Reading Notes Part A: American Indian Fairy Tales

As with the part B reading, I notice here that they give emotions and personifications to seasons. How fun would it be to write a story where summer and winter interact? It gives a meaning behind why there are seasons and why they change. I could take that idea and write a whole new story from it, just taking the idea of seasons having emotions and being real entities. I enjoy this idea a lot.

I could even tie in some ideas from the readings in part B to the readings here. For example, maybe someone curses at summer for being so hot, and then summer goes away leaving only the freezing cold. Now people learn to appreciate summer and the warmth that it brings. I could write a story about how life would be without summer, or winter, any season really.

I also really like the idea of the storyteller here. He basically tells the children different stories that show why something is the way it is. For example, he tells a story called The Boy and Girl in the Clouds where he explains why a certain tall hill exists. Using this idea, I could choose some kind of landmark we know well here in Oklahoma or even in America, and explain with a neat fictional story why it exists or how it got there. That would be very fun and I would have a lot of freedom to write my own story while still taking ideas that I got from these stories.

The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds

American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned

Reading Notes Part B: American Indian Fairy Tales

It seems like anytime there is a new reading, I always enjoy the fairy tales the most. Fairy tales of different cultures are so interesting to me and so fun to read. It's nice to see other ways of telling fairy tales and how they are enjoyable for all people no matter what culture.

As soon as I started reading "The Boy Who Snared the Sun" I immediately got a feel of how valued nature is to Native Americans. That is something that I probably wouldn't want to change in my retelling. In fact, as the story begins I can think of a few ways that I could even enhance that moral rather than take it away. I think that would make for a good story.

In the story, the sun shrinks his coat made of birds and he is angry at the sun. The next day the sun doesn't rise and he realizes life is hard without the sun. I could make this into modern day, change the characters but keep the same moral and story. It would be cool to do for Halloween time, with the sun not coming up and people realizing they really need it,

I noticed the other story is also about weather and seasons. It's interesting how important the elements are to Native Americans and how everything has an emotion. It would be fun to write a totally new story in which the seasons have emotions and are almost like real people. There would be a lot of freedom there, because you could give life to anything, even animals. That would be something fun to write.

From How the Summer Came

American Indian Fairy Tales  by W.T. Larned 

Reading Part B: Chinese Fairy Book

These reading notes are from the Chinese Fairy Book by Wilhelm. I really enjoyed part A and I think there are a couple of stories that are good contenders for my storytelling. Part B was also very enjoyable, however. My favorite stories were the two involving the ogres, and all of the other stories were good as well. I will use one of these stories or one from my last post for my storytelling.

I thought that The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away was a very interesting story that, again, had an ending that I didn't really agree with. It seemed like a Shrek kind of story, and I think that combining this story with that movie would be very fun. Perhaps the ogre was a nice guy and it all was out of context.

The Flying Ogre is also an interesting story. I feel that it is very short and has potential to be elaborated on. Where did the ogre come from? Was she really bad? What had she done to other places? Could she be redeemed? I think that there are a lot of unanswered questions here. Making a love story out of her and someone else might be fun as well. Again, I see Shrek here, with people hunting her but maybe she is just misunderstood.

Ogre

Reading Part A: Chinese Fairy Book

This week I chose readings from the Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm. A few of these readings looked familiar to me as I glanced over them, and I think they might have been included in some practice exercises we have done over the semester. There are many stories and ways to go with this reading and I feel like I have more freedom than with my last reading. My last reading I felt slightly restricted. I like collections of stories more than one long story because I can choose what I like best and go from there.

The first story that interested me was The Cave of the Beasts. It is a strange little story of a father who at first wants to send his daughters out to their deaths, then wants them back, and the family becomes happy and wealthy in the end. This doesn't seem how this story should end. The father should definitely be punished for his actions, so I think there are some things I can change here.

I also liked Why the Dog and the Cat are Enemies. This is a story that I read as a practice for this class earlier, so I already knew I would like it. It is a fun way of telling why dogs and cats hate each other, and I think telling this story in my own way would be fun and interesting, and also gives me a lot of freedom.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

I also really liked the King of the Ants. I think there is a lot of really fun ways I could do this, and the title reminds me of some animated movies I've seen like A Bug's Life. 

