Week 6 Storytelling: The Parrot's Final Story

The Parrot's Final Story

Story: After many nights of being kept from seeing her lover, Khojisteh, dressed in her most beautiful clothes and jewels, intending for this to be the night she would finally go meet her lover. You see for some time now, as Khojisteh would go to leave, she would always ask her husbands parrot for permission. This night was different, however, Khojisteh was feeling unusually confident and strolled right past the parrot to go and meet her lover at last. The parrot was relieved that he did not have to tell another story. It had not even been an hour since Khojisteh had left, when Miemun, the parrot's master and Khojisteh’s husband, returned from his long journey. The parrot had warned Khojisteh of just this happening in his stories but she just did not listen.

The Parrot telling stories to Khojisteh: Web Source

Miemun now settled in came up to the parrot and said, “Loyal servant, where is my beloved wife?” You see since the beginning of their relationship, Miemun and Khojisteh had been inseparable and only had eye for each other. Miemun left on a journey, and Khojisteh was so distraught by his leaving, that she found comfort in the arms of another. The parrot, loyal to his master, yet so used to telling stories replied, “Have I ever told you the story of when A King Fell in Love?” Intrigued by the parrot’s story, Miemun replied, “No, tell me of this story.”

The parrot began, “One upon a time there was a young, handsome bachelor, who just so happened to be a King. One day, he laid eyes on the daughter of the emperor of room and he fell instantly in love with her. The two had reciprocal feeling and were eventually married. The couple was practically inseparable, day and night. However, with as much love as the couple had, it turns out the wife was keeping a secret. Since childhood, she had a secret lover whom was the love of her life. The queen had thought he had died in a battle years ago, but it turns out he was being held captive by her husband. As soon as she found out this news she was overcome by pure joy and ran to her lover. She gave him her affection in all ways possible. Unfortunately, a guard spied the couple and went straight to the King, he sentenced him to death. The queen was distraught and eventually in the presence of God and the King was forgiven of her adultery. The King loved his wife so much that he forgave her.”

From the story, Miemun got the hint and said, “Tell me parrot has my wife gone to a lover.” The parrot replied sorrowfully, “Yes good sir. Night after night I have delayed her departure, however, tonight she decided to ignore me and leave.” Miemun was distraught and his heart was broken. Looking for comfort Miemun asked where the Sharuk was, to see if she too had bore witness to these stories, when the parrot informed him of his wife’s doings, he became enraged. When Khojisteh finally returned he confronted her and found out the truth, but when he learned her actions where done for comfort, Miemun became sorrowful that he left. After confirming that she had only gone to her lover once, Miemun forgave her. From that day on, Miemun, Khojisteh, and the parrot lived happily ever after.
Author's Notes: In the original story, this is the final of the parrot’s tales. I really tried to keep the storyline the same, because this was my favorite of the Parrot Tales Unit. In the story, the parrot tells Khojisteh the story of a king falling in love and yet again manages to keep her from going to her lover. In the story the parrot tells her, a king falls in love with the emperor of room and wins her heart. In the story, the queen has a son by another man and the King does not know. Upon arriving at the castle, the queen begins feeling her sorrowful for her son is not there too. She then devises a plan to bring her son to the castle as a “jeweler”. The king agrees to this. One day, the queen was giving her son a motherly kiss on the forehead, when a guard oversaw this act, he told the king at once. The king was furious, thinking his wife brought her lover into the castle, and ordered her son to death. When the son told the executioner the truth he decided to hide him instead of killing him. The King notices how gloomy his wife is and asks her what is wrong, she finally tells him the truth. The King understand and summons the executioner to tell them where the body is and this is where he reveals the truth, that he did not kill him. They lived happily ever after. As soon as the parrot finished the story, Miemun returned from his long journey. Upon his arrival, he asked where the Sharuk was and the parrot told him everything that happened. He began with the murder of the Sharuk (the parrots companion) and how she was trying to have an affair. Miemun was so enraged that he killed his wife. I decided to change the story a lot. I started by making Khojisteh finally get to go meet her lover and Miemun return while she was away. I changed the story the parrot told, to kind of reveal the secret to Miemun and show him he could be forgiving to his wife as the King in the story was. In the original story, I did not like how Miemun killed his wife just because she killed the bird. I liked how this story overall was the parrot’s way of surviving.

