Reading Notes: Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book B

Source: The Destiny of Sun Wu Kung from The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm, translated by Frederick H. Martens

"Said Sun Wu Kung: “I am the stone ape who has gained the hidden knowledge. I am master of seventy-two transformations, and will live as long as Heaven itself. What has the Lord of the Heavens accomplished that entitles him to remain eternally on his throne? Let him make way for me, and I will be satisfied!”" This line was SO GOOD?! He really said that to Buddha... His confidence is unparalleled. Truly an unbothered king. Buddha responds with a smile and poses Sun a question, or questions. He's just a monkey with powers, how can he expect to have the wisdom and grace to actually rule over the heavens? Can he do anything else besides be a trickster? Sun thinks that his ability to travel on clouds is enough. 

They make a bet. If Sun can leave Buddha's hand with one of his somersaults, he can become lord of the heavens. Sun didn't end up doing this, but totally thinks that he did the thing. He believes he has travelled to the edge of the world and writes his name down. When he gets back, he's pretty pleased with himself. Buddha tells him that he is foolish and has not left his hand and he has only written his name on his middle finger. Our hero doesn't outwardly admit it, but he's afraid. He has messed up pretty bad. He tries to escape, but can't and is shoved out of heaven and hidden in a mountain with a magic incantation. He stays there for many years. That is until Guan Yin releases him. He gives him a magic ring that tightens if he acts up, so he was never unruly again. We then are left with Journey to the West. 

I really enjoyed this ending for Sun Wu Kung. All of his stories were fun because he's mischievous, but his fight with god was just so much. I loved it. I think that there's a lot to say about his character in that he strikes me as good intentioned, kind of dumb. He's fun. This specific story was entertaining because it showcased his ego so well. I knew that he wasn't going to make it off of his hand. I already knew a bit about him prior to now, but still. I don't think that this surprised anyone. It would be fun to see him make it off of the hand and become God. I like to think that the God of the Heavens would have a sense of humor and would let that happen, at least in a rewrite, right? He needed to lose for growth and development, but it would be fun to see what he would have done with that power. 

Buddha by Richard Wilhelm (Wikimedia Commons)

Reading Notes: Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book A

Source: Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name from The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm, translated by Frederick H. Martens

The Ape King meets a wood chopper, who he drops down and worships immediately. The wood chopper questions this action, saying he is only a workman. The Ape King mentions the song that the man was singing was one of the gods. The wood chopper mentions that he was taught it by a saint. He wants to meet this so-called saint. The wood chopper says he's on the Mountain of Heart.

'The Discerner' as the saint is called, lives in a cave with many other disciples. If one keeps following the path south, they'll find him easily. The Ape King did this, having no issue. This is when he starts to have issues. He gets to the gate and jumps over it, not wanting to knock. He lands in a tree and starts devouring pine cones, causing quite the stir amongst the disciples who take notice of his noisiness. The disciple says that their master is ready for him. His not wanting to knock wasn't such a bad thing after all.

The Ape King is very excited to meet the saint and flings himself to the ground once they arrive. He offers thanks and is full of joy. He asks his name and he obviously has none. He is given the name 'Sun Wu Kung.' He's very happy about this. They dance and have a great time. They have him do chores for a few years, but he's still pretty wild in nature, which is where the chapter ends.

I chose this one because I liked how happy he was to get his name. I can imagine that it would be pretty meaningful to get named by someone so important as his master was. There's a lot of joy and humor in his heart. I enjoy it a lot. I think that it gets him into trouble, as evidenced by the ending, but he does his best. I think it would be interesting to rewrite something with a bit more of a grand journey. This was kind of simple, but then again, it was nice to read.

Sun Wu Kung and Jade Rabbit (Wikimedia Commons)

WEEK 6 Lab: Storybook Research!

The Shield of Sir Gawain

I've been meaning to talk about this more, but the shield is a huge piece of "The Green Knight." Gawain looks at it constantly where there is a pentacle that represents Christ's five wounds. It also symbolizes the star of Bethlehem and the key attribute for being a knight: generosity, courtesy, chastity, chivalry, piety. They also refer to the virtues of Mary, whom Gawain has a picture of inside his shield. I've been reading on which meaning probably makes the most sense, but they probably all have equal meaning. I'd say that the last one has additional meaning because of the picture of Mary that he carries around. An article I read on Shmoop said this, "His five senses are very keen. His five fingers are dexterous. He devotes himself to the five wounds of Christ. He always thinks on the five joys Mary had in Jesus. Finally, he possesses five virtues: fellowship, generosity, chastity, courtesy, and charity. Basically, Gawain is the perfect knight."

