Reading Notes: King Arthur Part B

Sir Galahad and the White Knight

Sticking with the theme of modernization, that is what I think I would want to do for my rewriting if I were to select this particular piece. I could have some of the toughest, most popular guys competing for their own shield and to become like the "knight" but to make it more relatable to today's time, maybe they could compete for a captain spot on the football team or a varsity athletic position.

Sir Lancelot's Vision

I hadn't heard this part of the story before, but I did enjoy it. Maybe, for a rewriting of this part, I could do a letter or a journal entry of sorts where Lancelot tells of his vision and expresses what it is that he has seen. This might could be modernized but it could also be kept in the original time period.

Sir Lancelot, the one who had the vision.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Sir Lancelot and the Five Hundred Knights

This story was interesting and seemed as if it were going to be a pivotal moment in the story. I could focus a rewrite on what makes him so bad in the nuns sight or something like that.

I liked the rest of the stories and the way that they added to the current plot, but for the sake of the rewrite, I have already decided that I wanted to write mine on something from the first half because I was more familiar with those.

Bibliography

Andrew Lang's King Arthur Unit

Reading Notes: King Arthur Part A

The Drawing of the Sword

I have always loved this story in all of the different forms that I have heard it growing up. It is one of the few things that I am actually familiar with as far as King Arthur is concerned. For this reason, I think it would be a really fun one to get to rewrite for this week's assignment. It would be interesting to think a way to somehow modernize it for this class. 

King Arthur after he took the throne.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Questing Beast

This is a section of this tale that I think I could pretty easily use the modernization rewriting idea that I also had for The Drawing of the Sword. I would want to somehow find the most unlikely, scrawny guy and have him fulfill the role of King Arthur in some way in my rendition of this short story.

The Sword Excalibur

The only thing that I can think of as far a rewriting of this piece is to change the sword into some other highly coveted item that he might want. I could make it something that those around him also want and he then would be blinded by the appeal of it as opposed to what it is that he really needs. 

The Round Table

This story of the round table is the only other one that I was familiar with at all. That being said, I'm actually not sure what to do as far as making it a unique rewrite. Maybe I could modernize it again and make it a kid vying for football captain or something like that.

The Passing of Merlin

Again, I don't have many ideas for rewriting. The only thing that comes to mind is that I could possibly do something with the mistress that is taking advantage of Merlin and expand on what she does with the powers that she learns from him. In other words, i could probably add a greater ending that goes past what is covered in the original story.

King Arthur and Morgan le Fay

With something like what this story is, I always take a pretty simple approach to rewriting. I would want to explore the character of Morgan le Fay more in depth and give her more of a reasoning for wanting to kill King Arthur. That way, her actions will not seem so crazy but there will be a reason for what she is doing.

The Quest of the Holy Graal

This seemed to be more of an informative section and not so much a continuation of the story that I've been reading thus far. For that reason, it's not one that I'm even going to consider doing my storytelling assignment over. 

The King's Pilgrimage

This is not one that I want to do with my rewriting. I want to use one of the pieces above.

Bibliography

Andrew Lang's King Arthur Unit

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

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

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 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.

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

Reading Notes: Tales of a Parrot Part B

Of a King and His Sons

This piece took a turn that I didn't expect as the princess, through a strange turn of a few events, ended up with the prince. For a rewrite, it might be interesting to focus more on the princess and talk about how she might have been feeling through the whole process.

The Merchant Whose Daughter was Lost

I really am coming to like the way that the wife keeps going to the parrot, allowing him to distract her at this point without him having to make as much of an effort. It might even be fun for some random project to focus a story on this part of the piece. For a rewrite on this piece, however, I might make it to where the merchant was lost instead of his daughter. 

Of a Brahmin Falling in Love

I always love dealing with stories about love. I feel like this might be the simple answer but for a rewrite about this piece it would be fun to modernize it and write about a guy looking for a girl in the city and finding her through some crazy circumstances or something along those lines. 

What I imagine the character that fell in love in this piece might

have looked like. Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Son of the King of Babylon

In this piece, I think the best way that I know to do a rewrite is to focus on an outside character that would find the severed heads and write what his/her feelings would be in such a situation. There are many different ways to express such an occurrence but this perspective enables me to then continue the story beyond where it ends now if I decided that I wanted to somehow for some reason. 

