Reading Diary A: Grimm (LibriVox)

This week I am reading the Grimm LibriVox story unit.  I decided to read this unit because it sounded like it would have some of the fairy tales that I was familiar with from my childhood.  With graduation in 25 days I'm feeling somewhat nostalgic which is what inspired my choice of story.  The unit revolved heavily around stories that I was familiar with in the first half.  Rapunzel, Princess and the Frog, Sleeping Beauty and other old time stories that we all grow up on.  I thought one thing about the Rapunzel story that was interesting is how I could see tangencies between that story and the recent release of the movie, Into the Woods.  I also thought the Sleeping Beauty story was really interesting because it had all of the same concepts and elements the version I grew up on did but the order and degree to which they were emphasized was somewhat different.  

Into the Woods Movie Poster
From IMBD

Reading Diary B: English Fairy Tales

I have completed the English Fairy Tales reading unit this week.  Interestingly enough I would say that this unit has been my least favorite unit this semester.  That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this unit.  It wasn't necessarily a bad unit or anything like that.  I think this unit is my least favorite just because it was so familiar to me.  Every other unit from this class has been almost completely new to me.  This unit I recognized over half of the stories and rhymes from my childhood.  It was cool to reminisce in the nostalgia of my childhood at certain points but I really have preferred the newer and more foreign story units thus far.

Henny Penny
Image from the Untextbook

Reading Diary A: English Fairy Tales

This week I have elected to read the English Fairy Tales unit.  I decided it would be interesting to read the English fairy tales in contradiction to the Celtic fairy tales from last week.  The story unit I read last week was significantly different than this week in my opinion.  From the way the stories are outlined and told and the kind of language they utilize you can see some cultural difference in the writing.  I think seeing the difference from Celtic to English stories is really interest because it shows how cultural differences can come into play.  The two countries are in close proximity to one another but culturally they still maintain a degree of separation.  Cultural difference in the stories of these two regions is something I set out to witness when I first signed up for this class.  As I read these stories and can compare them side by side I think that taking this class was definitely a good choice.      

Three Little Pigs from English Fairy Tales
Image from Wikipedia 

Reading Diary B: Celtic Fairy Tales

The second half of the Celtic Fairy Tales unit was just as entertaining as the first section was!  There were less chapters, or sections I guess they would be called, but they were still very entertaining.

The story that stood out to me the most was Beth Gellert.  This section was much sadder than the other components of this unit.  About a Prince who has a favorite hunting dog named Gellert.  Gellert misses a hunt one day but when the Prince returns he finds Gellert covered in blood.  His mind wanders to his small child and he fears for the worst.  The babies nursery is bathed in blood with the crib overturned, the Prince assumes the worst and kills Gellert in his rage.  As Gellert died the baby cries out and the Prince discovers a wolf, dead in the room.  Gellert had missed the hunt because he was protecting the baby and had killed the wolf. 

I thought that this story was really well written because it makes the reader relatively involved in a very short amount of storytelling.   

The Baby saved by Gellert
Image from the UnTextbook

Reading Diary A: Celtic Fairy Tales

This week I have selected the Celtic Fairy Tales Unit for my reading selection.  I decided to read this unit based on the unit description.  Also, I have consistently been reading fairy tale selections throughout the course of the semester and comparing the different fairy tales is rather interesting.  Each culture can be observed through the fairy tales and the means by which the stories are told.

The first half of this reading unit was a really fun unit.  There was actually a story that I recognized from elementary school in it.  The Field of Boliauns.  I was read this story in elementary school on St. Patrick’s day a long time ago.  The premise of the story is a young man finds a leprechaun and captures him.  He forces the leprechaun to lead him to his gold.  When they arrive at the location he needs a shovel, so he ties his scarf to the location and goes to fetch the shovel.  However, when e returns he can’t find his scarf and he spends the remainder of his time digging up an entire field hoping to find the gold.

The story about Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree was also a really good story.  The story was the Celtic version of Snow White.  They are basically the same story, but it was cool to see how the different aspects were constructed for this version. 

Leprechaun
Image from Wikipedia

Reading Diary B: Indian Fairy Tales

This morning I finished reading the Indian Fairy Tales unit for Week 10.  So far this class continues to be exactly what I hoped to get out of it.  A new and interesting view at various cultures around the world.  I think that reading all these stories and seeing all the different themes and story telling devices lets us know a lot about the cultural values of the various places.

Something I found really interesting about the native american stories units was that the really personify the elements of nature and the animals.  The stories had a heavy emphasis on man and animals living side by side in tandem.  The emphasis of the symbiotic relationship was a good indication of their outlook on how they value the natural elements and the wild side of nature.

In the second half of the unit I really thought the story about the boy who snared the sun was a good one.  The story was a really unique look on how the mouse became so small even though it seemed like that wasn't the point of the story. The story was particularly playful and refreshing.  

Field Mouse
Image from Pinterest

Reading Diary A: Indian Fairy Tales

Hurray for the week after spring break!  I decided to read the Indian Fairy Tales unit.  My selecting process was fairly random this week.  I usually have luck with my random selections for this class. Which has continued once again in this week with this unit. 