I'm focusing so much on his shield because it really embodies his pursuit of perfection. It's why it makes his failure with the Green Knight so much more difficult. Arthur is able to forgive him. He sees Gawain as all of these characteristics. He values honesty in times of adversity. Gawain doesn't understand how, when he fell short of the characteristics that he actively practices, how his king could forgive and even celebrate him at the end.

Sword Terminology by Albion Swords

So, there's a few sword fighting scenes. I might need to know the words so I don't look like a huge fool. The link includes useful resources to the histories of different styles of sword fighting, and most importantly, the anatomy. I expect I'll refer to this a bit. I believe knights usually used longswords, so I'll need to find more information on those specifically.

I don't usually write action sequences, but I'm thinking it would be fun to do so with the perspective that I'm using. It could be fun and act as a way to see Gawain's dexterity in action. There's a lot of information to remember here. I'm realizing this is a huge poem to adapt, but I'm having fun. :)

A cool longsword (Wikimedia Commons)

Reading Notes: Wardrop's Georgian Folktales B

Source: Teeth and No-Teeth from Georgian Folktales by Marjory Wardrop

I chose this section not because it was the most interesting, but because it felt incredibly peculiar. I didn't expect the ending at all. It was quite jarring and kind of strange, which I liked? I think that memorable is the best word to describe this story.

The shah wanted to see who the hungriest man in his kingdom was and set out to find him. He also wanted to see how much of the "daintiest" food he could eat for some reason. I guess I don't really understand that part. He lets his people know that he wants to do this and its a big deal.

On the decided day, a bunch of people gather. The king has laid out a lot of really nice food and asks for the hungriest men to come forward. Two men who have not eaten in a long time, one who is twenty seven, and one who is very old, come forward. The younger one says that he cant find work and is ashamed to beg. The old man says that his children have died and he's exhausted. Both haven't eaten in three days.

The shah begins to bring out food on one plate and in small portions. I still don't understand why, but okay. They look at each other and start crying. The shah is confused and asks them what's wrong. The old man is having a hard time eating and the young man is eating everything up. The young man says the old man is lying and that he while he is chewing his meat, the old man is swallowing everything whole. I do not understand at all.

In terms of story potential, I would want to make it very clear what the point was or maybe even do something a little bit different. I would want to tweak it in some way that maybe strayed a bit from the original source material in some capacity.

Small Plates (Wikimedia Commons)

Reading Notes: Wardrop's Georgian Folktales A

Source: The Serpent and the Peasant from Georgian Folktales by Mary Wardrop

There once was a king from a nice kingdom with nice subjects. One night he had an odd dream in which a fox was suspended from the ceiling by his tail and no one knew what to make of this. Then he tried to find someone to figure out this strange dream's meaning and on the third day, common people showed up, including a poor peasant. While the peasant was trying to get there, they found a snake lying in their way. The snake and the peasant have a nice little chat and the peasant promises the snake some presents if it will help them out. The snake agrees. 

The snakes says that the fox is supposed to represent cunning, treachery, and hypocrisy in the kingdom. The peasant was given many gifts in exchange for this info and then the peasant left the palace or whatever a different way to avoid sharing with the snake... The king had another vision of a sword and asked the peasant to interpret. The peasant sought out the snake, who was mad and demanded payment. Oh, the snake said the sword meant war. The peasant chased the snake and cut off its tail, which is super rude, like it did this person a huge favor. 

The king has anoooother vision. The peasant finds the snake and begs forgiveness. The peasant brings it the treasures they owe the snake and the snake is cool. The peasant was sneaky in times of deceit. The peasant was ready to fight in times of war. Now, the peasant is peaceful in times of peace. It has a happy ending. 

I have to say that I kind of wanted the snake to get revenge a little bit. This person so took advantage of it, but I'm glad it ended things on its own terms. I think that this was fun and a nice change of pace. The Georgian folktales remind me a lot of the Jataka tales, which is nice! I really enjoy these kinds of stories. 

A very lovely Plains Hognose (Flickr)

Famous Last Words: Week 5!

