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.