The Merchant's Daughter

As interesting as this piece was, I think it's one that is told quite a bit in some variation. To make it more unique, I might would change the daughter into someone that is not beautiful but is the exact opposite. While that seems like a trivial change, it would ultimately change the entire layout of the story due to this one characteristic. 

The Nobleman who Concealed a Snake in His Sleeve

This piece was unique on its own but I think it might be fun to put a totally unexpected turn on it and make the animal something that is otherwise thought of as cute, even if it were something like a dachshund around his neck or something like that.

The Soldier and the Goldsmith

This piece was entertaining but also simple and just kind of ended where one would have expected. A rewrite might be fun to take it even further, focusing more on what the soldier did with his newfound wealth after the goldsmith was robbed for trying to rob him. 

Of the Merchant and the Barber

The stories in this selection have started to become more and more random and seemingly disconnected. I feel like this section had a very "Disney like" feel to it and for that reason I thought it would be fun to turn the barber into a genie like character of sorts and see where that could go. 

The Fog, the Bee, and the Bird

While it is a seemingly small aspect to focus on for a rewrite, I think it would be fun to focus this one on what might happen if the bird and her eggs had gotten stuck on the elephant and were cared for and nurtured there as opposed to falling off. 

The Elk and the Ass

This piece was also simple but fun to read. I think it would be a fun idea for a rewrite to focus on the friendship that is so briefly mentioned at the very beginning of the story and to explain how such a relationship between two unlikely figures came to be instead of just mentioning it and then moving on so quickly. 

A King Falls in Love, and the End of Khojisteh

As is common with many of the stories regarding love, I think this one would also be fun to modernize in some way as the King falls in love. This was an interesting but fitting piece to end the collection with, at least in my opinion. 

Bibliography

Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi's Tales of a Parrot

Reading Notes: Tales of a Parrot Part A

Miemun and Khojisteh

This particular story provides a background of how Miemun came to get the parrot. I like the idea of using this as a rewrite but changing the animal or something like that. It would be fun to write about a dog with such powers or even to make the main character that comes to own the pet a female, showing what difference they might have in request.

The type of parrot that took over and manipulated so many

people in the piece. Source: Pixabay

Khojisteh and the Parrot

This section shows some of how manipulative the parrot can be, especially towards the main characters lover. As a rewrite, I could change what the parrot was asking the girl to do, all while keeping with the theme of the trickster character being an animal other than a parrot. There's a lot of room for character development in this section. I also like the way this highlights the way it is a continuous story with the way the ending is formatted.

The Parrot of Ferukh Beg

There's a lot of plot development here as you see that the parrot and the wife are not fond of each other but that they want to get back at each other for what they believe the other did. As far as an idea for a rewrite, this segment might be fun to modernize a little bit to where the parrot made the wife do something like taking the kids somewhere fun or going out herself, and not so old timey.

The Goldsmith, the Carpenter, the Taylor, and the Hermit

I like the way this story opens with a narrative before diving in to the actual story. For a rewrite, I might consider having the men fight over the woman a little bit more, making it more modern as opposed to the old jobs that they claim in this piece.

The King of Kinoje and his Daughter

I like the way that this is told from the perspective of someone else as it has already happened and not in a way as if it were happening in the present. For a rewrite idea, I could focus on the sacrifice made that makes the royroyan so generous. I could even change this character completely and make it to where the generosity is from a completely different character with different traits and everything. 

The Fowler, the Parrot, and her Young Ones

As I continue to read these different stories, I like the variation between them and the way that none of them are the same but they are related just enough to fall under the same story. For a rewrite of this one, I would most likely want to focus on the way that the young birds were trapped and told to play dead. That would probably look like one of the babies talking and expressing fear as they listen to the parrot telling him/her what to do. 

The Merchant and His Wife

For a rewrite on this piece, I would want to focus from the perspective of the merchant that endured something because of the parrot that causes him to be embarrassed and, as a result, mad at the parrot and vowing to get revenge. 

The Old Lion and the Cat

I like the way that the lion had to depend on a much smaller and less intimidating animal in this section, the cat, instead of the other way around. For a rewrite, it might be fun to write more of a trickster story where the cat takes advantage of the new found trust since a cat doesn't get that opportunity all that often. 

The Commander of the Frogs, and the Snake

This was an interesting story in which the chief from made a plan to get his power back that ultimately backfired on him. For a rewrite, I might would change the outcome of the frog going to the snake in a way that the snake made the from serve him either for a time or for the remainder of his life, adding to the idea that what he did backfired and he went from being the most to the least powerful. 