It has been such a busy week for me! I've been sick and trying to deal with a few family matters, which is always such fun, but I'm making it through. I really enjoyed the readings for this week especially. I chose to read the section on Egypt and it was probably my favorite thing that I've read this semester so far. I've always enjoyed the legends and myths surrounding Egypt, so I loved getting to read it more in depth. I chose to do my story about Isis and Osiris, which I think turned out okay.

I haven't been doing as many stories lately because I've been feeling creatively drained, but I'm really going to try pushing myself to get more of them done! We really do get such a unique opportunity to rewrite these stories in whatever way we want, so I should take advantage of that more often. I do tend to favor reading though. That will always be my one true love.

Speaking of writing, project intros were due this week, which was fun. I had a good time with my storybook last semester, so I'd like to keep that energy strong! I ended up deviating from my original plan. Originally, I had wanted it to be more dark and sad, but I don't think that about the story at all. There's many opportunities for humor and growth. Putting Gawain as a narrator was my best chance to give the reader a way to relate to his struggles of crippling perfectionism and having being your own worst critic. I wasn't a huge fan of how it turned out, but I'll fix it. It's fine for now.

In other Gawain related news, there's a new A24 film coming out "The Green Knight." A Dev Patel Gawain is exactly what I want in life. I would watch him do anything. I'm not playing, I love him endlessly. I'm interested to see how they make this story scary because it really isn't, but I'm very excited!

I want to be this cozy

Extra Credit Reading Notes: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland B

Source: The Queen's Croquet Ground (End) from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol

I wasn't going to do the other half of this at all, but I had nothing to do today and thought it would be fun to finish this up! I feel like the notable part of this reading selection is the tea party, but for the purpose of my own sanity and thinking about potential stories that I could do with it, I'm opting to do notes on a different section. I've always really enjoyed the croquet game. It's just the right amount of whimsical silliness and I feel like it's fun while still being able to be kind of understood. I also like the hedgehogs. Poor guys.

Cheshire makes its grand return to have a little chat with Alice about her current situation. Alice makes note that she's not going to begin the conversation until its ears have appeared because it won't hear her anyway. The head of the cat appeared and Alice, feeling grateful to finally have someone to talk to, tells the cat all that's been going on with her.

Alice sort of just complains about the game and the queen, neither of which she likes that much. I mean, who can blame her? There's a lot happening to her at the current moment. She doesn't even feel like it's worth playing because it's so rigged in her favor.

Then the king asks who she's talking to. He says that it's allowed to kiss its hand and the cat is like no thanks. The king is sort of timid and nervous around the cat, again, who can blame him? He wants the cat beheaded, so he gets that done. Not really though? Alice goes back to the game and she's confused and has no idea if it's her turn or not and she does not want to ask. Her flamingo tries to fly away but she catches it.

She goes back to find that there's a problem with the execution. There's always problems. Because the cat didn't have a body, it couldn't be beheaded. This angered the king. The queen wanted the problem dealt with or everyone would be beheaded... no one liked that part. There's a lot of chaos at this moment and they go get the Duchess because of Alice and it ends with the cat fading away again.

Cheshire Cat makes an appearance (Wikimedia Commons)

WEEK 5 Story: Other Half

Isis stood alone, head towards the heavens, arms outstretched. Tears fell from her eyes freely. The darkness she was faced with and the stillness of the night sky only seemed to mock her cries. She was normally one to wear a brave face in the midst of disorder, but this feeling transcended anything she had felt in her life. Though she was no stranger to despair or grief, she had never expected to lose her beloved, her Osiris, to an usurper no less. There were many emotions and thoughts spiraling around in her mind, but most of all, she wanted to see him again. That was all. Pain can be that simple. She wept for him, but she also wept for her own heart as well.

            The details surrounding her husband’s death were burned into her memory. Though she hadn’t been there, she may as well have been. She almost wished that she hadn't been told everything. Being nailed into a coffin and left to rot in the sea was a particularly gruesome way to pass. He needed her now more than ever. Isis knew that she needed to reach in and bring out some of the strength that was left in the reserves of her soul.

            She wiped away her tears with the backs of her palms and exhaled deeply through her nose, hoping to regain some composure. She had other worries stirring within as well. What was going to happen to her now that Set had taken the throne? She wasn’t safe here and needed to leave. It was time to do something.

