Week 6 (Essay): First Memories of Writing

I remembered when I started out to write, my parents had bought me a book to practice writing my letters. This was before I was in school so they taught me my first word, Paula. Yep, my first word that I could write was my name, which I think is pretty standard. I was so good at writing it that I wrote it on my closet door with a sharpie. My parents were not too happy about that. When I came into elementary school, I practiced my print writing a bit more. Then I moved onto cursive writing. I was never really great at cursive writing.

Last year, I was looking through a lot my old assignments and found some of the elementary projects. One of them was a storybook. I remember in 4^th grade, my teacher made us write a storybook about animals and it had to include a moral. I think we were learning about Aesop’s Fables at that time. We had to come up with a rough draft, edit it, and do all the illustrations. It was a lot of fun. My story was about two horses in love. They were galloping through the woods and come across a wild and scary bear. They bear was three times the size of the male horse. However, he stood his ground and protected his love. The moral of the story was “It’s not the size of the person that matter, but the size of their heart.” I’m not sure why that was never published. It was a great read and the illustrations were top notch!

Anyway, I never had any computer writing assignments in elementary school so I’m not exactly sure how or when I learned to use the keyboard. Nowadays, everyone is using a keyboard. Even my little cousin who is a toddler understands the basics of a computer. It’s a bit weird how things are changing so much in such a small span of time. What if schools remove paper and pens completely? I am a little bit afraid about that future. Sure, computers and technology is cool, but there is something special about writing with a paper and pen that you just don't get with screens.

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Week 6 (Reading Diary): Laos Unit

Laos Unit

Many of the stories in the first half have common themes throughout each such as unconditional love, emphasis on nature, and reincarnation. These stories stood out to me the most from this unit.

Child of the Woods This story reminded me a bit of The Jungle Book. Mainly because there is an adolescent that goes off into the jungle and lives with wild beasts for some time before returning to human civilization. I felt a bit of shivers from reading this for some odd reason.

Origin of Lightning This story was very unique. I am glad I read it. It had reincarnation within it, which I have found to be very common in many Asian stories. Another common thing I have been seeing is MULTIPLE WIVES!!! It was a common practice in the olden days, but nine wives?! Really? Anyway,  it was a really sweet story! I am feeling a little bit gushy after reading it.

Lovers' Leap This story was a bit sad. The general theme reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. This theme is seen in a lot of current stories.

The Faithful Husband and The Faithful Wife  I found it interesting how these stories are back to back. These stories reflect the values of Laotian people. It is an example of what they believe a faithful husband and wife should act.

One Woman I did not anticipate the ending at all.  I expected the usual theme of bad deeds being punished and those that wish to do to evil being outsmarted themselves like in The Wizard and the Beggar. It was interesting to read a story that was completely the opposite.

To Aid a Beast This story reminded me a little bit of The Lion and the Mouse. Though the ending was surprising to me, it has been a common theme that people are quick to condemn and kill for the wrong judgement.

The Boys Who Were Not Appreciated I really liked this story. This story contained two common themes of the meek receiving riches and those who are not appreciative and expecting of riches are punished or suffer. I found it strange that their parents died at the end because that is probably not what they would have wished but the parents are the moral of the story, not the boys.

The Fortunes of a Lazy Beggar I found this story very interesting due to the parallels it draws between a rich prince and a lazy beggar. Though the beggar is transformed, he wonders to himself that he has once again become the same lazy person on the inside, but now he is revered due to his riches.

The Blind Man This was my favorite story. The blind man is very endearing in the story and though he deceives his wife by pretending to be able to see, he does his best to earn her love. Naturally, he is rewarded for his spirit with the ability to see at the end of the story.

Week 4 (Storytelling): The Man Who Thought He was a Fisherman

In the city of New York City, there was a newlywed couple. Unfortunately, this couple was very poor. They struggled to keep up with their monthly bills and they constantly had to borrow money from friends and family. One day, the newlywed couple decided to escape from the bustling and boisterous city and moved to a humble, small home in the countryside of New York.

