Week Eight Progress

1. Looking Back: Over the first half of this semester, I've found that I've actually enjoyed some of these assignments more than I expected, and I've been relatively proud of the work I've done, particularly the stories I've written. I've always enjoyed writing, but fiction - and especially fairytales and folklore - has never been something I've been good at or really even tried. I've had a good time reading most of the stories so far, and I think my note-taking strategy has fallen into a good and productive rhythm. That said, I'm not very pleased with myself in the realm of extra credit; I had intended, at the beginning of the semester, to be quite diligent at working ahead and completing extra credit work. But so far, I've not done a very good job of that.
2. Looking Forward: That said, the most obvious segue into what I plan to do for the rest of the semester is that I hope to be more consistent with the extra credit work and perhaps even begin working ahead somewhat. I think the best way for me to accomplish this would be to do the extra credit at the start of the week, rather than putting it off until the end and eventually just not doing it at all. I've been avoiding doing it at the very beginning of the week because my week is very front-loaded when it comes to classes, but it would be feasible for me to try to do more of this work on perhaps Wednesdays.
3. Image:

Image of a mountain climber from Pexels

Week Eight Comments and Feedback

This post is meant to be a reflection on the quality of the feedback that I've given and received in this class so far.

1. Feedback In: So far, I would rate the quality of the feedback I've received at around a three out of five. I appreciate that people have been quite positive and friendly in their comments, and many have pointed out the things I've done well in my posts, which is helpful to know which things I should continue doing or expand on. That said, not very many of the comments I've received have included much in the way of constructive criticism, which makes them not very useful for revising my work. I appreciate that people want to be nice, and I am certainly grateful for the compliments, but I can't know how to fix my work if no one will verbalize what's not working.
   
2. Feedback Out: I guess I would rate the quality of the feedback I've been putting out at about a four to a four and a half out five. I've taken several writing workshop classes for my minor, so I've had a fair amount of experience with offering constructive feedback on writing. I make an effort to point out things that could be improved and offer solution to address them. That said, I think my comments have been lacking in providing anything constructive that doesn't pertain to the writing/storytelling (i.e., I know I haven't given much feedback, if any, on website structure and appearance or anything along those lines), so that might be something for me to look for in the future.
   
3. Blog Comments: I've enjoyed reading other people's blog posts, stories, and introductions a lot. I'm a huge fan of getting to know people, so it's been really fun to see their introductions and get a sense of who they are, then see that come through in their writing. I'm hopeful that my blog offers a similar sense to those who read it.
   
4. Looking Forward: Moving forward, I'll make an effort to pay attention to the actual websites/blogs and their structures and offer feedback on those things as well, rather than limiting myself to just commenting on the writing and the stories themselves.
   
5. Image: I chose the following image because I really like the idea it puts across. External feedback is helpful, but taking the time to self-reflect and provide your own constructive criticism is important, too.

Image from Cheezburger

Week Eight Reading and Writing

After looking back through my website and blog, I realized that the website was just far more pleasing to the eye, whereas my blog was looking a little frumpy (Actually, it reminded me of the kind of website I'd associate with the early days of the internet, before people figured out how to make websites look nice. Oof.), so I made some changes and I'm now much happier with its overall appearance. I also moved the navigation bar from the bottom of the page to the right side, which will be more convenient for my readers. I did not make any changes to the website, however, because I think its layout is fine as is, and the layout has been mentioned positively in a few of the comments on my wall, so why fix what ain't broken, right?

I am fairly happy with the way my stories have been coming out so far, and I'm content with my reading notes strategy - it's a little hefty, but I feel like it gives me a good foundation when I'm working on writing the stories. My stories have been pretty varied so far, so it'll be interesting to work on my project, since it has not only a unifying author, but a unifying theme as well. For the storybook, I chose the story that I felt would be the most difficult for me to rework first (i.e. the one that would be the most different from the original), so that I could get it out of the way and have plenty of time for editing if need be. I do have a few areas in the story that I feel could use some revision, though I will probably wait for some feedback from others before beginning, as I'd like to hear some second opinions. Still, I think I like how the general tone and themes of my storybook are coming along, despite my few issues with story number one.


As for my favorite of the images I've included in one of my reading notes posts, you won't be too surprised when you find out that it's this picture of my cat:

Actually, I believe that if Atticus had a Tinder, this would be his profile pic. But cats don't have Tinder and neither do I, so I'm posting it here for all of you to enjoy. (You're welcome.)


Looking forward, I'm excited to get the next couple stories for my storybook published, and to see a few more of the readings (I've really been enjoying learning about the differences and similarities between folklore from all over the world during all different time periods!).