            Isis, despite all of the uncertainty surrounding her at the moment, was consumed with the desire to do one thing. She walked back inside to her empty chamber. It was normally filled with doting and adoring servants. She had sent them away, refusing the joy of company. Isis took a strand of hair into her hand and cut a chunk of it out with the nearest sharp object that she could find. She whispered secret words, a vow to Osiris, that only she knew. Isis held the piece of hair close to her chest, tightly. It was time to start looking for the other half of her heart.

Source:  The Death of Osiris from Egyptian Myth & Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

Author's Note: This week, I chose to read the section of Egypt. I was particularly taken with Osiris and Isis and found their journey to be sad/interesting. In the source, it details Osiris returning home from his journey to a celebration. The evil bad Set shows up with a coffin the size of Osiris and basically throws a contest to see who can fit the ""box"" and they'll get to keep it. Obviously it's a huge trap and when Osiris gets into it, the lid is shut and nailed and he's sent to the sea to die. Isis, his wife, takes this horribly. That's the section I chose to rewrite. There's a line in there that's like "she refused to be comforted" or something and I loved that. I felt very bad for her and wanted to expand on her grief and mourning. Isis then sets out on her own journey to look for Osiris, which is where mine ends. I just think she's neat and wanted to give her some love.

Osiris, Horus, and Isis (Wikimedia Commons)

Reading Notes: Mackenzie's Egyptian Myth & Legend B

Source: Egyptian Myth & Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

My favorite section from this reading was the very first part from The Two Brothers. I didn't know what to expect from the story. It seemed to be going a different direction than the way that it went, so I really ended up liking it a lot. I think that the dramatic ending was so shocking, to me at least! I never would have seen it coming. Every time I see a story with two brothers, I assume it's going to do something similar to Cain and Abel and I guess I was kind of right? Anyway, very cool.

Anpu is the older brother and Bata is the younger. They coexisted in the same house happily. Anpu had a wife and Bata acted like his son and did some of the yard work for him. Bata brought herbs for Anpu and his wife sometimes. He would sleep with the cattle. It was a good system.

It's important to know that Bata could understand what the animals were saying kind of. They would tell him important things sometimes. Basically, most of the story is Bata running errands and doing farm work. One night, Bata came back from his errands to find Anpu's wife sitting, braiding her hair. He asks her to get him corn and she refuses because her hair would be ruined. They talk of barley after he goes to the storehouse. Then she kind of comes onto him. Bata is not pleased. He sees her as a mother and respects his brother. He tells her to not do this again and goes back to work.

Later, when Anpu gets home, we see her strung out and upset. She lies about what happens and says that he was the one who did this to her, which understandably makes Anpu angry. The boys begin fighting! Anpu sharpens a dagger and goes to find his brother... obviously with the intention to kill him. It's all very dramatic.

An Egyptian Harvest (Wikimedia Commons)

Reading Notes: Mackenzie's Egyptian Myth & Legend A

Source: Egyptian Myth & Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

I particularly enjoyed reading about Isis and Osiris. Their life together was incredibly interesting, but what was even more compelling was what came after the death of Osiris. The death itself is incredibly pivotal to the journey that Isis has to go on. I found this section to be quite sad, but I enjoyed it because it made me want to know what became of Isis.

The setting is a royal celebration after Osiris has returned from his own journey. Set came to this lively celebration, bringing along a chest that fit the measurements of Osiris perfectly. He said that it would belong to the person whose body it fit. He's a sneaky fellow. Many tried to see if they were a match, but obviously none were. It was a trap. When Osiris finally got into it, the lid was slammed shut by Set's conspirators. Other things happened that weren't great. He was dead pretty fast.

The fun celebration turned sour pretty quickly as well. Set told his people to hide the body in secret. They did so by tossing it into the Nile. Isis, after hearing this awful news, cut off a piece of her hair, put on her best mourning clothes, and wandered the lands looking for her husband. She never did find it, but she did hear from a group of kids that the coffin was seen entering the sea by the delta mouth. While this was happening, the followers of Osiris were getting treated terribly by Set and his tyrannical ways. No one was having a good time.

Isis traveled around with seven scorpions that protected her. Ra saw her efforts and sent Anubis along to help her out. Isis then comes to the house of a woman and when she enters, the scorpion stings the woman's child and the child dies. The mother is understandably upset and upon seeing her grief, Isis is moved and is able to bring her child back to life once more. This leads to the journey of Isis.

Isis mourning (Wikimedia Commons)

Storybook Plan!