This small home was just big enough for both of them to live there comfortably. It was white with faded blue trim around the windows and door. Inside, the couple furnished their new home with just the necessities and only a few bits and bobs to add a bit of character. Surrounding the white house were stretches of cedar trees as far as the eye could see. About half mile north of their home was a lake. During the late afternoon, the temperature was just right and it was the perfect time to watch the sun set, whilst its light reflected in the waters. The sight was breathtaking. The couple took walks by the lake during this time. On those walks, they saw always saw a fisherman by himself sitting on his boat. He was a stout man with a head of thick grey hair around his mid-to-late sixties. From afar, the couple could see the fisherman very skilled. His bucket was filled with fish after a full day’s catch.
 
One morning, the husband decided to go out on a walk to the lake. He saw the fisherman as he was unhitching his boat to go out onto the lake. The husband came up to the fisherman and said, “Hello, sir, I see you fish all day! Please, let me go with you today.”

The fisherman nodded, “I see you and your wife walking by the lake during the afternoons. Come along with me and I’ll show you how to fish.”

The husband hopped on to the wobbly, old motorboat. The boat was so old that many of the writings on the controls had faded off and many of the gears were stiff and difficult to use. However, the fisherman started the boat effortlessly. They smoothly sailed to the middle of the lake. The fisherman showed the husband his fishing techniques. They sat and talked all day until it was time to go home. The fisherman had plenty of fish in his bucket. However, the husband did not have any at all. The fisherman saw this and pitied the husband. He gave him half of his fish and said, “Take this home and eat it with your wife for dinner tonight. Come back tomorrow morning and we shall try again.”

“Thank you, sir,” replied the humble husband.

The next day, the husband came back and sailed with the fisherman again. By the end of the day, the results were the same as the day before. The fisherman split his fish and gave half to the husband. The husband accepted.

Later on that night in his bed, the husband was staring up at his ceiling. “How come I cannot catch any fish? I am doing as the fisherman tells me. I know why. It is because all the fish want to go to his bait and not mine. Tomorrow morning, I will rise very early and take the boat. Then I will be able to catch all the fish by myself.”

The next morning, the husband did so. He woke up very early and went to the lake. He started up the boat. It was a much shakier ride than when the fisherman steered, but he eventually made it to the middle of the lake. Then, the husband cast his line and waited. The sun was rising. The husband looked up and saw the fisherman walking towards the dock. Unexpectedly, there was a tug from his fishing line. He pulled back and the fishing line stayed taut. Immediately, the husband did what the fisherman showed him. It was a good ten-minute struggle. Finally, he gave one last pull and the largest catfish he had ever seen came out of the water. He had caught his first fish. He stood up on the boat and waved victoriously to the fisherman. All of a sudden, the boat shook abruptly. The husband tried to balance on it, but it shook again. What was wrong with it? Then, he realized that he did not know how to swim, so he panicked. The more he panicked, the more the boat shook. The fisherman was on the dock and he tried to tell the husband something, but he was too far. Suddenly, the boat overturned and the husband fell into the water. He paddled his legs to try to get air, but some water vines had caught ahold of his leg. The husband hopelessly struggled for his life. Finally when he ran out of energy, he sank into the bottom of the lake. 

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Author's Note - The original story comes from the The Crow that Thought It Knew from the Jakata (Sheddlock) unit. I liked this storyline because it was different from the other Jakata stories. In many of the other stories, Buddha is reincarnated and a god decided to test his virtue. The test usually demanded Buddha to sacrifice something precious to him, but in this story he was not tested. In the original version of this story, Buddha is reincarnated into a very intelligent and strong marsh crow. A couple of regular crows escape a city suffering from famine and find Buddha. They are so hungry and ask Buddha for fish. Due to his giving nature, Buddha shares his fish with them and continues to do this for some time. Then one day the male crow decides that he does not need Buddha’s help anymore. He looks just like Buddha so he believes that he can catch his own fish. Unfortunately, soon he finds out that they are not similar at all. This grave mistake leads to his death. I did a modern take on this story because I think that it is very relatable to many contemporary situations. Someone sees that another person with an extraordinary talent so he or she believes that they have the same capabilities due to physical similarities. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are people that overestimate their abilities and make irrational decisions. This husband did so and that led to his demise.

