Jake's Mythology

The wolf lingered around the edge of the forest. His name was Cato. He could see the smoke rising above the camp, hear the laughter of the humans. It was this same group of humans that had attacked members of his family. Cato had to avenge his brother. The plan was simple. He, alongside the other animals of the forest, had determined what set the humans apart from all other animals. They were organized, yes. They took good care of their young, yes. They even hunted with weapons. But there was one thing that the humans possessed that the animals did not have - the red flower. Cato was originally confused by the red flower. The humans used it for warmth, for light, even for safety. But he had grown to hate it. He know that he must possess the red flower too if he were ever going to get revenge for his brother. He slowly circled the fringes of the camp, being careful to stay hidden among the trees. It was late, and all he had to do was wait for his opening. Suddenly, on...

Coyote Steals A Man's Wife This story was almost laughable in its simplicity! I loved it. In fact, we understand the story's namesake after just two quick sentences. Sure enough, a man at a camp was stranded on a rock, and the coyote leaves with his wife! The man eventually gets down, looks for them across the course of several camps, and encounters his wife while coyote is out hunting. He feeds coyote several stones, coyote dies, and then the man and hie wife continue on with their lives. So bizarre! One component of this story is that the author simply adds his audience into the middle of a narrative. There is not really an introduction or a conclusion, but simply the explanation of part of a story, and that is all the picture that we get. Another component that I could use in my own storytelling is this: something occurring to a character which they find harmless, but over the course of time, it has terrible effects. The best example that I can think of is a frog in a...

The First War This story was fairly confusing. Bits of it were understandable, and it held traces of origin stories. I suppose, due to the name, that this is the Apache account of how the first war came about. Other than explaining this battle, there doesn't seem to be much point to this story. Raven (a man? an bird?) at the beginning performs a series of actions to see whether or not people will live, two men have a strange interaction that results with one becoming the grandson of another, and then one of the chiefs and his men fight against an enemy until they are all killed. I am not sure if there are any specifics that I would use from this story in my storytelling. However, if I were to use anything, I would use the general idea of retelling the first time that something happened. It could be an event like this, the first war, except in a different cultural setting. It could also be something entirely different, such as "the first meal," "the first sicknes...

In Chapter 11, we see a further development of some of the themes from Chapter 10. Now that their imaginary dinner is over, Wendy tells the whole crew a story about "the Darling family." She speaks of their dog and their loving parents. However, one day, the young children leave home. They can depend on their mother's unconditional love, though, and find the house open upon their return many years later. Peter disagrees about this being a quality of a mother's love, a feeling which frightens Wendy. She then decides that she and the boys must return home! As I mentioned before, I could certainly use tones from this scene in order to pit Peter against Wendy and her brothers. This would continue their realization of Peter's corruption, since they suddenly have a desire to return home and Peter wants them to stay. Though this happens, I am also trying to create a situation in which Peter comes to grips with his own corruption and has a change of heart before he ge...

One day, a man named Anansi was walking down the street. He could hardly focus on each consecutive step because he was so hungry. He had lost his job and was supposed to be supporting his family. He had a wife and two young sons. In the past, they had just gotten by. But now, he didn't even know how they were going to find food. It had already been several days since their last meal, and the lack of nutrition was starting to affect them. Then, everything changed. As Anansi walked down the same familiar alley on the way back to his house, a side door opened. He had never noticed it before. From inside the building, a golden shopping cart slowly edged to the street. He heard a voice. "Take the cart, Anansi. I'm here to help. Any time you need food, bring this cart back, and it shall be filled. Take care of your family, Anansi." He couldn't believe his luck! He held the cart by the handles, closed his eyes, and wished for his favorite foods... Boom! He...

How the Tortoise Got Its Shell I like this story in that it provides an explanation for something that we see today! The story starts out with a king throwing a huge festival, and he needs someone to go fetch some wine for the party. He sends his friend, tortoise, to go get wine from the palm fields of a chicken. First, the tortoise has to fight the chicken in order to access the palm trees and the wine, and he ultimately wins. However, he drinks a lot of the wine before beginning his journey back home. This ends up being a fatal mistake! By the time he gets back to where the king is throwing the festival, the gates are closed and they assume that everyone is already inside. At this point, the tortoise gets trapped outside of the gates for nearly two months, and he dies. Once the gates are opened back up, they discover him underneath a mound of dirt. Through magical medicine, they are able to revive him, but unfortunately, the ceramic pot had molded to his back. This is why tortoi...

Thunder and Anansi This one was one of my favorites of the unit, and perhaps of the semester thus far. This story was not only entertaining, but had several great themes! Anansi suffers from hunger, and by a fortunate sequence of events, ends up receiving a magical pot that makes him any food that he wishes. Though he contemplates sharing the food with his family, Anansi takes a selfish turn and decides to keep the pot for himself. One day, his family discovers the pot, but they manage to lose it while providing meals. When Anansi discovers that the pot is missing, he returns to the original location in hopes of receiving another magical gift. Instead of more favor, he receives a stick that beats him, presumably because of his selfishness! I appreciate the themes in this story. First, we see a subtle theme that a father should provide for his family. However, another message proves even more apparent - that being the selfishness of Anansi. It originally serves him well, but event...

