Mythology and Folklore (Spring 2021)

     Last week, I talked a lot about the ideas that I want to carry out in my storybook, so here is a link to that: Topic Research Week 3 . This post describes the three stories that I plan on writing so far. I am still looking into the myths in further detail, so I have yet to polish the basic premises of the stories.     As for my source material, I have three main stories that I want to use as the primary inspiration for my short stories:     The Buddhist flood myth found in a collection of jatakas. I really want to use this story as inspiration, not only because I find the storyline interesting but also because I am not very familiar with any Buddhist stories. Also, this story follows a slightly different narrative than most flood myths, what with the flood affecting only a single island and the involvement of spirits.     The first story that got me interested in focusing on floods is the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha told by Ovid. This ...

 Storybook Link: Here Come the Floods Hello! Any and all feedback is really appreciated!     I have always been a science person so writing is definitely not my forte. Nevertheless, I do rather enjoy writing on occasion and feedback is always helpful when I find myself trying to write a narrative.

      The Salamander and the Reed           Once, a young little salamander was taking a meander around the pond it lived at. The salamander's mom had warned the little one to be careful on their journey, and be on the lookout for any predators. The walk was hardly enjoyable, with the salamander swinging their head continuously to keep an eye out for danger. There! The young salamander saw something moving amongst the grass and dived into a nearby puddle, a predator surely on their tail. The salamander spent the whole day in hiding, while the rest of the salamanders watched a reed sway peacefully in the breeze. Enjoy a puppy! (Because apparently, my blog won't let me upload my pic of a baby salamander) The Salamander and the Reed (condensed)     Their mother had warned and so the salamander was on their toes. Though perhaps a bit too on their toes, hiding in fear from a reed subject to the breeze. Author's Note:     I got...

  The Serpent and the File   from Aesop's Fables (Jacobs) A snake went into an armor shop and pricked itself on a file while slithering across the floor The snake tried to attack the file, but couldn't, as it is an inanimate object ' It is useless attacking the insensible ' The snake had to release his anger without an outlet This file looks pretty harmless, but I'm sure the one the serpent encountered was a bit sharper. The Frog and the Ox  from Aesop's Fables (Jacobs) A frog saw a big ox and told his father, who said that surely the ox was barely bigger than the father frog The father frog continually puffed himself up every time his son said that the ox was bigger Eventually, he puffed so much that he burst Your ego can be the death of you Frog!       I think I want to try to combine these two stories somehow for my writing this week, as I think the two could complement each other in a way.

  Androcles and the Lion   (From Aesop's Fables (Jacobs))     I have read this story before in an intermediate Latin course, so I am familiar with the story, and it's honestly pretty interesting to see the king of beasts act like a house pet Androcles, a slave, escaped from his master and wandered into the forest where he found a lion in pain He at first ran from the lion, but the lion didn't chase, so he came closer and saw a thorn in its paw, which he helped remove The lion took him back to his cave and took care of him, feeding and acting like a dog The two were later captured, with the slave to be thrown to a lion, but low and behold, the lion he was thrown to was the one he befriended The lion recognized Androcles and greeted him like a puppy would Androcles explained the story to the emperor who released and freed the slave and released the lion into the forest A picture of one of my own puppies! (Her name is Toph)

      The feedback gallery was way more useful than I honestly expected it was going to be, as it lays out some clear examples on how to successfully give feedback. I have always been assigned assignments in which I had to give feedback to other students, but before this course, I had never been taught just how  to give feedback. Suggesting ways to expand the story as well as asking questions about the content of the story seem like really good strategies to me, because they really get the writer to think about their writing more in-depth. Feedback: It's how we improve upon ourselves! How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk     Like the feedback gallery, this article gives a lot of good methods for feedback, especially when that feedback is more on the negative side. Explaining your viewpoint and how you yourself have benefitted from feedback is something that I think would be really helpful to me if someone were giving me feedback. The compliment san...

     Flood myths are found in many variations across the world, from Ancient Rome to Biblical times. Many historians have theorized that these stories are because of geology , as many geological natural disasters can be connected back to some flood myths. For this initial research project, I looked into a few different flood myths, trying to take inspiration from a couple of them, but primarily stick with Deucalion and Pyrrha (or some other version of them) as the main characters. In particular, I think I want to use a lot of inspiration from a Buddhist flood myth, which is a bit unique from others. In my previous readings notes (part A) from week 3, I covered the basics of Ovid's Deucalion and Pyrrha. For the Buddhist flood myth, there are similar overarching elements, but it varies in some significant details from the flood stories of other cultures. In the Buddhist tale, a group of lazy carpenters were banished from their town and came to an island where the only rule ...