Four Rich Persons who Became Poor

This piece is super interesting, especially when thinking of how to go about recreating it into my own version. I like the idea of taking it the reverse direction and writing about four poor people who became rich instead of four rich people who became poor. It also would be fun to modernize it and play around with the concept of money and riches. 

Besheer and a Woman Named Chunder

To rewrite this piece, the most interesting viewpoint I can think of is to focus from the perspective of Chunder, mentioning what she might have seen in such a person to have a relationship with him. This would be a prime way to work on the character development.

Bibliography

Ziya-alDin Nakhshabi's Tales of a Parrot

Reading Notes: Folklore of the Holy Land Part B

Lot and the Tree of the Cross

This piece reminded me a little bit of a tie between the Old Testament and the New Testament. For a rewrite, I'm not entirely sure which direction I would take this but I did have a thought that I could do something with Lot looking for the Tree that he wanted. It would be completely different from what was originally told, but I was thinking of changing his character development slightly to where he didn't fail 3 times to find what he was looking for but was instead successful.

The Deaths of Moses and Aaron

To rewrite this piece, I am not 100% sure on what I would focus on. One idea that I did have was to change the time that it was written in, even if just by a few weeks. What this would mean for the piece is that it would be told by someone other than Moses and Aaron, maybe even one of their family members as a way of explaining the grief that they are enduring in the process of losing their loved ones. 

David

I love this different version of King David and his affair with Bathsheba. I was thinking for the rewrite of this piece I could have a series of letters that could even be intercepted by Uriah, serving as a method for him to find out about his wife's affair and a reason for King David to want to end his life. This would be helpful to my end of the semester project as well, making it even more appealing to use in my work this week. 

Solomon

For retelling this story, I want to focus somehow on the two doves that Solomon turned into the doves. This might look something like telling the thoughts they are having throughout the piece, even when they are rocks. It would be interesting to try and give thoughts to non-living objects, but I think shifting the perspective on the piece would be an interesting thing to add another dimension to the story as it is already told. 

El Khudr the Evergreen

Because of it's short length, I had a hard time coming up with how to retell this story. However, I did find one small aspect of the story that I think it would be interesting to focus on. At the very beginning, it talks about El Khudr being the one that discovered the Fountain of Youth. For a rewrite, I could further explore this idea and write an adventure filled piece telling all about how he went about finding the fountain.

Legends of El Khudr

Knowing that Kl Khudr ofter is used to represent Elijah makes this piece a little bit easier to read and to work with. For a rewrite of this piece, I would want to make it into a letter or a series of letters that explains the things that he was able to do, such as the way that he immediately healed the man with the disease. It would also be particularly interesting to think of this in a modern way, just to add another layer of difference in detailing to it. 

The character of El Khudr in the piece above is often used to represent 

Elijah, pictured directly above. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Elijah and Saint George

For this story, I think I would want to change the perspective yet again. Only this time, I was thinking it would be interesting to make the tale from the point of view of the dragon that is destroying the wall and the rest of the town. This would be a cool way to put a 'mystical' touch on it and change it just enough to make it a unique story.

El Khudr and Moses

I didn't completely understand this story, but I think something that would have made it a little easier to interpret would be if it had been in a more modern situation. For that reason, were I to retell this story in some way, I would change to setting of the time in which it took place, which would ultimately change the society and the way that the men and women would view each other as the plot unfolded.

Bibliography

J. E. Hanauer's Folklore of the Holy Land

Reading Notes: Folklore of the Holy Land Part A

Moslem Cosmogony

Having grown up in a Christian family, stories from the Holy Land of other religions is not something that I am very familiar with. For that reason, reading this unit was really interesting. For this first story, split up into two parts, I liked the way that it served as a background to be set up for the rest of the story that was to come. It literally explained the way that everything came to be. To rewrite this piece, I thought it might be fun to put a childlike twist on it. I would use a character that is wandering through a void of nothingness, finding clues or instructions or something of the sort that are telling him what to create. The finished product of the hunt, the X marks the spot if you will, that results in everything being created and coming into being just as it was planned. 

Our Father Adam

For the rewriting of this piece, I would want to focus in really closely on the development of Adam as a character, and specifically on the way that he himself was created. I would write it about a quest that other world leaders took to this Holy Land to make their contribute of the dirt that was used to mold Adam into the person he became. This comes from the way that it describes him being a man of many colors and highly diverse. While it is a seemingly small aspect to focus on, I think it is important to realize how Adam is at his core as it will further explain how he did some of the things he did and that is a story that I want to tell. 

