Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales, Part B

For the second half of the reading notes I chose to continue to just use the characters from the source and create my story from there. This time, I chose to take character from the story, “The Dog-Husband”, where the man who is seeking to find his lover on the dating game show will be.

Being that the man is now half of an animal too, there is more of a similarity between each contestant. So by ramping up the challenge, during the game show there will be physical tasks or obstacles that each contestant will be performing so that their strengths and weaknesses are revealed.
The man-dog is not only looking for a wife but also a companion who can assimilate to each other’s lifestyles properly and without conflicts. Throughout the dating show the man-dog will soon find out which contestant suits him best. Through the physical challenge and the mental challenge (blind interview).

However, it is not only the man-dog who needs to approve his companion. Both, the fox-woman and bear-woman will decided whether they can see themselves being with this man-dog and if there will be a happily ever after. Maybe the characteristics of a dog and fox won't match up or vice versa. Perhaps a bear and a dog would not work out in the long run.

I still think that writing a dating game show will limit the story in details but could be a fun quick read. I think it would be a clever idea to have an animal dating game show and decided whether which animals match up best depending on that animal’s traits.

Bibliography: This story is part of the Native American Marriage Tales unit . Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

I found a picture of this cute, nerdy dog, which I would assume the man would look like when transformed into his animal-self.

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Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales, Part A

For The first part of my reading notes, I chose to take the two main characters from the stories, “The Fox-Woman”, and “The Bear-Woman”. I thought it would be funny and somewhat clever in a light-hearted way to create a story based on a dating show. 

Both women will keep the personality given to them in the original stories that I read. I will add in details about each woman here and there to fill in the gaps, but they will remain as themselves. 

The man who is on the look out for the mystery woman of his dreams decides to take a different perspective when seeking out the woman of his liking. He begins explaining his past relationships and emphasizes the empty, yet unknown feeling that he is supposedly venturing out to find. 

I plan on making it silly and dramatic like most reality dating shows, which is why I think it might be fun to write and perceived as funny too. I think it might be more of a friendly read instead of having raunchy and sleazy comments made by each contestant. Considering that both women are part animal each of their own characteristics will come into account while this man is escorting these women on their dates. 

Here and there, tension might rise through jealousy and envious behavior following up with verbal actions towards each woman’s traits. For example, the women-bear would insult the woman-fox for being so sly and mischievous in the relationship when she should really be open and expressive to him. Or the fox-woman could judge the bear-woman for being too aggressive and controlling in the relationship. Each characteristics will coincide with the type of animal they are portraying. 

If anything, I will just make the setting short and sweet by making presenting this story as a dating game show. That might be easier to write and read! 

Bibliography: This story is part of the Native American Marriage Tales unit. Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

The Dating Game Logo

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Reading Notes: Eskimo Folk Tales, Part B

For the second part of week nine's reading notes I chose to take a character and his hunting characteristic from the story, "Atdlarneq, The Great Glutton". Atdlarneq, who is a strong knowledgeable hunter with a keen eye would fit perfectly with the plot I am constructing. His use in my story would be him being a hunting companion of the bear whom has grown up and currently resides near the icy shore.

Atdlarneq would mentor the bear into becoming a responsible and correct hunter. Yes, a bear's hunting instinct would be automatically forth coming, however, having a hunter such as Atdlarneq help guide one's hunting skills is a privilege.

Once the threat of the giant dog formulates across town and the bear has to leave his home Atdlarneq promises the bear's mom his safety by keeping him out of town in his home near the shore. This is where Atdlarneq will maintiain the bear's health and prepare him for the fight against the giant dog. Atdlarneq doesn't want the bear to have to leave the mainland forever, he only wants the bear to have the freedom he deserves.

The fight comes around shortly after their preparation and is known to be a good fight that lasted hours. I haven’t really formulated the details of the fight yet, however, Atdlarneq might play a role in it or near the end.

