Mythology and Folklore

I wanted to explore different readings than just the ones for this week. I went ahead and looked at the Italian Tales. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories because they were all unique and fun to read! My favorite story is explained below. From the Italian Tales, my favorite story was called, "Water and Salt." This was my favorite story because I was constantly on my toes. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. I also enjoyed this story because throughout the reading, I experienced a variety of emotions. I felt sad at first when the youngest daughter was to be sent away and the dog was killed. I was joyful when the youngest daughter met her husband and got married. I was happy and proud of the daughter at the end when she stood up to her father. Overall, I loved this story. Salt being combined with Water Water and Salt Bibliography: "Water and Salt," By: Thomas Frederick Crane Italian

For the second part of readings, I was equally impressed as the first part. I actually had a lot of fun reading the Cherokee unit because each story was unique in the characters, but the theme seemed to be similar. Once again, I enjoyed most of these stories, but I took special notes on my favorite. My favorite story I read was called, "The Owl Gets Married." I liked this story for many reasons. For one, I love how they expressed the relationship between the mother and daughter. It was clear that the mother wanted to absolute best for her daughter, and went out to help search for the perfect husband, ideally a hunter. When the daughter was told that her mother found a hunter for her, she agreed to marry to him. Perhaps my favorite aspect of this story is the build up to the big plot twist. The fact that the man was actually an owl was something I was not expecting at all. An owl flying in nature Owl Bibliography:  "The Owl Gets Married," By: James M...

I decided to check out the readings from the Cherokee Section. I liked this set of stories because they involved a variety of animals which I loved. Although I really enjoyed a lot of the stories I read, I have a favorite! My favorite story from the Cherokee section was called, "Why the Possum's Tail is Bare." It stood out to me because it was something that I could see happening in real life. It is a more realistic story line compared to some of the others. I liked how this story was set up. It had a brief overview of the animals, including the possum, the jealous rabbit, and the cricket. This story was fun to read because I was able to have a wide imagination. With the cricket being a barber, I had some ideas about what to picture. This story also made me a little sad. I felt so bad for the possum because he was so proud of his busy tail, and the jealous rabbit sabotaged him. A possum with a bare tail Possum Bibliography:  "Why the Possum's Tail ...

I decided to explore different readings from future weeks in the book. I have been eagerly waiting for the week where I will be able to read nursery rhymes, so I went ahead and started reading a few. My favorite nursery rhyme from the options is "Peter Piper." I have always loved this nursery rhyme because I can remember being young and always trying to master the tongue twister that is present in this nursery rhyme. When I was reading it, it brought me back to those days. It is a very simple nursery rhyme, but it is also very complex in the way it is written. That is why I love it so much now and can appreciate it so much more as an adult. Nursery rhymes has always been interesting to me because they are all so creative. Peter Piper is extremely unique and creative, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to be taken back into my childhood. Little Peter Piper  Peter Piper Bibliography: "Peter Piper" by: John Harris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pipe...

Because I loved the first set of readings from the Eskimo folktales, I was intrigued to see what the second half readings would be like. In Part B, I actually had a couple stories I liked a lot, but my favorite one was the 3rd story I read. Out of all of the readings, my clear favorite was, "The Eagle and the Whale." This story was unique. I liked how wildly imaginative it was. My favorite readings from this semester are typically stories that are bizarre but that have a very relatable hidden meaning. For this story, I loved how the brothers cared so deeply for their 2 sisters. Once they realized that the eagle and the whale weren't right for them, they saved them. It reminds me a lot of how my brothers would be if I ever was in danger. An eagle flying above a whale  The Eagle and the Whale Bibliography: "The Eagle and the Whale" by: Knud Rasmussen http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/03/eskimo-folk-tales-eagle-and-whale.html

I really enjoyed the readings from the Eskimo FolkTales. They were all easy to understand and fun to read! I have my favorite one, which I took notes on below. My favorite reading from the Eskimo Folktales was called, "The Giant Dog." When I first read the title of this story, I had a feeling that I would enjoy it! A reason why this story was my favorite stems from the theme. I am a dog lover, so seeing the love between the owner and his dog was really sweet. I loved how the owner gave his dog something that he would've given his son if he had one. It portrayed the idea that animals are part of our families too. When I was reading this story, I kept picturing the dog to look like Clifford the big red dog. The Big Red Dog  Clifford Bibliography:  "The Giant Dog" By Knud Rasmussen http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/03/eskimo-folk-tales-giant-dog.html

When reading another set of stories this week, I was eager to see what the Filipino Tales had in store again. Because I really enjoyed these stories last time, I had a good feeling about it. My favorite story came from the Filipino Tales once again! My notes are found below. Although all of the stories from the Filipino Tales were entertaining and well-written, one particular story stood out to me. The story is called, "The Lost Necklace." I liked this story the best for a couple reasons. One reason is that this story was by far the most bizarre yet intriguing story to me. It is a story about a crow who purchased a beautiful necklace. The crow's good friend, the hen, asked to borrow it, but ended up losing it. Seeing how the crow went about it, and the punishment the crow gave to the hen, was interesting to me. This whole story was so entertaining that I almost wish there was more to it! Hen and baby chicks Hen and chicks Bibliography:  "The Lost N...