Noah

This section of the story in this collection seems focused primarily on Noah, as revealed by the title itself. For a rewrite, to put a more creative twist on it, I was thinking it might be particularly interesting to focus more on the Og, the character who was set on destroying the ark and everyone in it. The reasoning for wanting to tell this story is that there isn't really a reason giving for his desire to do so. I would use character and plot development to explain reasoning for despising Noah and those around him somehow, explaining a reason for hard feelings between him and the people, even if it was simply that the ark wasn't big enough for him and he was jealous as a result. 

The character of Noah from the piece above.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Job and His Family

I love the story of Job in the Bible so it was super interesting to read a different take on it, even if this one was very different and had very few similarities. For a rewrite, I am not completely sure which direction I would want to take this one, but maybe I could even change the fact that Job's wife wanted to go to the devil and make it Job himself who wanted to do such a thing.

The character of Job from the piece above enduring

disease and trial. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Lokman

The only thing about this story that I might would make different is the ending. I would consider doing a rewrite in which the character wasn't healed, but instead the higher being (God figure) was able to heal him directly. This might be a stretch of sorts, but was the only thing I could come up with that wasn't just retelling the story as it was. 

Abraham, the Friend of God

I like the way the next few stories focused on the same character of Abraham, but have similar ideas for how to tell them. For the friend of God piece, I would want to make it a song/poem like piece in which they praise their God for what he did for them through Abraham when he found favor on him.

Abraham the Nimrod

This piece reminds me a little bit of the one in Daniel in the Bible where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown into the fiery furnace. For a rewrite, I would want to do a journal/diary entry of some sorts from Abraham in order to give it a personal account of the trial that he experienced by being tested in this way by Nimrod.

Abraham: Mecca and Hebron

This piece also follows the same theme of Abraham being tested in his ability to stay faithful to his god. I would want to also focus this one from a perspective of a letter in which he is telling someone, maybe his wife or a friend, about what he is enduring, questioning it but vowing that he will not falter because he knows that in the end it will be worth it. 

Abraham's Hospitality

Finally, something good seems to be happening for Abraham. I could explain this from Abraham's perspective as he finds the blessing and tries to figure out what to do with it. Finally, he would find people in need of what he had and take them in with him, rendering himself poor in order to help others. This would center around developing the meaning of the title, showing that Abraham is in fact a hospitable person.

Bibliography

J. E. Hanauer's Folk-lore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish

Reading Notes: Noah Part B

The Holy Book

Interesting to think about the things that happened that could have led to the story of Noah's Ark that I have known so well growing up. For a rewrite, I could use this in a series of correspondence letters between Adam and Noah, discussing what has happened that has made God so mad at them. Could also go a different route and zoom in on the angels and their perspective somehow.

The Inmates of the Ark

This section was also a more mythological addition to the common scripture that is included in the Bible. I could use the retelling part of an assignment to explain the thoughts of the flood from the perspective of either the Og or the Reem, wondering why they were the ones stuck outside of the ark. I would imagine during such a strange time that there would have been a lot of fear and questioning and that is something I could incorporate in my own version of such a story.

The Flood

This story included something that I hadn't thought about before: the difficulty of feeding all of those animals and people on the ark fed for so long. Also noticed that the time was longer here, a year instead of the 40 days and nights in the Bible. For retelling the story, I would probably want to zoom in on this food aspect. The animals might wonder where the food was going to come from and the people could question what they were doing getting on the boat, maybe even thinking that to die in the floodwaters would be better than where they were now. 

Noah Leaves the Ark

I like the way that this focuses on Noah's human feelings of doubt and concern when it was time to get off the boat after the flooding period. For retelling this story in my own way, I'm not entirely sure which direction I would take it, but I think I would focus specifically on a conversation between the Lord and Noah, maybe in poetic format, where God makes the promise of the rainbow and Noah makes his own sacrifice.

The Curse of Drunkenness

Major turn in character and plot development happening here as Noah and Satan team up, something not included in the Biblical version. I like the idea of focusing on the perspective of Noah's wife here (Also could come into play and be useful for my final project) where she might express her concern and worries for her husband as he is drunk.

