Caitlyn's Blog for Myth-Folklore Fall 2018

Extra Credit Reading Notes: Mythology Overview Videos (Significance and Stay Power of Myths: screenshot from What is Myth? ) For extra credit readings this week, I watched the Mythology Overview videos which included the Crash Course videos What is Myth? , Theories of Myth , and The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth . I have watched other Crash Course series and enjoyed them very much so I was happy to see them as options for this assignment. I liked that the first video explained myths and tried to nail down a definition that would make sense to most people. I knew of some of the functions of myths, but I had not heard the word "euhemerism" before and found that to be interesting. I also did not know that the idea of Aryans that influenced Germany had roots in myths. The theories surrounding myths were also interesting, though since I am a psychology major, I cringed somewhat when certain theories and ideas from Freud and Jung were brought up. However, I understan...

Week 6 Story: Muhammad's Luck This story has been added to my Portfolio! Click here to view the most up to date version of the story. (Bow and arrow: image by sammo241 ) This story is a sequel to Muhammad Tirandaz, the Archer . Previously, Muhammad Tirandaz the archer became known for his abilities and ended up not only employed by the King, but also earned the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the King’s armies. Now, this may make Muhammad sound like a very skilled warrior. However, the comical events that led to Muhammad driving off an entire army from attacking the King’s city involved anything but skill. Muhammad had been strapped to a horse which he did not know how to ride. This resulted in him up-rooting a tree from the ground in his attempt to stop the horse once he had dropped the reigns. The enemy army only saw the image of Muhammad on a horse while a tree flailed from his arms as he screamed a phrase that led the enemy army to believe they were going to ...

Reading Notes: Persian Tales Part B (Saffron crocus: image by Serpico ) The Merchant and the Saffron , translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919) Some of the previous stories in this part of the unit were a little unclear for me at times, and this was one of the stories that was easier to read after those. I think it is because this story does not have any of the dream-like things of the others and there are not many references made that would seem obscure to me. I like that Malik Ahmad ended up being repaid for purchasing the saffron from the merchant. The merchant continued to help him until it seemed things appeared to be more in his favor.  Shah Abbas and the Poor Mother ,  translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919) I enjoyed several aspects of this story. I like that Shah Abbas is a kind person, since kings are not always kind in stories similar to this. There were a few p...

Reading Notes: Persian Tales Part A (Bulbul: image by _paVan_ ) The Wolf and the Goat , translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919) This story was surprising in some ways and also unique compared to other things I have read. The first part of the Persian Tales unit continued with some of these same things that were new or unusual to me in other stories. I am sure I was probably not supposed to laugh when the goat told the wolf to fight her, but the delivery of the line seemed comical to me because of its abruptness. The mix of dialogue using rhyming/poetry and regular speaking was different from what I am used to. I am still not sure if I like it or not even after seeing it again in several stories that followed this one. The ending of this story and the others also involve a line about a sparrow not returning home. I do not understand what it means right now, but hopefully it is explained by the end of the unit.  The Boy Who B...

Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins, Part B (The King fighting the Thief: Illustration by Perham W. Nahl ) Twenty-Two Goblins , translated by Arthur Ryder The second part of this unit was just as interesting as the first, if not more. I noticed it previously, but there seems to be a similar naming convention for most of the characters. Many of them are named something that I assume is meant to describe them, whether by personality trait or physical. I took the most interest in some aspects of The Girl and the Thief out of this section of stories. I liked that the thief was a different character than most of the others that were meant to end up with the beautiful woman in the end. I also liked the girl from the story, Pearl, for similar reasons. She seemed to speak up more about what she wanted or did not want than many of the female characters from the other stories. The Conclusion was also interesting. I did not expect the monk to be shown as a villain in the end, and I think...

Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins, Part A (The King and the Goblin: Illustrated by Perham W. Nahl ) Twenty-Two Goblins , translated by Arthur Ryder I chose to read from this unit since the stories sounded different to me than other things I have read. I was not disappointed by these readings. I very much liked the continuity between each story, and the style in which that was achieved. The goblin telling other stories from the back of the King was interesting. I felt myself invested in both the first story with the goblin and each new story that was told within that. Many of the stories involved sudden things that shocked me. For example, the sudden suicides that occurred in The Girl, Her Husband and Her Brother . I felt changes in the stories like this came from nowhere, but it makes sense considering these are other stories being told by the goblin. Some of these sudden changes made sense soon after, like the child being thrown into fire in The Three Lovers , though initiall...

Comment Wall (Screenshot of my own Portfolio site banner) This is the comment wall for my project. You can find my project site by clicking here !  My project is a portfolio that includes the stories I enjoyed most, but they all also teach an important lesson. 

Week 4 Story: The Boys Who Befriended Frogs NOTE: This story has been added to my portfolio! Please click here for the current version of the story. (Frog: image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images ) This story is a continuation of  The Boys and the Frogs There were frogs who lived in a pond. They had just been scared for their lives due to some boys who had skipped rocks across the pond for fun. The boys finished having their fun skipping stones in the pond. At some point, the boys noticed a few frogs also occupied the same pond where they skipped the stones. They did not think much of it. Surely the frogs would be fine. The boys did not even spare enough attention to the frogs to notice when one of them tried speaking up before the boys. As the boys departed from the pond, the frogs collected themselves from their earlier panic. The oldest frog spoke in a frustrated tone, “If only those boys were more considerate of others around them! We could have died from that!...

