Reading Notes: Ancient Egypt Part B

 

Ancient Egyptian plowing

The story that stuck with me the most throughout this second part of reading was the story of "The Two Brothers". This story also had themes of familial deception and betrayal, similar to Part A. In this story A younger brother lives with his older brother and his wife. The wife makes a move on the younger brother. He of course rejects her out of respect for his older brother. But the wife calls for her husband telling him his brother made an advance on her. This family betrayal is an interesting theme I have been seeing in the Middle Eastern and Indian units. I think this could be a good theme to incorporate into my storybook project. My storybook project is surrounding the Greek mythology, however, they are all related and have sibling rivalry or backstabbing parents. In the end the brothers make up and go to save the younger brother's wife from a king together. I could bring together the family in my storybook by having them complete a common task.   

Bibliography: "The Two Brothers", by Donald Mackenzie (1907)

Reading Notes: Ancient Egypt Part A

Egyptian Goddess Isis

This week we were to read Middle-Eastern and Indian mythology. I chose to learn about the Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. Part A started out with the creation of the gods. Nu was the essence which was found in the water. He created a son by the name of Ra. Ra was far more powerful than his father and became the "Mighty One", reigning over all the gods including his own father. It was from Ra that all the other gods were born. Ra had a child by the name of Isis. her story intrigued me the most. It dealt with unknown family betrayal. Isis was the the goddess of magic. But she was dealt to roam the lands as a woman. She grew tired of the ways of mankind and sought to walk alongside her father with the other mighty gods. Ra was given a secret name, from which his power derived. She betrayed her father in order to strongarm him into giving her the name as power of her own. The author's descriptions made this seem like it was a betrayal for a throne. Similar to the first Thor film. Loki found his father too weak to rule and brought along frost giants to put him in the Odinsleep. I believe that children defying and betraying their parents is not an uncommon theme in mythology. I just thoroughly enjoyed how Donald Mackenzie portrayed it in this retelling.

Bibliography: "The Secret Name of Ra", by Donald Mackenzie (1907)

Storybook Plan

 

Zeus and Hera

    

    For this storybook project I think I want to zone in on all the scorned lover stories from Greek mythology. I want to take these stories and put them into a high school setting. Half of the "lover scorned" myths seem like they could be turned into petty high school drama. I could especially have fun retelling the ones surrounding Hera and Zeus. As Zeus seems to have a problem staying faithful to his wife. 

Possible Stories

Eros and Psyche

Persephone and Hades

The Story of Medusa and Athena

Hera and Leto

Storytelling Styles

    I think that I will somehow connect all these stories in a way. Whether that be a connection as they all go to school together or the victim's (the women) of the gods' wrath will have some sort of school club where they talk about stories after the fact. I want the reader to be able to connect to these stories. While the stories are outlandish, I want the audience to be able to pinpoint a story and be able to connect it to some part of their life where maybe they had relationship drama or heard about it happening in high school. 

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The Greek God, Zeus

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Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche Part B

Cartoon Donkey

    The ending of this story was very surprising in a way and definitely branched away from fairy tale norms. We are used to a knight in shining armor heroically coming in to rescue a damsel in distress. Instead we get a comic relief in the donkey coming in to save the fair maiden. I think this was a good example of using irony in storytelling. I like using this type of literary device in my own storytelling processes. I can see myself using a surprise ending and irony in a retelling of this story. It also did a great job of having a leaving all loose ends nicely closed, but also leaving some room for a cliffhanger. 

Bibliography: "Cupid and Psyche", by Apuleius translated by Tony Kline.  

 

Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche Part A

 

Cupid and Psyche

    I am not as familiar with Roman mythology as I am with Greek mythology so the story of Cupid and Psyche was pretty new to me. However, for last week's comments assignment I got to read somebody adaptation of the story. It gave me an idea of what I was getting into before reading the actual one. The first thing that I noticed was that this story is in first person narration. That is different than most of the other stories I have read so far. It left me wondering who's point of view this story was being told from. Eventually, I realized that it was a story inside of another story. A woman is captured by a group of bandits and held for ransom. I thought the author did an interesting job of using irony and juxtaposition in this story. The thieves claim that the woman shouldn't fear her life or honor because all they were doing is holding her for ransom. They had no intentions of harming her. But the woman still feared them. Claiming to an old woman that they were going to hurt her and that she feared for her life. Another thing I thought that was interesting was the delivery of the story. I had the story read to me and it was a completely different experience. I felt like I was the captive woman being told the story by the old woman. It brought me back to the days of actual storytelling, no books or e-readers. If anybody is intrigued by that than I highly suggest you try it!  