Noah's Descendants Spread Above

Intersting to see the ways that Noah's actions affected those closes to him. I like the way that this part of the story makes it known that although God found favor on Noah, he was still in fact only human and made mistakes like everyone else. For a rewrite, I would focus in on the perspective of one of his sons and the harsh feelings he might have for what his father caused. 

The Depravity of Mankind

Not really sure where to go with the rewriting of this one, seeing as how it is such a short story and I don't know how to really change it. Might could write from Abraham's perspective as he is told that he is going to be attacked and urged to flee.

Nimrod

Like the character development of Nimrod here and the name itself. I could rewrite this from God's perspective as he could question why he ever gave the people another chance with the way that they have acted so poorly since the flood has ended, taking his mercy for granted.

The Tower of Babel

Very similar to the issue of idols in the Biblical translation. I could focus a rewriting of this to one who partook in the building of the tower, not realizing how sinful what they were doing was. Also interesting the way that everything came together because of the deal that Noah made with Satan back in a previous section.

The tower built by the people of Nimrod.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography

Luis Ginzberg, The King James Version, The Story of Noah

Reading Notes: Noah Part A

The Ark (Genesis)

God made his covenant with Noah, telling him that even though he planned to wipe out man on the earth, he had found favor on him and his family. This is a very familiar part of scripture for me, having grown up in the church. For a rewrite, I would love the idea of potentially writing it in the form of journal entries or some format where it would be easier to portray Noah's feelings during the entire ordeal. I like the idea of this standpoint because I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be in his position and to have been given such a large task to complete. 

God appeared to Noah and told him to build an ark for him, his family,

and two of every kind of animal. Source: Pixabay

The Flood (Genesis)

This section of the overall piece is also one that I know well because of having grown up in a Christian home. In this part, the flood has begun (7 days after the Lord appeared to Noah) and it discusses the duration of the flood and what all took place. Because of the way that the details are laid out, I think this whole story would still be really cool written as a journal entry that could span the period of 40 days and nights that the flood lasted. I also would want to write it in a more modern prose that would be a little bit easier to read.

After the Flood (Genesis)

This section of the story recounts how it came to be known that the flood was in fact over and that the earth was suitable to live in again. I like the conversation between noah and the Lord where He promises to never destroy the whole world again. This segment could be rewritten as a prayer of adoration and honor where Noah praises God for what he has done and for the fact that he was faithful to keep him safe during the floods when they were on the ark.

The dove played a big part in letting the people know

that God had stopped the floods. Source: Public Domain Pictures

Noah: Noah's Sons (Genesis)

This section covers scripture that I don't remember as much when this story from the Bible is told. This piece would be best retold, in my opinion, in the form of a letter from Noah to his sons where he tells them what he wants for them as a father. It could even be modernized to where it wasn't set years and years ago but in a more recent time with more modern hopes and desires for a family man.

The Tower of Babel (Genesis)

This story had the least appeal to me in both the perspective of a reader and a writer. Due to the fact that it is mostly a genealogy, it is one that I do not really know how I would go about incorporating it into my own story telling. However, in thinking like a writer, I do like the potential that such a segment gives to explain what the world looked like after the floods and as it was repopulated and the way that there was a common language and understanding among the people.

The Birth of Noah

This section was particularly interesting to me because of the fact that it was not one well known from the scriptures. However, I like the idea of having a story regarding where Noah came from and what his upbringing/childhood was like. Staying consistent with the journal/letter theme, I think this would be cool written as a letter from Methuselah, the father of Noah, telling of all his hopes and dreams for his son as well as a journal entry that recounts the ways that Noah's birth actually changed the state of the world.

The Punishment of the Fallen Angels

This section was very interesting to read. I had never read a version that really dove in to what it would mean for all of mankind to be wiped out. In a rewrite, I would want to maybe tell this from the viewpoint of a particular angel and express fear and other feelings that they might have been feeling in such a time. It would also have to include the way the angels shortly after lost their favor with God.

The Generation of the Deluge

This was one of my favorite segments of the piece. I like the idea of a rewrite in the form of commentary from people that found out about what was coming their way and a recount of the evil deeds that they had done. 

Bibliography

The King James Bible & Louis Ginzberg, The Story of Noah

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad Part B

The Rousing of Achilles

There was a lot of plot development here and a lot of the characters seemed to come full circle themselves. It wrapped up some of what happened in Part A and also left a little bit of suspense for what is going to happen in the remaining sections of the story. As for a rewrite, this could be staged in the form of a big game or something in a high school setting to put it in a more modern context. The figure of Patroclus could be a key player that suffers an injury at the expense of his team falling apart or something like that.

