Storytelling for Week 6: Bush Rats and a Bat

bibliography: Why the Bat Flies by Night, Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone                                  Dayrell (1910)
                     

(bush rat)

The Bat and Bush Rat were hanging out like normal one day. The Bat asked how the Bush Rat and his wife were doing. The Bush Rat replied with a normal positive gesture. The Bat has been lonely for a long time and has started to have resentment towards the Bush Rat.

The Bat thinks about what he is going to do and if he can find it in his heart to kill his friend. The Bat looks around his cave home, which the Bush Rat showed to him in the beginning, pacing back and forth in anxiety. Nothing changed the Bat's mind though. He decided he was going to take the Bush Rat's wife for himself too. 

So, the Bush Rat shows up one day to see Bat and notices something is wrong. The Bat gets ready to do his deed. He is going to bite Bush Rat in the neck until he's dead. Bush Rat goes to pat Bat on the shoulder. Bat is making his final decision. He is going to attack in 3... 2... 1... 

Right then Bush Rat steps aside to get Bat some water revealing a beautiful young female Bush Rat named Ariel. Bat is entranced by her beauty. Bush Rat told Bat to meet his niece. Bush Rat understood Bat had been lonely and thought maybe he could fix his niece up with him. Both Ariel and Bat blush at one another. The Bat is overjoyed! 

The Bat has told Bush Rat what he was planning though. Bush Rat is appalled, but takes a moment to think it over. Ariel witnessed the Bat's honesty and takes a moment as well. 

The Bush Rat forgave the Bat on one condition; the Bat must marry his niece and take care of her for the rest of his days. The Bat agreed without question and immediately picked Ariel up. He took her for a fly through the air neither of them would ever forget. 

As the Bat and Ariel enjoy their flight, they are suddenly attacked by a hawk. The Bat holds on to Ariel tight and is completely focused on saving her. The Bat flew left and then right. The Bat flew backward and then forwards. The hawk missed him at every turn since he is smaller and can make quicker turns. The Bat finally took a dive seeing he had enough space between he and the hawk. The Bat is flying faster than ever before aiming straight for his door at the cave. The hawk is closing in. Bush Rat has the door open and is yelling for them to hurry. The Bat and Ariel fly through the door and Bush Rat closes the door at the last second. The hawk smashed into the door. They were saved! 

Bush Rat asked about when lunch was. They lived happily ever after.   

Author's Note:Why the Bat Flies by Night, I chose to tell this story in third person narrative form. I chose this strategy because it allows me to be more descriptive and focus on the action of a story. So, it allows to tell the story more with visuals rather than dialogue. 

My main goal for the story was to make the Bat a good guy because in the original he is the villain. 

In the original story, the Bat tricks the Bush Rat. The Bush Rat asks how the Bat makes his meals so tasty. The Bat said that he jumped into the the boiling pot of water and said his juices from his skin give his food great flavor. He said anyone can do it. So, the Bush Rat went home and jumped into the boiling water and died. Bush Rat's wife sent out a warrant for the Bat's capture. As a result, the Bat started hunting at night and that is why you never see them during the day. 

In my story, I make the Bat keep his original plan, but it is foiled when he sees Ariel Bush Rat's niece. The Bat, now seeing Ariel and Bush Rat's thoughtfulness, told them the truth about his plan. Bush Rat forgave Bat since he agreed to marry Ariel and take care of her the rest of her days. Lastly, Bat rescued Ariel from a hawk. The Bat turned from the antagonist into the Protagonist. 

Reading Diary A: Nigerian Folk Stories

(bush rat)

Table of Contents

I read Why the Bat Flies. So, overall I thought it was an interesting story, but there were a few things missing from it. The story said from the beginning that the bat was jealous of the bush rat. It never said why he was jealous though. So, that did not hold any meaning to me. If you show something pivotal between the protagonist and antagonist you must explain it. Secondly, it was not a very satisfying ending. Search parties were sent for the bat to bring him to justice. The bat decided to hunt at night for safety. Apparently, that is why you never see bats flying during the day. I like the creativity of the story, but there has to be a more satisfying way to end the story. 

I also found the story Why a Hawk Kills Chickens interesting. First, it was interesting that the marriage structure as an exchange was the dowry. I believe it is because this story came from Nigeria where that is a custom consistently used. The story also ended in a way I did not think it would, but the surprise made me enjoy it. The hen ended up marrying someone else rather than the hawk. The bride's family would not pay the hawk back his dowry though. So, the hawk's king gave him permission to kill any children that the hen and her new husband might have. This is why hawks attack chickens. That's quite a formal way to start a cock fight right? 

Thoughts about Comments

So far some comments have been helpful and some have not. The ones that have not been very helpful are the ones that use more general speech. Things like, "I would just be more specific." The issue is then that I am not given an idea of what should be more specific. However, I do have a good example of giving specific feedback.

One of my stories a girl said she did not feel personally connected. Then, she told me why. She said that the conclusion ended too quickly and that my characters didn't develop enough. She said that I need to have more backstory and build comradery between characters so that the reader will root for the protagonist. Then she gave me a few examples to help me get thinking! So, That's what good comments are to me. Honesty and being specific are what I look for in comments.

Now, I'll be honest that I have not been the best on being specific. That is the number one thing I need to do better. I am still figuring out my schedule still. That will fix everything. My work hours fluctuate and I have classes during the night and morning. If I can schedule better, I will have more time to leave great comments.