So far I really like this unit.  As opposed to my unit from the previous week where the stories are relatively unconnected and individual, this week my story has a more interconnected collection of stories.  The stories are mainly connected through the scope of a story teller.  Therefore the stories I'm reading are somewhat of a story within a story. 

So far my favorite part of the story has been a section about a man who fought a cold front.  Shin-ge-bis fools the North Wind.  This section of the story was interesting to me because the man believes he can fight off the North wind and he actually succeeds.  I think this story is intriguing because it shows how the native americans used to personify nature and the changing of the seasons.  I think this concept speaks volumes about their culture and outlook on life and nature.  

The North Wind
Image from the UnTextbook 

Reading Diary B: Eskimo Stories

This week I read the Eskimo Stories unit for my first Native American story selection.  The first half of the reading was rather enjoyable, and so was the second half.  The second half was a little bit darker than the first half.  Most of the stories were teaching some kind of lesson.  Many of the stories were about the consequences of a certain behavior.  Stories about lying, killing, and deceitfulness were scattered throughout the second half of this unit making this segment much more cautionary than the first half.

I think the differences in the two halves of the reading are rather interesting.  Stories that are told more pleasure are always enjoyable and entertaining.  However, when you contrast those kinds of stories with lesson stories you can see clear differences.  Stories that are told to convey a moral or a lesson tend to be much more realistic.  I think as an adult the stories that convey lessons are much more enjoyable than I would have found them as a child.  The realistic aspect within a fantasy setting just makes the story seem like something you can connect more with.    

Igloo Village
From Travel Site

Reading Diary A: Eskimo Stories

This week I have selected the Eskimo Stories reading unit for my weekly reading.  I selected this unit because of the unit description.  Out of all of the potential units I thought that this one had a certain sort of unique draw to it that led me to decide to read it.

Thus far, I have really enjoyed this unit.  It is not my favorite unit that I have read for this class so far.  However, it is really unique and quite a nice change of pace to read.  The stories are all unconnected short stories from Eskimo culture.  The themes are somewhat similar throughout the various stories but there is no reoccurring character or plot.  I think this is somewhat refreshing as well.  The last several units I have read have all been longer stories so a nice break is a welcome change.

The stories have all managed to get a very well put together story told in a relatively short amount of time.  My favorite story in this unit so far was about a bear and its foster mother.  In this story an old woman in the village is given a bear cub who she raises as one of the tribe.  The bear lives peacefully among the villagers as their kin.  The bear even comes to hunt with the men and supports their way of life.  The story ends fairly sad because the woman is forced to send the bear away.  Even though the ending was sad I still liked this story best, I’m not too sure why, it just stood out to me.   

Polar Bear Cub
Taken from Blog

Reading Diary B: The Monkey King

Today I finished reading the second part of The Monkey King story unit.  This unit turned out to be a very surprising read, although I am glad I got the opportunity to read it. 

In the second half of the unit Sun Wu Kung, the monkey king, spends a good deal of time in the Heavens.  He originally is brought to the Heavens because he was being too boastful and it was determined by higher powers that he be appointed a charge.  Sun Wu Kung was delegated the task of tending the stables, a job at which he excelled.  However, when he realized he had been given a lowly task he became angry and departed for Earth. 

The story then continues as Sun Wu Kung starts to cause a disturbance in the Heavens.  He imposes upon a peach banquet for the Queen-Mother which is the catalyst for a great commotion.  Sun Wu Kung ends up in an epic battle of shifting with Yang Oerlang  Yang Oerlang is a celestial warrior recommended for the battle by Guan Yin.  Essentially all the heavenly inhabitants are trying to figure out how to defeat and stop Sun Wu Kung and put him in his proper place.  The battle between Sun Wu Kung and Yang Oerlang is incredibly interesting to read as they are battling in multiple shapes and continue shifting throughout the fight sequence. 

The story ends with a culmination of Sun Wu Kung being defeated and trapped beneath the Heavens for many years while he repents on his disturbance.  At the end of his penance he comes to join the ways of Buddhism and is celebrated as a victorious individual. 

Quote from Buddha
Image taken from Quotespick.com

Reading Diary A: The Monkey King

This week for my story unit I have decided to read The Monkey King story unit from the Asia section of stories.  I decided to read this story because of the title of the unit.  I decided to select this week’s unit based on title alone so I didn’t know what the story would be about when I selected it.

As it turns out the Monkey King is a very popular story in Chinese culture.  Sun Wu Kung is the name of the monkey king and his story is well known across all of China.  The story is set up as somewhat of a story of enlightenment and to my knowledge it will evolve into a lesson in Buddhism. 

The first half of this story is very interesting to me because of the real life applications you can draw from the content.  The characters are animals and they are clearly living in a fantasy setting but the lessons and metaphors can be considered in a scope of reality without a doubt.  I think that stories that can incorporate elements of fantasy and reality simultaneously are some of the most successful stories written.  These kind of stories provide entertaining tales for children, but when the children grown up and re-read these tales they can see the lessons they were being taught at a young age.  It takes a legitimate kind of creativity and writing talent to accomplish a story that can have this kind of affect.    

The Monkey King by Yoshitoshi
Image taken from the UnTextBook