Reading Notes - Blackfoot: The Wolf Man, Extra Credit

 

·      ­A man had two wives and took care of them, fed them, etc.

o   The two wives were not good at taking care of their home

·      The man decided to move his home away from the main camp in order to teach his wives how to improve 

·      He would sit at the top of a butte on a buffalo skull to observe the buffalo and check for enemies

·      The women were not happy with their isolation and so they decided to kill their husband so that they could return to the main camp

·      They dug a hole where he usually sits and attempted to hide it

·      The man went to sit on the skull, which was placed on the sticks covering the hole, and he fell through

o   The man did not die, but he was hurt and thought he was going to die of hunger

·      The women returned to the big came and told everyone that their husband was dead

·       A wolf passes by and spots the man in the hole

o   The wolf then calls to other wolves and coyotes, badgers, and kit-foxes

·      The wolf decides that they would dig him out and make him their brother and that he would live with the big wolves

·      The wolves took the man to an old blind wolf who had amazing power

o   He gave the man hands that look like those of a wolf

·      People would usually make holes in the buffalo enclosure and set traps at the holes so that any predators that would crawl in would be killed and then skinned

·      When all of the wolves went to enter the enclosure, the wolf man said that he would spring all the traps so that they could enter safely

·      It worked and they kept repeating the process, until one day they entered and only found a skinny, sick bull

·      The wolf man cried out upon seeing the bull and exclaimed that they gave them bad food

·      The people decided to leave a nice piece of meat out, which attracted the wolf man

o   they surrounded the wolf man and discovered his identity

·      It is then that the truth is discovered, and the women are given to the punishing society

o   The women were never seen again

Grey Wolf. Source: Wikipedia.

Bibliography: This story is part of the Blackfoot unit and can be found here. Story source: Blackfeet Indian Stories by George Bird Grinnell (1915).

Week 7 Story: Possession of the Dragon's Eye

*This story is now a part of my Portfolio*

In faraway lands, there existed a legend of a jewel called the Dragon’s Eye. The jewel was said to have been created from the remains of the very first dragon to have existed. The dragon was called Xinrui, and the stories stated that she could wield all of the four elements – fire, water, air, and earth. While Xinrui was hailed as the most powerful and wise creature alive, the dragons that descended from her were said to have lost their touch with the original creator, which is why they gradually lost their ability to control all four elements. The existing dragons could now only control one single element.

It is in this world that dragons are revered and worshiped as the guardians, and it is in this world that a legend exists of the Dragon’s Eye that can grant its owner, not matter what species, the ability to wield any element of their choosing. While no one is quite sure of the jewel’s precise location, there is a general consensus that the jewel can be found at Xinrui’s final resting place deep in the heart of sacred dragon territory.

It is also in this world that a young woman finds herself seriously considering the possible existence of the Dragon’s Eye. Make no mistake, this lass was not enamored by the jewel’s power nor did she desire its power for her own personal gain. Her attention had been brought to the jewel by her childhood friend who had gotten the idea that with the use of his wits and her strength, they could surely retrieve the jewel and save their country from impending doom. His heart was set on the matter, and he knew that his friend’s heart was far too noble to not explore even the slightest chance of saving their beloved home.

With great enthusiasm on his part and great reluctance on hers, they both set off in the middle of the night so as to not arouse suspicion from their respective family members. After all, they were certain that any that heard of their endeavor would simply call them fools. But the pair knew that this was one of the last chances they had if they had any hope of saving what was theirs. The others in the country fervently prayed to the dragons for assistance and guidance even though the dragons had shown time and time again that they would not meddle in trivial human affairs. And so, it is with this knowledge in mind that our two young heroes depart from the safety of their homes and embark on a journey that is sure to be an incredible one.