Essay: Jataka Tale Wisdom & Tragedy

(Mango tree photo by sarangib)

Table of Contents

The Crow that Thought It Knew

The Poisonous Trees

The crow and male leader from this week's stories sought wisdom. The male leader was curious about which plants his crew could and could not eat so he watched all of his men throughout their journey to keep them safe. The crow pursued wisdom by trying to do something outside of his abilities because of his pride. The crow decided to dive into the water to get fish to feed his wife rather than let the king crow do all the work. The male leader saw a man dead that was not from his crew on the ground. The leader saw his men almost eat some of the same fruit and stopped them just in time. So, he succeeded in saving his fellow crew. The crow failed pursuing wisdom though. The crow thought he'd just be able to go in the water from watching the king crow so many times. He thought from seeing the king crow's technique he had learned all he needed to. The crow dove into the water and did not come back up. He was sucked down and drowned. The crow's wife was sad and the king crow had to explain the whole situation. So, even though these two characters are similar in that they pursue wisdom, they clearly have different endings. 

Also, these characters experienced great tragedy. The Crow died and it was sad because of his reasoning for flying into the water. He just wanted to impress his wife and provide for her. He wanted all good things, but pride got the best of him. The male leader walked upon a dead man who ate fruit that he might of been able to save if they were there a bit sooner. Its a bittersweet moment, because although the men are all safe now, it came at a high price. 

Storytelling Week 5: Crows and Their Gifts

Bibliography: Eastern Story Legends by Marie L. Shedlock (1920)

Author's Note: The Crow that Thought It Knew. I chose to retell this story in third person because it allowed me to be more descriptive without having to use dialogue in the story. It helped me be more creative. My main goal for this story was to show that all people have certain gifts. It is not a matter of who has the best ones, but how you use them that defines you. I changed this story from the original in a few ways. First, the names I used aren't the original. Second, the hunting crow does not save Lyle. Lyle went into the water by himself and drowned in the original. Third, the scene where Lyle saves Tim never happened. That was all added by me to emphasize my goal listed above.

(crow in Assam, India)

One crow Lyle and his wife Jen were out flying and a terrible thing happened. As they were flying, they saw many dead animals and people. As they flew up to each thing to check it out, they realized everyone was suffering from this black bumpy skin that was a disease. It had spread to the trees and all plants also. Lyle knew he was not a hunting crow so he became worried. He didn't want to scare his wife though, so he acted like he had a plan. He and his wife flew throughout their land looking for food when they saw a crow dive into the water and bring fish out. Lyle knew this crow could help so they approached him. 

They flew to the hunting crow called Tim and asked if he might mind helping give them food since they are not hunting crows. Tim agreed and went to get them some fish. This made Lyle feel worthless. He couldn't even feed his own wife. He has to rely on a stranger to feed himself. So, one day Lyle decided he would try and go into the water to catch some fish. 

Lyle, after Tim and Jen fell asleep, went sky high and came back down as fast he could towards the river. He plunged into the water and caught the fish! Something went terribly wrong though. He could not pul himself out of the water. He started thrashing his wings screaming for help. Tim and Jen wake up to the horrifying scene. Tim goes to save Lyle and succeeds! 

Once back on land, Tim told Lyle never to do that again. Then Tim walked back to bed and saw an apple on the way there. Tim hadn't eaten fruit in a while and he wanted a change of taste. Tim leaned over to start eating the apple when out of nowhere Lyle swooped in and knocked the apple away from Tim. Tim did not like that and inquired of Lyle why he did that. Lyle told him all the fruit is bad and filled with the black disease in these parts. Tim, in shock, told Lyle that he owed him one.  Lyle expected no such thing and was glad he could be of assistance. Lyle had finally seen where his true gifts can be used and that sometimes being a man just means swallowing your pride. 

The three crows started their own colony when they found others. They salvaged what they could and continued to live in peace. 

Reading Diary B: Jataka Tales Unit (Shedlock)

(crow in Assam, India)

Table of Contents

The first story that really stood out to me in this section was The Crow that Thought It Knew. First I thought it was interesting that the main characters were crows. Buddhists believe in reincarnation so I wonder if this was written as a message to show the consequences of one's actions. I 'll explain. The crow seeks the king,Viraka, crows help for getting food. After a while though, the little crow thinks he no longer needs Viraka's help anymore for hunting in the water. So, he died from his pride by trying to go into the water and drowned. Biddhism is all bout reaching Nirvana. I think possibly that this story was written to show that even after a person is reincarnated, their actions still effect them. The road to nirvana is a long and hard one. Also here's a side note. You are reincarnated into a certain animal based on how you have lived your life. 

The second story that caught my attention was The Poisonous Trees.  A group of men decide to journey through the wilderness, but their greatest threat is not the wild. Their greatest threat is the trees. Much of the fruit on the trees are poisonous and only the men's leader can discern what is and isn't good to eat. Again I am fascinated at the creativity of these writers! I took world religions class at my first college and we talked about Buddha and his awakening experience underneath a tree. Shiva, known as the destroyer, showed up to Buddha when he was under the tree for his awakening experience. Shiva tried to stop him from reaching nirvana. So, I think that's what the writer reflected in this story. They showed trees as being the destroyers of men as a symbol/message I believe. I think the writer tried to show that all men must watch how they conduct themselves because they never know where something may be hiding seeking to "destroy" them if you will. This could be a person being destroyed emotionally, mentally, physically, etc. 