Reading Notes Part B: The Monkey King

Another element I get from this story could be a moral of the consequences of wanting too much power. Elements of this story could be changed to change the moral into something different, for example, it could be a story about the downside to immortality. He is afraid of death, so he strives to become immortal. Once he does, maybe it is not all he thought it would be and he regrets his decision.

Another moral we could get from this is the consequences of stealing and hurting others to get what you want. He could try to get immortality, but be punished for stealing things from others along the way, and never end up getting the thing he was after.

Something I still want to go back to is the Planet of the Apes combo. As the story ends, you see that he has gotten a lot of power. Even though the apes do take over in the original film, it could be changed so that these apes gain power and almost take over, but are unable to. I think that I would want to eliminate the Heavenly aspect to this story and change it to something science fiction like. It might be nice to have it be more realistic, I could even change it to take place in present day.

Another change I could make is to erase the monkey component entirely. It could become realistic to the point that is follows a main who is after immortality and traces the consequences along the way.

The Monkey King

The Monkey King from Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book

Reading Notes Part A: The Monkey King

The first thing that came to mind as I began this story was Planet of the Apes.  I can just see how this could go in this direction, with an intelligent ape hatching from an egg and then collecting all the other apes and monkeys in the world to take over the humans. That would be something different to do and a new direction to take the story, with a combination with Planet of the Apes.

I feel like I would want to do another combo story here like I did with the Wizard of Oz and Ramayana, but that story also had to do with monkeys. I'm not sure why I keep choosing monkey/ape stories but I still think a combo would be cool to do with this story.

Another thing I think of here is the story of evolution. The ape tries to blend like a human and even gets his name. I can see how this story could be tied in to evolution although I'm not sure how to do that yet. It might be an interesting idea, though.

Monkey fights with demon

Again, as I see that the monkey king is traveling and fighting demons to get there weapons, I think of Planet of the Apes. It just seems obvious that this could be made into a story where monkeys take over the world. I think that might be the direction I head in as I think about what I want to do for my retelling of this story,

The Monkey King from Wihelm's Chinese Fairy Book

Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins Part B

As this story goes on and comes to an end, we find that the goblin was not so evil after all and that it was the monk that was an evil doer. Since this is not the ending I was expecting, it did give me a few ideas on how to change it.

One change that I thought of for this story would be that the king is too proud to give a wrong answer. He knows all of the answers to all of the riddles, but he refuses to answer incorrectly even though he has to to get the goblin to leave the body. It could now be a story about learning to give up your pride in order to do the right thing, and the monk could instead have been teaching the king a valuable lesson rather than using him.

Another way to retell this story would be to have it be some kind of game show. This story is told in such a way that it would be easy to make into a game show of some kind, involving the king, the goblin, and the monk. It would be a comedic approach to this story.

One thing that I feel like the story didn't really go that much into was the corpse. Like I said before about turning the story into one about pride, it could be that the corpse is a prisoner of some kind that must be rescued and the only way to free him is through answering all of the riddles correctly. Perhaps the king needs help with this task and it turns into an adventure type of story.

Goblin and King

Twenty-Two Goblins  Arthur Ryder's translation of the Sanskrit Vetālapañcaviṃśati 

Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins Part A

The story begins with a monk asking a kind to do him a favor and get a dead body that is hanging from a tree. Had the king been cruel and not done this, the monk may have had to do it himself, or find someone else to do it for him. This is one small change that could alter some parts of the story.

As the story carries on, the king is told riddles. If he answers correctly, the goblin escapes and goes back to the tree, if he knows the answer but lies about it, his head will explode, but if he doesn't know the answer, the king will carry on walking with the goblin. The king keeps getting the right answer because he is wise, so he must keep going back to get the goblin.

One thing that could be altered here is the rules. Perhaps the king must get the answer right to continue going, and if he does not know the answer, the goblin goes back to the tree. It would probably change the moral of the story, instead forcing a dumb king to be wise rather than the other way around.