The readings for this week were rather interesting, and I am interested to see how the material from the original will manifest in my retelling. In Chapter 9, we see an interesting exchange between Peter and the Neverbird. She offers her nest to him as form of help, and he ends up floating safely to shore. Chapter 10 reveals some interesting themes. In this section, Peter, Wendy, and the whole crew prepare to have a wonderful dinner together. However, like some others, this is a make-believe meal. There is an interesting exchange between Peter and Wendy where they almost act as if they are the parents of the setting. Pan quickly asserts that he could not be a father because that would make him too old. Wendy wants clarity on his feelings for her, but Peter reiterates that he views her as a mother. The dinner as a whole has heightened intensity in retrospect, for it is the last meal that the group will share before everything changes. I am still considering some different optio...

Looking Back I am fairly pleased with my progress thus far! I am not as far ahead in the course as I would like to be, but I have been able to complete some extra credit here and there in order to be in a position where I feel comfortable. The weekly schedule has worked out great so far! I like being able to space out the assignments throughout the entire week so that it doesn't feel like I'm doing them all at the same time. Leaving the project for the weekends has also been helpful because it allows me some time at the end of the week to brainstorm and plan the layout. Out of all the assignments, I think I am enjoying the storybook the most! I have been able to work on such a fun topic with Peter Pan, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming developments in the story. Some of the extra credit options have worked seamlessly with this project, particularly being able to use Barrie's original book for my extra credit reading each week! Looking Forward Something I wan...

In looking back at my initial feedback posts at the beginning of this semester, I still agree with my perspective! After reviewing several articles about feedback, I discussed the importance of feedback for our growth, both personally and professionally. Approaching these comments and constructive criticisms with the proper perspective enables us to expand in ways that might not be possible without the help and insight of others. Feedback In In general, people have had a lot of uplifting comments! This is something that I have noticed not only on my work but also on the work of others. Everyone has been encouraging in their reactions and advice, which improves the atmosphere of the class. I have found that the most helpful comments have been those which provide specific questions or challenges. These questions often initiate discussions of things that I had not previously thought of, which allows me to expand my stories (particularly my storybook) in a way that is coherent and appe...

Looking Back I have enjoyed a lot of the reading and writing assignments thus far in the semester. Originally, I thought that the readings for each week would be tedious and that the reading notes assignment would not be necessary. However, I have found that this couldn't be further from the truth! Each week has brought exciting readings, and I have really appreciate the variety. The reading notes have been extremely helpful in brainstorming ideas for my own storytelling. One strategy that I haven't employed yet that I have seen lots of other students use is transposing a story into a modern setting. People have been so creative with this, and I would like to try it out soon! My favorite reading so far is probably Peter Pan, which I am reading for my storybook project. Each week, I am able to read a portion of the book and then use ideas to brainstorm sections for my website! Outside of that, I enjoyed some of the biblical tales as well as the trickster tales. I love how ...

Quite a lot happens in these chapters of Peter Pan! First, Wendy and her brothers begin to make their homes on the island of Neverland. Peter makes accommodations for them, and they soon have almost regular lives. Wendy serves as the mother of the clan, and her brothers are incorporated into the group of Lost Boys. They undertake many exciting adventures! In addition to the tales of the kids, we also see more of Captain Hook in these chapters. He is disappointed to learn that Peter and the Lost Boys have gained a mother, and in fact, the other pirates are disheartened to hear about this as well. They decide that they must do what they can to retrieve Wendy so that she can be their mother instead. Through a turn of events, there is a short and intense battle between the boys and the pirates in the lagoon. Peter and Hook fight, and Hook's unfairness catches Peter by surprise. He and Wendy are injured, but Hook has to flee because of the danger presented by the crocodile. At ...

Every evening, the jackal would sneak into the boar's corral and steel some of his food. He was always incredibly quiet, and the boar never noticed him. However, one evening the boar realized that his food stores were growing low. He grew suspicious. Just to test his theory, he counted the amount of food that he had and then went to bed. Like every other night, the jackal snuck into the corral again. He had never been caught, and thought that he was too sneaky for the boar to realize what was happening. He took some food, as usual, and scurried off into the night. The next morning, the boar counted his food again. Aha! Some more was missing. He did not know who was taking the food or where it was going, but he was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. At once, he set up a trap at at the entrance of the corral, with the hopes of discovering exactly who was robbing him of all his food. That night, like every other night, the jackal snuck into the corral. Upon ent...

Jackal and Monkey Though this was a short story, I found it very interesting. I was very caught off guard by the abruptness and violence of the ending. This could be turned into a different story by changing the characters, but keeping the general story the same. I would also be interested in rewriting the ending, since the monkey getting shot occurs without much explanation. It could be a lot more positive. Instead, the monkey could explain the true situation to the boar. The two could conspire to actually catch the jackal by devising another trap. The Story of Hare This story was very bizarre. To be honest, I still am not sure if there was much of a point. It seems that the cleverness of the hare was a central theme. Essentially, a group of animals sets a piece of fat in the middle of a corral, and they take turns guarding it. As each one guards the fat, a strange animal comes up, sneakily eats it, and the animal on guard ends up being put to death. Finally, the hare outsmar...

The Lost Message I loved the explanation that this story provides! It describes the varieties of ants and why each group has its own way of living. Ultimately, different types of ants exist because they brainstormed various methods for evading their predators. The species as a whole could never achieve unity, since the beetle, the "unity messenger," never arrived to them. Thus, there differences exist to this day. I think this would be a great story if translated into other characters. For example, I think that parallels could be made with the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. Also, an interesting thought would be groups of humans experimenting with their skin colors based on where they lived and the environmental conditions, ultimately leading to a lack of unity. The Monkey's Fiddle This story contains many trickster elements. I almost noticed hints of themes from Arabian Nights. Just as Scheherazade's stories become increasingly intertwined and complex,...