Essay: Our Fears

(The Two Corpses)

Table of Contents

The Two Corpses had one fear that is completely universal to all humans, death. Two corpses chase a soldier through a cemetery. The soldier has to choose between the two most common reactions humans would have in this situation, fight or flight. What I mean is, people either will either fight back or cave in under pressure. The soldier runs into a church and waits. The two corpses get into a fight and then the soldier sneaks out untouched. The soldier was smart and fought back waiting for the opportune moment to escape. The source of the fear in this story, and really any scary story, is how unsettling the circumstances are. Then naturally, a person reading this puts themselves in the character's shoes. So, when someone sees or reads a story like this with outrageous circumstances, most of their immediate thoughts are "Oh my gosh that would suck," which leads to "What if that were me!" The source of fear is in the unsettling circumstances that make it feel real. 

In The Witch Girl, death also is the fear displayed. Death itself isn't what makes it scary though. The fact that the death comes by a Witch, evil mythical forces, is what makes it scary. In the story, a witch comes by every house in a town at night time and kills whoever she wishes. The people never know when she will strike though. The setting, nighttime, makes it really scary. No one has any idea when she strikes. So, this one has a happy ending though with a guy that cuts her arm off leaving her useless. The guy who did this, like above, fought back in challenging circumstances. People want to overcome evil and these writers did a good job playing to that. I do not know why people like to read or watch stories like this. I guess the only logical conclusion is that people liked to be scared. 

Essay: Magic and the Supernatural

(Excalibur, by Howard Pyle)

Table of Contents

The Sword Excalibur 

In this story, the major magical element that happened was when King Arthur and Merlin go to get the sword they have been longing for. Again, I already stated this in one of my posts earlier, but I expected Arthur to pull the sword out of a stone. What actually happened was that a hand magically appeared and was grasping a sword coming out of the water. this was rather shocking. Later on in the stories you learn that there is even more emphasis on finding the holy graal. This makes me think that the sword appearing to the men this way was from spiritual forces. I personally think God was aiding them in this story so they can fulfill their journey.  I thought it was really cool because it literally seems like the hand of God was in their favor. They were apart of something miraculous! 

The Adventure of Sir Bors

In this story, Sir Bors is a man that is completely pure, but is tempted along his journey to break that trend. Bors runs into his brother and they enter into a fight. They exchange blows for quite some time and then Bors decides that he is going to kill his brother. Right when he is about to strike, both of their shields light on fire, smoke fills the air, and each fall unconscious. This is supernatural work again I believe. Whenever I read it, I saw this as God looking out for his son and protecting him in a time of weakness. It is really cool because if you believe in a God, it makes you think about your life and what supernatural instances might have occurred. For instance, I almost went with my sister in her car one time, but I decided not too because she was emotionally distraught. She wrecked and the passenger side, where I would have been, was wrapped around a telephone pole. I would have died. I believe God gave me that wisdom to not go that time. My sister came out fine and is safe. 

Essay: Tricksters and Fools

(arctic fox, photo by Will Brown)

Table of Contents

Pâtussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle has a very interesting trickster in the story. The man, whose name is the first word of this paragraph, killed his uncle because he wanted his wife. This man who killed him though already had a wife. So, he thought all was fine and he would just keep living his life. In the following days though, something happened. He was attacked by a fox. The fox was his amulet. He survived the fox. That didn't last long though. The next day he was attacked by a bear and was killed. All of this happened because of his actions against his uncle. The trickster in the story was the man himself who thought he could get away with murdering his uncle. It turns out, he ended up being the fool as well getting himself killed. 

The Wife Who Lied had a similar outline. A woman is not satisfied with her life so she goes from her husband's tribe and back to her native tribe. She tells her native tribe a lie and they go to kill every woman in her husband's camp. They do this and when the husband's cap follows them for revenge, they kill them too. In the process though, the woman's native tribe discovers she lied. So, two men that laugh crazily drag her off while all the fighting is going on. The killed her without hesitation. This ending is similar to the story above. The woman is the trickster when she tells her tribe a lie and they believe her. The lie got her killed though, which makes her the fool in the story also. 

This is the first time I have seen that the trickster and fool are one character in two stories this semester. They are ind of sad, but very interesting stories! 