Bibilography: Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi.The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot:A King Falls in Love and the End of Khojisteh. 1801. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Tales of a Parrot Reading B

Tales of a Parrot: A King Falls in Love and the End of Khojisteh

The King's Wife in the Parrot's Story: Web Source

• Characters: A King, his wife, their son, murder, the parrot's owner, the parrot, Khojisteh
• In this story, the parrot is still telling khojisteh stories to try and save his life and prevent her from visiting her lover. The whole reason the parrot started telling the stories was to spare his own life, and it turned into keeping khojisteh home. You see in the very beginning of the story there were actually two birds, the parrot and a sharuk, whom khojisteh killed when she told her not to meet her lover and that it was wrong. The parrot watching the sharuk die, knew he must agree with the wife and began telling stories to try and make her do the right thing. This story the parrot tells is about a King who falls in love with a girl, and as it turns out this girl has a son from another marriage. When the girl marries the king and goes to live with him, her son, whom she is ashamed of does not go and she misses him greatly. She decides to go to the king and make her son out to be a jeweler, the King still does not know this is her son. When her son comes to the castle a servant sees her kissing his forehead and thinks she is having an affair, and the king orders him to be beheaded, however the executioner spares his life after the son tells the truth. The king notices the wife's sadness and she finally tells the truth and comes to find out he is not mad. The king orders the executioner to tell him the location of the body and he reveals he didn't kill him. This story has happy ending. The real story continues and Khojisteh's husband returns. When he find the Sharuk is gone, he orders the parrot to tell him what happened and the parrot tells him everything, the husband kills his wife. I think telling this story in Khojisteh's perspective would be cool. Maybe convey her thoughts as the Parrot tells the final story. Even though the story the parrot tells does not really relate to Khojisteh's story maybe it could teach her some kind of lesson.
• Bibliography: Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi.The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot:A King Falls in Love and the End of Khojisteh. 1801. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Tales of a Parrot Unit Reading A

Tales of a Parrot: The Parrot of Ferukh Beg

(The Parrot and Wife of Ferukh Beg: Web Source)

• Characters: Parrot, Khojisteh, the parrot of ferukh, Ferukh Beg, ferukh begs wife, moghul

• This story is a story within a story. This whole unit is about a parrot who keeps telling his master's wife stories about different subject, relating to how she's feeling to keep her from going to meet her lover and committing adultery. This story is about a wife who commits adultery while her husband is away. The parrot tells his master's wife this story to let her know he would keep her secret. In the story he tells, Ferukh Beg has two birds, has a parrot who he untrusted to watch over his home and his wife while he is gone. The parrot was a witness to the wife's affair, however when the master returned home, he said nothing, because he did not want to separate the man and wife. Unfortunately for the wife, the husband caught wind of the affair.The wife suspected the parrot of telling on her and plucked out his feather and threw him out the window, telling all her servant that a cat drug him out of the window. The parrot found refuge in a burying ground. when the merchant found that the parrot was missing, he became so enraged that he threw his wife out. Being embarrassed by this she too found refuge in the burying ground where she fasted for one day. In the meantime, the parrot whispered through a hole that if the woman shaved all of the hair off of her head and body and fast for forty days she would be reunited with her husband and her sins would be forgiven, so she did. One day the parrot came out of hiding and told the women it was he who commanded her to fast and shave. The parrot with regained strength, went to the husband and told him that some god commanded the woman to shave and fast for forty days and her sins would be forgiven and they would be reunited. Not wanting to disobey a god, the man retrieved his wife and they lived happily ever after. There are two ways I am thinking about changing this story, either changing it to be in the wife's perspective of creating a more harsh punishment for the wife, so in a sense changing the ending. Changing to the wife's  perspective would give the audience a more connected feeling to her and maybe even let the wife connect with Khojisteh, since she is wanting to commit the same sin. Changing the ending/punishment of the wife may scare khojisteh and make her not want to committing adultery anymore. I am not sure which I will choose, but I feel like either would bring a nice change to the story.

• Bibliography: Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi.The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot:The Parrot of Ferukh Beg. 1801. Web Source.

Week 5 Storytelling: A Ghostly Wife

(The ghost waiting by the tree
and the wife walking past the ghost:
WebSource)

   Once upon a time, there lived a young, handsome Brahman named Zar, and his beautiful wife, Delphia. As they had married at such a young age, they lived with the Brahman’s mother. They lived in an enormous mansion near the river. While their house was grand and large, the Delphia still enjoyed walking down by the river. You see, right on the river, underneath an old weeping willow lived a she-ghost named Ora.
   One day, when walking by the river, the Delphia decided to wander underneath the old weeping willow. While walking, all the sudden, she bumped into something. Frantically, she looked around. When she turned to her right she saw the ghost, Ora. Ora looked furious. Delphia responded, hoping to ease her anger, “I am sorry. I did not see you there.” Ora angrier than ever replied, “This is my home and you entered without permission and yet you apologize only for bumping into me.” With that, Ora lunged at Delphia knocking her into the truck of the old tree. Delphia laid motionlessly for she was injured. Ora then took Delphia clothes, planning to enter her home and take over her life. Off Ora went, to enjoy her new-found life.