Bibliography: "Cupid and Psyche" Written by Apuleis. Translated by Tony Klein

Feedback Strategies

 

Feedback Image: Source

    After reading up on the effects of of praise vs feedback I was pleasantly surprised to see how much The Difference Between Praise and Feedback coincided with Carol Dweck's concept of growth mindset. I also was able to relate to these article because this is how my coach acts. It is not enough to simply say "good job" to somebody for their efforts. If there is any time during a practice where a stunt group hits a stunt but it was hit with a struggle we will be reprimanded if we respond to the group by telling them good job or encouraging them. This example supports the idea of fixed talent. Thus, we would be less inclined to try to new skills or improve our technique because we believe if it hit, even if it was a struggle, then it should be good. I do believe that "good jobs" are also very vague, as it states in The Trouble with Amazing: Giving Praise that Matters. It doesn't do anything for the other party. There is no instruction that could help them evolve their work. It just seems like a lazy response. In order to give the best feedback, you should be critical in order for the other person to get the most and be able to expand of their previous work.   

Topic Research

 

Mount Olympus Gods

    1. Zeus Loves: Leto

    Source

    2. Zeus Loves: Persephone

    Source

    3. Zeus Loves: Metis

    Source

Week 3 Story: Achilles' Diary

Achilles quarrel with King Agamemnon

Dear Diary,

    It has been a few days since I last quarrelled with King Agamemnon. I have taken my people to a seashore ways away from my companions of the Greek army. I couldn't help but weep in despair over the injustices that had been made over me. Agamemnon had no right to slight me of my spoils. My poor mother couldn't consol me. I wonder how she is doing on her voyage to Olympus. I asked for her assistance in persuading Zeus, the king of gods, to aid me in my troubles. My request of his aid to the Trojan effort may sound naive and immature but how I long for Agamemnon to feel the foolishness that that was driving away the strongest warrior the Greeks have ever seen. They must understand that they will fall without my swift of blade. 

    I do fear that I will not know what to do with myself during my time out of battle. For I do miss the cries of the wounded and fearsome on the battlefield. But I must say that this time away from the Greeks has opened my mind some. I constantly think back to my mother had said to me. She told me of my fate, dying in my youth at Troy with an astounding legacy or going home and living a long eventful and meaningful life. My name not scratching the surface of the ancient scrolls. As of now I have no fame, Agamemnon has shamed me in front of the people. How would a life of anonymity serve me? Why I could be back at my home of Phthia with my father. I could swoon a fair maiden and create a harmonious family. I could teach my sons the skills of a warrior. What kind of reward does a man get for fighting anyways. We are all honored the same. So what should it matter if I decide to stay home all day instead of battle. Death comes to us all equally. That's it. It has been decided, I will stay out of battle. Nobody could convince me otherwise. I would rather cut off my own foot than serve under that Agamemnon. I will stay here with my noblest and most loved companion, Patroclus. 

-Achilles 

Author's Note: After reading the story of Homer's Iliad, I felt a certain attraction to Achilles' character. This diary entry is to be set in between What Thetis Did For Her Son and The Embassy to Achilles. During this time Achilles leaves the Greeks but we don't know what he was up to or how he felt before the other chiefs came to persuade him to come back. I felt that because of his change of stance on war, we needed to have some sort of look into his mind during this time. I pulled most of the events straight from Achilles dialogue in "The Embassy to Achilles". 

Bibliography: "Homer's Iliad" (retold by A.J. Church)  

        

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad Part B

 

(Greece scene of the Trojan War vase)

    The second part of the Iliad focused on Hector, the son of King Priam. In the first part of the story Hector is stubborn and naive and doesn't recognize that if Achilles joins the fight he is pretty much done for. It seems that his character has changed and that he has come to the conclusion he will die and it will be by the hand of Achilles. It's interesting to me because Hector and Achilles oddly parallel each other. They both had a sort of revelation about the fight. Achilles found that fighting would waste the amount of time left he has in his life. Although, he does decide to retaliate after learning of the death of his most loved ally, Patroclus. And Hector comes to terms that he must stand outside the gates of Troy and battle with Achilles for his city. I liked that the two central characters were given similar character arcs. It gives me plenty of ideas for what I could do in the future. If I were to rewrite this story I would probably play into the similarities between the two warriors a bit more than it does here. 

