Week 12 Essay: Fairy Tale Transformations

This week, I read English Fairy Tales (1), which included excerpts from a compilation by Joseph Jacobs. As I read through the unit, I was struck by how many stories were based off of more well-known versions of fairy tales, and I was also surprised that even if they didn't contain the same story line, they still had similar themes and motifs.

The first story, Tom Tit Tot, was strikingly similar to the more famous Rumpelstiltskin. The background provided in the Un-Textbook was helpful; I had heard different variations of "Rumpelstiltskin" but I wasn't aware of other versions that incorporated different names. After skimming through Dan Ashliman's compilation of these stories, it was fascinating to see so many different styles and tones of storytelling in what is essentially the same tale. Tom Tit Tot and each of the other stories in this collection all had different introductions and ways in which the author set up why the daughter must spin straw into gold (or whatever the materials may be), but the trajectory of each story remained the same throughout the compilation.

Another story in this unit that struck me in a similar fashion was the one about Cap o' Rushes. This story was another version of Cinderella, except, like in Tom Tit Tot, the introduction was different. In this tale, the maiden is kicked out of her home because her father asks each of his three daughters how much they love him, and Cap o' Rushes gives an unorthodox answer: "I love you more than meat loves salt." Because of this, her father believes that she does not love him at all, and sends her away to find another place to live. She finds work with a family elsewhere, and is treated kindly. When the prince of the state holds a ball, she claims that she is tired and chooses not to go (as opposed to the original Cinderella story, where the maiden's stepmother and stepsisters do not allow her to go). Later in the evening, she decides to attend the ball anyway. The rest of the story is the same: she goes to the ball, the prince falls in love with her, and they live happily ever after--including Cap o' Rushes's father, who realizes that meat really does love salt at the wedding feast.

In the story of the Rose-Tree, similar themes to those found in the original Cinderella popped up as well. I had heard a version of this particular story before, but I was curious to see if it borrowed ideas from Cinderella. The fact that the brother's tears watered the ground where his sister was buried, enough so that a tree would grow from it, reminded me of the fact that Cinderella's tears watered the ground where her mother lay and a tree also sprung from the land. In the original story, this became a place of guardianship, and Cinderella's mother watched over her and provided her with necessities. In the Rose-Tree, the brother gets the same kind of protection, and even though the rest of the story and the revenge that the sister takes is morbid, it was sweet to see this familial relationship.

After reading this unit, I realized that it reflected the themes that have been emphasized in this class. Throughout the semester, we have learned different methods of storytelling, and these fairy tales embody the very essence of good storytelling. The fact that, for example, Tom Tit Tot is just one version of a multitude of the same story shows the power of small changes within the themes of a story. If nothing else, this was certainly an inspiring unit to read; it gave me new ideas for different forms of storytelling.

Week 11 Essay: Characters of Canterbury

This week, I read the Canterbury Tales unit. The units on British literature were the ones I was most looking forward to because I had a great experience with their unique language and nuances in high school. I distinctly remember reading the prologue to the Canterbury Tales during my junior year and discussing in depth each character and his or her morals.

In the unit in the Un-Textbook, the tales of the Wife of Bath, the Friar, the Franklin, the Pardoner, the Prioress, the Nun's Priest, and the Canon's Yeoman were all included. To refresh my memory, I re-read the prologue and found the sections where each of these characters is introduced. It is interesting to then compare the narrator's description of each to the personalities that shine through as they tell their stories.

First, the narrator introduces the Wife of Bath as having relatively loose morals, simply due to the fact that she has married five times. Certainly, this is a lot of husbands to have in one lifetime, and it is definitely understandable that one would think her to be morally weak because of this, especially in those times. However, as she reveals in her tale about the knight and the old woman, her experiences with her spouses revolved around the one thing that women want--to have obedient, loyal husbands. It is assumed, then, that she separated from her ex-husbands because they did not provide her with this indulgence, and she is now happy with her fifth and current husband because he does obey her.

The tales of the Friar, the Pardoner, the Nun's Priest, and the Prioress all have distinct elements of Church influences. Certainly, the Church was a big part of life in those days, so this would make sense. Chaucer injects subtle satire into each of these tales, however, and this indicates to the reader that the Church isn't as cohesive at this time as it would have liked to portray itself. For example, the Friar's tale attacks the Summoner and displays his corruption (and the Summoner's tale, which is not included in this unit, attacks the Friar and tries to show how he is contributing to the deterioration of the Church as well). Clearly, not everyone gets along and follows all of the rules, and this leads to a chasm within the system.

