Mythology and Folklore

This week I watched two TED talks over the stories and storytelling. This included The Dangers of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Imaginary Friends and Real-World Consequences by OU professor Jennifer Barnes. These videos were very different but I enjoyed them so much! Adichie opened her talk by revealing more about her Nigerian background and how American and British literature had impacted her book-loving childhood deeply. She only had this single story/image from the books she read, so all the stories she wrote involved blonde hair, blue eyed children eating apples and talking about the weather. When she came to America, she was shocked that people had such skewed beliefs about Nigeria. She said something that really stuck with me: stereotypes aren't necessarily untrue, they just don't tell the whole story. I have been thinking a lot about this lately. A popular group on facebook popped up a few months ago called Subtle Asian Traits, and honestly I think eve...

I really enjoyed Part B of this reading as well! What I noticed a lot was that the author often used specific objects to describe things instead of just adjectives. For example, "legs were like tree trunks" and "eyes the color of milk". The use if similes and metaphors were very effective in decribing the vividness of the setting and characters, especially the monsters. It also strikes a lot of imagery in the mind (well, at least my mind) of the reader and brought the whole story to life. The creative effects also made the story, which is a bit longer than most, very engaging to read. Also, the author used many stylistic elements in the text. Repetition, alliteration, and parallel sentences brough fight scenes to life and animated the plot. There was often a flare for the dramatic as well, which was refreshing to read, especially in scenes of conflict. The characters are brought out larger than life, and their actions reflect that. The narrative style of this is...

I have been looking forward to reading The Story  of Beowulf for a long time, since reading someone's storybook project about it at the beginning of the semester. It seemed like a wonderfully epic hero tale, full of knights, fighting, dragons, quests, everything I love! Being a fan of fantasy, this reading had all the components to keep me dutifully intruiged. One thing that particularly suprised me in this reading was how smoothly it read. The transitions between scenes, settings, characters, and dialogue was almost movie-like in nature. I felt like I could imagine the whole scene playing out before me. One great things that adds to this is the author's attention to detail. He truly paints a picture for every setting, devoting enough time to change the mood and immerse the reader. But it doesn't seem forced or out of place at all; it is like all the elements in nature are combining to make that one moment in time special for both Beowulf and the reader. Another thing I r...