Reading Diary A: Jakata Tales (Shedlock)

(gold statue of Buddha in Sri Lanka)

Table of Contents

The first story that really caught my attention was The Spirit that Lived in a Tree. So, the King ordered this tree to be cut down, but the tree (in spirit) goes to the king and persuades him otherwise. So, this is intriguing to me because Buddha had his greatest spiritual connection by a tree where a king spirit was and I wonder if that was somehow incorporated into this story. I had read that these stories had a more Buddhist influence and I believe it shows. It said in the story that people had worshipped this tree for many years. Even the men sent to cut it down said prayers that their children or family would not be effected by their duty. They were just doing their job, but felt the need to show reverence in its presence. So, the most interesting thing to me about this story is the Buddhism influence on it. 

The second story that really caught my attention was Grandmother's Golden Dish. In this story a hawker meets a grandmother with a golden dish to trade, but he takes it and throws it to the ground. His plan was to make them believe it was worth nothing then come back and buy it cheap so he could sell it for a larger amount of money. Another man saw its value though and gave the grandmother what she deserved. This intrigued me again because it reflected another Buddhist belief, karma. The hawker tried to catch the man who beat him to the grandmother, but he was on a boat leaving already. The hawker's plot was foiled. I believe this was karma purposely put in the story to reflect a moral lesson from Buddhism. 

  

Essay: Bad Guys

Link to reading unit
The Monkey and the Crocodile
The Tricky Wolf and the Rats

(Monkey and Crocodile illustrated by Ellsworth Young 1912)

This week I am going to talk about two bad guys in two different stories. I plan to show how similar and different they are with a couple of examples. So, in the monkey and the crocodile, the crocodile tries to be sneaky and give a ride to the monkey, but then is outsmarted. So, just note right now that the crocodile's plan worked until he was out witted. Similarly in the tricky wolf and the rats, the wolf was sneaky and lied to the rats and killed the last one every time they left. This worked until the king rat out smarted the wolf. So, as far as planning goes, the wolf and crocodile's plan worked up to a certain point. However, they eventually failed. The monkey told the crocodile his heart was back on the island and he believed the monkey. The king rat killed the wolf by anticipating his attack. They both failed extremely. 

Now. they are different in two major ways. The wolf is very smart in his story and the crocodile is extremely dumb in his. The wolf got something to eat part of the time at least while the crocodile got nothing. Secondly, the goals for both of the bad guys were different. The crocodile was trying to get the heart of the monkey for his elder and the wolf was just trying to eat. It is curious and funny that since the crocodile had a lot more to lose, that the writer made him dumb. Lastly, they both failed, but had very different endings. The crocodile failed, but still goes on living life. The wolf was bit in the neck by the king rat and died. These are two entirely different endings and I was shocked by the wolf ending. These stories feel like children's stories, so when I read the wolf died it felt a little extreme. 

Storytelling for Week 4: The Elephant and Dog

(Elephant and Dog, Illustrated by Ellsworth Young)

An elephant was being transported to a king in the jungle. The men had been traveling with the elephant for many days and started to get tired. It was time to stop and eat, but they all heard a sound. It was tree branches breaking on the ground and all fell silent for fear that it might be a jaguar. The sound kept getting closer and closer while everyone fell deathly still. The elephant keeps walk though. 

A dog all of a sudden, runs out of the woods and starts playing with the elephant. Everyone breathed regularly and acted normal again. The dog joined them for the rest of the journey. 

It was time to sleep so the dog and elephant rested with one another while the men kept look out for anything dangerous. The sun came up the next morning and they started the journey again.

As they kept walking the dog started sniffing in the air and then barked. The men were looking around to see what was going on. A man looking around said, "Its too quiet." The jungle was silent. Everyone looking around had their heads on a swivel. The elephant and dog stuck together side by side. Boom! a Jaguar jumped out of a tree trying to attack the men, but when it saw the elephant, it started heading towards it. The dog got between the jaguar and the elephant. Both growling, they leaped at each other. They fought and fought until both were in such bad shape they stopped. The dog couldn't walk. The elephant saw this and picked the dog up with his trunk and sprinted him the rest of the way through the jungle to the king so that he might be healed. 

When the elephant was doing so well, all of a sudden their was a drop off in front of him. It was wide and the elephant didn't know what to do. The elephant decided in his mind that he is going to save the dog or die trying. The elephant takes many paces back from the drop off and stares down his running path. With a serious face the elephant sprinted down the path and jumped over the drop off. Th elephant could see the king's palace in sight.

Th elephant made it and the king has the doctor come look at the dog. Time passes and the doctor shows the elephant the dog will be ok now that he has medicine. The dog just needs to rest. 

Finally, the dog healed. He and the elephant were reunited enjoying one another's company. 

Author's note: Elephant and Dog , I chose to tell this story in third person because its easier to give good descriptive detail in this way rather than first person. My main goal for the story I wrote above was to make it difficult for the dog and elephant to reach their destination and to make them build a relationship. Instead of the dog and elephant being friends for a long time and staying in one place, I changed the story to the two main characters taking a journey developing a deep relationship with each other in one moment. 

Bibliography: The Elephant and the Dog, Ellen C. Babbitt (1922)

Reading Diary B: Jataka Tales

Table of Contents

(dog and elephant play, illustrated by Ellsworth Young)

The first story I read was the Golden Goose. What was most intriguing about this story is how the jeopardy built in the middle. You see the goose went to help the family with his golden feathers so they could live in comfort, so how does it not end there? I'll tell you, the mom gets greedy and tries to take all the feathers off the goose. If a goose's feather is taken though in a manner they don't wish, the feathers are just regular ones. So, I thought this was a very interesting transition into a climax. I mean it just sounds like everyone will live happily ever after, but this isn't so. This story is extremely realistic too though. People get greedy and put their needs above others. This story truly shows what happens if you choose to act in that manner. You will loose. So, I really like the realistic nature of this story in short. 

