Reading Notes: Native American Hero Tales Part B

Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away

This story had a very dark and kind of twisted beginning. I couldn't help but wonder as I was reading it why Red-Woman would be so set on killing the man's wife and harming the babies as she did. This is what I would focus on for a rewrite of this piece to give it more of a background and a hope that it makes a little bit more sense to the readers somehow.

When the wife was killed, one of the sons was thrown behind

a simple curtain such as this. Source: Pixabay

The Son-in-Law Tests

I actually really enjoyed reading this story. There isn't much about the story line itself that I would want to change but I think that I could change the format somehow to enhance the story. Maybe I would write it as a journal/diary or something keeping a log of the tests being endured.

The Jealous Father

Again, this story seemed to be lacking quite a bit where background is concerned. If I were to do my rewrite for this portion, I would spend time focusing on why the father hated the son so much. I might even take it step further to try and figure out a resolution for this conflict.

Dirty-Boy

This story had a very Cinderella feel to me. I would want to rewrite this in a way that somehow modernized what is going on. Maybe the kids are in high school and the nerdy boy is trying to win the popular girls heart. This would be a potentially fun one to look at working with.

Bibliography

Stith Thompson's Native American Hero Tales

Reading Notes: Native American Hero Tales Part A

The Jealous Uncle

This story was a little bit dark and hard to follow a little bit because of it. One thing that i thought would lighten that up a little bit is to change the perspective to that of the wife of the uncle or someone else near to him. This unnatural uncle could then be observed and the onlooker could try to stop them somehow so that there was a little bit more hope for the boys with their uncle.

Bluejay and His Companions

This story was much easier to follow and keep track of what was going on. I would focus this on the perspective of the grouse venting his frustrations and to let them know that he is upset that all he gets is the fat of their catchings.

The taunting bluejay that taunted his grouse friend.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Dug-From-Ground

The story of Dug-From-Ground was really interesting but I thought that it took quite a bit of storytelling to get it started. For that reason, I wonder if that is something that I could fix up with a rewrite of my own. I am not exactly sure what this would look like, but it is a thought that I think that I could easily entertain. Maybe I would focus more of the story on figuring out exactly what it is that he can and cannot do or something like that.

The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle

I didn't particularly care for this story, partly because I don't really know which direction I would want to take a rewriting assignment. I could potentially do a series of letters about the attacks or something like that.

Bibliography

Stith Thompson's Native American Hero Tales

Week 10 Storytelling: The Buffalo-Man

The Buffalo-Man

There once was a young hunter who went out to find himself a wife. However, he identified more with the buffalo than he did his fellow humans and decided to mate with one of them instead. Finding one that pleased him, he stayed with her and they had a son after the right time had passed. However, the hunter was greatly ashamed of what he had done and decided not to stay in his son's life. He fled and returned to his old life.

Years later, the young buffalo son greatly desired to meet his father and set out to find them. He sat and observed everyone coming through the village, trying to pick out who he belonged to. Many men came and went, but he did not find any that seemed as if they could be his father. Then, a man passed through on his was to the market that caught the young buffalo's attention. He wasn't sure why he of all people seemed like a possibility, but he pursued him anyway. As he approached, the young hunter had a look of sudden recognition come over his face and realized that it was his son. He was immediately overcome with joy and knew immediately he could no longer not be present in his son's life. However, when he announced this, his son's buffalo community wasn't so sure that he deserved such privilege. How do we know he's going to be genuine this time, they questioned. As a result, they decided to test the man.

As a test, they put the young buffalo in the herd with all of his friends and made the father guess which one belonged to him. His son was desperate for his father to be correct so he had small signals that he used to alert the man, allowing him to accurately identify which buffalo was his son. The buffalo weren't convinced however, and made him try again. This went on for a while until the man got confused and suddenly picked the wrong buffalo as his son. He knew immediately that he had messed up because he saw a young buffalo's face fall instantly and knew that that was his son instead of the one that he had picked.