Bibliography: "Homer's Iliad" (retold by A.J. Church)

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad Part A

 

Achilles in Battle

    When reading about Achilles during the battles against the Trojans, I couldn't help but wonder if there was going to be any part that told his "origin story". Most of us know Achilles from the phrase Achilles heel. The story where his mother, Thetis, dipped him into the River Styx by his heel. After coming out of the river he was invulnerable. Except for his heel, where his mother had held him by. Upon doing some after-reading research. I found that Achilles' origin story wasn't Homeric. Therefore, I couldn't have read anything about his childhood. 

    Something I found quite interesting was Achilles' new outlook on life. In The Embassy to Achilles; Odysseus, Phoenix, and the two heroes Ajax, were sent by King Agamemnon to convince Achilles to rejoin the Greeks in their attempts to thwart the Trojans. No matter how much money or how many cities were included in a dowry, Achilles stood his ground and said no. Achilles is the most fearsome warrior of the Agamemnon army and he even said so himself that in his youth he was always down for a fight. Now, after having his people pull out from battle for a while, he understands what is truly important in his life. Dying a fulfilled life unknown seems more important to him then dying young and famous. I would be interested in possibly doing a retelling of this but bridging the gap between his departure from the Agamemnon army to when the chiefs come to convince his return. I feel that I could illustrate the character development in his beliefs. It would be enjoyable because Achilles' character is the one that I felt more entranced by. 

Original Story: "Homer's Iliad" (retold by A.J. Church)

Feedback Thoughts

 

Feedback: Group Communication

I wanted to look into the negative side of feedback and how our minds find a way to twist feedback into criticism. I read in Why rejection hurts so much — and what to do about it that our brains are hardwired to think that way. The same area of our brain that experiences pain is the area that is activated when we experience rejection. But nonetheless, most of the pain is self-inflicted. We become self critical when we receive negative feedback on something we thought was good work. Thus, the second guessing of ourselves starts. The good news is we can stop this from happening. The article says that if you reaffirm things about yourself that are valuable you can help rebuild your self confidence after taking a blow. Another thing one can do is revel in the positive feedback you have been given. Most likely somebody is going to leave you with positive feedback as well. Dig into the positive suggestions and believe what they say. I read these tricks on Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head. Overall, even if our brains are wired to focus on the negative there are many things you can do to avoid having a pity party for yourself and actually take the feedback for what it is. Somebody giving suggestions in order to help you!  

Topic Brainstorm

Gothic Vampire

The Soldier and the Vampire

This story is a part of a collection of Russian ghost stories. It involves a soldier going to his home village to find a vampire terrorizing the town. He was able to destroy the vampire and bring a couple of newlyweds back to life. I have always had a very strong liking to vampire lore. "The Twilight Saga" and "The Vampire Diaries" are two of my favorite film/TV adaptations from books. I can see myself taking this story and putting a modern spin on it. In the original story, the vampire is described as a warlock. The actual word vampire isn't used at all throughout the story. I'd like to take this plot and add my own ideas into it!

The Tri-Delta Ghost

This story I was already familiar with. I personally own Jeff Provine's "Campus Ghosts of Norman, Oklahoma". I think being able to create a storybook out of the ghost stories that surround campus could be such a fun experience. Ghosts and the paranormal may just be my favorite type of lore. I watch Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel every Friday night. I could easily make these stories narrative driven from the point of view of a student or even from the perspective of a psychic medium. For this topic the possibilities seem endless. I also can't help but be excited at the thought of writing scary stories. 

From Asgard to Utgard 

The Norse gods have interested me since I started getting into the Marvel movies. Thor, being one of the Avengers, always intrigued me. After reading this story of his adventure to Utgard I think I could find a new way to retell it. Because he is very well known for appearing in the marvel comics and films, I started to brainstorm how I could tell this tale in the setting of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It would make it entertaining to read as well as establish a connection to help the audience understand more of his background while seeing him in a setting they're used to. 

Hera, Leto and Zeus

After some research on the greek gods and their trysts, I found this story of Leto and Zeus to be quite interesting. Hera is quite the vindictive goddess. While reading I couldn't help but compare it to high school drama. This gave me the thought of turning this story into a high school set drama series. I could keep the characters the same with their powers and all. Just change their eage and place them in a high school for the gods. I could include small nods to other Greek mythology in the narration. Overall, I believe this could be a really fun assignment to take on.    

Week 2 Story: The Basilisk's Return

My portrayal of the Basilisk

    Carrie Inglewood was a fairly courageous student. As could be seen by the colors she wore around her school. She was a Gryffindor, some of the strongest and most daring to walk the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So, it came to no surprise when her friend Angus Capell had asked her to go down into the Chamber of Secrets she happily obliged. What she didn’t know was that Angus had been down there a day before on his own accord. And that this mission was based on his ulterior motives.