Week Seven Story: The Turtle and the Fisherman

Once upon a time, a young turtle with a kind heart loved to swim in the open seas. She would catch the currents and ride the waves, splashing happily and without care. Now, one day, this young turtle was slicing through the waters at what she thought was a safe distance from a little island; fishermen seldom came out this far. However, she suddenly felt a net tightening around her little shell, hoisting her upwards out of the water, and she quickly tucked her legs and head inside out of fear!

Peering out of her armor, she glimpsed a handsome young man hauling another net - this one filled with flopping fish - into his boat. Poking her head out just a little, she cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Excuse me, kind sir. I know that you are a fisherman, and that this is how you live," she began, "but seeing as how I am but a young turtle, and very small, I wonder if you might release me? There is not much meat on my bones, as you can see."

The man thought for a moment, and then he denied her.

"Turtle soup is my very favorite meal," he explained without a hint of remorse, "and even if I cannot eat you yet, surely you shall grow, and then you will make a very fine soup."

Seeing that pleading would get her nowhere, the little turtle sought a different tack.

"But, good sir, then you would have to keep me in water, and feed me, and keep me safe," she ventured, "lest I should dry up, or grow too thin instead of becoming fat for eating, or be stolen by your neighbors."

The man plopped himself down next to the netted turtle and seemed to become very perplexed, but he said nothing as he thought. After a good little while, the turtle spoke once more.

"Perhaps," she suggested, "you might let me go, and I can go about the business of fattening myself up right here in the sea, and it will not cost you any time or work. Then, once I've gotten quite large and delicious, I will come back and meet you here again, and you may make me into soup and eat me. This way, you won't have to feed me any of the precious fish you catch, and I may enjoy a year or two more of life before I perish, if perish I must."

Although this plan seemed good to him, it did occur to the man that perhaps the turtle would not come back, and then he would have no turtle and no soup. So, he still refused to cut the turtle loose, saying, "You turtles are clever creatures, and this is certainly a trick."

Desperate to return to the sea and terribly afraid of losing her young life, the turtle began to spin for the man a story. She told him of a beautiful princess - the daughter of the sea god, no less - who lived richly and lavishly in a shimmering palace under the sea, and who was searching even now for a handsome fisherman to keep her company and become her husband. At this, the fisherman puffed out his chest, as he supposed himself to be the handsomest fisherman on his island at the very least, and he believed himself quite deserving of a beautiful princess and endless riches.

"If you'd like, I could take you to her," said the turtle casually, "but alas! These heavy ropes will hinder me from showing you the way, as I cannot swim with them tied around me like this!"

Greedily, the fisherman agreed to cut off the netting which ensnared the little turtle, only tying a thin string from one of the turtle's flippers to keep from losing track of her while they swam. But as they dove deeper and deeper, the man found that he could not swim as far as the turtle, and needed to go back up for air. Letting go the string briefly, he kicked up towards the surface, but when he again dove down, the turtle was nowhere to be seen. After a good deal of time in searching, the man returned to his boat, only to find that in his absence, seabirds had eaten the majority of his fish. So he went home with no fish and no turtle, and he was altogether very sad about missing out on his favorite soup.

The turtle, meanwhile, sought out a friend to help her cut off the string, and then happily returned to her peaceful life, though she never again ventured quite so close to the shore.

*Author's Note: This story is based on the story of "Uraschimataro and the Turtle," which is a traditional Japanese folktale. In the original, the fisherman is merciful to the turtle and lets her go, and many years later the turtle saves him from a sea storm and takes him to live with the daughter of the sea god as her immortal husband. However, at long last he discovers that time has passed faster than he thought, and everyone he loved is dead. In a moment of foolishness, he loses his immortality and ages three hundred years in a few moments, then dies. In my story, I wanted to imagine what would have happened had the turtle been captured by a less kind fisherman than Uraschimataro, and what she might have done to win back her freedom. 

Bibliography: "Japanese Fairytales" from The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1901). Web source.

Image of a turtle from Max Pixel

Week Seven Reading Notes Part B - Lang

Source Story: "Japanese Fairytales" from The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1901).