Once the test was over, the buffalo royalty met and made a decision. They ultimately decided that the man could stay with his son because they had pity on him, but there was going to be a consequence for his error in his ways. They decided that he would be allowed to stay, but that he must also become a buffalo to prove his loyalty to the herd. The man hesitated but accepted because of the love he had found for his son recently. That wasn't something he was willing to give up. Instantly, the man took on his buffalo form and headed off into the field to join his new family and start this new life that was now laid out in front of him.

The hunter turned into a buffalo to pass the rest of his life.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Author's Note

I rewrote this piece based on The Piqued Buffalo-Wife by Stith Thompson. I liked the way the story unfolded but I decided that I wanted to change the ending a little bit by having the family rain together in buffalo form. I kept most of the rest of the story the same but did change the was that it was worded and cut down some of the elaborate details to make it more of a short story.

Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales Part B

General Notes about Part B

Something that I noticed about this second half of the reading as a whole is that the pieces were all incredibly lengthy. For the most part, the stories were good but it was hard at points to stay intrigued and interested in what was going on in the work. This would be something that would be a good idea to keep in mind when it comes time to do my rewrite for the week if I were to pick one of these stories from this half of the collection.

The Dog-Husband

This story was interesting and also seemed to have a little bit of naivety to it, especially at the beginning when it talked about the dog laying with the girl in human form but then turning back into a dog so that no one knew what they were doing. It made me think of a modern day tale where the boy would come sneak in through the window and then the two would have to remember that he had to sneak out before anyone managed to find him. This is the route that I would want to take a rewrite if I were to choose this one for the assignment.

The Youth Who Joined the Deer

This story was kind of sad and made me feel sorry for the wife and kids that he left at the very beginning. With that in mind I think I would want to do the rewrite portion of the assignment in such a way that he was followed by his wife and she found out for herself firsthand what he had been up to in her absence. This could even be written in a diary or journal format to make it more original and unique from the actual version in the collection.

The Girl and the Turkeys

This story was interesting because a Turkey is not an animal that I have read much up on. I think for a rewrite, however, I would simply change the animal that they have. Maybe instead of a turkey they would have a horse or something like that. A horse seems like it would be more functional so I could probably go a lot of different directions with something like that.

The great type of turkey that I envisioned the girl having

in the original version of the story. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography

Stith Thompson's Native American Marriage Tales

Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales Part A

The Piqued Buffalo-Wife

This was an interesting and entertaining story to read because it was very unique from anything else that I have read thus far for the purpose of this class. I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do for a rewrite of the tale, but my favorite is the idea of changing the ending to where the father does actually guess his son correctly. However, as a remaining consequence for his distrust in his wife, the family would remain as buffalo instead of reuniting as humans.

The man had to look for his son in a herd of a bunch of buffalo

and had a hard time picking him out. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bear-Woman and Deer-Woman

This story was also interesting, but also slightly predictable. Because of its predictability, I think I would like to do a rewrite in which the Doe actually overcame the Grizzly instead of the other way around. I think this would add a level of surprise to the story because it would not be the expected outcome but the underdog would instead be victorious. 

Splinter-Foot-Girl

I hadn't ever really read a story like this either but I really enjoyed it. Something that might be fun for a rewrite is combining both this story and the story of Jacob trying to earn Rachel as his wife in the bible. This would be fun because the stories are already slightly similar so it would be interesting to try to change the outcome in such a way and see where it leads.

The Eagle and Whale Husbands

I didn't feel like there was a whole lot happening in this story, partly because of the fact that it was written in only 600 words. For that reason, I would want to use the rewriting assignment as an opportunity to expand on the details given. I think I would format it in a series of letters that is written by the two wives as they update their long lost friends on their new lives as they are separated from each other. 

The Fox-Woman

I like how all of these stories seem to have a transformation take place that wouldn't normally be expected. For a rewrite of this one, I think I would change her reaction when the hunter inquired her of the smell. I would somehow make it more of a punishment instead of getting away with making such a rude comment.

The Woman Stolen by Killer Whales

This story didn't really seem to have any type of ending but instead just kind of left everything up to interpretation and assumption. For that reason, I would want to somehow tie it up to where there aren't so many questions about what happened in the ending of the short story. I might would make it to where the man somehow got confined to the water as a punishment for killing the whale's friend and not taking better care of his own wife.

