Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang), Part B


(The Crab and the Monkey
Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook)

In Part B's of Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang), this was my favorite of the readings. The crab and the monkey's relationship reminded me of Tom and Jerry's relationship. The end, however, it took a different turn. The monkey completely betrayed the crab by taking all the good fruit and almost killing her. When I read that, I was surprised by the turn of events. There are some changes I could make if I retell the story, such as the perspective, the ending, and their relationship.

It made me wonder, why the monkey behaved the way he did. Everyone has their own reasons for acting they way they do. Was he struggling at making amends? Did a certain event cause him to act the way he does? It would be intriguing to see the story from his point of view. Since the story was in crab's point of view, I could make the entire story in the monkey's point of view.

I also wonder why the monkey came down to ask for pardon. Was he genuinely sorry or was he just doing it to take more fruit later on? More background about the monkey and his reasoning would be a nice addition to the story. I would also like the explore the ending, but still end the story on a positive note. What if the crab forgave the monkey after hearing his story? From there, the crab and monkey could become best friends and can live a life together. Dialogue would help showcase a change in their relationship. Dialogue would depict their characters and their personality. Are the characters capable of evolving or are the characters stagnant?

Hopefully, if I decide the retell this story, these following changes can help develop the characters and showcase their evolving relationship, which can help alter the ending.





Bibliography:
The Crab and the Monkey by Andrew Lang

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