    When Delphia awoke, she was terrified that Ora would hurt her further, but she soon came to realize that Ora was nowhere to be found, and neither were her clothes. Naked and afraid, Delphia, quickly scrambled to find some leaves big enough to cover herself and head home. Upon her journey home, Delphia began to ponder about why Ora just left her and did not seek further revenge upon her. All the sudden the stories she had heard about she-ghosts came rushing to her memory and she stood paralyzed in fear. It was an old legend that for revenge she-ghosts would take over the lives of their victims. Praying it was not so, Delphia ran home, only to find Ora in her home, with her husband, and performing her household chores. Stricken by grief, Delphia ran back to the river to clear her head of the ghastly images she saw in her own home. 

   Once Delphia had cleared her head, she decided she would not let Ora just take her life. She then marched back to her home with the goal of reclaiming her life. Delphia knew it would not be possible to convince her family of her identity, so she began scheming ways to expose Ora. She-ghosts have supernatural powers and perform task much quicker and better than mere humans, so Delphia decided to expose the she-ghost this way. She began by leaving a note to her mother in-law, because she had previous experiences with she-ghost. The note said, “That is not Delphia.” The mother in-law received the note and it dawned on her that Delphia had been performing task unusually fast and well. The mother-in-law kept this to herself, but decided to keep a closer watch on Delphia. 

   One day, while “Delphia” was performing her household duties, the mother-in-law asked her to grab something from the next room and what she saw confirmed her fears. When asked to retrieve the object, Ora simply walked through the wall to retrieve the object, as only she-ghosts could do. The mother-in-law decided it was time to tell Zar. Zar then decided it was only right to call an exorcist, since they did not know if Delphia was possessed or if it was a ghost acting as her. The exorcist then confirmed it was a ghost, not Delphia. Delphia, who had been watching and waiting for weeks for this exact moment, bust through door and said, “Here I am! I did not know another way to convince you.” Knowing that this was their true Delphia, they embraced her. The exorcist then made Ora promise to never bother them again, and she agreed. They lived happily ever after.

Authors note: In the original story, the brahman’s wife brushed against the she-ghost and the she-ghost injured her. The she-ghost then took her clothes and went back to her house to take over her life. When the she-ghost arrived, the family did not suspect anything. After a while the mother noticed how the wife was performing task unusually fast so she began watching her closely. After a while she saw the ghost doing things that normal humans would not, but this time she kept it to herself. The next time she saw an unusual behavior she told her son and they called an exorcist, who confirmed it was a ghost and not the wife. They then demanded the she-ghost tell them where the wife was and she did. All this time the wife had been lying inside the tree trunk injured, and when they found her she was weak. The ghost promised not to bother them anymore and they took the wife home and nursed her back to health. The story then ended. I decided to give the wife a bigger role and put the story in her perspective. I did not like how the original story was not personal at all, so I gave the characters names. I also added dialogue to the story to make it more interactive between the characters. I also did not like how the wife played no role in the original story, so instead of making her injured so bad that she just stayed in the trunk I decided to make her the main character. I also decided to make her the one to fill the family with suspense, because it made no sense to me how the mother-in-law just decided to watch her closer since she was performing task better than usual. Overall, I feel like I did not change the story much, I just put it in a character’s perspective.

Bibliography: Folk-Tales of Bengal: A Ghostly Wife by Rev. Lal Behari Day. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Folktales of Bengal Reading B

A Ghostly Wife:

• Characters: Ghost, Brahman, Brahman's Wife, Brahman's Mother, Ojha
• This story was very similar to the Ghost brahman story I chose in reading A. I really like ghost stories and thought this would be a nice mix up from the stories I have been previously doing. In this story, the brahman's wife is walking down to the river, when she passes the tree the ghost lives by, she accidentally touches her. The ghost then gets mad, injuries the brahman's wife and takes her clothes to takeover her life. Unlike the ghost brahman story, the brahman and the mother actually begin to realize on their own that the brahman's wife is acting unusual. Once they observe her performing unusual tasks they begin to suspect her true identity and they decide to bring in an Ojha, an exorcist, to see. He confirms and they end up finding the wife and they live happily ever after. Changing this story to the wife's perspective would be really cool. That way you can feel her pain and sorrow and when the happy ending occurs it will make the audience feel more joy, since we have witnessed first hand the wife's troubles. I want to change the story and make the wife gain up the strength to go regain her life. I think if the wife were to drop subtle hints, or make the husband and mother observe the ghost's unusual behaviors it would add a sneaky element to the story. I may eve change the end to be an unhappy ending, but I have not decided yet. 
• Bibliography: Folk-Tales of Bengal: A Ghostly Wife by Rev. Lal Behari Day. Web Source.