The Rolling Head

Even from the title of this piece, I was intrigued to say the least. The piece was a little bit creepy but honestly, I am not entirely sure how I would even go about doing a rewrite of a piece like this. The only thing that I can think of is further explaining the consequence of the children or making them pay a greater price for their actions but I am not sure that I like that alternative so much as the way that the original work is written. 

The Bear-Woman

This story vaguely reminded me of the Disney movie, Brother Bear. I'm not sure how to go about a rewrite of this unit but I feel like the men didn't ever have to pay for what they did to the bears so that might be something to take into consideration were I to decide to take a second look at this specific section and try to change it up a bit.

Bibliography

Stith Thompson's Native American Marriage Tales

Famous Last Words: No Free Time

I feel like the title of this post just about sums up my thoughts on how things are going right now. I am always studying, meeting with people, going to meetings, and trying to remember not to miss breakfast, lunch, or dinner. With all of that, there is hardly any free time to do the things that I sometimes want to such as just hanging out and watching Netflix for a little while or, honestly, just getting to sit still for a while and not do anything at all.
However, even in the busyness, I am still enjoying this semester. I got to go home last weekend during OU/TX because I didn't feel like spending as much money as an adventure to Dallas would have cost so I just drove a little bit further and went on to my home in Waco, Texas. I got to go see my sisters do things for their cheer squad and high school band that I would not have gotten to see otherwise, which was a lot of fun. I miss my sisters a lot while I am here in Norman, and my parents too. My dad just found out that he will actually be able to come up for Dad's Day on November 11th when OU plays TCU and I couldn't be more excited. I also hope we seriously beat TCU because, having grown up in Waco with lots of Baylor ties, they are about my least favorite team of all.

A personal photo of my sister and the other seniors on her squad.

She's the short one with curly brown hair.

This weekend, I have to go to a retreat for my sorority. I know that it will be fun once I get there, but right now I am having trouble working up the desire to go because I have so much to do and would kill for an uneventful weekend at this point in the semester. Then, tomorrow night, we are going out and celebrating my roommate, Jillian, that will be turning 21. All of these things will be super fun but I am hoping that I can find some time to rest in the midst of the. Here's hoping! :)

Week 9 Story: Where the Monkey King Came From

Where the Monkey King Came From

The great monkey that was found in the East would go

on to be declared King of all creatures around him.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A long time ago in a remote land in the East, there was a desolate stretch of land that bore no life. There was but a wide open space that nothing inhabited. That is, until one day when a brave adventurer found an old egg just lying in the middle of the landscape. Confused and alarmed because of the rarity of what had just happened, he searched for the mother of the egg that would never be found. After searching for quite a while, the villager decided that it was of no use and headed back to his home. He decided to leave the egg in a lush green forested area, convincing himself that that was far better than it being in the open by itself.

A few weeks after the egg had been moved, it began to hatch one day. Emerging from it was a monkey unlike anything else that was typically found in the particular region. The monkey looked rather ordinary but it had somehow seemed to inhabit some great kind of magical powers that set it aside from anything else in existence. In fact, the monkey was so powerful and advanced that it was running and doing mature tasks for a monkey just moments after it was born. To anyone who saw this taking place, they knew it was something special. All the other creatures, in fact, saw him and were so amazed at what was taking place that they deemed him their great king and put him in charge of the whole forest. With great joy, the young monkey that had just been declared king of all creatures around him decided that he was going to do whatever it took to be the greatest master that they had ever seen in this part of the world. Little did he know, this promise would be incredibly difficult to keep and he would end up going to unbelievable lengths to try and keep his word to his people. 

Author's Notes

I based this story off of the piece, Handsome King of the Apes, which is the first story in the Monkey King unit. I decided to write this story in a way that would give the King more of a background of where he came from and why he was so set apart from everyone else around him. I really spent the majority of the rewrite time focusing on the egg itself and where it came from since that is the thing that I had said I wanted to know more about in my reading notes. I also added an aspect of adventure to the piece and changed it up just a little bit to where it is more of a preface for the story collection as a whole.

