, but those who do evil will be punished, and those who are good will gain redemption and justice."
Part A: My favorites
The Secret Name of Ra
Ra, the god of the sun, is known by many names but one is kept secret and it is this name that gives him his power. The goddess Isis become jealous of the god's great power and longs to know the secret name that Ra keeps hidden in his heart. She devises a scheme in which a serpent of her creation (she is an enchantress) bites Ra and she tells him that the only way she can do the spell that will save Ra's life is for him to reveal to her his secret name. I found myself really invested in this story - I really wanted the secret name. In the end, Ra transfers the secret name from his heart into that of Isis, so the name is not revealed to us. I was disappointed, but when I thought about it, it made sense that this secret name had to remain secret even in the telling of the story. I think this shows how devoted the Egyptian people were to their gods, that even in their storytelling, they kept the law of the gods.
Ra and Hathor
This story seems to be a staple of Mythology and folklore - the humans that the gods have created have turned against the gods and thusly need to be destroyed. In this instance, Ra bids the goddess Hathor to slaughter all of mankind. Before she is finished with her work, Ra has a change of heart and sets out to save what is left of mankind. He sends out his subordinate gods to collect the blood of Man mixed with barley which is made into beer. The gods flood the earth with beer so that Hathor will drink it, become drunk, and leave over her work destroying Man. After all of this comes to pass, Ra grows weary of his time on earth and ascends back to the heavens at the great sorrow of his people.
The Sun's Journey
When Ra decides to enter the heavens, he must pass through the 12 divisions of night. After the twelfth (at dawn), he is taken up by Nut and born of Nut in the heavens. The description of each of the divisions reminded me a lot of the levels of hell depicted in Dante's Inferno - horrible creatures, domains of punishment, suffering, and just really "out there." The gods of this culture are not to be viewed as beautiful creatures like those in Classical Mythology. Instead, these mighty gods are revered for their power and their power alone.
Osiris
I liked this story because though I love Mythology, much of it can be pretty negative, so it was a nice change to read a story in which the events are purely positive. This story tells of the reign of Osiris the Good who sat in Ra's seat after he'd ascended to the heavens. Osiris gave the scattered, savage humans law and order, taught them agriculture, and taught them to worship the gods. Isis, his wife, brought wisdom. At the very end of the story, there is a notion that this time of goodness is going to end soon with a rebellion at the hands of the jealous god, Set.
The Death of Osiris
As I predicted, and as the title of the story implies, the peace, joy, and prosperity of the time of Osiris came to a crashing halt. Set, during a celebration of Osiris, tricks the god to lay down in a chest that is perfectly sized to fit him. Once Osiris is in the chest, Set's followers appear and seal the chest so that Osiris dies. They dispose of the body in secret (much to Isis' chagrin), Set ascends the now vacant throne, and the world plunges into a time of disorder and corruption. Meanwhile, a broken Isis searches for the lost body of her slain husband under the protection of seven scorpions that follow her. Ra, seeing her from heaven, feels pity for he suffering and sends Anubis, the opener of ways, to be her guide. This story, to me, illustrates Man's inherent discontentment with peace. Despite the fact that the time of Osiris was described as a time of peace and prosperity, Set was able to drum up some supporters who were not satisfied with the way things were.
The Journey of Isis
Wow, Okay so this story was pretty complex. Isis has a son, Horus, who she places in the care of Uazit to keep him safe from his uncle, Set, lest he kill the child to keep him from taking his rightful place on the throne as the heir of Osiris. Meanwhile, the body of Osiris has been floating down the Nile River and lands upon the shores of a land and immediately a tree grows around the chest in which Osiris' body lie. The king of this land has the tree cut down and declares it a sacred pillar. Isis manages to convince the king to allow her to take the pillar back to Egypt. However, Set discovers the body where Isis has hidden it and tears it into pieces, scattering it into the river. Isis does eventually find all of the pieces and creates a tomb over which temples have been dedicated to the worship of Osiris. Possibly the most striking feature of this story is the tenacity of Isis. So often is she hindered in her quest to put her husband's body to rest and yet she remains undeterred and determined that her husband find rest.