This week, I read different stories and become increasingly interested in the Filipino Fairytales. I especially enjoyed one in particular. I took notes over that story, which are noted below. The story I enjoyed the most is called, "The Poor Man and his Three Sons." The reason why I liked this story was because it felt relatable in a sense. The fact that the father was dying and wanted the best for his three sons is something that I know my own father would want for me and my three brothers. I also liked how the story was set up. The way that each brother had their own mini story about what they did with their individual gifts made it seem more personal. This might be my favorite reading thus far! A father with his three sons YouTube Bibliography:  The Poor Man and his Three Sons by Dean S. Fansler http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/filipino-tales-poor-man-and-his-three.html

After yesterday's reading from the Tibet Folklore, I knew that I would love the rest of the stories, but I wanted to explore a different area. I read the stories from Laos, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.They are all so different yet fun in their own way. Although all were fun to read, my favorite one was called, "A Boy of the City Streets." "A Boy of the City Streets" is about a young boy who gets approached by 3 wise men. The reason why I liked this story the best is because of the language in the story. I am a big junky for old time stories, so reading this was very enjoyable for me. I also thought it was interesting to read a story about 3 wise men because I immediately thought about the 3 wise men from the Bible and it brought me down memory lane. This story has a lot of meaningful hidden meanings that I really enjoy. The 3 Wise Men  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUBTERdTKUg Bibliography: "Laos: The Boy of the City Streets" By:...

I read numerous readings from the Tibet Folktales and I absolutely loved all of them. Below I have notes for my favorite reading from this section. The Man and The Ghost: I loved this story the most for many reasons. For one, I was intrigued by the title itself. I thought to myself, "I wonder what this could be about," and as I was reading it interested me. I love how the author had two completely different people, a man and a ghost, and storied them to be friends and to lean on each other. I also liked how there was situations where the ghost kept his promise and tried to help the man any way he can. Overall, this story left me wanting more!  A picture of a ghost seeming to be interested in the baby in that women's belly  https://theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/13-terrifying-ghosts-thai-folklore/ Bibliography:  The Tibet Folktales (The Man and The Ghost) by A.L. Shelton http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/02/tibetan-folk-tales-man-a...

This week, I had the opportunity to dive into readings I wouldn't expect to enjoy as much as I did! I read stories from the Bidpai unit and read numerous stories that I liked, but my favorite was titled: "The Ass, the Lion, and the Fox." I wrote some notes about this story which will be provided below. Bibliography: "The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai" by Maude Barrows http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/07/myth-folklore-book-tortoise-and-geese.html There is something about animals being portrayed as humans in stories, that I love. It is fun to read a story that is unrealistic and imaginative, and this is exactly what the story provided. As the title suggests, this story is about 3 wild animals: an ass, a lion and a fox. A main reason why I enjoyed this story so much stems from the idea that the fox seemed to be doing the lion a favor, but ended up turning on him. This reminds me of a situation that can happen in some unhealthy fr...

After reading all the stories provided, I had one clear favorite. I enjoyed all the other stories, but it took until the very last reading for me to know it was my favorite. My favorite story was Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Basilisk, titled "The Three Roses." "The Three Roses" I was immediately intrigued by this story because there were 3 daughters, and it seemed as though it would be more realistic than some of the other stories. As I was reading, I realized how similar my mom in real life is to the mother in this story; She would do anything for me, much like the mother was when she went out and got everything her daughters wanted. What I would consider the "climax" of this story is what really got me hooked. The mother stumbles upon this palace that she had never seen before. At this moment, I really couldn't decipher whether it was going to be a good thing or a horrible mistake. Reading on, I soon received my answer: it was a horrible mistake. I...

After reviewing the reading options from the UnTextbook, I have come up with this plan: Week 3: Adam and Eve Week 4: Homer's Odyssey  Week 5: Life of Buddha  Week 6: Arabian Nights Week 7: Tibet Week 8: *Review* Week 9: Congo  Week 10: Alaska  Week 11: Inuit (Eskimo) Week 12: Canterbury Tales Week 13: Nursery Rhymes  Week 14: Brother's Grimm (Crane) Week 15: Grimm (LibriVox)  I am honestly excited about basically every unit that is required, but I would say that I am most excited about the British/Celtic Units. I am a lover of nursery rhymes as well as the Canterbury tales. However,  I have not been able to fully dive into the core of each of those, which is why I am so excited! Mythology is a concept that I am completely fascinated by, which is why I decided to enroll in this course from the start. My main interest within mythology centers around the Greek Gods and Goddesses and their perso...