Another thing about this story that I found interesting was the title- it is called "Twenty-Two Goblins". Before reading, I thought that it would be some kind of battle between twenty two goblins rather than twenty two battles with one goblin. I could write a story that I inferred from the title rather than how the actual story goes. Perhaps he has to get through twenty two goblins and their riddles before he is allowed to take a dead man, or a prisoner, home.

the goblin in a tree

Twenty-Two Goblins Arthur Ryder's translation of the Sanskrit Vetālapañcaviṃśati

Reading Notes Part B: Ramayana

As soon as I began to read part B of Ramayana, I immediately thought of the idea that Rama and Sita actually enjoy their time being exiled. Perhaps they make friends where they are, don't encounter demons, or get sent to a place that they are able to make into their own kingdom. They do not want to return to a place where a woman plotted against them. Or, perhaps they don't make a kingdom at all but instead they live in a small house with just the two of them and raise a family, leaving royal and rich life behind.

Another idea that comes to mind here is that this could be turned into a tale of Sita instead of Rama, a more pro-feminine approach. Rama could be captured and Sita has to rescue him, or Rama could die and Sita has to overcome her death even though in the story she says that she cannot live without him.

It would also be interesting if Sita accepted Ravana's love and betrayed her lover Rama. This could become some kind of demon love affair similar to Hades and Persephone or something of that nature. Or she could truly fall for him. It would be an interesting twist to this story.

It is worth noting that Rama receives a lot of help in getting Sita. Had he received no help the story would have an interesting direction.

Rama battles Ravana

The ending of this story is something that I will definitely be changing. Whether it is happy or sad I don't know yet, but I feel that Sita should get a better ending than that.I may even give Rama a bad ending rather than Sita. I could also turn this story into something funny and less serious. It would be difficult but I think it would be fun. 

Ramayana from Mackenzie's Indian Myth and Legend 

Reading Notes Part A: Ramayana

The first thing to note in this story is the relationship between Rama and Sita. Not only were they chosen for each other through Rama's great deeds and strength, but they also were very happy together. It would be interesting to make Rama a weak coward or to make Sita bored or unimpressed by him in an "Aladdin" type of feel. This could change many events throughout the story, or maybe the two could come together for different reasons.

I like the idea of Rama and Sita meeting each other for different reasons than what the story tells. Perhaps they marry in spite of their parents wishes and have to sneak around. One of them could be poor while the other is rich yet they still fall in love.

The couple are so friendly and loving with each other that it would be interesting if they were not. They could hate each other and despise the relationship there parents had arranged for them, both wanting to be with other people.

Rama and Sita

Another critical moment to note is Rama's fathers vow that had him sent into exile. Many things could be changed here to send the story in a completely different direction. Rama's father could have died to prevent exile or the woman could have not wanted his exile in the first place. 

Suddenly while reading Rama and Sita talking about his exile, I thought of Romeo and Juliet. This somehow seems like it could go in a very tragic direction. If Sita was not allowed to go with Rama, would she kill herself out of sorrow?

Ramayana as found in Mackenzie's Indian Myth and Legend 

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve Part B

The first thing to note in this Part B of Adam and Eve is that God takes pity on Adam and Eve when they fall outside of the garden. Had he not taken pity on them, things would have turned out much different for them.

Another interesting note would be if Eve did not feel sorry for what she did, or maybe Adam either. She could even have blamed Adam or not tried to save Adam and take the blame herself. Perhaps it could cause negative affects for her and Adam rather than the mercy that God showed. This could even take a total different turn where Adam and Eve join with Satan to make him even more powerful. This would be a very dark interpretation.

Garden of Eden

Another key part of Adam and Eve is God creating the sun so that they do not have to live in darkness. Has this not happened, the world would have been all in darkness and it could have completely changed how the world is today. Another idea this gives me is to reverse this story into originally being miserable for Adam and Eve and then God making their world better with the parts of the world we have today.

Adam and Eve from book of Genesis, The Legends of the Jews by Louis Grinzberg, and The First Book of Adam and Eve 

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve Part A

Since I went with a Classical choice last week, I decided to go with a Biblical choice this week.