The bear, who will most likely survive, will remain near the shore and possibly visit his home in the mainland here and there once the moon has risen. His town will slowly learn to accept his gentle presence and possibly create a life of mutual existence between humans and polar bears.

Happy polar bear

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Biblioogrpahy: This story is part of the Eskimo Folk Tales unit. Story source: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen with illustrations by native Eskimo artists (1921).

Reading Notes: Eskimo Folk Tales, Part A

My reading notes for week 9 include stories from the Native American book, “Eskimo Folk Tales”. This book grabbed my interest while reading its description which entails the Inuit culture, spiritual adventures, its ghost stories, man-eaters and more. Fictional stories that are written about zombies, spirits, and life after death intrigue me to an unexplainable fancy. Based on that liking of mine, I had the idea to take pieces from the stories, “The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son”, and the “Giant Dog”.

Both of these stories have an interesting similarity. “The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son” had more of a genuine, but sad plot while the other story, “Giant Dog” had a more aggressive tone with the dog being so vicious. The bear and dog are taken under the wing by a human character involved in their individual stories. The only difference in the story is the way each animal was grown up to be. Being that they both have a human companion to turn to I was able to imagine a story of the bear being the protagonist while the dog would be portrayed as the antagonist.

I didn’t expect to change much from the story with the bear since I liked the come up that the bear went through. I liked the idea of him connecting with the civilians and them being able to experience the bear growing up into a mature one. The one thing I would change in this story is that the town would have a split opinion about the bear living under the roof with humans. Some civilians would stand with the bear considering him a fellow friend. Others will remain threatened and outraged that such thing would be allowed even if the bear is well trained and adapted.

From there, I plan on bringing in the characters of the “Giant Dog”. The dog would remain aggressive and known as a ruthless man-eater while his human companion stands aside knowing what dangers his dog is capable of. Once the man hears about the bear’s gentle presence around other civilians he refuses to see it another way and sets out to have his dog kill the bear. In doing so, word gets around during the man and the giant dog’s travel so that the mother of the bear can prepare the bear’s leave in order to maintain safety.

Furthermore, a brawl is forthcoming and knowing who walks away alive, either the bear or giant dog, is to be continued.

Picture of a polar bear and guard dog 

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Bibliography: This story is part of the Eskimo Folk Tales unit . Story source: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen with illustrations by native Eskimo artists (1921).

Week 8 Growth Mindset

I think a strength of mine in this class and in my life is my organization. I have always had a drive to keep everything organized and in order. This relieves my stress and the possibility of feeling behind when working in my other classes along with this one. Maintaining a blog and writing stories seems like a good way to better my organizational skills when it comes to structuring and creating my stories.

I feel as if I suffer when it comes to punctuation and grammar. I definitely have gotten better over time by practicing my writing for each post/story. I even get some feedback from my sister constantly correcting my every grammatical error which can be frustrating but helpful. I have discussed the importance of critical feedback before in this class and still stand behind it. People's comments and suggestion help me better my writing each week. I imagine myself continuously bettering my organization skills and writing through practice and patience within this course for the duration of the semester.

Strength Meme

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Week 8 Reflections

In the past, I have chosen a fair share of both good and bad stories. Overall, I have learned to give myself more time so that I can skim through multiple stories and choose one that caught my interest the most. The Classical stories have been favorite because they are more familiar and easier to read. I do like challenging myself so occasionally I have found entertaining Asian stories. While reading through these stories I definitely keep in mind that I am writing my stories based on them. I take in the information given and try to produce something based on that story while reading. I takes a bit longer to do so since I stop and think about what resources I could use but it makes it easier when it comes to creating details in my story.