Source: DeviantArt

Author's Note: In the original story, there is a fisher-maid that retrieves a special jewel that was thought to be lost in the sea for a man that she loves. As she grabs the jewel from the top of a coral pagoda, a sea dragon emerges from his lair, and it essentially calls all of the sea monsters to begin attacking her. The girl, knowing that the dragon will not touch a corpse, ultimately kills herself and inserts the jewel in her chest so that her loved one can still get the jewel once her body surfaces. I think that the basic premise for my story is the same in that there is a special jewel to be retrieved from the possession of a dragon (or dragons in my case). I decided to leave out the idea that a girl would give up her life for her loved one because I am not a big fan of romance in adventure stories, which is what I am kind of gunning for. Also, I thought a story of two friends embarking on a potentially home saving adventure would be more interesting for me to write.

Bibliography:  The original story can be found here. Story source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

Reading Notes: The Quest of the Jewel, Part B

·      Takeuchi was disgraced, and he decided to take his own life by jumping off of a cliff

·      As he was removing his swords, a fisher-maid approached him ad pointed out a gleaming light in the sea

o   She had followed him as he wondered about before going to the cliff

o   She loved the minister, but she knew that she had no hope of marrying him because she wasn’t a princess

·      The reason he was disgraced: The Empress was furious that the crystal was lost

·      The Jewel of Heart’s Desire was at the top of a coral pagoda in the sea

·      The fisher-maid told him that she could retrieve it

o   As she dove down and grabbed the magic crystal, a sea-dragon crawled out of his lair

·      The other sea monsters, including sharks, swordfish, and cuttlefish, hurried to his call

o   The dragon smiled at the fisher-maid

·      The fisher-maid knew that a dragon would not touch a corpse, so she drove Takeuchi’s sword into her chest and placed the magic crystal there

·      The dragon, upset that his plan had been foiled, disappeared into deeper waters

·      The fisher-maid’s body eventually floated to the top and Takeuchi found the jewel in her chest

·      She was honored in a manner similar to that of a general, and the Empress declared her a princess

 Tamatori and the Dragon. Source: Wikipedia.

Bibliography:  This story can be found here. Story source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

Reading Notes: The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi, Part A Reading

·      Susa-no-wo sees a chopstick floating down a river, and he concludes that there must be people living upstream

o   He wonders what kind of people they are

·      He comes across an aged man and woman who are weeping while a beautiful girl sits between them

o   They are crying as if she were dead

·      Apparently an eight-forked serpent of Koshi has been killing and eating their eight daughters year after year

o   The beautiful girl between them is the last daughter remaining

·      They offer a description of the serpent – bright red eyes, a blood colored body, and eight heads and eight forked tails

·      Susa-no-wo offers to slay the serpent. In exchange, he desires their remaining daughter for marriage

·      He then transforms the girl into a many-toothed comb which he then places in his hair

·      He requests the old crone that she brew a lot of sake of eightfold strength

·      He also hangs eight doors on pointed logs and places a vat of sake at each door

·      The serpent comes and sees the sake, which it then promptly drinks and falls into a drunken stupor and then succumbs to sleep

·      Susa-no-wo slays the monster and finds a divine sword, Kushanagi, in the serpent’s tail

·      Finally, he marries the beautiful girl 

Yamata no Orochi. Source: Wikipedia.

Bibliography: This story can be found here. Story source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

Story Laboratory: EmpoWord Notes

·      Vocabulary

o   Dynamic character: a character who notably changes within the scope of a narrative, typically as a result of the plot events and/or other characters. Contrast with static character.

o   Epiphany: a character’s sudden realization of a personal or universal truth. See dynamic character

o   Flat character: a character who is minimally detailed, only briefly sketched or named. Generally less central to the events and relationships portrayed in a narrative. Contrast with round character.  

o   Narrative scope: the boundaries of a narrative in time, space, perspective, and focus

·      Scope

o   Refers to the boundaries of your plot

§  Where and when does it being and end?

§  What background information and details does your story require?