The first thing to take note of is the original telling of Adam and Eve from the Bible. This states that God created a man and a woman in a fruitful Garden of Eden with all they needed. They were not clothed, were not ashamed and had no worries.

In the next part, God tells them to not eat the fruit from one tree. A snake encourages Eve to eat and says that if she does, she will be smarter. So she does, and gets Adam to eat as well. They then notice that they are naked and go to cover themselves. God then punishes them to have all of the problems of the world that we have today.

Most people know this part of the story, and I can already think of ways to change it. There are certain details like the snake, God telling them not to eat from a certain tree, and Adam and Eve's lack of shame from being naked that would be interesting if changed. It could make the story into something completely different, although I would still like it to explain how we got our problems of today so I will have to think of a way to tie it into that.

As the story continues, we see that the angels and Satan (still an angel) get jealous of Adam. This would eventually lead to Satan's fall and create the devil we know today. How interesting it would be if a detail were changed here.

It would also be interesting if a different punishment were given to the snake, or if he had been forgiven instead.

Adam and Eve from Genesis and from the Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg

Creation of Adam

Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche, Part B

The first thing I noticed in reading part B is the anger that Venus feels about Cupid falling in love with Psyche. She feels betrayed that her son would do this since she feels that Psyche is her enemy or rival since the people worship her for her beauty, even though Venus is the goddess of beauty. It would be interesting if instead, she related to Psyche and felt empathy for her.

As Venus begins to assign Psyche with tasks, I wonder what would have happened if she could not complete them or had no help to complete them. Would she pass out of exhaustion? Would Venus kill her? This could lead the story in a tragic direction.

Another thing to note is if Psyche was never caught by Venus, and in turn never had to preform these tasks. Maybe Cupid escapes from his confinement, healed, to rescue her and keep her safe or to win his mother over in regards to Psyche.

As Psyche goes to the underworld to preform another task, perhaps she could get stuck down there; not dead, but only trapped until someone can rescue her. Or maybe she has to preform tasks for Hades and this just adds on to her long list.

Psyche in the Underworld

And lastly, as the story ends, I can see several different ways it could go. For one, Psyche could die leaving Cupid in a depression that his wife and child are gone, and he no longer preforms his duties leaving his mother in shambles that she ever tried to get rid of Psyche. Another way would be that Cupid grows tired of Psyche and realizes that his mother is right and lives happily without her. There are other ways that the story could end happily as well, maybe Cupid instead gives up his life to live a mortal life with Psyche, in a Disney's "Hercules" type of ending. The possibilities here are endless. 

Cupid and Psyche by Apuleius, translated by Tony Kline 

Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche, Part A

One idea that I came up with right off the bat after beginning the story Cupid and Psyche was, wouldn't it be interesting if the roles were flipped? If Psyche was a goddess of love and Cupid was instead the most handsome man in the land. A gender reverse could be interesting. Since women and men had different roles in society at this time, it could be a very different situation as to if Cupid were married or not.

Another idea from "The Oracle of Apollo" is that instead of no one wanting to marry Psyche, if she was already married. That could steer the story into another interesting direction. Or, instead of the oracle saying something negative, it says something positive like "Psyche will marry and have many children." This would prevent a lot of things from happening, or, the same things could happen but for different reasons. This implies that certain things will happen no matter what an oracle says.

My favorite section is "The Mysterious Husband" where Psyche is told not to allow her sisters to know if she is alive, and she is also in a great depression. She is eventually told she is able to see them as long as she doesn't do anything they say. This is an important part of the story. If he had not allowed her to see them, it would have played out much differently; or if when she did see them, she did not create a lavish life for herself but instead kept things private and didn't make her sisters jealous.

Cupid and Psyche

Finally, the last part that grabbed my attention was when the sisters plot against Psyche, and Psyche ends up fearing that she has a monster for her husband and trys to kill him. This could lead to an interesting place if details were changed! It would be interesting if Cupid did not drive her from the place, but instead reacted differently, or perhaps if she never tried to kill him in the first place. 

Cupid and Psyche written by Apuleius, translated by Tony Kline