I'm planning on using one source for all of my stories, Jessie Weston's translation. It's easily accesible and most importantly, it's the easiest version that I've come across in terms of understanding. Middle English is absolutely challenging! This version is excellent in terms of language adaptation, however, so I'm going to stick with it. I'm probably going to tell this with a third person narrator.

The story that I want to tell here is different here in terms of how the story is structured. A lot of his character is hinged greatly on valor and honor, it's part of the five points of his pentagram on his shield to be courteous and basically excellent at all times. I believe that I would like to start at the end of his journey, or at least have an introduction that alludes to the fact that he failed his thing with Lord Bertilak. Beginning with him withered and disappointed will help emphasize the difference between the man at the beginning that is lively and stronger, I guess for lack of a better word. There's not really any feasible way for me to retell the entire story, but I've broken it into a few key points.

The first story I would like to do is going to be the regular beginning of the story. It's Christmas and the Green Knight shows up, challenging anyone to a battle. Gawain takes the offer, beheads him in the fight, the knight picks up his head, tells him to look for him in a year, and departs. I would like to do this as short as I possibly could, skipping then to a year later. Remembering his promise, he leaves the court and goes to the castle.

The second story is probably going to be the one with Lady Bertilak trying to seduce Gawain. He rejects her advances, but agrees to the one kiss because chivalry. Gawain gives Lord Bertilak the kiss he received as part of their promise to exchange winnings. I might reference the other two kisses received, but I'm not set on making it a scene. He accepts the girdle and keeps it a secret. I'll have to mention the two days of hunting here as well.

I can't decide if I want to do three of four stories, but I think three will be fine. The Green Knight shows up and they have their little fight thing. He explains the reason that Gawain only received a scratch on his neck. He thinks highly of Gawain, though because he did fail to disclose the girdle, Gawain considers this a failure. I... I don't know if I want to mention the part about Morgan le Fay. Arthur considers the girdle/sash whatever as a token of his bravery and pride as a knight. No one knows that Gawain is deeply ashamed by all of this and having to see a reminder of his failure for the rest of his time alive is deeply shameful and haunting. Who could he tell about this? It would absolutely ruin his reputation as a knight. He keeps it a secret.

Comment Wall!

Saving Face

Lady Bertilak and Gawain (Flickr)

Extra Credit Reading Notes: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland A

Source: Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol

It's funny to read this now in its entirety as I think many kids have read some version of Alice in Wonderland growing up, or have at least had some exposure to it. I've read pieces of it and have been in a production of it before, so getting to read it feels oddly like home. I sort of know what's already happening and find myself saying the words to myself exactly as they're written. Funny how that works!

The most interesting part about Alice's adventures, at least to me, is the zany world in which she finds herself. There aren't really any rules. I like the second rabbit hole scene. I also like the last one, but this one feels nostalgic for me for some reason. The memory I have attached to it is my old theatre teacher yelling at me while I do lights for a very complicated lighting sequence while Alice falls down the rabbit hole and sees the key. It's not a great memory, but I like the scene anyway.

Major digression aside, Alice begins talking about her cat, Dinah, and how much she's going to be missing her. She does a few lines of rhyme about bats and cats before finally landing, unhurt. It's all dark, but she can see the White Rabbit still scuttling away, so she continues pursuing it. They get to a corner, but when Alice turns, she can no longer find the rabbit.

The room she is in is dimly lit my hanging lamps and there are doors lining the hall, all of them locked. She happens across a solid glass, three legged table with a key on it, after being sad about not being able to find a door. It doesn't fit any of them on the first try, but on the second she finds that it fits into a door that leads to a passage too small for her. She wants to "shut up like a telescope." This is when she finds the "drink me" bottle and does that.

Alice is a smart girl and considered that it could be poison, but there are no poison labels on it(??? okay,) and she drinks it anyway. It tastes like cherry-tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast. Sounds... good? I find it funny how childlike she is. Obviously, she is a child, but she's filled with this sense of wonder and curiosity that's wonderful to see.

Alice finding a tiny door behind curtain by Sir John Tenniel (Project Gutenberg)

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad B

Source: The Iliad for Boys and Girls by Homer, retold by Alfred J. Church

So, Hector dies like Patroclus said that he would. It ends with his funeral. Homer doesn't really let us know about all of the outcomes of the war, but we do know that the Greeks do eventually win.

Hermes sends a deep sleep over a few people in the trenches and brings in the king. He finds Achilles' tent and he says that Zeus sent him to be his guide and vanishes. I like the imagery of him just... disappearing into thin air.