The last story I read was The Elephant and the Dog.  I chose this story mainly because it had a dog in it. So, I really liked the length the writer took to build the relationship between the dog and elephant in this story. Without that time seeing them both get along, it would make the jeopardy of the story pointless. So, after the characters have developed and the dog and elephant are best friends, a man comes to buy the dog. The man takes the dog away and the elephant is sad. I hate seeing animals in any kind of hurting situation so this resonated with me. The writer from here on out had me rooting for the dog to come back. So, I'm waiting and waiting. Eventually the king hears word about this and says he'll take care of it. Not only does he send out word for the dog and say he'll pay what the man paid for it, he sends out word to his whole country for one dog. The things we will do for our pets.  Again, I like this part of the story because of how real it is how people deal with their animals. The dog finally comes back, which may not be as realistic, and lives happily ever after with the elephant. You have to have a satisfying conclusion for the reader and the writer did just that. Overall, really enjoyed the writer's layout of each story. 

Reading Diary A: Jakata Tales

Table of Contents Page

( Monkey and Crocodile, illustrated Ellsworth Young)

Oh my gosh I really like stories with animals in them. This unit was perfect for me. In The Monkey and the Crocodile, I loved and hated at the same time the jeopardy in the story. The crocodile tries to get the monkey's heart for his mother, but is very stupid. I really liked the personalities of the crocodile and monkey. The crocodile was so dumb that he believed the monkey when he said he left his heart back on the island. The crocodile also listened to him when he said he'd jump right into his mouth if he just opens his mouth. A crocodile's eyes close when they open their mouth and the monkey jumped on him passing by. Oh, also a good note, monkeys are mischievous. This monkey stayed true to the real monkey personality by messing with the crocodile. So, I like all the different fictional and non-fictional personalities the writer used in this story. 

My next favorite story in the unit was The Tricky Wolf and the Rats. The ending is what I liked best. The wolf had been eating the last mouse every time they left him and they did not notice until there were a large amount of mice gone. So, the king mouse decided to be the last one to leave this time. The wolf was too slow and the king mouse jumped and bit him in the neck killing him. I never saw that coming. The surprise is what made the ending so great. The whole time you are wondering how the king mouse will fair because you know the attempt on his life is coming. So, due to the build up and the mouse overcoming the villain in this story, it makes for a happy ending. Even with a clear size advantage the king mouse still wins. That is crazy and I love it. 

Styles

Topic: Time Travel
My story topic is about time travel and incorporating the different styles below. Religious and non-religious famous characters will interact with one another changing the world as we know it. The story will start in present day.

Bibliography: All from Un-Textbook

 Bibliography: John The Baptist and Jesus, King James Bible (1611) Mark 1

                         

The Miracles of Jesus, King James Bible (1611) Mark 6

                         

The Teachings of Jesus, King James Bible (1611) Mark 9

                         

The Last Supper, King James Bible (1611) Mark 14

                       

  Escape From Cyclops from The Odyssey by Homer and Translate to English by                            Tony Cline (2004)  

Seeking Grendel's Mother froom Beowulf, by Strafford Riggs (1933)

The Coming of the Holy Graal in King Arthur: Tales of the Roundtable by Andrew Lang (1902) 

Fall of Man from Book of Legends of Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909)

Style 1: My story will be about time travel so I will more than likely use a frametale. Right now, the main gist of the story is that the most prominent religious figures interact with one another through time travel and therefore changing the world as we know it. The story starts in the present and may or may not change the future. I believe my main character will be Adam from the Bible and I'll have him talk in first person throughout. The story will mostly be from his point of view.

Style 2: The second style I am thinking about will be in third person storyteller with the same story line. The really big catch, is that God would be telling the story to angels. As he tells the story, the audience would be transferred to each scene. This would be a fictional story filled with some humor and suspense. However, the circumstances and dialogue would be in a more dramatic tone.  The story also would be in the frametale format. This is because the multiple stories are all connected. Each one will affect the other.

Style 3: The stories for this will be in third person told from a certain character's perspective. The key that will make this style entertaining is that the character telling the story will have been the one who was saved or resolved everything. This would not be shown until the very end though. So, the style of writing and visuals would be used to make the story feel suspenseful by keeping the audience guessing who the mysterious narrator is. These stories will be in the anthology structure. They would each be fictional.

Style 4: These last set of stories will be structured as an anthology. Each story will be told in the first person with each character speaking. These stories would be more satirical since my three above will be more dramatic. I will give these stories a nursery rhyme feel. I would make my own short rhymes to base these on. I did this so that I can leave clues as the audience reads. The clues will be stated and be part of the story. On some stories, the picture in between each paragraph will have an exercise that reveals the clue, but makes the reader participate to figure it out. These also will have less dialogue showing more action of the story with detail.

(Olympian Gods and Goddesses)

Essay: Jesus Hero

(Jesus and the Twelve, Fresco in Cappadocia)

Table of Contents 

One of the stories that Mark told that intrigues me is Jesus's baptism. The reason this intrigues me is because of my definition of a hero. I believe a hero has humility and understands that his or her world is about more than themselves. Its about helping others. So, Jesus the perfect Son of God comes to John the Baptist. He asks to be washed clean, but John believes he is not good enough to untie Jesus's sandals even. Jesus essentially replies that he is enough just being. For Jesus created him and knows it. The thing is, I never hear Jesus say in a pompous way that he the King of the earth. 