Majority of the stories I have written since the beginning of this semester seem somewhat good to me, considering I normally do not write. There has been a couple stories that were more difficult to write so I am sure it can be recognized as a reader at times. As a writer, I have realize that I get ahead of myself when writing and make mistakes, especially when it comes to punctuation and grammar. However, when I have a problem with my writing it is nice to know that I can look through my comments and other feedback that suggests ways on helping me become a better writer.
I actually really like the idea of the storybook and like my theme especially! In the beginning I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the whole assignment but through some feedback I now am comfortable with what I will be writing in the future. I do hope to find time to go in and edit my website so I can make the theme be more pronounced to the audience.
I think that having multiple revision options will better my writing and my stories. It will give me a deadline to go back in and edit my stories to make them easier to read and more enjoyable. I think throughout these revisions I will be able to practice my writing and make it better for others to interpret and perceive the information efficiently and accurately.

When reading other people’s stories I love when someone’s imagery goes above and beyond. I admire when a writer can be creative when setting the tone and scene for a story so that the aesthetic of the story is understood. I think using dialogue in a story can be risky and tedious. When I see someone include dialogue poorly in their story it is sometimes hard to follow and can be irritating. I see almost everyone as a better writer than me so my compliments are generally always affirming instead of critical. I know that can be nice, but I think I could speak up more by increasing the balance of positive and negative feedback left in my comments.

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Kitty punctuation meme

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Reading Notes: Buddha, Part B

For part B to week seven’s reading notes, I have chosen again from the Asian story that is part of The Monkey King unit, Sun Wu King: Buddha. I thought it was a suspenseful story that I could possibly incorporate as an obstacle my main character faces throughout his travels. During the second half of my story I plan on my main character running into a powerful guy who is portrayed as a villain trying to slow him or her down.

The setting would be taken place somewhere with more difficult terrain (maybe a jungle). Moreover, the main character will then hit a point in the story of struggle and questions himself on whether he can keep going or not. The tone will most likely represent a more anxious setting where he faces a hard time to overcome and continue on with his goal.

While dealing with these problems my plot will include interactions with other characters that might help him or her wiggle out of their obstacle. I liked the idea of briefly adding a character like Buddha (who tames the villain in the story) who simmers out the tension and tone that is emitted from said villain. This character who represent Buddha could be an idol of the main character or the last person that they just so happen to be looking for to complete their mid-life crisis achievement.

I really liked that I found a suspenseful part to incorporate into my story because without it I was afraid I would be dealing with boring dialogue or boring details. This could possibly be a part in the story where I could include an overall meaning to propose and tie it all together. This piece of my story would help make my story more interesting and announce the purpose of the plot and conclude it properly.

Buddha cat

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Bibliography: This story is part of the The Monkey King unit. Story source: "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Tale, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

Reading Notes: The Great Sea, Part A

For week seven’s reading notes, part A, I chose the Asian story that is part of The Monkey King unit, Sun Wu Kung: The Great Sea. A quick overview would be that an ape, King of his kind, faces realization that he has not necessarily lived and seized the day yet on Earth. His objective in the first half of the story is to venture out to find the three kinds of living creatures who are immortal. Throughout the beginning of his travels he runs into a couple obstacles and gets a chance to experience the famous spots that he wandered through.

This story made me think of a relatable feeling that people face during a mid-life crisis. Some want to go and explore into the cracks of the world and intertwine with various cultures while others solve their mid-life crisis with expensive luxurious items. I figured that this snap into reality would be fun to write about. I could possibly keep the topic of the story about a man having a random mid-life crisis and having the need to escape and travel or I could have a similar situation but turn it into a bucket list quest.

In the original of the story they mentioned three important subsections (the three kinds of immortal creatures) that might be touched in the story. In my edited story I could possibly incorporate that as three important places that the main character would want to make it to. Or I could possibly make it three people he or she would like to meet before their death.

The tone and setting of my story would be held in a more modern time with a similar tone of the movie, Up. It is a sad moment when someone realizes how old they are and how fast life is passing before their eyes. For that reason, the tone in the beginning will most be portrayed as sad but hopeful. Later on, in my part A of the story the tone will become more positive and motivational when achieving what the main character is striving for.

Mid-life crisis cat meme 

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Bibliography: This story is part of The Monkey King unit. Story source "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).