Reading Notes: The Monkey King Part B

The Lord of the Heavens

This is an interesting piece to read and also a good one to tie the two halves of the story collection together. I think a fun idea for a rewrite of this piece would be to modernize it and have it set in a coffee shop where the characters come to meet the Lord of the Heavens and tell him why they are so upset with the great monkey king.

The great monkey king. Source: Pixabay

The Great Saint

I like the way that the lesson in this piece is so clear and easy to see. For a rewrite, I am considering changing what happens to the opposite. I would give the king a job that is considered to be of high authority and then have him decide he was too lonely or that it was too hard, driving him to the same conclusion that this low job did in the original version.

Notscha, Son of Li Dsing

There's an interesting aspect of trickery in this section in the way that Notscha was disguised as a young kid and Sun Wu Kung didn't even notice it, catching him off guard when the other prince began to swing at him. For a rewrite, I might consider changing the power that Sun Wu Kung utilized and change it from something like invisibility instead of shape shifting.

The Queen-Mother of the West

This was an odd story and I had a harder time understanding the point of it than I did with most of the other things that I have read so far in this collection. I am not sure which direction I would like to take a rewrite but maybe I could do something as simple as even writing it from the perspective of the Queen instead of the voice that it is in now.

Laotzse

For a rewrite of this piece, I was thinking that I could simply change the format to a letter instead of the style that it is written in right now. This could be a letter of correspondence between the Queen and Sun Wu Kung about the festival where they fight out their differences in opinion with each other.

Guan Yin

I like how this story talks about the fairies that had been trapped in their spot, but have now regained their freedom. This might be a small aspect to focus on but I like the idea of writing a story from their perspective about how they might plan to get back at the monkey king or seek their revenge for being trapped.

Yang Oerlang

Again, I like the shape shifting part of this story but I could write it in a style similar to my idea for the Notscha piece and make him invisible instead. I would keep the outcome the same, but simply change how he got to the final result. 

The Destiny of Sun Wu Kung

I think that a fun idea for a rewrite on this would also be to do a boot camp/training session of some sort where Sun Wu Kung is trying to prove himself to the Buddha. It would end with his destiny being determined based on his performance.

Journey to the West (Synopsis & Conclusion)

This story was interesting, but I don't think that it is one that I want to use as my rewrite for this unit. I had a hard time understanding pieces of it and I don't know what I would want to change about it.

Bibliography

R. Wilhelm's Monkey King Unit

Reading Notes: The Monkey King Part A

The Handsome King of the Apes

I like this section as a set-up for the rest of the stories that are to come, especially in retrospect as I have read some of the following stories. This one might be fun for a rewrite because there are a lot of opportunities that a small change might make interesting. I was thinking it would be fun, too, to possibly look at adding an adventure filled aspect that talks about someone finding the egg and giving it more of a background. 

The great and handsome king of the apes. Source: Pixabay

The Great Sea

This story was interesting, but I didn't feel like it really had an ending that summed anything up. I know that it is technically a part of a collection that is better than it standing alone, but I thought that it might be fun to rewrite it in a way that allows it to be more independent. For that reason, for a rewrite, I would probably want to change it to where we know if the Monkey King got what he was looking for and there would also be more details about how he came to find this key to a long life.

Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name

I like the way that this story explains how the Monkey King came into contact with the woodchopper. It might be fun for a rewrite to add an aspect of trickery in this where the woodchopper were to act as if he were in fact the saint that the King was looking for. I also like the idea of adding a letter aspect where the Monkey King could write to the saint and make his request in that format. I am not sure which direction I will go with this one, but both seem promising.

The Master

I wonder if, for a rewrite, I could incorporate something into this to where the Monkey King did in fact find a way to gain eternal life. It also would be fun to rewrite it in such a way that the Monkey King received some kind of punishment or some reason to regret not being willing to take all of the things that the master offered to him.