The tale that I liked the most was that of the Franklin. This was a refreshing change of pace after reading about the feud between the Friar and the Summoner. The Franklin is one of the only truly good people in this caravan, as the narrator points out during the prologue. His story, the Promise of Dorigen, was a beautiful story of love, trust, and honesty, and showed the Franklin's heart and strong morals.

Through both his clever, thinly-veiled satire and his words of praise, Chaucer shows the reader of the Canterbury Tales the true character of each of these travelers.

Week 9 Essay: Comparisons of Creation

This week, as I was reading through the Mississippi Valley/Great Lakes unit, I quickly became intrigued by the differences in storytelling styles and tones as well as the content of the stories from the various tribes across this region. I focused mainly on the two stories of creation, one from the Winnebago people and the other from the Chitimachas. Possibly due to their geographic separation (the former were concentrated in Nebraska while the latter resided in Louisiana), their thoughts on the universe before the Earth existed as well as their perceptions of a great Creator, from His being to how He conceptualized the world, have some drastic differences.

For the Winnebagos, the form of the "Earth-maker" is not described at all. This story of creation simply discusses an empty universe, except for where the creator himself is sitting. First, he forms a small piece of earth to make the planet that we know today, then he throws some grass on it, taken from his mysterious seat. What is interesting to me is the next description of the first living creatures that he makes: the Earth-maker forms a man but calls him Tortoise. Was this a real tortoise, simply called Man because it was the most complex organism at the time, or was it a human being actually named Tortoise? Regardless of this fact, however, Tortoise acts in the same way the first humans did in the Chitimachas' tale of creation (see below).

In contrast, the Chitimachas described the figure (albeit invisible) of their Creator in more detail, as well as the order of events in the creation of the world. These details are laid out step by step, chronologically, in order to explain the ways of nature.

The tones that each of these tales have are dramatically different from each other. The story of the Earth-maker seems more abstract and is told in more of an existentialist style. The details are not fully fleshed out, and this gives the reader more room to interpret and expand on those that are on the page. On the other hand, the Chitimachas seem to have taken more of a didactic approach to their storytelling, using this tale as a way to explain exactly what happened in the creation of the Earth and why certain events happen--for example, why the Sun shines brighter than the Moon and why humans have a symbiotic relationship with the animals around them.

These are only a small subset of the many different beliefs from Native American tribes all across North America. It would be fascinating to explore other styles of storytelling from other tribes.

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Works Cited
"The Earth-Maker" and "Creation"
Myths and Legends of the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes.
Edited by Katharine Berry Judson.
1914.

Week 7 Essay: Didactic Dialect

This week, I read about the adventures of Brer Rabbit. From the description in the Un-Textbook, I knew that the story maintained the original dialect, but I did not fully understand what that meant until I actually began reading. I was certainly in for a challenging surprise as I delved into the content.

The interesting thing is to understand where the dialect comes from. This story was in the African folktales section of the Un-Textbook, but these were adapted by a journalist from Atlanta, Georgia. It was fascinating to read the eye dialect that represented a Deep Southern accent--certainly, the unique spelling of some words was hard to comprehend at first, but as I began to read aloud, it made the assignment much less difficult (especially useful because I could then actually understand the plots and morals being taught by the stories).

It is intriguing to me how much a single language can differ, even within a country. I have always wondered about the nuances of accents--why is it that certain regions in, say, the United States have different ways of saying particular words as compared to other areas of the country? Where did the Southern drawl come from, and why is it so different from the Midwestern form of speech? It would be enlightening to trace the history of immigrants who settled in the distinct areas of the country and investigate their native tongues to compare them with how they would interpret and learn to vocalize sounds in English.

Although the language might be confusing, Brer Rabbit's experiences are 

meant to teach readers morals. Source: Wren's Nest. 

Week 6 Essay: The Monkey King

This week, I read about the adventures of Sun Wu Kong, the Monkey King. The accounts of his adventures throughout China, from his unique and miraculous origins to his defiance of the Buddha and his subsequent fall from grace in the heavens, and then to his restoration as a Buddha in his own right, are perhaps the most well-known stories in Chinese literature. The action in the storytelling is gripping and the reader certainly sides with the protagonist.

The thing that captured my attention most in this unit was the influences of culture that could be seen throughout. China has a rich history with diverse traditions. It was especially interesting to see the accounts of the deities that people worshiped in those days (Thousand-mile Eye and Wind-accompanying Ear, for example).