• "Schippeitaro"
• A boy goes in search of adventure, and comes upon a forest village where a girl is about to be sacrificed to the Spirit of the Mountain as an annual ritual. The boy overheard some cats the night before in the area where the sacrifice was to take place talking about "Schippeitaro," who turns out to be a dog in the village. So, the boy hides the girl away and puts the dog in her place, so when the Spirit of the Mountain (who is really a giant cat) comes to eat the girl, the dog instead bites him, and the boy cuts off his head. They then kill several of the other cats who are with the Spirit of the Mountain, and everyone lives happily ever after.
• "The Crab and the Monkey"
• A good, hardworking crab finds some rice and agrees to share with a monkey in exchange for a seed for a fruit tree, which grows to bear lots of good fruit. The monkey returns and steals all the good fruit and throws down only the rotten or unripe ones for the crab, so the crab tricks him into dropping some of the good fruit he has stolen, which she takes into her house. The monkey beats the crab in anger and almost kills her, so her friend the wasp nurses her back to health, then enlists a mortar, and an egg to help get back at the monkey. The egg explodes in his face and hits him with shell fragments, the wasp stings his nose, and the mortar falls on his head, killing him. The crab lives happily ever after.
• "The Magic Kettle"
• An old man finds a kettle, which turns into a tanuki. He doesn't know what to do with it, so he sells it to a tradesman. The tradesman, upon learning the kettle's trick, gets the tanuki to agree to travel with him and put on shows for people, which earns the man a lot of money. Eventually, he feels bad for earning so much money and not doing anything for the first man, so he returns the kettle to him with 100 pieces of gold. They both live happily ever after.
• "How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished"
• In a forest where hunters had killed everything else lived a family - a tanuki, his wife the fox, and their son. The tanuki pretends to be dead and his wife magically transforms into a man to sell him for his hide, then uses the money to buy food while he escapes. This works, so the next time they trade roles, but the tanuki whispers to the buyer that the fox is not really dead, so the buyer kills her and the tanuki keeps all the food to himself, not even sharing with his son. Eventually, the son realizes what happened, so he makes a bet with his father that he is his father's equal in magic. The bet is that the son will transform into anything, and the father should be able to figure out what it is. But instead, the son hides, and a king passes by. Thinking the son has transformed into a king, the father jumps on the king, whose soldiers catch him and kill him. The son (probably) lives happily ever after.
• "The Slaying of the Tanuki"
• An evil tanuki mistreats an old man, so the man catches him and intends to cook him for dinner. But while the man is out getting firewood, the tanuki tricks his wife into releasing him, then kills her and cooks her instead, magically making himself look like her afterwards. He tricks the man into eating his own wife, then reveals himself and runs away. The man is, of course, very upset, and his friend the hare agrees to help him avenge his wife's death. First the hare plays a trick on the tanuki, where he eventually ends up setting the tanuki's back on fire and then spreading pepper into the wound to make it hurt more, but the man says the tanuki's evil can only be stopped by killing him. So, they make two boats - one wooden, one clay - and invite the tanuki fishing. He takes the bigger boat, which is the clay one, and the hare takes the wooden one. The hare breaks the tanuki's boat open and drowns him, then the hare and the man live happily ever after.
• "Uraschimataro and the Turtle"
• An old couple has one son named Uraschimataro, who is an excellent sailor and fisherman and often sails further out to sea than anyone else, despite their warnings. One day he catches a turtle, but he lets it go when it begs for its life. Years later, a storm sinks his ship and nearly kills him, but the turtle shows up and offers to save his life. Rather than going home, the turtle takes him to the palace of the sea god, where the princess of the sea asks Uraschimataro to stay with her and become immortal. He agrees and they live happily for a long time, but one day he remembers his parents and misses them dearly. The princess does not want him to go, because she knows he will never return to her. Still, she gives him a small box and says that, if he can avoid opening the box, he may visit his home and the turtle will bring him back to her palace when he calls for it. But when he gets home, he discovers that it has been three hundred years, and his parents are long dead. He opens the box, hoping it is the counter-charm to a curse that is making him live this bad dream, but instead it undoes his immortality, and he ages three hundred years in moments. He calls for the turtle, but it does not come, and he dies.

Image of a turtle from Pixabay

Week Six Reading Notes Part B - Sindbad

Source Story: "The Voyages of Sindbad" from Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

• "Fifth Voyage"
• Sindbad buys his own boat and sets sail with some other merchants. They come upon an island with a roc's nest, and, despite Sindbad's warnings, the merchants hack open the egg and eat the baby roc. The parent birds sink Sindbad's ship, and Sindbad is washed ashore on another island, where an old man tricks him into carrying him around all day and night on his shoulders to reach the best fruit.
• "Fifth Voyage (cont.)"
• Sindbad makes some wine while carrying the man around for days, and the man drinks the wine and becomes drunk enough that Sindbad is able to throw him off and escape. He comes upon a trading vessel, and the captain takes him and tells him that the old man was the Old Man of the Sea, and Sindbad is the only one who has ever survived him. They teach Sindbad how to trick monkeys into throwing down coconuts from the high trees, and then Sindbad amasses many treasures and returns home.
• "Sixth Voyage"
• Sindbad embarks again and a storm shipwrecks the crew on an island covered with the bones, shipwrecks, and treasures of innumerable seamen. He outlasts all his crew mates because he eats less than they do, then realizes that a river on the island goes underground through caves filled with gemstones. He builds a raft, collects a bunch of treasure, and sets off on the river into the caves.
• "Sixth Voyage (cont.)"
• After eating the last of his food and passing out, Sindbad awakes to find that some kind men have pulled him from the river and he is at last above ground. They take him to their king - the king of Serendib - and he relates his tale and enjoys many days there. Then the king gives him gifts and a message/gift to take back with him to the Caliph, and sends him on his way home.
• "Sixth Voyage (end)"
• Sindbad gives the gifts and message to the Caliph, who asks whether the king who sent them was really as rich and powerful as he says he is. Sindbad assures him that he is, then goes home with presents given him by the Caliph.
• "Seventh and Last Voyage"
• Though he has decided never to go sailing again, the Caliph demands that he return to the King of Serendib to return the gesture by giving him gifts. On his return voyage, his vessel is taken by pirates, who sell him into slavery. His new owner gives him a bow and arrow and tells him to kill and elephant, which he does, and they bury it to come back later for its tusks.
• "Seventh and Last Voyage (cont.)"
• Sindbad kills an elephant a day for two months, and then the elephants kidnap him and drop him off in their own elephant graveyard, which is full of elephant skeletons complete with tusks, so that he will stop killing them. His master is thrilled and admits that the elephants have killed tons of their slaves before, and Sindbad is the only one who has survived. He sets Sindbad free and gives him a fortune in thanks, and sends him back to Bagdad. The Caliph is happy to see him back and records all his adventures, and Sindbad stays in Bagdad forever.

