Avani's Blog

(Gold Lit Lot Pexels ) These reading notes will be discussing Part B of the Native American Marriage Tales. Compared to Part A's reading, I loved Part B's reading more! All the stories were different from anything else I have read and were engaging as well. The one I loved the most was The True Bride because I kept wanting to read more. In addition, this was the longest story in the entire unit, and I will be doing my notes over this story. I may have missed a few details or misunderstood some things, but these are my thoughts regarding the story. First of all, why was the stepmother always angry and dissatisfied with her stepdaughter? Did the stepdaughter do something to upset the stepmother? Was there a specific event that caused their relationship? This leads to another question. Did the stepmother hate her stepdaughter from the beginning or did some event cause a change in heart. I was also amused by the sisters' abilities. The stepdaughter could spit gold, w...

(Female Fox Flickr ) Hello everyone! I read the Native American Marriage Tales this week and enjoyed the stories. At times, I was confused by the writing and the plot when there was a transition or a shift in the story. Compared to my other readings, these stories are much longer in length. For this reason, the stories had great amounts of detail and many twist and turns. Some of the endings were unexpected also. I will be discussing the Fox Women story in Part A's reading notes. This story was the shortest one in Part A and that is one of the reasons it stood out to me. The story was quick and direct without abruptly ending the story. The ending was quite surprising. It explained a natural phenomenon: why foxes and humans are not compatible with each other. Once again, I had a few thoughts about the story. Why was the Fox Women attracted to this hunter in particular? Why did she help him? Did she need something from him or was she just happy to help?  Since the story ...

(Obstacle Course Flickr ) Back again for Part Two of Native American Hero Tales. Compared to Part A's reading, I enjoyed Part B more partly because it was easier for me to digest and understand. They were also fun and different than the other readings! From the readings in Part B, I loved reading The Son-In-Law story. The troubles that the son-in-law had to go through reminded me of an obstacle course. As you can see, I included a image of a Zip line Obstacle Course to reflect this. Imagining myself going through these tasks for someone I loved seems tiring already. I guess it's the lengths we go to for love? Once again, I had some questions. I wonder why Wemicus turned into a pike and not some other sea creature. What is the significance of turning into a pike? Most importantly, how did he turn into a pike? I am just imagining a human falling into the lake and turning into a fish. In addition, why does Wemicus test and ultimately kill his daughter's husband? Do...

( Yupik mother and child ) From the Native American Unit, I chose the Hero Tales reading! In Part A's reading, there were some stories that were hard to understand. After researching a few things online, I was able to interpret what the author was saying. I loved the Jealous Uncle story the most from this section. I thought it would be difficult to process since it was three pages long, but it wasn't! The story was suspenseful and had an unexpected ending!  There were  questions that I had when reading the story. For example, why did they name the uncle "Unnatural Uncle" instead of giving him an actual name. Also, the reading did not specify why he was jealous of his nephews. It mentioned he killed them, but why was this the case? Was it because he did not have any sons? Furthermore, why was he against killing girls, but in favor of killing boys? Also, why was the Unnatural Uncle targeting this family only? More information regarding the Unnatural Uncle c...

(The Stonecutter  Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook ) Hi everyone! All the stories from this reading were amazing, and it was hard to pick one. If I picked all of them, we would be here all day! I will be focusing on the Stonecutter by Andrew Lang. This story reminded me of the Man in the Moon story. I am not sure what the story's name was, but the stories had many similarities regardless. For example, both of the main characters wished to have a different life, and a spiritual voice answered their wishes. Although this is the case, the Man in the Moon's character became the moon because he was never satisfied and was constantly complaining. In the Stonecutter, however, the main character returned to his original being after becoming many things. Even though he complained many times, the voice/spiritual being was ready to help him become a different form every time.  It made me wonder why the voice was willing to help even when the main character was ungrat...

(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 f...

( Twin Dragons, Luck ) Hello everyone! Today, I will be focusing on Chinese Fairy Tales, Part A. When I was reading these fairy tales, they were different compared to Indian fairy tales. It seemed like the plot in the Chinese fairy tales was rather surprising, unexpected, and full of twists and turns. They were not regular scenarios, and the lessons were not stated directly in the reading. The readers had to formulate their own interpretation of the reading. Of the Part A readings, I loved the Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck and The Cave of the Beasts.  In the Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck, the lesson of the story is remain loyal to your loved ones. Although this is case, do not expect to share their luck and fortune. Everyone has their path, and each person should work hard towards their own goal. The reading had much dialogue between the princess and the beggar. I wondered what was going on in the beggar's mind. It would be interesting t...