(Picture of the ghost standing by the tree and the wife about to accidentally brush against her: Websource)

Review: How the Creative Process Happens

Sunday, September 17:

(Funny Meme about how the creative process works: WebSource)

This meme was from today's announcement, however, when scrolling through I just kept going back to this one being my favorite. This is so true, well it is for me anyways. I thought this was so funny and could not help but re-post this one.

Famous Last Words: Week 4 in a Glance

This week went really well. I had a pretty busy week, that I was not expecting, however, I did get ahead in all of my classes. I was able to do all of this week's work plus the EC and even finished with week 5 reading A. I could have gotten more done for week 5, but I got a little lazy toward the end of the week. I can definitely tell as the weeks go by and as am gaining more experience retelling stories, that I feel more confident each time I do it, also it is getting way easier for me. I plan to challenge myself and take different turns on stories instead of just changing the plot, maybe also writing from another character's POV. This week was the first week we were asked to critique others work. Honestly, all of the stories I read were great and I cannot wait to read new ones this week. I really enjoy getting to read everyone’s different takes on stories and how they decided to change them. Something I thought that was cool, was when someone commented on my Cupid and Psyche story and said they actually thought about changing it in a similar way. I am not going to lie, I am not all that excited about this week’s unit choices, but I know I will end up enjoying it. My other classes are going really well. I made an A on my first organic chemistry quiz and on my first reading comprehension in Spanish. Spanish is definitely challenging this semester, but I know if I study and apply myself enough it will be fine. This next week, I have my first O-Chem exam on Wednesday morning and I have not studied this weekend, so I know I will be busy both Monday and Tuesday, however, I think the exam will go well. I also have my first statistics paper due. 

(Funny Meme about rough weeks: WebSource)

Wikipedia Trails from Morgan Le Fay to the Matter of Britain

Morgan Le Fay: Since I am writing about the women of Camelot for my story book project, I enjoy researching all the different women. This week I decided to start with Morgan because she is the most different Camelot woman by far.
Enchantress: Morgan led me here because she is a famous enchantress in the Arthurian legends and I wanted to learn a little bit more about what an enchantress does.
List of Magicians in Fantasy: I was led here because I was curious to see the other magicians or enchantresses in other fantasy stories.
Matter of Britain: I was led here from Morgan Le Fay on the list of magicians in fantasy. I learned that the Arthurian literary cycle is the most well known part of the matter of Britain. Also by Morgan's name was the Matter of France. I thought it was really cool to start a character and learn more about them, and eventually lead back to them through their occupation.

(Morgan Le Fay: Web source)

Tech Tip: Pinterest Board

 Aubryelle's Pinterest Board:
I love pinterest and have used for as long as it has been around. I typically use it to find make up, hair, outfit, decoration, and of course, food ideas.

Learning Challenge: Being Busy Kills Creativity

Being Busy Is Killing Our Ability to Think Creatively

You need to take time out of your day to relax/meditate. The benefits described in this article are that it allows you to have that time to think creatively and daydream which is important to a healthy mind. What I learned from this article was that being busy diminishes your ability to be creative. This really makes sense. When I am busy, I can only think of what I have to do and what I want to do, I do not really have time to think and ponder on question or reflect on my day, let alone be creative. One thing I am now curious about is all the ways you can unplug from the world and just take some "me time." I plan to look up different ways to divert your attention when having a busy day.

(Funny Cat Meme about daydreaming: Web Source)

Growth Mindset: Why Failure is Important

One thing that was confirmed for me was that failure inspires perseverance and builds character. For me, if I fail it makes that much more determined to succeed and prove myself wrong and that I can do it. One thing I learned is that failure keeps you in a growth mindset. Now looking back at this, it makes complete since. To stay in a state of constantly wanting to grow, you need a drive and a want and personally I belie failure provides this. I want to explore more about how failure can help you learn and grow, I also think that it would be cool to find more reasons why failure it important. I plan to look google failure and see where it leads me.