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, this unit holds a certain sense of nostalgia for me. These tales have been passed down through the generations since they were conceived. My parents are Chinese immigrants, and they grew up with these stories. As such, during my childhood, I also had the privilege of hearing and watching the wondrous tales of the Monkey King. I used to watch a set of children's cartoons based off of the literature and now that I have read the unit, I can safely say that I am impressed with how closely the cartoons followed the original stories. They didn't seem to have watered down the themes simply so children would understand them (although, I will admit, I probably did not comprehend some of the deeper meanings when I was mindlessly watching the show as a child).

I loved the images that were incorporated throughout the unit. I have seen these stories depicted in live theater, and although some of the costumes are not what people would typically think of first, they reflect the culture through their colors and patterns. This is a vibrant story, and the dress certainly emulates that. Overall, I had a great time reading this unit--it was exciting and enlightening, and, in a way, gave me a chance to revisit my childhood.

Sun Wu Kong, as depicted at a Beijing opera. Source: Wikipedia.

Week 5 Essay: Genies in "Arabian Nights"

This week, I read Arabian Nights, also known as Scheherazade, named after the protagonist and storyteller of the frametale. Throughout the unit, there were many mentions of different beings like genies, but not in the sense to which the general public is accustomed. There clearly have been some recounts of the original stories found in this unit where details have been changed, and it was interesting to see the mindset of the culture and how it influenced the original and compare it to the retelling, fit for Western societies.

In the first half of the unit, two different genies appear. Rather than being the obligingly grateful beings they have been portrayed in media, however, they are bitter about being trapped in their prisons in the first place and seem incongruously unreasonable when they are first freed, even going so far as to inform their liberators that they (the genies) must kill them. Obviously, the rescuers are confused and taken aback at this--did they not just save the genies from a torturous imprisonment? The genies carry none of this logic, however: they remain angry and hold on to their grudges. This is certainly a far cry from, for example, Disney's Aladdin, where the Genie is a friend and is more willing to help than harm.

Moreover, whereas the Genie in Aladdin is joyful and witty, the genies in this frametale each seem not to have much of a personality at all. They are cold and calculating and apparently do not think before they act. In the tale of the fisherman and the genie, the old man tricks the genie with ease: he asks how such a great monster could come from such a small vase, and the genie unwittingly turns himself into a cloud of smoke and fits himself back into his vessel long enough for the fisherman to trap him again. Clearly, there was not much thought behind this behavior.

It was intriguing to see the influences of culture on these stories. Literature certainly does not exist in a vacuum; this folklore was shaped by the type of government of the day, the customs and traditions, and more. This unit was a look into a rich history of the East and provided valuable insight into the differences between our culture and theirs.

A genie freed from his lamp. Source: Press Release Distribution.

Week 4 Essay: Twenty-Two Goblins

This week, I read the Twenty-Two Goblins unit in the Un-Textbook. Overall, I thought the premise was very interesting-this unit is a frame tale in which a quest is introduced: a monk requests that a brave king retrieve a corpse from a sissoo tree. The original text was translated from Sanskrit and is part of a collection of Indian lore. I didn't know much about the culture before I read this unit, so it was intriguing to see how the culture influenced the text. Traditionally, goblins are fairly morbid: they inhabit corpses and if loved ones want to retrieve the bodies, they will have to answer a series of riddles that the goblin proposes until he gets tired. The "story within a story" theme runs throughout; the each new chapter is another riddle.

What I really appreciated about this unit was the background given before each riddle. For example, I had heard of the caste system in India before, but I did not know what the different levels were. Before the second riddle (Brave, Wise, and Clever), the introduction given was beneficial in helping me understand the members of the Brahman caste and how they fit into the society. I also was not familiar with the epic Ramayana, so the explanation of the characters was enlightening as well.

This was another thing I enjoyed about this unit: the allusions to other texts -- even unrelated ones such as the Bible -- brought a broader worldview and made me think about both Eastern and Western influences. For example, the introduction to the story The General's Wife prompted the reader to compare the actions of the king and their outcome to those of King David with Bathsheba and their fate in the Bible. This was certainly a fascinating thing to think about: though the kings acted in completely different manners, the two stories told the same moral. Without this thought experiment, I never would have made those connections.

Overall, I loved reading the riddles and trying to solve them. The goblin does a good job of being tricky, but the king is wise and intelligent, and I enjoyed reading his banter and his calm, logical way of explaining each answer.

