Reading Notes : Heroes, Part B

This second unit of this reading focused much more on humans and their relationships, especially those between father and son. I noticed that there is a lot of competition between males in Native American stories; many time an older male will try to banish or kill a young up-and-comer. They are often jealous of their youth and very protective of their women and resources. But the young male hero always emerges victorious in the end, much from the help of a female that also wishes the old male to fall. There are often mystical powers involved, including enchanted animals, spirits, witches, and even the earth and skies itself taking part at times. Earthquakes, thunderstorms, giant storms at sea are all fair game.

I was not as engrossed with the writing style as I was with Part A. These stories focues a lot on actions only, and it seemed a bit dry at times. Without as much dialogue it was hard to get attached to a character, since you couldn't tell what his personality was like. Also, there were really weird things that happened that kind of threw me for a loops. A particularly gruesome one was when a witch cut open a pregnant woman, threw her twin boys away, stuck a stick through her body and set her upright so her husband would think she was alive. She also burned the woman's lip so that it looked like she was smiling. How the husband couldn't tell right away she was just a corpse beats me. Also, apparently she can wake up right away when her sons (the ones from the womb) tell her her hair is falling out, so there's that too. Despite some gorey details, this unit, with all of its gruesomeness, was a pleasure to read. I loved all the animal/human interaction from Part A, and I already have some great ideas for storytelling.

Cree Man. Photo by G. Fleming.

Tales of North American Indians. Stith Thompson (1929). Web Source.

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