(10 Reasons Why Failure is Important: Web Source)

Reading Notes: Week 5 The Ghost Brahman

The Ghost Brahman:

• Characters: The brahman, his mother, his wife, the ghost, a king, neat-herd king
• The story begin by a brahman scraping enough money together to get married. Once married, the brahman realizes that he does not have enough money to support his wife and mother, so he decides to journey seeking money, and so he does. While he is gone, a ghost appears, with the exact appearance of the brahman and takes over his life. For years, he fooled the people. One day when the brahman returned home from his travels, he find the ghost and is in shock and to his dismay, no one believes him. he brahman is then cast out. The brahman then visited the king everyday begging him to return his life, but everyday he was disappointed. Everyday the brahman passed by the same group of cowboys and one day the neat-herd king stopped him and asked him why he wept daily. When the brahman told the neat-herd king of his problem, he say through and believed him, he then instructed the brahman to get permission from the king for him to decide his case, and so he did. To prove who the ghost was, the neat-herd king brought a narrow necked phile and said whomever can enter this phile is the rightful owner, of course the human could not enter, so when the ghost enter, the neat-herd king trapped the ghost, returning the brahman his home, wife, and mother. My idea for changing this story is to either tell it from the perspective of the wife, mother or the neat-herd king. I think changing the perspective would give a cool twist to the story, especially if it is in the perspective of the wife or mother. I would make them oblivious, but maybe make them question the brahman more instead of believing the ghost right away.
  
• (The ghost returning as the brahman soon after he left: Web Source)
• Bibliography: Folk-Tales of Bengal: The Ghost Brahman by Rev. Lal Behari Day. Web Source.

Reading Notes: EC Reading A of Anderson Fairy Tale Unit: The Brave Tin Soldier

The Brave Tin Soldier:

• Characters: Brave Tin soldier, Goblin, Little Delicate Lady, Children, Nutcrackers, Toys
• This story is about a brave tin man, that sees a lady of his dreams. The brave tin man only had one leg, so he was sort of an outcast in the story. On his way to make the acquaintance of the lady, a goblin popped out of a box and told him not to wish for what was not his. The tin man pretended not to hear the goblin, as he was fixated on the beautiful dancer in front of him. The goblin then said wait until tomorrow. The next day the tin man was placed in the window sill and fell out of the house into the rain. This is where this story ended. It seems like Disney's Toy Story may have been based on this. If I were retelling this story, I would tell it in the perspective of the tiny dancer. Of course, I would make it a love at first sight story. I think the story could be really cool told from the dancer's perspective.
• Bibliography: Fairy Tales and Stories: The Brave Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Anderson.
  
• (The Brave Tin Soldier: Artstation)

Comment Wall

Your Fair Ladies of Camelot

(Guinevere, Britomart, The Lady of Shalott, and Morgan Le Fey. Web Source.)

Week 4 Story: The Almost Fall of Mankind

Story: God made all the animals, the most beautiful being the serpent. The serpent was tall, mighty, and graceful, truly God’s most beautiful creation, even prettier than man himself. The serpent somewhat resembled man and the angles. He was smart, cunning, and had many great talents. The serpent’s mental abilities surpassed that of man and because of this it led him to turn against God and led to what could have been the downfall of Adam and Eve, and mankind.  Overtime, the serpent became envious of Adam and Eve because of their souls and their relationship with their creator, God. One day, while strolling through the bountiful Garden of Eden, the serpent spotted Eve. He said to her, “Such a glorious place and so many trees to eat from. There is a rumor that God has forbade you from eating from the tree behind you. Is this true?” Eve replied, “Indeed, it is. We can eat from any tree in the Garden except this one or we will be stricken by death even with the slightest touch of the tree.” With that the serpent forcefully rammed Eve into the tree; Eve began sobbing. The serpent angrily replied, “You are touching it now and yet you are not dead.” He then began shaking the tree until a single piece of fruit fell to the ground, he picked up and ate it. He said,” Look I ate of the fruit and yet, I am not dead.” In that instance, the ground began to shake and the once beautiful serpent turned into a slithering beast, damned to crawl on his belly for the rest of eternity. Eve, terrified of this great sight, ran seeking Adam. When she told Adam how the serpent tried to get her to eat from the tree and then made her touch it, Adam suggest they immediately seek God. They began praying to God to save them as Eve was forced to touch the tree and she did not want to die. God being all-knowing had already foreseen this happening, pleased that his child did not give into the temptation he replied, “Fear not my children, for you have just passed the first of many trials that face you. You did the right thing seeking me for the hideous act you just endured. As for the serpent, he is bound to eternal damnation as a beast of the ground. I will protect you from him and all others that try to turn you against me, only if you follow my will.” Adam and Eve agreed to the convent with God. They knew from that day forward if they obeyed God, nothing could harm them. You see the tree that the serpent tried to get Eve to eat from was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. At this time, Adam and Eve only knew that serving God was the right thing to do and God had blessed them abundantly. If that day Eve would have given into the temptation the serpent laid before her, she would have caused the wrath of God to fall upon all mankind and even for generations to come.