Reading Notes: Aesop (Winter) Part B (Mercury, image by Uva79 ) Mercury and the Woodman , illustrations by Milo Winter (1919) The often enjoy the Aesop stories for the idea or theme expressed in each story, and the way it is delivered. That holds true for this story as well, since I very much enjoyed the idea it conveys. The common and simple idea of honesty is shown in this story. I enjoyed the two main characters, Mercury and the Woodman. I feel that the intent of all the characters was communicated well in this story, since it was easy to anticipate what each character was going to do. Stories like these remind me that sometimes a simple idea like honesty can be the basis for something great. The Frog and the Mouse , illustrations by Milo Winter (1919) I feel as though I also need to write notes about stories that surprise me. Most of the stories that surprise me are ones that have something particularly unpleasant in them, and that is true for this story as well....

Reading Notes: Aesop (Winter) Part A (Wolf illustration by Karen Arnold ) The Wolf and the Kid , illustrations by Milo Winter (1919) This story caught my eye because of its inclusion of a wolf character. Though the wolf's portrayal is not exactly positive, wolves are my favorite animals so most instances of their inclusion in stories will have my interest. The story kept my interest with the way the environment and feel of the setting was described. For me, these descriptions really made me feel like I was experiencing the story in person. I also very much enjoyed the idea that this story communicated and solidified with its ending line. This is possibly an idea that I could expand upon in a story of my own.  The Tortoise and the Ducks ,  illustrations   by Milo Winter (1919) This story made me feel bad about chuckling after the tortoise fell from the air mid-sentence. I had a slap-stick feeling image in my head of the tortoise falling, and because of that...

Feedback Strategies ( cheezburger ) The first article I read was How to Give Feedback Without Sounding Like a Jerk . I enjoyed this article very much because I think it gave some great advice on delivering feedback. I have heard about the feedback sandwich for a long time and was glad it was mentioned in this article. As a psychology student, I have actually heard some of these same strategies for bringing up things that could possibly be negative to someone. While not in this exact same context, the ideas still line up with the advice from this article so I agree that this information is good and a better alternative to the feedback sandwich. I also read Try Feedforward instead of Feedback . I liked this article as well because it gives the message of focus on improving for the future instead of dwelling on things you did in the past. I think this is a good mindset to have when thinking about feedback you have received. It is also important to make sure that any critique ...

Topic Research: Alice in Wonderland (Alice at the Tea-Party: by Sir John Tenniel ) Three Stories: The first story, or episode in Alice in Wonderland's case, that I am interested in writing my own story from would be the beginning episode, Down the Rabbit Hole . I am interested in starting from this episode because the idea that I favor right now for my story is one that follows a new character that ends up going on Alice's adventure with her. Right now I feel like I would want the new character to be there from the start of Alice's story. I think I could make the new character's background better if that character also started in a similar place as Alice and then ended up meeting her from there before they venture into Wonderland. I think A Mad Tea-Party is also a great episode to start a story from. Depending on the background that I want to give my new character, this could be a great place to start my story. There are many characters in this episode due...

Reading Notes:Aesop's Fables (Jacobs), Part B (Statue of Hercules: photo by FelixMittermeier ) The Tree and the Reed by Joseph Jacobs (1894) I particularly enjoy the idea being expressed in this short story. The tree questions the reed about why it does not plant itself into the ground and raise its head higher. The reed believes it is safer by staying low, which is shown to be true once the tree is later uprooted by a storm. I agree with the idea that keeping a low profile is sometimes the best course of action, and I think writing another story that continues with this idea would be interesting.  Hercules and the Wagoner by Joseph Jacobs (1894) I like the purpose of Hercules in this story. The Wagoner begs for help from Hercules after his wagon gets stuck in a mire. The Wagoner seems to do nothing himself before asking for help, so Hercules shows up and tells him to try to help himself first. This is another idea that I like very much, and it is similar to the id...

Topic Brainstorm (Alice at the tea party, by artist  Arthur Rackham : uploaded by Obakeneko ) I am interested in Alice in Wonderland as a possible topic for my storybook. The story of Alice is something I have always enjoyed, but I have only been exposed to the movie adaptations of the novel. I have some knowledge of the story due to that, but I would like to learn more about it by reading the original novel. If I were to write my own story based on Alice in Wonderland, I would probably write the story from the perspective of a different character that already exists in the story or create my own new character that will interact with Alice on her adventure.  Stories from the Japanese Mythology unit, specifically from The Romance of Old Japan are also possible topics for my storybook. I have read the stories involving Izanagi, Izanami, and their children before, so I do have prior knowledge regarding this topic. These stories interest me very much because I lear...

Feedback Thoughts ( cheezburger ) I read A fixed mindset could be holding you back and Neil Gaiman's Advice on the Creative Life . Both articles address issues related to feedback. We previously read about growth mindset versus fixed mindset, which the first article here talks more about. I agree with the many great points that are made in the article, which include things like fixed mindset is associated with not being able to handle negative feedback appropriately. People with a fixed mindset are more likely to not step out of their comfort zones to try something completely new or something they may not be great at. They are used to sticking to what they know and avoid mistakes to the point of restricting themselves from many experiences that could be helpful for their learning. The article concerning Neil Gaiman's advice mentions something similar by urging people to make mistakes in order to learn more and live a fuller life. I think all of the points made here ar...