Week 3 Essay: The Gospel of Mark

Jesus teaching his disciples. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

This week, I read the King James Version of the Gospel of Mark. I had read this book of the Bible before in various small group settings, but had only previously read it in more modern versions. I chose the unit this week because I was interested to see how the different translation lends a new interpretation of the scripture. Historically, the King James text has been the most widely printed and distributed version of the Bible, so I wanted to see how scholars of the Renaissance and beyond might have studied it.

As I was reading, I'll be honest--I had some difficulty with the language (older versions of English have never been my forte, and even though I like Shakespeare's work and similar styles, I do not necessarily understand everything). To counter this, I just referred to another version that I had on hand. I appreciated the way the Un-Textbook was set up: there were no verse numbers--and, understandably, it would be very time-consuming to insert every single number throughout the book--but it was broken up into chapters, so if I got confused with the diction, I could read the same passage in another translation with relative ease.

If there was one book in the Bible that I would have picked to be a reading unit, it would have been the Gospel of Mark. At the heart of this text are all of the fundamental principles not only to be a good follower of Christ, but also to be a kind person and to have success in life in general. Obviously, Jesus's parables are meant to teach spiritual lessons, but even on a non-religious level, he preaches about generosity, the perils of envy, and the value of hard work.

For someone who has never read the Bible before, this may not be the best choice for a reading unit; admittedly, the Christian culture has a lot of jargon that is derived from the Bible, and especially with the older language, it may be a bit difficult to understand at times. However, if one were interested in religious studies, this would be a good bet to gain more insight into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and to learn about the foundation of Christian beliefs.

Week 2 Essay: Monsters in Mythology

Odysseus and his men passing between Scylla and Charybdis. Source: Wikipedia.

Homer's Odyssey is a fantastic tale of a warrior named Odysseus and his journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War (the account of which can be found in Homer's Iliad, the companion epic). Highly influenced by Greek mythology and the lore of Homer's time, the ballad incorporates narratives of gods and goddesses and supernatural beings. The excerpt that I read this week, taken from Tony Kline's translation into English, focuses on Odysseus's wanderings and describes all of the monsters that he encounters before he is able to return home. Through Homer's poem, the reader can tell that there are two types of beasts in mythology: those that are the typical savage who rely solely on violence to obtain their victims and a more cunning, wily kind who manipulate and tempt their targets. With both of these categories of monsters, Odysseus uses a combination of force and wits (and lots of help from the gods) to combat them and finally make his way home.

The Cyclops, Polyphemus, that Odysseus first encounters proves to be a true brute. Immediately, he and his men (and the reader) see that he is definitely not a gentle giant. Polyphemus wastes no time in dashing the brains out of two of Odysseus's crew, all the while showing no remorse whatsoever. Cunningly, Odysseus devises a plan to avenge his men and escape the island. By blinding the Cyclops and tying his men to the undersides of Polyphemus's sheep, they successfully evade their captor. 

In a way, the Cyclops is similar to the twin threats of Scylla and Charybdis. These two monsters guard both sides of a mountain and attack unwary travelers, Scylla snatching crew members from ships that draw too close to her shores and Charybdis sucking in the waters surrounding the island and spewing them out in a fiery blaze. Here, Odysseus abandons most of his hubris and follows the directions that Circe gave him before he set out on this journey around the island. Some of the gods hear his cry for help and guide his ship around Charybdis's whirlpool safely (not before, unfortunately, he loses several of his men). 

On the other hand, there are those monsters in mythology with wit that could easily counter that of Odysseus. One of these is Circe, the witch, who turns a large portion of Odysseus's men into pigs and manipulates them into forgetting about their homes. The wily temptress then tries to do the same to Odysseus, but because of his fortunate previous divine intervention, he is forewarned and prepared and does not fall into her trap. He does succumb to her seduction, but all the while is reminded of his longing for home, and after a year, finally seeks to leave.

In the same vein, the Sirens are temptresses, but in a more indirect way. Their beguiling song lures travelers in and compels them to inexplicably crash their ships on the shores where the Sirens reside. Odysseus, in his courage and (some would argue) foolishness, wishes to hear their singing, but obviously does not want to perish. Thankfully, his men are faithful and tie him up tightly, even when he protests, and stuff their ears with wax so that they would not be subjected to the allure.

Throughout the Odyssey, the reader sees countless descriptions of many dangers, and they manifest themselves in many different ways--sometimes sneaky and sometimes outright violent. It is Odysseus's good fortune and favor with the gods that gets him back to Ithaca and his family safely.

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Bibliography

The Odyssey, translated into English by Tony Kline (2004). 

Source: Poetry in Translation.

Excerpts read from the Homer's Odyssey in the Un-Textbook.