(The serpent deceiving Eve. Web Source)

Bibliography: The Fall of Mankind from The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909). Web Source.

Authors Note: The original story is the story of Adam and Eve. In the original story, the serpent did convince Eve to eat of the fruit. Eve then, out of her own selfishness, fooled Adam into eating the fruit as well, and then she fed it to the animals, so she would not be the only one to perish. After ingesting the fruit, Adam and Eve became aware of their nakedness and were embarrassed, so they sewed fig leaves to cover themselves. When they heard God walking in the Garden calling for them, they hid from him. This is where the story, of The Fall of Mankind Ends. I thought I could change this story completely by revealing the serpent for who he was, a monster. By doing this, it scared Eve enough for her to run to Adam and they sought God together instead of sinning against him. If this version of the story persisted, I cannot even imagine how wonderful the world would be today

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve Reading B

• Worship and Blessing  (Book of Adam and Eve)
• The Forgotten Books of Eden, edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr. Web Source.



(Adam and Eve at an Altar they built for God: Web source.)

• Characters: God, Adam, and Eve
• In this story, Adam and Eve build an altar through their own hard work and offer up a sacrifice to God for their sin and to make more requests to God. God told Adam that he was pleased with his sacrifice, but he could not enter the garden until the convent of 5500 years had passed. When making sacrifices Adam often thought of offering himself to pay for his sin, but God would not allow it. Again, I am very leery of changing the story too much, as it is the word of God, however I think that it would be awesome to change this story into God's perspective. In most of these stories, we see Adams side of things and how sad he is he has been kicked out of the garden, but his sadness does not even compete with God's. God created man in his image and gave him life and a perfect place to dwell, however, he still disobeyed God. I can not even imagine how hurt God is/was. Retelling this story from God's point of view would make this story even more sad, however, when his child find him again it will turn into a happy ending.

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve Part A

• (God with Adam and Eve: Web Source)

• The Fall of Man (Ginzberg)
• Legend of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg: Web Source.
• Characters: God, Adam, Eve, Serpent, bird malham
• This is about the fall of mankind into the temptation of sins. This is the story about how sin entered the word and the event leading up to it. This was not taken directly from the bible, it was translated by Ginzberg. I am leery to change the story to much since it is the word of God, but I thought that this would be the best story to retell and change. My idea is for Eve not to fall into them temptation the serpent gives her and instead confide in God and Adam to overcome this temptation. The serpent in this story is essentially the Devil himself, after being cast out of Heaven for not obeying God, he has grown great envy for mankind, so his plan is to separate men from God, like he is. I think by changing the story to let Eve run to God for help from the serpent will allow God to reveal the true identity of the serpent to her and save mankind from seeing a world of sin.

Famous Last Words: A Busy Week

This week, I was able to do both reading A and B. I choose to read about Cupid and Psyche, which was a really good choice for me because I like love stories. I enjoyed learning about the story of Cupid and Psyche, my favorite part was how it was told in the form of a story, meaning that one character told another character the love story of Cupid and Psyche. This was one of the first Greek Mythology stories that I truly enjoyed. I remember in middle and high school, I was never into reading Greek mythology, but after reading  this story I am actually excited to read more. I feel like this story was definitely easier for me to retell. After getting the first storytelling experience out of the way, I felt like when I was reading the story I was starting to get ideas about what I wanted to change and I put them in my reading notes. The first week I feel like I just took notes for a test, not to retell the story, however, this past week I feel like I was able to read like a writer and think about what I wanted to change while I was reading.This week was a little busy for me, as it was a short week. I went home last weekend and did not do any work over the holiday, so come Tuesday I was really behind. This stressed me out a little, and I was not able to complete all the EC in this class to get ahead, so I am a little disappointed in myself. However, this week I also had my first Organic Chemistry quiz, which I made a 100 on so I am really excited about that. This next week definitely seems like it will be less busy, so I will be able to get ahead again. This next week, I plan to do all the EC and also to get ahead on Week 5, because I have my first O-Chem test a week from Wednesday, so I know I will be busy. This week I also have my first Spanish reading comprehension, which I am very nervous about, however I know if I study I will be fine.