The King of the Dead
In this story, Horus, Osiris' son, avenges his father's death by reclaiming his rightful place on the throne. We are also given an etiology of the mummy god: upon hearing the broken laments of Osiris' consorts, Isis and Nepthys, Ra joins the pieces of Osiris' mutilated body together with cloth wrap. Isis is then able to give life to him, and he rises to become the King of the Dead. So far, in Egyptian storytelling as opposed to Greco-Roman, it seems that there is a sense of justice for those wronged and a restoration of the natural order of things. Osiris was wronged, to be sure, however, in the end the good guy came out on top and wickedness was punished.
The Wax Crocodile
This story is interesting to me, not because of its content (though it was a very entertaining story), but because it gives an instance of infidelity in which both the man and the woman are punished. It is common to see stories in which women are seen as the sole perpetrators in acts of adultery (i.e. The Scarlett Letter, the woman to be stoned in the Bible, every woman who had the misfortune to appeal to Zeus in Greco-Roman Mythology). The fact that both the man and the woman are punished alludes to the forward thinking of the Egyptian people who gave us things like written language and paper. In the story, the Scribes wife is having an affair with a handsome youth. The Scribe finds out and captures the youth with a wax crocodile that can be brought to life and readily commanded. The wife is burnt at the stake.
Part B: Favorites
The Two Brothers: Part 1
This story reminded me of the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife in the Bible. The younger of the two brothers, Bata, lives almost as a son to his elder brother, Anpu, and his wife. Bata is essentially the perfect house-guest, waiting on his brother and his wife, plowing their fields, and preparing meals. All is well until the day that Anpu's wife sets her sights on Bata and he rejects her angrily. She then makes it look as though she has been attacked and tells her husband that it was at the hands of Bata. Furious, Anpu seeks to destroy his younger brother. It is strange how often this theme occurs in much of Mythology: the blameless being persecuted despite their loyalty to their persecutor. I suppose martyrs are extremely important in all cultures.
The Two Brothers: Part 2
In this story, we observe the redemption of the younger brother in the eyes of the older, but by the time this redemption comes, too much has happened between the two for things to go back to the way they were. As Anpu pursues Bata, Ra has pity on Bata and creates a wide stream full of crocodiles to separate the brothers. From the bank opposite his brother, Bata relates the truth of what occurred with his brother's unfaithful wife and says also that because of all that has occurred, Bata must travel on his own and no longer live with his brother. Anpu, finally seeing clearly, mourns the loss of his brother by killing his wife. Meanwhile, the gods find Bata in his travels and decide to create for him a wife so that he is not lonely. He loves her dearly and warns her not to step outside or she will be swept away by the sea, for it has been prophesized that she will only live a short time. This is all too familiar, the giving of an explicit warning with clear consequences that is sure to be ignored which also seems to be a unifying feature of Mythology/Folklore.
The Two Brothers: Part 3
So surprise, despite her husband's warning, the created wife of Bata decides to go on a walk and captures the love of the sea god who pursues her. She escapes and the sea mourns. Now there is a sacred acacia tree that bears the soul of Bata in its topmost blossom and as it perceives the sea spirit's sorrow, it cuts a lock of sweet smelling hair from the girl and casts it into the water. The fragrance from the girl's hair is so strong and enticing that the king of the land, after discovering the source of the lovely smell, orders that the girl be brought to him. Once she is with him, he praises her beauty and orders that the acacia tree bearing the soul of the girl's husband be cut down that he might die (he was advised on this by Bata's wife). Bata dies, and through a number of signs, Anpu is made aware of this and he sets out to find Bata's soul. After three years, Anpu finds the soul of his slain brother and places it into a vessel of water which returns the soul to the body of Bata. Thus, the brothers are happily reunited! I like the roundabout way these stories link. Bata told Anpu that the tree bearing his spirit would fall and he would die, but it did not occur in the way that I expected, so it made for an interesting plot twist that he was killed in the name of love/lust.
The Two Brothers: Part 4
Bata goes to great lengths to expose his wife for her betrayal of him. Ultimately he makes it so that he is born her son and given favor by the king and made king of Ethiopia. Once he is made king, Bata exposes his wife's disloyalty and she is sentenced for her crimes. From this story, I gain a sense of the importance of justice to the Egyptian people - Bata is tenacious in his plight for justice and he is rewarded for it. In this culture it appears that you always sew what you reap, which is dissimilar to the Classical Mythology I studied in the last unit in which the main question I asked was "why do such bad things happen to good people." The Egyptian school of thought seems to be more along te lines of "bad things happen to good people, but those who do evil will be punished, and those who are good will gain redemption and justice."
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