 

(Fisherman on Lake Malawi by Steve Evans) 

Bibliography: "The Crow that Thought It Knew" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock (1920)

Week 5: Portfolio Styles

This past weekend I have been looking over styles that I can use to change up my storytelling. Lately, I have been doing the same writing style because I cannot think of what else to do. However, after reviewing some more stories from this semester and more from past semesters, I have found a plethora of new styles that I can test out for the rest of the semester.

For the past few stories, I typically have been using this style of writing for my storytelling. I use it because I like comparing past, practically ancient, folktales with our modern and common experiences. This is my favorite one that I have written so far: The Man Who Thought He was a Fisherman. However, I think that I have mastered the modernization style by now. I feel that I am ready to step out of this comfort zone and try new styles!

One of the styles that I am interested in testing out is the letter style. I am surprised that I did not think of this! There are many movies and shows that have a letter style where the main character is writing to someone they love, lost, etc. Here is an example of the letter style: To Sumitra, With Love. I cannot believe that I did not think of this. After seeing this style, I realized which past stories I could have written in this style.

Another style of writing that I want to test out is inanimate objects as narrators. This style of writing really interested me because I never thought about trying this style. I liked this style after reading this storybook: The Towers That Be. I am sure the inanimate objects in the folktales that I have been reading have a lot to say about the main characters. It’s an interesting twist that I will definitely try!

A third style that I want to try is a social media style. I am not sure why I did not think of this before! Social media is so prevalent in our times now that it would be really funny to rewrite a folktale with social media. I am already thinking about all the social media that I can use like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc. I got this idea from Husbands of Draupadi.

Then I want to try writing a story with an OU setting. I remember reading another person’s storytelling that did this style. It was from Hannah (Inception: Persian Style)! I thought that it was very intriguing. It is similar to modernizing, but there is a relatable aspect because so many of us students are familiar with campus.  It is also easier to get a clear picture of what is going on in the story.

Finally, I want to do a television show style.  I am not a huge TV fanatic, but there are a few shows that I am obsessed with (Hell’s Kitchen, Avatar the Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, Community, just to name a few….) so it would be entertaining to compare a folktale to a show. Also, I have an unlimited supply of shows to choose from so it shouldn’t be too difficult to try! This is where I got this idea: Fairy Tale Cribs.

These styles will definitely broaden my horizons and fuel my creativity bubble. I am excited to try out everything! Of course, I am not limited to only trying out these styles, but I think they are a good start!

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Week 5 (Essay): The Twenty Two Goblins Unit

 (Twenty Two Goblins translated by Arthur W. Ryder)

The Twenty Two Goblins unit was a really good unit. I really liked all of the stories in it. My favorite thing about this unit was that the stories were so unique. I have never heard most of them with the exception to the Girl and the Thief. That story reminded me of Aladdin from Disney, which I am sure that Disney got inspiration from that story. One of my favorite units is The Girl who Transposed the Heads of her Father and Brother. I thought that story was pretty funny and I liked the riddle in it. However, I did enjoy all of the stories so I do not think I have a least favorite story. I felt that all the stories were very straightforward and easy to understand so they did not need additional notes. I felt that the overview was very accurate and gave a good feel for what the unit is about. I am not sure what additional information could be added to it because I think people are just not aware of this story. I know that I wouldn’t have thought to read through it if I did not respond to Chelsea Zhou’s storytelling post. This reading choice really fitted nicely into my overall reading goals because my goal was to be exposed to more worldly literature. In the beginning of the semester, I chose units that I felt more comfortable with, but now I went outside of that and branched out. From doing so, I ended up really liking the stories that I read. I am not sure I really learned anything from this unit besides do not meet with a monk in the middle of the night at a cemetery. You know something is strange when he tells you to grab a dead body from a tree.