(Bulldog Busy Meme: Source Relatbly)

Wikipedia Trails: From The Lady of Shalott to Occitan Language

The Lady of Shalott: I started at The Lady of Shalott because I enjoyed reading about her last week when working on my project and thought she would be a good place to start. It also goes along with my topic for my project and allows me to gain a little bit more knowledge on the Arthurian era.

(John William Waterhouse's The Lady Shalott picture: Source Wikipedia)

Sir Lancelot: From the Lady of Shalott I was brought to Sir Lancelot. This article allowed me to gain more knowledge on the people of Camelot and helped to give me more insight on Sir Lancelot and who he was.

(Sir Lancelot at the Chapel of the Holy Grail photo by Edward Burne-Jones: Source Wikipedia)

The Holy Grail: From Lancelot I was brought to the holy grail. Part of the reason that I clicked on it was because I had not idea what it was, the other part is because it sounded really cool. I learned that it plays a really important role in Arthurian Literature and turns out I have heard of it, I just did not realize it.

Occitan Language: I clicked on this because I had no idea what it was. Turns out, it is a romance language primarily spoken in Southern France and Italy. It is kind of ironic how I started on the Lady of Shallot and ended on a romance language.

Learning Challenge: Reading Out Loud

For me, reading out loud helps me to slow down and not "speed read", which to me means I read it but not really read and understand. When I do not take the time to read out loud I have found that I will read what I am supposed to, however, I do not retain the information or make connections to the story or material like I do when I read out loud. For me reading out loud is different from silent reading because it allows me to make connections that I might have other wise missed and also allows me to retain information better than just reading silently. The only disadvantage of reading out loud is that it takes longer, because you make more connections and ask yourself questions. Reading out loud is definitely something that I will continue doing.

(Funny Meme about Reading Out Loud in Class: Image found on Pintrest: Photo by LoveThisPic)

Growth Mindset: Random Growth Mindset Cats Week 3 EC

(Examine What Makes You Anxious: Growth Mindset Cat made by Laura Gibbs on Cheezburger)

• This picture was actually the first one that popped up, and I love it. I am an anxious person and this is seriously one of the biggest pieces of advice I could give to a person. It is so important to know what makes you anxious so you can overcome it and in this case grow your mind.

(The Emotions of Learning: Photo made by Laura Gibbs on Cheezburger)

• This picture is seriously the best and my favorite one I saw. This could not be anymore true! As I progress through school, I see this happening more and more. This kitten is so cute and the way it is looking at the toy is how I look at most of my homework.

Feedback Strategies: Week 3

• Specific Feedback that Helps Learning: This article took the steps of Grant Wiggin's key characteristics of better feedback and gave you ways to put them in action. I really liked how this article broke down the steps and allowed me to see what I need to do to give good feedback. It helped me to see how following each of these steps is actually more useful when giving feedback rather than just saying, oh this is really good.
• How to Craft Constructive Feedback: I felt like this article gave a layout of how to give good feedback and that is what I really liked. I am a visual person so physically seeing the steps I need to take to give good, quality feedback was very helpful.
• Overall, at this point I feel very confident about providing feedback. I know I always have room to improve and doing these exercises each week is very helpful and is a really good refresher. 
  

                                              (Fun Fact about Criticism: Photo by MEPN Program)

Topic Research: The Women of Camelot

**All stories, excluding Britomart, were found using Freebookapalooza

Guinevere: 
I am not really sure which story I will use about Guinevere yet. Right now I am leaning more toward the Lancelot one, because I really want this to be a great love story.

• Guinevere and the Round table
• The Story of Sir Lancelot and his Companions

The Lady Shallot (Elaine of  Astolat):
I decided on the Lady Shallot because I think her story is interesting and as soon as I saw the song "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry had a reference to The Lady Shallot I was immediately interested in The Lady Shalott. I also decided that since most the stories will be love stories, it will be nice to change it up a bit.

• Actual Poem (Chapter 10)  
• Elaine of Astolat  
• The two versions compared
• The story of Sir Lancelot and his companions

Britomart: The linked title is a link to the story unit. I chose this story because I wanted to do something different from the rest. I think this will bring a nice change into the mix.


Morgan Le Fay:
I like the idea of including a sorcerer. Most of the stories will involve love and drama but including a story that is a little dark, will once again just add a little variety. I read the Sir Gawin and the Green Knight was the most famous Morgan Le Fay story, however I am curious to see how she cheated the King.