So, this is the first reason I believe Jesus is a hero. He is humble. When John said he was not worthy to baptize him, Jesus simply replied with an affirming smile. Jesus let his creation provide him a service the he established. I love this in a hero.

The other story that intrigued me about Jesus was the crucifixion. Jesus was taken from his disciples at the last super due to Judas betraying him. Jesus was tortured and whipped. He a had a crown of thorns pushed in on his head. He had to carry a huge cross all by himself. In the process, Peter (a disciple) denied he knew Jesus three times. This is where the hero part comes in. Jesus, even with knowing about the betrayals before they happen and their actualization, died for his most beloved creation. He died because he said he was the Son of God and people became afraid/prideful. People were not ready for Jesus's power, which made them fear him wanting him dead. Secondly, current kings of the time wanted to please the people to keep their power. The kings gave people the decision to either let Jesus or Barabbas go and they chose Barabbas. Again, even after all this, Jesus still chose to love his enemies and put others before himself. He died for humanity's sin. Although it was painful, he fully committed to his cause. As a result, he has led many people today throughout their life journey. That's a major hero that still lives in spirit when he is physically gone.  

Storytelling For Week 3: Jesus Escapes the Prophecy

(6th Century Icon)

John was baptizing people one day and all of a sudden the man he heard about starts walking towards him. He said, "Jesus is that you?" Jesus replied, "Yes, I seek to be baptized." John feeling unworthy steps back. Jesus says all are worthy in my eyes. So, John baptized Jesus. Out of nowhere, the Romans started rushing at them. John and Jesus were surrounded and Jesus looked at John fearing for his life. Jesus looked at him and everything slowed down, "John do not be afraid I am with you." The Romans were within striking distance when Jesus snapped His fingers and all were paralyzed standing up. Jesus said, "Why do you persecute me? Don't you know I am here to help you?" The Romans in disarray are released by Jesus and flee from His site. 

After a little while, Jesus gathered disciples so He could teach them his ways.  Judas and Peter were two of his disciples that struggled the most with His teachings. The teaching Jesus loved was to put others before yourself. The reasoning He has was that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Peter and Judas didn't like this because they were concerned with their needs more.

So, finally the night had come that Jesus foretold for many days. Jesus was to be taken by the Romans and betrayed by one of his disciples. As they sat at their last dinner together Peter and Judas said, "Surely it is not I Lord?" The time passed and Peter nor Judas were seen. The Romans showed up to take Jesus away for his blaspheme. "You are not the son of God and have no authority to claim so," they said. Slowly the Romans walked toward Jesus step by step. Everyone is staring at Jesus wondering what He will do. All you can hear is heavy breathing. One Roman guard took his last step to Jesus and said, "Get up." Jesus looked up at him. Boom! The cloth they were all eating on collapsed thanks to Peter and Judas. They both yelled, "Run!" Everyone got out and headed for the hills. Finally safe, went into the woods by himself. 

Jesus was praying to God saying, "Father what am I to do? The prophecy did not come true." God replied, "Son live and keep living. A new time of my creation has come. Your prophecy has changed and I need you to search for men who can spread your word." Jesus did so and lived until he died from old age. People did not like that He proclaimed He was the son of God. He was tortured, but his legacy lives on. Christianity spread all over the world and Jesus learned that sometimes you get a second chance; no matter how short the time is. 

Author's note: -John The Baptist and Jesus

                        -The Miracles of Jesus

                        -The Teachings of Jesus

                        -The Last Supper

-I chose fiction (considering I believe what happened to Jesus was real) and portions of the actual story were changed. I chose fiction because it allowed me to change this story in a subtle yet huge way. My main goal to the story was to give Jesus a little more power that still stayed true to his character and to change Peter/Judas's outcomes. Jesus really got baptized by John the Baptist, but did not get attacked by Romans. I chose the paralyzing Roman power so that Jesus did not harm anyone and still was accountable to his teachings. Also, Judas actually betrays Jesus and Peter denies he knows Jesus three times in the original story. I changed this because I wanted to create a very subtle difference that showed just how easy the other way this story could have gone. Imagine if they all fought and made it free like they did in this story? What would they have done? Imagine the adventures. 

                        

Bibliography: John The Baptist and Jesus, King James Bible (1611) Mark 1

                       The Miracles of Jesus, King James Bible (1611) Mark 6

                       The Teachings of Jesus, King James Bible (1611) Mark 9

                       The Last Supper, King James Bible (1611) Mark 14

Reading Diary B: Gospel of Mark Unit

(Jesus and Disciples, by Duccio di Buoninsegna)

As I read The Teachings of Jesus, things became more interesting. First he started with lessons like the first shall be last and the last shall be first. He means that those who serve themselves more, but ignore others throughout their day who might need their attention must become more selfless. I absolutely agree and am guilty of being first for sure at times. What really caught my attention, was when Jesus went from explaining stories like that to saying things like it is better to cut off your right hand than let it offend you. Why the change all of a sudden? I think maybe it was to intensify the teachings and really get them through to his people. Also, the way they talked back then was entirely different than how we speak today. I don't think he means to literally cut off your hand. So, this made me take a good note to make sure that anything I write, even though I am sure all vernacular in each time period is understood well, will be easily understood. 