Priam goes to Achilles and begs for pity from him. He tries to gain sympathy by mentioning his father and comparing his age to his. It's a big deal that he is on his knees and kissing the hands of the man who killed his own sons. Achilles seems to think so as well and he cries thinking of his own lost loved ones. He thinks that Priam has a lot of audacity for coming to talk to him, but lets him stay anyway. Priam doesn't want to stay with his son left unburied and offers him gifts for ransom instead. Achilles says he will give Hector's body back and that Priam should go.

Achilles takes the gifts and has two women clean Hector's body away from his father in case he starts making a scene. Achilles puts his body in a wagon. He then tells Patroclus to not be angry with him for giving his body back to his father because he offered a handsome reward. They party, but then Priam asks to be left alone to sleep because he hasn't slept since his son had died. There is a truce for nine days so there can be a burial.

Hermes comes to Priam again and tells him to leave. He is sleeping amongst enemies. He goes back to Troy with no issue. On the ninth day, they give hector a fantastic funeral. And with that, The Iliad is finished!

Priam and Achilles by Ivanov (Wikimedia Commons)

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad A

The Iliad by Homer, retold by Alfred J. Church

Man, this one was a lot.

So, basically Hector kills Patroclus. It's exactly what it says on the tin. No more, no less. Before this happens, the Greeks are driven away from Sarpedon's body, which was indistinguishable from all of the other bodies. The men of Troy try to keep pushing them back, but ultimately the Greeks win and get hold of the body. The don't do anything with it. Apollo came down and "gave it to Sleep and Death" so that it could be taken to Lycia.

Patroclus forgot his commands again and this is where the bad stuff starts happening. He tries to climb over the wall, but the fourth time, Apollo stops him and tells him to not do that. It's not his city to take, though he really wants to take it. This didn't make him any less mad against the Trojans. Apollo "tells" Hector to go fight Patroclus for some reason. I don't know. He does it.

Patroclus tries to fight the Trojans that come at him and he does, three times, slaying nine warriors each(?), but the fourth time, Apollo hit him on the neck so that he couldn't see and his helmet fell off. While he was confused from this, he was pierced with a spear. This wound wasn't super bad, so he tried to get away, but Hector finished him off.

The two exchange a bit of dialogue. Hector asks if he really thought he could take the city. Patroclus tells him to stop boasting and that Apollo really was the one who got him and not Hector. He says that Achilles will kill him soon.

It's quite dramatic! I'm not quite sure how I would want to retell this story, but I'm enjoying reading this a lot! I have a different copy of The Iliad, but I've never been able to finish reading it, so it's nice to see some of it here!

Sleep and Death (Archive)

Topic Research: Gawain

Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by Jessie Weston

Because this one is so long, I would want to split it up into 3/4 parts and focus on the key moments of it. There's a lot of failing to meet expectations, anxiety, temptations, and games. I think that Gawain is sort of a flawed hero and towards the end of it he's understanding that more about himself. I find it compelling because he cares about his reputation, but it's really just his own standards that he's trying to live by and then fails to meet his own expectations. I wanted to tell this maybe after he gets back from the mission and is sort of downcast after his failures. He strikes me as someone who would try to save face and would possibly embellish the story a bit to impress others, but would ultimately tell the truth because chivalry and honor. It would be fun to tell this from someone trying to mend that gap in their self esteem. 

The Marriage of Sir Gawain from The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child

Okay, honestly I didn't know what some of this was saying, but I tried my best. I keep trying to think of gimmicks for these, but I think this would be another one that would be fun to retell in in its original setting, but with modern language. The whole thing is very fun, keeping with the theme of challenges and games. I like that he lets the "hag" choose which form that she wants. I know that he's a knight of maidens, but it's nice to see him paired with someone, though the circumstances are not typical. I would like to tell this from King Arthur's perspective, possibly. Because of the beginning with the challenge thing at the beginning, I almost would have to or choose a third person narrator. I think that I could also split this one up into all of the parts that I need, but I'm not sure. 

Gawain's Adventure in Search for Owain by Lady Charlotte Guest

I like that there are so many colors included in these stories... The green knight, the yellow man. That's fun. I also am enjoying the magical quest thing. I enjoy the appeal of that for this story a lot.  That could be the theme that I do and just pick parts of each of these to retell. Anyway, I found the match that went on for a very long time to be quite amusing. They really did not know that they knew each other. I like that there's so much dramatic irony in all of these. There's at least one little twist like that in each of the stories I picked out. I think that this is also something to consider...