• Wikipedia: Sir Gawin and the Green Night
• The Age of Chivalry: Sir Gawin has a chapter
• The Romance in Reality

(The Lady Shalott by John WIlliam Waterhouse: Web source)

Week 3 Story: Psyche's Dream Come Ture

Story:

Ever since the unveiling of her husband’s identity, Psyche had been wondering day and night trying to find him. She had traveled long and far when she finally gazed upon a beautiful house in the distance. With the beauty that this house had, Psyche knew that is must have been a home of a God and thought that just maybe it could be one of Cupid’s dwellings. She wearily climbed the steps onto the porch of the home. Upon her entry, she saw a vast array of farmhouse décor and pictures of bountiful fields of crops, she then discovered she had entered the shrine of the Goddess of the Harvest, Ceres. In the center of the house there was a sacred altar, where many farmers had slovenly scattered crops about it, knowing this was disrespectful to the Goddess, even in her weariness Psyche organized the grains. While organizing, Ceres wondered upon Psyche and said to her, “Child what are you doing here? Why have you entered the shrine of a friend of Venus? Do you not know she is looking for you and has instructed me to bring you to her if I saw you?” Shocked and frightened by the Goddess' words, Psyche began to sob, “Oh! Great and mighty Ceres, please protect me from Venus for I have done no wrong. I have just discovered my husband’s identity against his wish and upon this great betrayal, my husband fled our home and I cannot find him. My husband is Cupid, Venus’s son, have she no mercy on her own daughter in-law?” Psyche continued uttering praises to the Goddess to try and win her favor. Ceres, flattered by Psyche's praise, replied, “My dear, have you no idea of the source of Venus’s anger? She has accused you of stealing and basking in her name, yet you are just here trying to find your husband.”  Stunned, Psyche replied, “A God once told me that I was cursed by Venus for being a great beauty, and said that I would be married to the most dreadful and horrid of men and I found myself in the bed of a God, unknowing that it was Cupid, Venus’s son. While I have just learned who he is, I adore him so and long to find him.” Ceres felt compelled by Psyche’s story and began to ponder on Venus's actions. She thought, is her anger right to be avenged or is it the envy that has brought this great hate for Psyche. Ceres then said, “I am very moved by your story and do not know what to do, I will take you to my dear friend, Juno, to receive her council on the matter, as she too is a friend of Venus.” The two then made their way to Juno’s home. After they informed Juno of her story, Psyche realized she had gained favor in the Goddesses eyes and asked if she could rest while they talk about Venus’s actions. The next morning, Psyche was woken by the two Goddesses informing her that she was safe with them. They decided that Venus had acted out of great jealousy and she would face the repercussions for her actions. The Goddesses then decided that they would tell Zeus, Juno’s husband and King of the Gods, of Venus' envy and jealousy and let him decide her fate. Armed with the two Goddesses at her side, Psyche then decided it was time to confront her dreadful mother-in-law.

(Psyche at the Shrines of Juno and Ceres: Photo by Burne-Jones)

Author’s Notes: In the original story, Psyche is out searching for her husband, Cupid, after just revealing his identity against his wishes and stumbles upon the home of Ceres, the Goddess of the Harvest. There, Ceres informs her that Venus, Cupid’s mother and the Goddess of Love, is searching for her and looking for revenge. You see, when Venus had first learned of a beautiful girl named Psyche and how the common humans praised her great beauty, she got jealous and ordered her son, Cupid, to make her fall in love with the most dreadful of men. However, Cupid ended up falling in love with Psyche and married her. In this story, Venus has just learned of her son’s marriage to Psyche, a mere human and is fueled with rage to get back at Psyche. When Psyche learns of Venus’s plan, she pleas to Ceres, the Goddess of the Harvest to let her rest there because she is wearied from her journey, however Ceres is friends with Venus and tells Psyche she is lucky she isn’t telling Venus she is here. Psyche then wonders upon the home of Juno, Zeus’s wife, and begs for her protection from Venus. Juno too was friends with Venus and refused to help Psyche. After being denied protection twice, Psyche then decides it is time to face her mother-in-law. This is where this story ends. The way I changed this story was to have the Goddesses side with Psyche instead of Venus. In the stories before this one, Psyche had two sisters and when they saw all of Psyche’s possessions and new home, they became very jealous. They are the ones who persuaded Psyche to unveil the identity of her husband. This jealousy cost them their lives by Cupid’s hand as payment for them making Psyche reveal his identity. I thought that putting this twist on this story would make learning not to be jealous the moral of the story. Even though Venus is a God, it is her jealousy that lead to Psyche’s marrying her son in the first place so changing the story to punish her for her sins just added to completing the moral and taught that no one is above what is right and that no matter your status, you will always be jealous of someone or something.

Bibliography: "Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche" from The Golden Ass translated by Tony Kline. Web Source.