Caitlyn's Blog for Myth-Folklore Fall 2018

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang) Part B by Andrew Lang (Tanuki: image by rumpleteaser ) Themes that are similar to the ones presented in the stories of part A are also shown in this set of stories. Again, I enjoyed the stories that focused on greediness. One such story was The Crab and the Monkey . I was hoping for less violent outcomes in this story, but that hope went away as soon as the monkey badly injured the crab. I was happy that the crab had friends to help her out, and that the monkey was paid back for the wrong he did. Though, as usual, the resulting death was unsettling to me since I do not think it needed to go that far. I also enjoyed The Magic Kettle . Out of the stories in this unit that involved a tanuki, I liked this one the most because of how the tanuki was portrayed. I think tanuki are very cute so I was glad that the tanuki in this story was portrayed more positively than others. I also liked that Jimmu gave some of his fortune that came from ha...

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang) Part A by Andrew Lang (Sparrow: image by Laitche ) These stories were very fun for me to read since I have read many similar Japanese stories in the past. The Stonecutter was one of my favorites to read. I liked that the story focused on teaching a lesson by showing the stonecutter and all that he went through. He wished for different things many times, but in the end realized he was most content just being himself rather than something else. I also enjoyed The Envious Neighbor quite a bit. This one in particular reminded me very much of other Japanese stories I have read, since it focuses on the badness of greed. The abruptness of the dog's death caught me somewhat off guard, but I was also just generally upset that he was killed. I liked how the man and women's love for the dog was portrayed. I was also glad when the envious neighbor was finally punished for all that he had done. Similarly, The Sparrow with the Split Tong...