Gawain and the Green Knight (Wikipedia)

Extra Credit Reading Notes: Child's Robin Hood A

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Robin Hood, by James Francis Child

The portrayal of Robin Hood in the ballads was interesting to read about. I don't know much more about him outside of the famous animated movie, but I can see how they would want to avoid portraying THIS image of Robin Hood. Here, he's sort of defiant, though cunning. I would say his defiance makes him seem less heroic from the first section. I found that the ballads were kind of difficult to read at times as I'm not sure if that was the intended format to be consuming this material. I found myself confused at times, but I liked them!

I liked the section where he met Little John. I enjoyed the descriptions of them as someone who was a bit... seedy. Maybe not the best person. It sets up interesting characters. The way that John Little and Robin argue about the bow and being able to land a hit was pretty funny. Feisty characters. The dialogue about Robin being a coward was funny and entertaining. They bounce well off of each other. Everything about the energy that they bring is lively and mischievous. I like it a bunch. I think it compares well to the image that I have of both of them from the animated movie.

Their dialogue and dynamic are what I find the most interesting. You need the main character entertaining and interesting, but also a little bit relatable. I think that they both offered a good mix of that. I liked the bit about being dressed in green and how Little John was not so little. I feel like that section would be fun to retell and maybe add more to their meeting. I mean, I'm not entirely sure I didn't misunderstand it, but it was fun nonetheless!

Not quite the version that I read! (Wikimedia Commons)

Learning Challenges: Watch for Empathy

I try to do this as often as possible, so it was nice to see it pop up as a challenge! I try my best to watch for empathy in my field of study. As someone in criminology, I try to see it in my professors. I find that many of them have hearts for other people. It's a study that you can very easily go into and come out of it thinking that everyone is a bad person and that all people are criminals, but as criminologists, its our job to understand the behavior. I'm not saying that criminal behavior should be justified, but that once you learn about all the struggles life has to offer, you find it very easy to empathize with people and how they got to a certain point in their life. My professors have done a great job modeling this behavior and I've found it to be very humanizing.

The field of criminal justice, to contrast, tends to be less forgiving. Its less about understanding the behavior, though I guess that's just apart of the job. I've taken courses in criminal investigation and found them to be completely... draining. I found that people were treated more like statistics rather than as people. I hated it. I don't blame them, obviously, though I just don't think I could do that.

I try to practice empathy as I see my professors do. Approaching any human behavior with an open mind is important. I want to end as much human suffering as possible, so I try to both watch for and practice empathy as much as I can. I'm just an undergrad and don't work with anyone in my field yet, but It's little things that make the world a little bit nicer. It's nice to be nice! :)

Empathy (Pixabay)

Feedback Strategies

Preschoolers and Praise by Deborah Farmer Kris

I don't know much about children or how they learn, so this was interesting to read about. I had never thought about how generic praise could be stunting progress in children, or with anyone really. Giving instruction is clear and offers key benefits. They're learning through simple ways of teaching! I also liked "the power of yet." I think that this is important for anyone to understand. While we may not be able to do things now, there's always still the future to master it! I can't do it... yet! There's always room for growth and improvement. It helps people become less defeating and think towards the future and their own progress.

The Trouble with "Amazing" by Jennifer Gonzalez

I liked the first reason a lot. When you tell someone too often that they're amazing, it feels less meaningful when you're actually aiming to improve. There's no feedback in being told how good you are constantly and while that's nice and meaningful as well, you just can't improve on that alone. The American Idol analogy was useful in explaining this. Unspecific critique is also unhelpful. My biggest complaint about feedback is that a lot of it isn't specific enough for me to know what to change, so I won't do it. I don't like feedback for the sake of giving feedback. I like knowing exactly what went wrong and how I can work towards improving it. This article was helpful in determining areas that I can be better with my feedback as well!

Knowing that there is ALWAYS room for improvement is good as a creator. I find that feedback is useful because I want to make things that others enjoy. If no one is being honest about what could be improved upon, it's hard to do that. I want to work on being more helpful with my feedback by being more specific and helping guide the person I am giving feedback to. I also want to do better at applying it as well.

They're right!! (Cheezburger) (Growth Mindset Memes)