  ( Liaodi Pagoda ) In Part 2 Reading Notes, I will be focusing on two further stories that I found interesting! The first reading is The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away. This story reminded me of Rapunzel's story. Both the maiden from the Chinese fairy tale and Rapunzel were trapped on the top of a high tower and could not get down. Although this is the case, both ladies were trapped there for different reasons. The maiden was carried off by a cyclone, which dropped her off on top of a pagoda. For Rapunzel, a witch trapped her in order to keep Rapunzel to her herself. If these two stories were combined, I wonder what parallels they would have. The maiden and Rapunzel can even be in the same story and have one general theme. The truth will always come out no matter how long it takes. ( Yang Gui Fe ) The second story that stood out to me was Yang Gui! Comparing this story to other stories that I have read, this was certainty something charming and different. The ending ...

( Pride Goeth Before a Fall illustrated by Joseph Jacobs) Hello everyone! In this week's notes, I will be discussing two stories that I loved. The first one is the Pride Goeth Before a Fall. It was a humorous and clever story. Although the tone of the story was mysterious and dark, it had a light humorous tone. I realized that I have never done writing with this type of tone before. Most of the stories that I have read or retold have had a direct and mysterious tone, so I hope to explore a humorous tone if I retell this story. Even the illustration for this story has a light feeling. It would be interesting to see if the story became even more light and clever to showcase the trader s' wit. Or I could switch the roles. What if the robbers became the witty ones and the traders were uneducated. Since traders are known for their skill and knowledge, it would be interesting to see uneducated traders.  ( How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner illustrated by Jose...

( The Broken Pot  by John D. Batten)  Hello everyone! My readings notes for Part A will discuss The Broken Pot from the source Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. When I first saw the illustration, it intrigued me. I wondered what the story would be about. All I saw was a broken pot pouring an unknown liquid on a man. This story was quick and simple without being abrupt. The sentences were not as descriptive as the previous stories that I did notes over. It also briefly focused on the setting and main character. However, the internal dialogue that the author had showcased the character's thoughts and personality. The internal dialogue was about the future and the main character's hopes and dreams. In reality, the main character was only laying on the couch. When the character got ahead of himself, reality happened. His plans for his rice pot was ruined. This goes to show that one must not become overconfident and things do not always happen in the order they are supposed...

(Wedding of Rama and Sita  Flickr ) I finished reading the Ramayana, and it was amazing! I learned why things are the way they are in Hinduism. I loved getting to know more about Rama and Sita. For the second reading notes this week, I will be focusing on a specific page from the Ramayana: Sita in the Asoka Grove. Hanuman is one of my favorite characters as he is a monkey! He was also a giant in this story! Just imagining a giant monkey walking through the OU campus already seems fascinating.  The page Sita in the Asoka Grove is a great story to have action and detail! The original story already has a good amount of detail, but I wish to explore Hanuman's thoughts and feelings. The story could even be told in his perspective instead of a third person point of view. If it told in a third person point of view, more dialogue would be added in. For example, the interactions between Hanuman and Sita were barely discussed. It was brief. The dialogue would showcase t...

[Rama (left) in Forest with wife Sita (center) and brother Lakshmana (right) Wikimedia Commons ] This week I read the Ramayana! Before I read this retelling of the Ramayana, I only knew the basic details. After reading this though, I finally understood why things were the way they were. The one thing that was difficult for me was keeping track of all the characters. I would have to go back to a previous story and see what the relationship was between Rama and that said character was. But there was great amounts of details! From the setting to the character's feelings, everything was described to its fullest. If I were to recreate one of the stories from the Ramayana, I would love to focus on one character. Most of the stories had at least five characters at a time. So it would be interesting to see how the story would flow if only some of the characters were included. On the storytelling strategies page, character nicknames/adjectives are discussed. I think this would a ...