§  Think about the edges of a photo – a photo has boundaries

o   The most impactful stories are often those that represent something, so your scope should focus on the details that fit into the bigger picture

·      Sequence and Pacing

o   The order of events and the amount of time dedicated to each event

o   Exposition -> Rising Action -> Climax -> Falling action -> Resolution

o   Medias res: “in the middle of things”; a narrative sequence

·      Characterization

o   Directly: through specific description of the character

o   Indirectly: through the behaviors, speech, and thoughts of the character

o   Static character: remain the same throughout the narrative

o   Round character: are very detailed, requiring attentive description of their traits and behaviors

Reading Notes: The Monkey and the Girl, Extra Credit

·      All the children in a village watched the crops growing by a nearby river

·      A Hanuman monkey wanted to eat the crops, so he devised a plan to be able to do so

o   The children often drove him off, which is why he needed a plan

·      The monkey’s plan was to make a garland of flowers and leave it behind after the children ran him off

o   The children fell for his plan and were happy with the flowers he left behind

o   The two parties eventually became friends

·      One of the young girls was interested by the monkey and made a one-sided promise to marry him

o   We have no idea how the monkey responded

·      Of course, the other children gossiped, and word spread

·      Eventually, the girl’s parents heard, and the father, with the help of some villagers, shot the monkey

o   They burned his corpse, which was commonly done with human corpses

·      The girl showed up as they were burning the body and simply stated that she just really wanted to see if they really did burn him

·      The girl distracts them by saying “what’s happening in the sky?”

o   Everyone looks up, and while they are looking up, she grabs sand and throws it up to blind them

·      As everyone is rubbing sand out of their eyes, the girl jumps into the fire and burns with the monkey

·      Everyone is sad, but they explain that she must have had a monkey’s soul, which would explain her fascination with him

Hanuman Langur Monkey. Source: Wikimedia.

Bibliography: This story is called "The Monkey and the Girl" and can be found here. Story source: Folklore of the Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas (1909).

Reading Notes: The Tiger's Bride, Part B

·      First observation: of all the things she could offer someone for assistance, like money for example, why would she offer her daughter for marriage

·      A tiger appeared and pretty much asked for confirmation that she would really give her daughter

o   Animals can understand human speech in this story

·      The tiger and daughter were married two or three days later

o   This time the daughter is portrayed as unhappy and cries often

·      After arriving at their new home (a cave), the tiger leaves to collect his friends for a large feast, and the girl stays behind to cook said big feast

o   The cunning girl catches a random cat and hangs it over the fire so that the blood drips and makes a sizzling sound over the pan on the fire

·      The girl runs home and climbs a tree and sings a song

·      The tiger returns to the cave with his friends and mistakenly thinks that the girl is still cooking

o   He goes to check on her and discovers that she isn’t actually there

·      All of his friends beat him up because they are angry that they didn’t get a feast

o   They didn’t bother to console their friend 

 Sumatran Tiger. Source: Bernard Spragg.

Bibliography: This story is called "The Tiger's Bride" and can be found here. Story source: Folklore of the Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas (1909).

Reading Notes: How the Tiger got his Strength, Part A

·      All the animals lived in the jungle after they were created, but there was too much conflict

·      The gods decided to give all the animals different abilities so that they could live in harmony

o   Man was given beauty and wisdom

o   The tiger was given craftiness and stealth

·      The mother was really proud of her son, but she made him go back to ask for physical strength so he could protect himself

o   The man went back, and the gods told him to come back later for the gift

·      The stealthy tiger overheard their conversation and determined to get the power of strength for himself

o   The tiger ended up acquiring 12x the strength the gods originally intended to give man, and he challenged man and showed off in front of him

·      The gods gave man the power to create weapons (skill) to defend themselves against the tiger

o   The mother told man that he should only use the skill to craft weapons against other animals and not each other

 Tiger. Source: George Desipris.

The story "How the Tiger got his Strength" can be found here. Story source: Folk-Tales of the Khasis by Mrs. K. U. Rafy (1920).