Week 2 Reading Overview

I was so excited to see how many different reading topics and options are available on the UnTextbook. I was also suprised that while browsing through each week, there were always a few that I was familiar with or had heard of. I'm most looking forward to week 14, as one of the stories is titled Hans the Hedgehog. One of the readings I did last week was loosely based on Beowulf, and it was so interested that I choose to read the whole thing for week 12. I have done a lot of previous reading about Hindu and Buddhist tales, so I choose to focus more on different topics for weeks 5 and 6. I noticed that while choosing my readings, I was always drawn to those that contained fantasy elements like dragons, magic, goblins, etc., perhaps because I find it so much more interesting when a human hero has to face powers outside his or her own capabilities.

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

Week 3: Ovid's Metamorphoses

Week 4: Saints and Animals

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

Week 5: Tales of a Parrot

Week 6: Twenty-Two Goblins

Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9.

Week 7: Japanese Mythology

Week 9: Lang

Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11.

Week 10: Great Plains

Week 11: Inuit (Eskimo)

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

Week 12: Beowulf

Week 13: Faerie Queene

Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15.

Week 14: Hunt

Week 15: Hans Christian Andersen or Czech

Image Details: Beowulf fighting a dragon; source: A.R. Skelton

I chose this image becuase it provides it contains a realistic Man vs. Evil conflict that is easy to understand, as opposed to more ambiguous or open-ended stories. I am looking forward to learning more about Beowulf, his character, skills, weaknesses, and quest.

Comments

Reading Notes : Hans Christian Andersen, Part B

ANOTHER FAVORITE. The Little Mermaid is such a classic, and the original slaps. I guess I am old and beaten down now, but this version is my new favorite. The Disney version will always have a special place in my heart and be a part of my childhood, but his original version is so poetic. It is definitely more my style; it leaves an impression when the heroine doesn't get to live happily ever after, which is okay too! The world Hans Christian Andersen weaves is glorious . I could feel the mermaid's pain, urgency, and suffocating need to love and be loved. This is a story that will never get old, part of it due to how beautifully it is written. One of my favorite parts is when he describes the five older sisters and the things they experienced going to the surface for the first time. The scenes he paints makes me feel like I am experiencing those beautiful landscapes for the first time, too. Often time mermaids are fantasized, and it was interesting seeing it from the other per...

Introduction to the Mother of Hedgehogs

Hello! First of all, I hope you are having an amazing day so far. If not, please first enjoy this picture of my first hedgehog, Mochi, in a tiny santa hat. Personal Photo: my first hedgehog's first Christmas! It might be an unusual choice of pet, but it is one that I highly recommend for students. I am a senior, graduating in May with a degree in Chemistry&Biochemistry and a minor in Pre-Health Social Sciences. These past four years have been very time consuming, and I wanted a pet that would accomodate my schedule. Enter: hedgehogs. They are solitary, nocturnal, small, don't require a lot of resources or space, perfect! And once I got my first, I became hooked on other exotic animals as well. I hope to one day have a large assorment of interesting critters and reptiles! Aside from loving my hogs, I try to spend my extra time travelling all over the world. Both my parents immigrated from Asia, and we frequently travel back to visit my extended family. I ha...

Reading Notes : Ovid's Metamorphoses Part B

For Part B of Ovid's Metamorphoses , the stories that interested me most were the ones about Narcissus and Pyramus and Thisbe . What attracted me to these in particular was the tragic endings that befell the characters, one out of pure love and one out of vain infatuation. After reading them together, it is hard to not compare the two. In both, I could understand (but not relate) to the intesity of each person's emotions, which ultimately caused everyone's untimely death. Both stories were not afraid to use the extreme end of the dramatic spectrum to describe the depth of feelings. I like this technique; there is no wishy-washiness and the reader is very clear at where each character stands. Part of this is because the characters take out their emotions on their own bodies, and the consequence is clear. When Narcissus cannot embrace his own appearance, he beats his own chest and bruises his marble-like body. Pyramus, after finding Thisbe's bloody scarf, stabs him...

Mythology and Folklore

Search This Blog