Project Topics Brainstorming

Topic: The Voyages of Sinbad
Comments: I was really excited when I saw this unit. The stories of Sinbad were ones that I had always wanted to read but was never able to. I knew when I saw this unit I would have to read it at some point for this class and so I thought it might also make a great topic for my project as well.
Possible Stories: 
Sample Story Comments: I liked the story of Sinbad's 5th voyage. I liked this one because Sinbad has to figure out a clever way to escape from the old man who has enslaved him. I like stories in which people have to come up with clever plans and trickery to get out of situations.
Bibliography:
Sample Story: The Fifth Voyage
Book: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments
Book Author: Andrew Lang
Book Illustrator: H. J. Ford
Year: 1898

(Illustration by H. J. Ford)

Topic: Persian Fairy Tales

Comments: This idea was something very new to me. Persian fairy tales were not something I had put much thought into before but this class has gotten me interested in looking at all kinds of new stories and tales from all kinds of different cultures. I would love to do something new which I came in knowing nothing about.

Possible Stories: 

Sample Story comments: I liked the story of the Wolf-Aunt. So many times we see werewolf legends about men and I have seen many stories where it says female werewolves don't exist. So it was really interesting to read a tale about a female werewolf. 

Bibliography: 

The Wolf-Aunt from Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer, illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919).

Topic: Egyptian Myths

Comments: Egyptian mythology is something I have become interested in and having been looking into within the past year so I think doing a project on it could be a great opportunity for learning. 

Possible Stories: 

Sample Story Comments: This story was one that I was actually already aware of. I knew the story but I had never actually read the full story in it's entirety so I enjoyed doing that. 

Bibliography:  The Secret Name of Ra from Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).

Topic: Cherokee Legends
Comments: As someone who is Cherokee I would love to be able to do a project that I could connect back to my own heritage.
Possible Stories: 
Sample Story Comments: This story was very interesting to read. Creation stories are always really neat because you get to read another view on how our world came to be.
Bibliography: How The World Was Made from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

Essay: Roman Gods and Greek Stories

The reading unit I chose for this week was Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 1-4). Overall I really enjoyed this reading unit. The information about the story at the top of the pages was really helpful. In these stories the gods are called by their Roman names but since their Greek names are more widely known I thought it was helpful that the Greek names were always listed in parentheses next to the Roman names.

For the most part my favorite stories came in the second half of this reading unit. In the first half I liked the story of Callisto. I liked this story because the ending was different and wasn't necessarily bad or sad like many of the others. I also really liked the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha. For me this was a new story that I hadn't heard of before and it's always fun to read something new. In the second half of the unit I liked the stories of Narcissus, Mars and Venus, and Perseus and Medusa. I liked the story of Narcissus because for once someone actually got what they deserved. I liked Mars and Venus because in this story we got to see more of the gods interactions with each other that weren't Jupiter impregnating a girl and Juno cursing her. I liked the story of Perseus and Medusa because it's one of the ones I had read before and remembered. It was always one of the stories I liked from Greek mythology and so it was fun to read it again.

Overall I think this unit met my expectations. There were some stories I already knew and there were some new ones that I was able to read for the first time. With this unit I feel like I was able to meet some of my goals in reading more stories with some Roman aspects.

(Athena's aegis from the story of Perseus and Medusa)

Storytelling Week 2: Narcissus the Drama Major

In the world of theater no university was more respected than the University of Dramatics. The students from this university were consistently recognized as the best at what they do. So it was only natural for Narcissus to select this as the school he would attend. Narcissus was widely known for his seemingly prodigious acting talents. There seemed to be no limits to the kinds of roles he could take on. His mountain of talent was matched only by the mountainous size of his ego. Students flocked around him, hoping to be brought into his inner circle. Narcissus however was not so keen to let anyone in. On a regular basis he would smile and draw them closer but within a very short amount of time he would send them away again. He publicly disgraced them in front of the school. In doing so however he forgot one very simple fact. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

One such scorned woman appealed to the playwright, Nemesis, known by her pen name Rhamnusia, who was in charge of the school’s next production. Nemesis heard the girl’s complaints and decided that is was time for Narcissus to learn his own lesson. She wrote a play for him and him alone. There were no large stage props for the background and no other characters for him to interact with. The stage would be occupied by only a single large mirror into which Narcissus would stare for the entirety of the play.