Learning the Art

I think a fun rewrite for this one would be to modernize it a little bit and make it to where it is very obviously a training camp for him to learn these skills. I would use a boot camp type style and write in a way that showed how difficult and strenuous it was for him to achieve what he wanted. 

Sun Wu King Departs

After having finished his training and seeing his hard work pay off, I would want to use this option to have the Monkey King write a letter to someone back home from his journey. This would be a good opportunity to have him show what he has gone through to complete his task and how tough the journey is in a very personal way.

The Devil-King

For my rewrite on this, I would want to write it in such a way that it is from the Devil-King. It would be written from the perspective of the demon so that he could follow the Monkey King and express why he dislikes him and wants to fight him so much from his own perspective.

The Dragon-King

This story had the same effect for me as the Devil-King one did. I'm not sure what to do with this one for a rewrite because it was not my favorite so I probably would not use it as a retelling option.

The Dragon-Queen

This piece was also interesting and I like the way that it fit in and continued to show the great monkey king's power over everyone. I think it would be fun to rewrite this in a way that changed what the rod could do. Instead of growing and shrinking, I would write about it so that it could make people do things they didn't necessarily want to do. 

The Nether World

This is another one that I'm not really sure how I would incorporate into a retelling of. I could do something with the dream that he had and change that in some way or even somehow change how the realization came to him of what he had to do to prevent his people from dying. 

Bibliography

R. Wilhelm's Monkey King Unit

Week 8 Progress

Looking Back

As of right now, I feel like I am doing a pretty good job as far as making progress. I have over 250 points at this point, which means that I am just over half way to getting the A that I want in this course. I think that my favorite class assignment is actually some of the extra credit that we have the opportunity to do. I particularly like the Famous Last Words post because I think it is both fun and beneficial to look back at my week and see what has happened and what I am expecting the next week to look like as well. I try to get about 10-15 points of extra credit most weeks, but there have been a few weeks that have been extra crazy that I haven't worried about too much as far as the extra credit.

Making progress on getting through the semester.

Source: Pixabay

Looking Forward

The biggest thing that I see for the coming weeks is that I am going to have to stay on top of things with my time management. I have not done a bad job of this up until this point, but my semester is back loaded and I will have a lot more going on these next couple of months. For that reason, if I am not careful, a lack of time management will cause my work in this class to suffer at least slightly in an effort to get through everything that will need to be completed. I think that as we continue into the rest of the semester, I may want to try to change up some of my extra credit options that I have done thus far, all in an effort to get through the course before week 16. If I could finish around week 14 or 15, I would consider it a success.

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

Feedback In

Something that I have really enjoyed through this class thus far is the feedback that I have received, and specifically the quality of it. It has been helpful to get comments week in and week out to see how I can improve the quality of what I am writing in order to better myself. The most helpful commenting has been on my storybook collection, providing clarity as to how I can make that the best that it can be. 

I've been able to get more feedback than I expected

from a wide variety of people. Source: Pixabay

Feedback Out

I have also enjoyed getting to give the feedback to other people on their work. It's something that I've been asked to do in a variety of settings, especially in the English courses that directly pertain to my major, but there has never been such a time to learn how to give the best possible feedback. I think that aspect of this part of the course has been my favorite. I have loved reading the articles about how to give feedback and being able to apply them to this course and even other courses in the future that I'm sure will have a feedback component. 

Blog Comments

The commenting aspect of this course has also been interesting to me thus far, especially considering that it is so unique to this online experience for me. I've never particularly enjoyed online classes as much as in person because I felt like I was just off on my own doing my own thing but that has not been the case for this course. I enjoy the requirement to comment on however many blogs each week because it incorporates a chance to get to know people and get a few points while you're at it, providing an incentive.

Looking Forward

The only thing I can think of that might make this aspect of the class more useful is if I do a better job of budgeting some amount of time to look over this and really give good feedback. I think that there have been some weeks that I have been in a hurry and my quality could have been a little bit better had I planned a little bit more efficiently. 

