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.

Reading Diary A: 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.