Reading Notes: African Stories from Lang's Fairy Books, Part A

Hi!

Let me just say that I really enjoyed this unit! One of the things that I have liked the least from other readings is how they aren't very just. The bad guy keeps winning. So, reading these stories and getting to see the bad guy lose at the end of most of them was so refreshing.

I also liked that in the stories about the Jackals some characters overlapped, like the hedge hog and the greyhound. Especially since it gave more meaning to the actions in the later stories by creating a more complex backstory than I have seen in other readings. This isn’t something that is easily recreated in a story for my blog just because there isn’t a guarantee that anyone reading the story has read any of the other stories and putting two plots inside one story would be a lot for a blog post.

For a story this week it would be interesting to see what could be done with the first story about Motikatika. I think that I would probably stick to my general theme of making things less gruesome. So, I could make it about two kids at school evading a bully, or people trying not to get caught by the cops. In those situations, the bully or the cop would be the ogre and the people would be the mom and the baby. The bully would catch hold of a kid and ask for his lunch money and the kid would offer to find someone else to give him lunch money. The cop would arrest someone for a crime, and instead the person offers to turn in someone else but is actually framing them.

I think that both of those stories would be fun to write and could make for interesting reads. I think that the one that I am more knowledgeable about would be the one with the bully, making it easier; however, because of my lack of experience the cop story could be exciting to write. We’ll see when Thursday gets here!

Bibliography

Fairy Books by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1903)

Photo: A Series of Anatomical Plates The Structure of the Different Parts of The Human Body. by Jones Quain, M.D.Published in 1854. PD-1923

Comments

Introduction

Hello! My name is Cat and although this will be a blog about mythology and folklore, today I want to tell you all a little bit about myself and my summer. So, to start off I am a civil engineering student here at the University of Oklahoma. I will be graduating in December, but I will be staying on for another year to complete my master’s degree, also in civil engineering but with a focus on structural engineering. Civil engineering includes the design of buildings, infrastructure, water supply systems, waste water treatment systems, and traffic control systems to name a few. Over this summer I had the opportunity to work as an intern for a civil engineering company and learned a lot from the experience. I learned to design pump stations, outline drainage areas, how to do the runoff calculations for inlets, culverts and drainage ditches, and a bunch of stuff about low impact development, but most importantly I learned that I don’t like doing any of those things....

Famous Last Words: Migraines

Hey there! As you may have guessed already because this is an extra credit post, I fell behind last week. This time partially due to procrastination and partially due to a migraine. It was great. Let me tell you about it. I had been feeling really great all week, getting my work done, not too stressed, and like usual I was planning to do the three weekend assignments on Sunday. Yes, I know I shouldn't wait until the last day to do them. Yes, I know this whole thing could have been avoided by doing them early, but hey, hind sight, spilled milk, you know the drill. Plus, I didn't have any other homework due on Monday, unlike usual, so I thought I would have plenty of time. (Here is where the ominous music should play.) However, that afternoon I started having a migraine attack. This quickly spiraled into me sitting and staring at the wall until it stopped later that night. Sadly, I didn't get much work done, as you can imagine. Luckily I am back on my feet today, alth...

Week 2 Story: The Stone Woman

Author's note: I wrote this story after reading Pygmalion and wanting to develop on the statues story. So this story gives the statue a back story, and rewrites some of the original tale, in the form of my character named Ivory. I hope you enjoy it. In ancient Greece there was a woman named Ivory that had grown up in a village far from any city. Her family farmed the land around their home and raised livestock. When she was older, her father would take her with him on the long journey to the city when it was time to sell their crops at the market. One year at the market, Ivory met the most beautiful man she had ever seen. This man’s name was Deveron, and he was known widely for his charm and beauty. Soon after they met, Deveron and Ivory fell in love and were married. They built a small home on the land Ivory’s family owned and continued to farm the land and live good lives that seemed to be blessed by the gods. They were so happy in their love and in their life th...

Mythology Blog

Search This Blog