Week 8 Reading and Writing

It's crazy to think that this semester is already almost half way done. In fact, we're coming up on fall break which serves as the official marker of the end of the first half of the term. Through the 8 week of course work that I have done for this course thus far, I think that my favorite reading section is from the Noah collection that I read in one of the earlier weeks of the semester. I particularly enjoyed this one because of the new perspective it put on a story I had heard numerous times in scripture and in church, having grown up in a Christian family. I also particularly enjoyed this segment of the reading because it gave me an idea for one of the stories that I want to add to my story book collection in the second half of the semester as I continue to work on completing that. I'm really excited to continue working on my semester project and to see where that leads me in the coming
couple of months.

With 19 hours, this is how much reading it feels like I have assigned nightly

in all of my classes combined. Source: Pixabay

Something that has been a little bit daunting for me thus far is the time management aspect of this course, especially in regards to the Tuesday and Wednesday reading notes assignments. There have definitely been a couple of weeks that I had a tough time completing everything in what I saw as a timely manner, also somewhat in part to the fact that I am enrolled in 19 hours and it feels like there are constantly a million things that need my attention. I'm not entirely sure how to fix this for the second half of the semester but I'm just going to keep on keeping on and try to stay on top of the readings. Maybe I could even try and use the end of the previous week to read the first few sections of material for the next week to get a head start on this post that seems to take so much time every week. I want to figure out how to be more efficient in this aspect because although the readings are great and I feel that my notes are very thorough, I also feel that I only use a very small portion of the notes that I do take in recreating my own story each week for Thursday's assignment.

Week 7 Story: A Dragon's Tale

Yoto the dragon looked over the village and watched the people run in terror. Seeing the disarray and the chaos that took place beneath him, he was pleased with himself. That'll show him, he thought to himself. He thought back on all the villagers that had journeyed up to his cave, tried to slay him, and then left and continued on with their lives like there was no issue at hand. He didn't understand how people could be so heartless. After all, he was the dragon. Wasn't he supposed to be the cruel and terrifying one?

Yoto the dragon, in all of his glory. Source: Public Domain Pictures

It had all started when a villager named Yamato came to his home and tried to force the dragon out. He recalled how the man had been so loud and overwhelmingly obnoxious, clanging his gear and shouting that he was here to take over and that the dragon's reign was to be no more. Yoto didn't even know what that was supposed to mean. Outraged, he flared his nostrils and began to snarl as he went around the corner to inform his unwanted visitor that he was not going anywhere unless it was on his own accord. It ultimately ended in him having to breathe a little bit of fire to show the village who was boss, sending the man running back to his home to proclaim how dangerous and terrible the dragon was. That was what Yoto hated most of all. It was after that encounter that he decided that if that was what everyone expected from him, then that was just what he would have to live up to.

Dismayed to be back in the moment, he continued to look on at the village. People were still running and things were still burning, but he suddenly didn't feel so bad about it. With a new mission, he made his way to the palace to determine to fate of all who inhabited it. This'll show them who's boss and what it's like to always have intruders, he thought to himself as he made the final strides into he palace to change the fate of the village forever.

Author's Note

When I was reading this piece, I felt like the dragon was made out to be this terrible creature but not given a chance to tell his side of the story. I wanted to fix that with my own story. I changed the perspective to that of the dragon and allowed him to explain why he was so angry all the time, resulting in the piece above.

Bibliography

E.W. Champney and F. Champney's The Labors of Yamato: The Dragon

Reading Notes: Japanese Mythology Part B

The Labors of Yamato- The Grotto of Love

This was an interesting story to read, but one that I have heard multiple that are similar. I think for a rewrite it might be entertaining to write about a wife that was tired of her husband's devotion, instead of the way that it is the other way around in the original version. Writing it this way would add a level of modernity and difference in the new version that would be unparalleled. 

The Labors of Yamato- The Golden Apple

I enjoyed this Golden Apple segment. Thinking about how to do a rewrite, I like the idea of putting a little bit of a Snow White spin on it and making it centered around one character's journey to find the apple and to figure out what it does. I might also even change up my rewrite to change what the golden apple is able to do that makes it so special.