    A Slytherin, Angus was able to get into the chamber on his own. He can speak to snakes and was able to get past the Parseltongue door. While in the chamber he stumbled upon a golden chalice. He was mesmerized by the glimmer in the inscription. He lifted it off the ground to read it. Before he could look at the first letter a large Basilisk emerged from the water in the moat that surrounded the chamber. Careful not to look at it in the eye, Angus kept his eyes placed firmly to the ground. The Basilisk bared its teeth and spoke to the boy. It told him for attempting to steal one of its possessions he must do something in return. He must bring him a Gryffindor. And so, he did.


    Carrie and Angus walked back into the chamber. They looked around for a few minutes and the Basilisk emerged as it did the day before. Carrie shut her eyes and stood her ground. While Angus slinked back toward the exit of the chamber. The Basilisk’s menacing voice told Carrie she was now trapped down here. She could not leave and would be his prisoner. She obliged and took the situation or what it was. All the while she was planning escape routes in her head. For the next two days she stayed there, helping the Basilisk shed its scales from time to time. On the third day the Basilisk came to her and asked for a favor. It requested her to cut its head from its neck. She was surprised to hear this and stood confused. She responded telling it that she had nothing to cut it with. And like that a glimmer appeared in the corner of her vision. She looked to see the sword of Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts, appearing on a nearby rock.


    With one hand and one fell swoop she cut the Basilisk’s head from its body. She wiped her brow only to find them furrow at the sight of a new head taking its place. She didn’t let this get the best of her as she took a step back and with both hands this time sliced through the flesh of the beast. This time, instead of another head growing, the beast started to transform in front of her eyes. The final form of the Basilisk had become a girl. A girl wearing the same colors as Carrie. Despite the older look of the uniform Carrie concluded she was in Gryffindor robes. The girl looked at Carrie and gave her a smile. She explained to her that a dark wizard had cast a spell on her 100 years ago and had turned her into the Basilisk. She asked Angus to bring her a Gryffindor because she knew that only a Gryffindor could go through with the tasks she would have asked. Carrie and the Gryffindor girl walked hand in hand out of the chamber. They chatted about the time that had passed and headed straight for the Headmaster’s Office.

Author's Note:

After reading the original story, the image I had of a Basilisk was similar to the one from the second Harry Potter film/book. I found that I could create an adaption of this story using the world of J.K Rowling with my own original characters. I also wanted to change the ending a bit from the two characters marrying to two female characters bonded by their house. 

Bibliography. "The Key of Gold" by Josef Baudis (1922) Source.     

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

 

Pygmalion by Tony Kline (2000)

CHARACTERS

    Pygmalion, The statue and Venus

PLOT

    Pygmalion, a sculptor, has seen the evil and wicked ways of his village's ladies and vows to remain single. Because he is such a wonderful sculptor he created a sculpture of a beautiful woman. Who, at times, one would think was actually a real woman. At the Venus festival, Pygmalion prayed to the gods for a wife like the sculpture he created. The gods, hearing him, granted his wish and upon his arrival home he finds his statue transformed into a real woman. He lives out his life with the statue-turned-girl and ends up marrying her. 

TECHNIQUES

    The author used many high detail images. Especially, when portraying the displays of affection between Pygmalion and his sculpture. The author also uses specific types of imagery for different things. They use more masculine and rough descriptors when talking about the bull at the Venus festival. On the other hand, when talking about the sculpture, the author uses more feminine and dainty imagery to describe her. I like how this helped bring across the duality of ideas throughout the story.  

Pymalion and Galatea

   

Week 2 Reading Overview

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4.

Week 3: Homer's Iliad

Week 4: Cupid and Psyche

Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6.

Week 5: Ancient Egypt 

Week 6: Life of the Buddha

Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.]

Week 7: Brer Rabbit 

Week 9: Japanese Mythology

Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11.

Week 10: British North America 

Week 11: Cherokee

Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13.

Week 12: Celtic Tales

Week 13: Canterbury Tales

Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15.

Week 14: Russian

Week 15: Inferno

Week one I decided to start off with some of my favorite mythology. I've got a soft spot for the Greeks and their stories. I'm also very excited to read about the stories from the Native Americans from British North America. My home state, Virginia, was originally one of the thirteen British colonies so I'm intrigued to see if I read an stories from familiar tribes. The Russian stories also looked great. I am a big fan of the supernatural so ghosts, vampires and witches is right up my alley. It looks like I am going to have a lot of reading to do but it's a good thing I am excited for it!

(Bookshelf)