Essay: Tricksters and Fools

(flint arrowheads)

Table of Contents

Flint Visits the Rabbit has a trickster that will also show up in the second story I analyze. In this story, the animals in the forest ask a rabbit to take care of a hunter called Flint. The rabbit asks Flint to go back to his place for dinner. Flint then says he's got to do something, but rabbit tells him he can do that later. When they get close enough to rabbit's home, rabbit stabs Flint and sprints into his home. The rabbit is the trickster in the story and is extremely persuasive with Flint coming up with anything as an excuse for Flint to make his way to his home. The rabbit knew he had to be fast since Flint had a gun. So, he waited until he was close to his home to attack and sprint there. He was very smart and saved the forest! 

Why the Possum's Tail Is Bare had a similar trickster from the last story. The rabbit in this story is jealous of the possum and his tail. The possum is extremely prideful about his tail and the rabbit is sick of hearing about it. So, like in the last story, the rabbit gets clever. The possum asked him to brush his tail and make sure it looks great for the dance (since the rabbit set him up to purposely be the center of attention after he is done with his tail). The rabbit does so, but asks the cricket (the dresser) to take the hair off the possum's tail. This happens and at the dance the possum notices when everyone is laughing at him. The main difference for this rabbit trickster from the last story is that the protagonist gave the rabbit an excuse and chance to shave his tail. In the last story, the Rabbit had to go persuade Flint to go with him. Also, the main difference in general is that in one story a character died from the trickster while the other story just had embarrassment involved. 

Essay: Tricksters and Fools Between a Monkey and Turtle

(Philippine turtle, by P. Fidenci)

Table of Contents

In the Monkey and the Turtle,  those two characters mess with each other so much it is unbelievable.  So, first the turtle asked the monkey to bring down some fruit from the tree, but the monkey ended up eating all of it. So, the turtle became the first trickster in the story and put sharp sticks at the bottom of the tree. When the monkey came down the next time, he injured himself very badly. The monkey seeks to revenge himself now. He went and found the turtle, but the turtle told him that he can have some food he was guarding for the king only if he eats it once far away from the area so turtle wouldn't be punished. The food burned the monkey's mouth and he was angrier than before. This is the second time the turtle is the trickster in the story and the monkey is the fool.  Now the monkey went to find the turtle to finish this once and for all. The turtle yelled though, asking if the monkey wanted to wear the King's belt. The monkey replied of course he did! The turtle told him to wait outside of a hole and it will come out soon. A snake came out of the hole and when the monkey grabbed it, it almost killed him squeezing him near to death. This is the third time the monkey was fooled. Lastly, the monkey sat on a coconut-shell and called out to the turtle. The turtle called out "here I am" several times.  The monkey could not see the turtle and thought it was his stomach yelling. The monkey became so angry with his stomach that he hit it brutally with a stone many times. The monkey died from all of the hits he took. This is the fourth and last time the monkey was fooled. 

Essay: Tragedy and Pathos

(hawk)

Why a Hawk Kills Chickens

In this story, the reason for why hawks kill chickens is explained through a fictional tale. A chicken decided to go back on her dowry agreement to marry a hawk. Instead, she married someone else. The hawk's king told him that it was okay for him to kill any child that his ex-mistress conceived. This is the part of the story that is filled with tragedy; the part that isn't told to the reader. I believe this for two reasons.

First, it is sad to think about anything losing its child. So, personally it made me think about what I would do if someone hurt my kids in the future. 

Secondly, this story has Nigerian origin and it made me fearful for the reality it might reflect their. Women in this part of the world are completely not valued. They are sold as slaves, wives, etc. A large part of this is done through the dowry system. When I read that the chicken was being exchanged through the dowry system, it made me think of all the girls that are being mistreated, Again, it made me think about my mom and sister personally. Men will do what they wish even here in the U.S. Some systems are not justifiable. 

Those are the two reasons I found that story tragic.

Why the Bat Flies by Night 

In this story, the Bat killed a Bush Rat. That is the tragic part to me. The fact that just out of jealousy the Bat killed the Bush Rat is incomprehensible to me. The Bat's reasoning was poor. 

Secondly, how the Bat killed the Bush Rat is tragic also. The Bat told the Bush Rat that he jumps into the boiling water and the juices that come off of his skin give the food its great flavor. So, the Bush Rat tried it at home, but died from the boiling water. The Bush Rat's wife was very sad and had the king search for the Bat. It was the loss of life and the Bat escaping that gave this part of the story its awful feeling. 

Table of Contents

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. 

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. 

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.