Narcissus was overjoyed at the thought of showcasing a new side to his acting. Surely now he could showcase the true extent of his genius. He practiced his gazes every time he came across a mirror. Staring into his own reflection and reaching towards it, as if he could simply reach beyond the thin plane of glass and grasp his own hand. It was the night before the play was set to open and Narcissus was going on stage for the final rehearsal. However there was something wrong. The mirror on the stage was broken, shattered into jagged pieces. When he attempted to look at it his reflection was distorted and broken.

“What, what, what happened,” he stammered.

“Oh, guess they forgot to tell you, since the main prop was broken they decided it would be too much trouble to get a new one so the whole production got cancelled,” said a stage hand from behind him.

“Cancelled! How can this be?”

The stage hand shrugged. “Sorry dude.”

Narcissus grabbed at his chest as he began to hyperventilate. “This can’t be. My chance has been stolen from me! This was supposed to be my moment, my chance for my genius to shine through! And now I have been robbed of it!” He backed up towards the edge of the stage. The color drained from his face. His body twisted into a dramatic arch he fell backwards to the ground. There he curled into a ball and wept in mourning over his lost chance. 

(Image found online from a photo website)

Author Note: This story was taken from the story of Narcissus. I wrote my story this way because in the original story there are very few spoken lines and most of it is just narrative. I changed the story by making the setting a modern university specialized in theater. I also changed some of the details, in the original Narcissus was known for his appearance and not his acting ability. Also in the original story when he gazed into a reflecting pool he fell in love with himself and was distraught when his reflection was disrupted. It ended with him turning into a flower. 

Bibliography: "Narcissus" from Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000)

Reading Diary B - Greek Myths: Ovid I

Here are the stories I liked the most from the second part of Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 1-4).

Mars and Venus: This story was really short but also really funny. The gods didn't just mess around with mortals but also messed around with each other. In this case when Vulcan learns his wife Venus was having an affair with Mars he creates a trap for them. He ensnares them in a net and then brings in all the other gods to view them in their entanglement. One of my favorite lines is, "and one of the gods, undismayed, prayed that he might be shamed like that." This story was a fun departure from the usual stories of gods interfering with mortals.

(Illustration by Virgil Solis)

Perseus and Medusa: This is where Perseus tells his stories of his adventures and his battle against Medusa. I really liked the language of this story. The way some things were phrased was amusing to me. Lines such as, "He told of his long journeys, of dangers that were not imaginary ones," or when responding to a question he says "Since what you ask is worth the telling, hear the answer to your question". It could be the fact that I read this really late at night but even so reading this story brought a smile to my face. 

Reading Diary A - Greek Myths: Ovid I

Here are the stories I liked the most from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 1-4).

Phaethon's Ride. This story has to do with Phaethon's ride on his father's chariot and his inability to control it as it begins scorching the earth. My favorite part is at the end section where the earth is complaining to Jupiter. This just seemed really funny to me because essentially she's telling Jupiter that if he won't stop the fires for her or his brother Neptune in the sea then he should at least do it for common sense because his own palace is in danger of falling. I just had an image of how this would play out in my mind while reading and I found it funny.

(Painting by Gustave Moreau)

Callisto: Wow, what a shocker, once again something ridiculous happens all because Jupiter can't keep it in his pants. This one actually didn't have all that sad of an ending. Callisto really  had to go through a lot of troublesome experiences. She even got turned into a bear and was nearly killed by her son. But in the end this was prevented and both she and her son were turned into some lovely constellations. She did however receive a better fate than some of the others like Phaethon or Semele who both died. I think that's why I liked this story, because even though it wasn't really a happy ending it was still different and not just ending with a death.