The next couple stories that caught my attention dealt with The Last Supper, The Arrest, and Peter's Denial. The thing that boggles my mind the mot about this story is Judas's betrayal of Jesus. Jesus, the one who loved Judas more than anything, gave Judas everything he needed and it still was not enough. Also, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times. Peter did in fact deny him three times. What makes these stories captivating is the relationship the disciples have with Jesus before everything tumbles down. The writers of this story, although I'm sure were sad, wrote it very well. They captured the essence of what makes stories entertaining, humans and their struggle to live in peace with one another. I believe this is why we still have these teachings today. These men believed in their cause and many others have also. Now, we have Christianity because of a message passed down. Think about how powerful words are now when you write anything.  

Table of Contents

Reading Diary A: The Gospel of Mark

(John the Baptist, by John Lorenzetti)

I chose The Gospel of Mark unit because the gospels were recorded by more than one person. Now, it was recorded by one person that was not there at the time. So, I decided to read John the Baptist and Jesus as one story to see what similarities and differences their would be. 

Their were not many differences from the original recordings, but this got me thinking. If a number of people have similar accounts of Jesus, does that make them accurate? You see I believe that these things did happen, but a part of me wonders if there was some embellishment for creativity similar to how we write in our assignments. I don't believe if this is so that it would make the stories any less true. Perhaps they just thought they'd grab our attention more using certain visuals. Either way, its helping me  take stories that have already been written (lets call them true stories or originals) and think about how to change them in a positive way that doesn't take away from the original story's purpose. 

Next, I read about Jesus and the miracles he performed. The one that stunned me the most was how He fed thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Since it is not explained how this miracle transpired, I reminded myself of my earlier theme of how to change stories in a positive way and keep their theme. Now, maybe we are not supposed to know about how the miracle happened, but I started brainstorming how I could write an explanation for the miracle. I will not reveal what this is since I plan to use it in my next story so you will have to wait and see! The bottom line is that the more I read stories that are believed to be true, the more I start to think how to turn them into fiction. This class has made me think outside the box and take stories people have known their entire lives and make them entirely different yet pleasing. 

Table of Contents

Storybook Topics

Topic: Biblical Satire

Comments: I know the main stories of the Bible pretty well, but I am no theologian. I chose this topic because of how much fun I had writing my storytelling post about Alice in Wonderland entering the garden of Eden. I want to learn about the stories in the Bible more. I believe the research I could do would be beneficial in portraying the stories in a respectable fun light. Also, the more I know will make it more funny because I'll have even more information to work with! It seems like it will be a very fun topic.

Possible Stories: There are a ton of websites with Biblical stories. I would name many, but research is the name of the game for me. I like to use Duke's empirical research stories and Wikipedia. If you google anything else about the bible something is sure to come up.

Sample Story and Bibliography Information: The Fall of Man from the book Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) from the Un-Textbook. I chose this story because I know what happens in it and think it'd be fun to add a twist. Eve is tempted by a serpent to eat from a tree God commanded her not to. I like that most know this story so if a pleasing funny change was made, it would have an affect on the reader.

Topic: King Arthur's Journeys

Comments: I know some about King Arthur, but not a ton. I chose this topic because I have always heard wonderful tales about it. I hope to use this topic to help create a modern day King Arthur by including the King himself in the story. I am talking about time travel and all of its mysteries. So, one of my ideas is to twist a plot in a story and transport King Arthur to another time to help another King. Somehow their situations would be related.

Possible Stories: http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html, this site was extremely helpful in finding background information about King Arthur and all of his journeys.

Sample Story and Bibliography Information: The Coming of The Holy Graal within the book King Arthur: Tales of The Round Table by Andrew Lang (1902) from the Un-Textbook. I chose this story because the more I research, I find that pulling stories together from each topic may be very entertaining. The quest for the Holy Graal starts out with disapproval from King Arthur. His men wish to go, but he does not want this. I feel like I could show the Fall of Man scene listed above at the same time as this one. The reason being is it would be a good beginning with so much chaos happening and all of a sudden one of these storied characters gets warped somewhere. I want to put these stories together somehow.

Topic: Beowlf Facing Grendel's Mother

Comments: I chose this topic because I feel since I am in the theme of time travel this topic has characters that would fit into a good plot. I feel Grendel's mother would make a good villain or satan if you will. I plan to have multiple versions of each character in each time they are present in. I cannot reveal the ending though.  I want to learn what makes this story unique make its style fit
present in the story. It reads pretty intensely.


Possible Stories: Other possible stories are Battle with The Dragon, The Battle With Grendel, and Beowulf's Triumph. These are all from the Un-Textbook.

Sample Story and Bibliography Information: Seeking Grendel's Mother in The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs (1933) from the Un-Textbook. I chose this story simply because I like the build up towards Beowulf meeting Grendel and because Grendel would make a good villain. I feel the scene depicted in this story gives me a good format to work with when writing.

Topic: Homer's Odyssey

Comments: I chose this topic because it has great scenes with many characters interacting with one another. If there is one thing I want, its a ton of characters sharing a journey with each other. That is the only way my story will work. Oh I also have tried to incorporate as many different cultural stories and this one is Greek which I did not have yet.

Possible Stories: Other possible stories are The Curse of Polyphemus and The Death of Elpenor. These are all from the Un-Textbook.

Sample Story and Bibliography Information: Escape from the Cyclops from The Odyssey by Homer and translated to English by Tony Kline (2004). I liked how the characters literally just got away from the cyclops. It gives me on ideas how I might have my characters escape Grendel. Everything ties together and each story so far (like this one) gives specific ideas for scenes throughout my whole time travel story.