Achilles, the main character in this section of Church's

rendition of Homer's Iliad. Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Slaying of Hector

Think about zoning in on a specific character here. The vantage point could also be changed from third person to first person as the character that is going through the experience could be the one to explain what is going on. Such character development and altering could potentially make it more dramatic and meaningful to the piece. I also like how this piece saw what the previous story mentioned come to fruition as Hector was in fact killed after losing his dear friend Patroclus.

The Ransoming of Hector

Not sure where this one could go. There seems to be a lot of tension among the characters in this version. In my own version, I might would consider eliminating some of that somehow. I would still include the tension for a time, but I wouldn't want it to end in a way that it seemed that nothing was really fixed. Hector was in fact ransomed but there were still somethings that I felt were left in loose ends that I would want to tie up in my own rendition of such a story.

Bibliography

A.J. Church's The Iliad, link to Reading Guide B

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad Part A

How the War with Troy Began- Favorite!

This first story in Church's adaptation of The Iliad serves as a background of sorts to provide a setting of what is going to come later. I could work with that aspect in my own re-write to give the reader details on what is to come. I also was thinking that I could set this in a more modern day setting if I were to use it for my own project. Maybe I could even do something along the lines of a popular cheerleader that all the football boys want to be with and then it comes in the way of them winning their games. Lots of possibilities here with this one that I think could be expanded on!

The Quarrel (Parts 1 & 2)- Favorite!

I liked the character development here, but found it a little bit hard to follow who was who because of the sheer number of people and the complicated names. If I were to use this in my own storytelling, I think I would want to simplify it down somehow. This section still works with my other idea for retelling the events. Instead of The Quarrel, it could be about a game or something where everything comes crashing down because the team members can't focus or they are arguing with each other about what has happened off the field. 

What Thetis Did for Her Son

Not completely sure where to go with this one yet. I would obviously want to involve some kind of "power figure" to substitute for Zeus. This could likely either be the coaches or teachers going to the principal or parents getting involved or any number of things of the sort. Could really use this to try to come up with a solution but could also ultimately end up simply causing more problems for the situation at hand instead of solving it. 

Hector and Andromache- Could really work with this to expand story!

At this point, everything seems to be falling apart. I still really like the character development and the way the plot is thickening. I could use this section in a rewrite to have two characters from the high school setting that have decided that enough is enough and somehow they are going to have to fix whatever is at hand and put it behind them so they can get back to being the winning team/squads that they always have been before they started fighting. As far as writing style, I could involve some type of communication format such as messages between the students or something like that to make the writing even more unique.

The Embassy to Achilles

Everything is becoming centered around what seems to be nothing but a big misunderstanding. Also seems to be somewhat of a power play in the plot development here regarding why things seem to be getting worse every step of the way, instead of problems being resolved at all. 

The Deeds and Death of Patroclus

Character development at this point centered around Patroclus, a guy focused on doing what he wants instead of what he was directly told to focus on. Important to note here that there was a consequence because of his actions and inability to do what was asked of him. Include this in the re-write somehow (need to think of what that might look like in a different setting with a bunch of teenagers- don't necessarily want to kill someone off!)

Original setting of The Iliad as told by Homer before

rewritten by A.J. Church. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

A.J. Church's The Iliad, link to part A

Reading Notes: Fairy Tales, Tricksters & Metamorphosis

Going into this part of the assignment for the week, I was both unsure of what was to come but also excited. I had no idea that there were so many different things that fell under the classification of mythology and folklore. For example, Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite stories as a kid, but I had no idea that it fell into this type of category or that it could be worked with in such a way as to retell it and make it into a completely new story.

Fairy Tale Thoughts: Beauty and the Basilisk
- Favorite fairy tale
- New version: like the shift on character development
- Fun twist in plot; more emphasis on mother
-Could take this and turn it by focusing on the girl's side of it and how she might feel betrayed and unwanted by her mother

Trickster Thoughts: Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal
- Love the trickster theme
- Could rework with a completely unexpected turn (small beats large or something like that)

Metamorphosis Thoughts: Pygmalion
- Along similar lines as Princess and the Frog as far as type
- Could use it to also spin fairy tale of some sort
- characters? Might have one thats incredibly privileged that stereotypes against the other but then finds out they aren't so bad.

Representation of the variety of fairytales

and different stories that can be told. Source: Wikimedia Commons