(The Mice and The Weasels by Milo Winter Flickr ) I am now finished with the Aesop's fables! I loved every story so much! Now that I am older, I do not have the time to just sit down and read fables. I did not think I would love it so much! This time, I will be focusing on the story The Mouse and The Weasel. Like I mentioned in the reading notes for Part A, the story is on the short side. Last week, I read Cupid and Psyche, and the stories there were longer in length and full of detail and dialogue. There is a great difference between the two stories. I guess that is the point. Shorter stories allow the readers to easily understand the moral of the story without getting into the specifics. When I finished reading the story, I wondered why the weasel did not help the mouse. What were the weasel's thoughts and his reasoning for not helping the weasel? Was the weasel being greedy as well? It is interesting to note that the author of the story did not include this part...

(The Travelers and the Purse by Milo Winter UN-Textbook ) Hello everyone! For this week's reading, I choose to read the Aesop for Children that was illustrated by Milo Winter. Most of the readings that I picked for the remaining weeks are also fables and fairy tales. So, these fables were a great start to what is to come! In Reading A, there were many stories that I loved! All of them had great themes, and I took away some valuable life lessons. One of my favorite stories was the Travelers and the Purse. I might retell this one for this week! For this reason, I will be exploring some strategies that might help me retell it. One thing that I wish to change is the start of the story. Instead of a traveler finding the purse on the ground, I want to make their journey longer. For example, the travelers might work together to achieve a goal, but one traveler takes all the credit. Or the whole narrative could be reversed. The traveler who found the purse/achieved the goal sh...

(Sculpture of Venus and Cupid Wikimedia Commons ) Continuing on from the previous post, these reading notes are regarding the story of Cupid and Psyche. This time the focus will be on characters and the ending. Psyche is one of the main characters from the old women's story. Psyche is obedient, loyal, curious, and a dedicated character. However, her curiosity can also be her weakness. Using her strength as her weakness is a great idea for adding more depth into a character. If I were to re-image Psyche, I would make Psyche empowering. Based on what I read, Psyche is a bit timid. She does not stand up for herself nor fight back. When Venus was constantly giving Psyche impossible tasks, Psyche quietly accepted the challenges. She did not argue with Venus, but was ready to try her best. When Psyche received her last task from Venus, Psyche considered ending her life. If Psyche had confronted Venus, that thought might have not crossed her mind. If she was more confident in h...

[Cupid and Psyche (1639-40) by Anthony van Dyck  Sleeping Psyche is found by Cupid Wikipedia ] This week I read the story of Cupid and Psyche! I was interested in reading Cupid and Psyche, because I wanted to learn about both characters' origins and background. I knew the basics - Cupid has an arrow that immediately causes someone to fall in love and that Psyche was an extremely beautiful girl . In today's reading notes, I will be focusing on the strategies of point of view and setting. Starting with the section Her Dream , point of view becomes extremely important. A girl is kidnapped and an old woman attempts to ease her worries. To do so, the old woman tells her the story of Cupid and Psyche. In order to change the point of view, the author first familiarizes the audience with the actual characters of the story - the robbers, a girl, and an old woman. Then in the next chapters, the audience becomes the kidnapped girl, and the speaker becomes the old woman. T...

The story that grabbed my attention was the Beauty and the Basilisk fairy tale. I heard about this fairy tale when I was really young, but I forgot how the story went. Reading the story may years later, I realized why I loved it. It was a great twist of The Beauty and the Beast. From this story, I learned a few things. The language and writing style of this story was easy to read and illustrative. I noticed that the author did not use complex language to tell the story, instead the author used descriptive language to make the story vivid and engaging. The length of this story was perfect for me. It was not too short or too long. The story provided a perfect amount of brevity, while giving ample information. For example, when introducing the characters of the story, he was brief regardless of when the character was introduced into the story. I personally struggle with writing unnecessary information. So, I am constantly revising and editing. Through the dialogue itself, the author was...

Here is my tentative plan for the semester! Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 3: Ancient Rome - Cupid and Psyche Week 4: Later Legends - Women Saints Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6. Week 5: Buddhism and Hinduism - Ramayana Week 6: Indian Folktales and Fairy Tales Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.] Week 7: China Folktales Week 9: Japanese Fairy Tales - Lang Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11. Week 10: Apache Tribe Week 11: Sioux Tribe Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13. Week 12: Nursery Rhymes Week 13: English Fairy Tales Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15. Week 14: Brothers Grimm - Librivox Week 15: Italian Fairy Tales Once I began exploring the readings, I realized that I interested in fairy tales and short stories. Learning about what stories children all over the w...