Image of an elephant by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

Week Seven Reading Notes Part A - Lang

Source Story: "Japanese Fairytales" from The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1901).

• "The Two Frogs"
• Two frogs dwell in Japan, one in Osaka and one in Kioto, and both happen to decide at the same time that they wish to travel and see the other city. They meet at the top of a mountain just by chance, and decide to peer off from the mountain towards the cities they intend to visit in order to decide if the journey is worth it. However, they mistakenly each look at the city they are from instead and, each believing the city they intend to visit is the same as the city they are from, they simply go home.
• "The Stonecutter"
• A stonecutter's wishes of becoming a rich man are granted. Then his subsequent wishes of being the next great thing continue to be granted, and he is in turn a prince, the sun, a cloud, and a large stone, only to become a stonecutter again and be content with his own life.
• "The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet"
• A once-rich but now impoverished couple has a daughter of surpassing beauty. They both die, but before she passes the mother entreats the daughter to keep her beauty hidden beneath a wooden helmet to keep herself safe from men who might do her ill because of it. She does this, and works for a rich man and his ailing wife, until their eldest son catches a glimpse of her with her helmet tilted back and begs to marry her. His parents protest, so she says no, but after her mother comes to her in a dream to urge her to get married, she consents. Before the wedding, she and the maids attempt to take the helmet off, but it will not come off, so she gets married in it. When the marriage ceremony is finished, it breaks off and pours precious stones on the floor. She and her husband live happily ever after.
• "The Envious Neighbour"
• A poor old couple has no children, so they dote on their dog, who finds a treasure buried in their yard. With their new riches they treat him even better than before, but their envious neighbor begs them day in and day out to borrow their dog so he can find a treasure, too. When the dog instead digs up stinky old bones, the neighbor kills the dog and lies about it to the owners, who are heartbroken. The dog comes to the old man in a dream and tells him to cut down their tree and use it to make a mortar, which ends up turning rice into gold. The neighbor borrows the mortar, but it turns his rice into smelly berries and he breaks and burns it. The dog comes again in a dream, and the old man takes the ashes from the mortar and sprinkles them on a bare cherry tree in front of the Daimio, which causes the tree to fill with blossoms and the Daimio gives him rich gifts. The neighbor takes some of the ashes to try it as well, but instead the ashes blow into the Daimio's eyes and he has the neighbor arrested.
• "The Sparrow with the Split Tongue"
• A kind old man and his mean wife live in a mountain, and the old man saves a sparrow from a raven. He takes good care of the sparrow, but while he's gone his wife catches it and cuts its tongue, and it flies away. He searches for it for a long time, and after finally giving up, finds a little house with a maiden who says she is the sparrow, and who gives him food and drinks and a choice between a large chest and a small one. He takes the small one and goes home to find that it is filled with treasure. His wife is angry that he didn't pick the big chest, so she goes to the little house and demands a gift, and chooses the large chest. It turns out to be filled with snakes, who kill her.
• "The Cat's Elopement"
• A cat named Gon falls in love with a cat named Koma, but their owners each love their cat too much to sell it to the other. So the cats elope, but a dog attacks them, and Koma hides while Gon steels himself for a fight. Instead, the servant of a princess saves him and takes him to live with the kind princess. Gon kills a snake who is in love with the princess and annoys her constantly, so she takes excellent care of Gon. One day, he finds Koma being harassed by another tomcat, and saves her, then takes her back to the princess, who happily takes Koma in as well. The princess marries as well, and both couples have lots of children and live happily ever after.

Here are two more personal photos of my very lovey cat, Atticus. You're welcome.