(Odysseus and Polyphemus, by Bocklin)

Storytelling Week 2: Alice and Rabbit in Eden

(Illustration  by Sir John Tenniel)

Alice walks into Wonderland and runs into her friend Mr. Rabbit. Alice realizes what Mr. Rabbit is running from, a wolf. So, they both run to the nearest rabbit hole falling down. They look around and see that they are in a garden. It is a completely new place and they can't believe it. They are in a new world. Why though?

A voice speaks from the heavens, "Mr. Rabbit and Alice, welcome to the Garden of Eden." Mr. Rabbit and Alice ask why they are there and who the voice was.

The voice replies, "I am God and you are here to make my newest creations, Adam and Eve, perform good choices. You are my creations as well and your job is to make sure that Adam and Eve do not eat from the tree of knowledge or know anything outside what I tell them. You all have knowledge since moving into my world; I am starting a new one. Okay, you have all you need. Goodbye!"

"Wait!" they yell, but it's too late. Alice asks Mr. Rabbit, "How will we know what Adam and Eve look like?"

Mr. Rabbit replies, "They are the only things in this world; we'll know them when we see them." 

Over the hill, they hear something.

Mr. Rabbit grabs Alice and says, "Dear Lord, I think I found Adam and Eve."

Alice says, "What? Oh my God!"

Adam and Eve are completely naked while running up to them.

They say, "Hello."

 They try to hug Mr. Rabbit and Alice. They both push Adam and Eve off them.

"Okay you all, God wants us to tell you two never to eat from the tree of knowledge and to know nothing outside of what God has told you."

Adam replies, "But I already knew Eve before you all got here."

Rabbit says, "What?"

Adam says, "Yeah, three times."

Alice thinks about the logic Adam uses.

Rabbit replies, "How do you know someone three times?"

Alice chimes in. "Yeah, how?"

Adam says, "Through the power of the Holy Spirit." 

"Okay enough jibber jabber," Rabbit says.

"Hey, do you all want some fruit?" They all hear this, but see nothing. They all look up in the tree and there lies a snake who is Satan.

Alice says, "No, that is the tree of knowledge and Adam and Eve are not to eat from there."

Satan says, "Do you always do what you are told? You all are hungry. I can see it in your eyes." Again, they all refuse based on the Lord's commandment. Satan finally threatens, "You all could be more knowledgable than God and if you choose not to eat, I will bite you infecting your body with venom. Then I will feed myself."

Adam replies, "No! Everyone get behind me!" Satan starts to rear up his head as he looks for a good striking point. Satan's ready to strike and right when he does Mr. Rabbit jumps in front of his bite. Mr. Rabbit lies on the ground still from the venom. Satan gets ready to strike again when boom! Mr. Rabbit starts thumping Satan's head up and down with his foot because the venom doesn't affect creatures from other worlds.

As he does this, Mr. Rabbit recites, "In the beginning, God didn't make snakes. Feel the power of seven days of creation bouncing your head in where you came from. P.S. Watch out for birds." Satan is struck down and now Mr. Rabbit with Alice heads back to Wonderland.

Alice and Mr. Rabbit start walking back, but everyone hears God's voice.

"Alice and Mr. Rabbit, it is not time to return home. As a matter of fact, you will be new disciples along Adam and Eve to save all creation from the war to come." Eve, Adam, Alice, and Mr. Rabbit have curious looks on their faces.

Alice says, "I thought all we had to do was save Adam and Eve."

God replies, "Yes, I know, but the world needs you now. I am sending you all into the future to stop Satan's reign over humanity."

Mr. Rabbit responds, "Why should we? I just want to go home."

God says, "If you do not, your home will have never existed for I see the future and what it holds."

Satan shows up with an army of snakes.

Alice yells, "Look!"

Mr Rabbit yells, "Run!" God opens a black hole to transport them to another world. They all jump at the last second just outrunning the snakes and the black hole shuts. All four yell as they jump into a black abyss. They land and see the world they are in is extremely different. 

Author's Note: I chose third person narration as the storytelling style for this story with emphasis in farce. I chose this style because I feel like a large amount of the time when it comes to Bible stories they are always so serious. So, I decided to lighten the mood and make people laugh showing them a story they have always heard in a way they have never seen. So, I chose one of my favorite stories as a kid (Alice in Wonderland)  and incorporated it into the Adam and Eve story in the Bible. My main goal for this story was to present Adam and Eve's ultimate decision in a funny way. I wanted the reader to understand this was a work of fiction and that it is okay to laugh in certain sensitive areas for people. I want people to know from this story that they should enjoy life, laugh, and take it easy. Lastly, I am making a series of time traveling stories and this is the first one. I decided to take many famous stories and mix their characters. Mr. Rabbit, Alice, Adam, and Eve now must figure out how to help God save the world from Satan one world at a time.  

In the original story in the Bible, God created Adam and Eve. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge. Eve is tempted by a snake and started eating from the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve then knew they were naked after eating the fruit. They each started getting knowledge they never had before. That part of the story is known as the fall of man where sinning started. As a result, they were forced to work for everything.

In Alice and Wonderland, Alice chases a white rabbit, Mr. Rabbit, into Wonderland. There she discovered she must stop the queen. So, she took back Wonderland with all of her friends.  

Link to Story: Alice in Wonderland, Link to Story: Adam and Eve

Bibliography: Eve- King James Bible (1611), Un-Textbook

                       Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll (1865), Un-Textbook

Reading Diary B: Bible Women

(Witch of Endor by Martynov)

Table of Contents Link

The three stories I found the most interesting were Esther, Bethsheba, and The Witch of Endor. 