The Labors of Yamato- The Demon Boar

This story was different than many of the others in the collection even. For a rewrite, I would want to use the letter writing or journal entry format to write mine in which I can tell the feelings of the Demon and the other characters surrounding. This would add a certain level of feeling and accountability to make it more believable and personal.

The Labors of Yamato- The Grass-Cleaving Sword

In order to rewrite this story, I think I would want to more closely focus on the disaster that is at hand with the grass-cleaving sword. Somehow, I would add more details so that there was a more thorough background provided to explain exactly what happened when the grass was mowed down and made into a flame and consuming the people. It would also be fun to rewrite a segment of it that showed how the people might rebuild their city after the fact. 

The Labors of Yamato- The Sacred Sword

I think that for this story, I would want to change the point of view for the rewrite. Maybe I could even write it from the perspective of the princess and what she is seeing her husband go through. I also think that it would be fun to incorporate an adventure of some sort that shows what they endured to get to the sacred sword. 

The Labors of Yamato- The Dragon

I enjoyed this story as it was and the way that it was unique in that it included a dragon. I think it would be fun to rewrite such a story by incorporating the aspect of point of view from the dragon to give it a more mystical touch and to enhance the magical feelings in it.

For this story, I would want to focus from the perspective of the dragon.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Faery Robe

I had a harder time getting into this one and reading it, especially considering the way that it was written in the form of a poem. However, I think that for a rewrite, I might would give the robe more of a back ground and dive into where it came from and how it's owner came to possess it. 

The Jewel of Heart's Desire: The Land of Morning Calm

While reading this part of the storybook collection, it felt as if something were missing. The details that were included were great, but it almost felt as if there were chunks of information missing from the story itself. For a rewrite, I want to focus in on the part where the jewel itself is being fought over, giving more of a backstory to that part of the story and explaining exactly what happened in greater detail. 

The Quest of the Jewel

This is a cool piece to work in correspondence with the one before it that is also about a jewel. Because of the fact that it is about a journey, I think a rewrite in the form of letters would be a cool way to go. The idea of a journey usually means that there is some degree of separation between the characters and I think that that would be a cool thing to express. 

Bibliography

E.W. Champney and F. Champney's Japanese Mythology Unit

Reading Notes:Japanese Mythology Part A

Izanagi & Izanami

Like most other stories that I've read of this sort so far through this semester, this one also started out the collection by setting a background for what is to come in the following short stories. For an idea of how to potentially rewrite this piece I think that I would want to add more of a background to the two main characters that it is named after. Do they like each other or hate each other? Why do they have these feelings? These are the things that I could explore in such a rewrite. 

The Miraculous Mirror

I liked this section of the story, but thought that the poetic style made it a little bit difficult to read. For that reason, I like the idea of changing it from a poetic style to prose and then possibly changing what happens with the mirror itself. This would add a level of uniqueness as well as making it easier for readers to get through and understand what exactly is going on. 

The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi

I feel like there are a lot of different ways to go with this story and how to retell it. My favorite possibility of what to do with this is to focus on the aspect of character development and to possibly add a back story of some sort to one of the characters such as the old man mentioned at the beginning, for example. It might also be really fun to rewrite the story as a version that gives a more thorough background of the eight-forked serpent and how he came into being. 

The Heaven-Descended

For the rewrite of this story, I am not completely sure which direction I would want to go, but I do have a few ideas at least. I could always look at the character development aspect and focus on Amaterasu and the arrow that is given to him. It could be written from his perspective to give a different point of view than the original one.

The Fortunate Fish-Hook

This story was interesting and also probably one of my favorites up until this point in this particular collection. For a rewrite of this story, I once again think that I would focus on character development but also would want to focus on a specific aspect of the story where he is trying to hunt. I might even change as far as him improving his skill.

The Labors of Yamato- The Rescue of the Princess

Continuing with the theme of rewrites in this particular segment, I think that I would write this from the perspective of the princess that was rescued. By writing it that way, it could show her thoughts and feelings as she goes through the whole ordeal instead of hearing about it secondhand.

I would like to also add a larger scaled rescue in my own rendition

of this story. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography

E.W. Champney and F. Champney's Japanese Mythology