The key difference between many of these stories and the first unit is that God is not present very much. The prophesies about God and of others are there, but these stories take a more humanistic approach. 

In the story of the Witch of Endor, Saul goes to the Witch after he has forbidden witchcraft. He thinks God has left him and therefore does not know what he is to do about the war he is in. He meets someone he did not think he would though, Samuel. Saul inquires Samuel, but he gave him no wisdom. Saul inquired the witch, but she gave him no wisdom either. The witch told him there are reasons God is not happy with you and she cannot fix that. So, Saul got himself in this mess. This is the first example of how these stories took a humanistic approach.

Next, King David falls in love with a woman who is married named Bethsheba. He gets in bed with her and then she gets pregnant. What does David, the guy who is in God's favor, do next? He makes Bethsheba's husband Uriah carry his handwritten death sentence to Joab the general. The order was to leave Uriah on the battlefield so that he will be killed.  The story only mentions God at the end and it said He was not pleased with David's actions.

Lastly, Esther had to be the greatest of all women I have ever known. Esther knew her whole race of people were going to be killed by Haman the King's servant. Esther is the wife of the King and entering the King's quarters without approval of him is death. Esther entered and told of Haman's evil plot. The King had Haman hung on the barracks he was going to hang the Jews from. Mordecai, Esther's family, pushed her to talk to the King because she was frightened before. So, again here there is an example of humans saving one another without God interacting the whole time. 

That is the most interesting thing to me about all of this. Saul got himself into his problems with the war and being far from God. King David killed a man to have a wife. Esther saved everyone because of her courage and wisdom from Mordecai. I am sure God was there for them, but no one really speaks about God in these stories at all like they did in the first unit. This is why this unit was exciting for me to read.

Extra Reading Diary: Alice in Wonderland

(Picture by Charles Robinson)

Alice in Wonderland: Link to table of contents

I found the first half of the Alice in Wonderland unit extremely fascinating. The reason I find it so intriguing is because how bizarre the story is, yet it relates to our lives. 

This story offers questions we all ask ourselves throughout our entire lives. Who are we? Where do we want to go? Do we fight for what we want or back down? Do we walk aimlessly through life or live it to the fullest? Alice experienced all of these questions already in the first unit!

First, she goes down a hole and in a matter of hours has already switched sizes physically multiple times. Alice changes physically and I think it signifies human change as well over time. She gets frustrated and does not understand why all of these things are happening to her. Does that sound familiar? 

Here are a couple of examples of some life lessons Alice teaches us. The caterpillar asks Alice who she is. She says she doesn't know because how many times she's changed that day. The caterpillar says explain yourself. Alice replies I can't because I am not myself. The caterpillar would continue to badger her to where Alice brought up how the caterpillar would turn into a butterfly and might understand one day. I say all this to make a point that I believe the story might be making. When going through life we experience a ton of change, but the only reason we experience stress and hardship is because we allow that feeling to live in us. The only person that can take control and save us is ourselves. So, like Alice when she doesn't know how to react with so much fast change, we can either move on or stay immobile. 

A very short note I would like to add is when Alice gets a very long neck. A bird calls her a serpent and argues with her about her identity. Alice refutes being a serpent. All I'd like to say for this life lesson is that things are not always what they seem. Do not judge people so quickly by their appearance and in general. 

The last life lesson I believe in the story is about decisions we make. The cat asks Alice where she wants to go at the end of this unit. Alice replies anywhere but here. The cat says then that it doesn't matter which place you go. Alice insists on ending up somewhere. The cat then says walk long enough and you'll definitely end up in a location. So, the point in this piece of the story is how you live your life. Do you live it with purpose and make decisions on your own to get where you want to be? Is it the other way around and you aimlessly walk through life taking the easy way out when given a chance? I believe this is what the writer could have meant to be pondered. 

Now, understand that I am just guessing at what the writer may have wanted. However, even if it wasn't, I think my points have value and may make whoever is reading this think critically. 

Reading Diary A: Bible Women

(Garden of Eden, By Lucas Cranach)

Table of Contents

The one thing I truly enjoyed about all of these stories is that they all had similar common themes such as trust and birth.

This is most evident with the story the unit begins with and I believe sets the tone. The story of Adam and Eve begins with God creating them and laying out the principles for which they were to follow. God told them to not eat from a tree and so they obeyed, for a while. A serpent started talking to Eve though and persuaded her to eat from the tree. Instantly, Adam and Eve knew they were naked. God found they had disobeyed him and punished them. Those two were to work for the rest of their lives. This story is how many believe the earth began and I believe pushes a further question. If you are a believer, do you trust God and why? Or are you trying to figure out who God is? This story I like because it causes everything to be put into question. So, to those reading this; what do you trust?

The other story that intrigued me was about Sarah. Sarah was an older woman and in short God decided she would bear a child. Sarah and her husband were in so much doubt that they questioned for a while if they believed they would have a child. Again, the theme of trusts comes into play. Well, they end up having a child and give all the glory to God.

So, this brings up another point. What will birth from either trusting or not trusting God? You see it will not always be pleasant following God it seems, but He always will see you through to the end also. Adam and Eve did not trust and this birthed their punishment. Sarah did what God said and bore a son. So, the reason I say all of this is because I believe these two stories in this half of the unit showed the greatest dynamic of both the good and the bad that can come from following God.