Author's Notes: I started my story with the author's second paragraph. The story consists of Narcissus being born very desirable and introduces Echo as only being able to reply with the end of what someone says to her. Juno cursed her with this because she helped nymphs escape from her. She saw Narcissus walking through the forest and was very interested in him, but he denied her and she spent the rest of her days hiding in the forest. I held onto the characteristics of Narcissus and Echo in my story, but I exaggerated them. My introduction is similar to the original story, but my plot and ending take a different path.
One humid summer night, a beautiful boy was born. A nymph told the boy's mother in order to live a long, happy life he needed to be humble by age twenty or that is when his life will change completely. This cursed boy's name was Narcissus.
While growing up he did not pay attention to other people fawning over him. He was kind to his family, but very conceited and almost arrogant. A girl named Echo lived next to him for seventeen years before Narcissus even spoke to her. Echo was also a bit conceited and very charming with her words. She could convince anyone to pay her a favor. The same nymph that cursed Narcissus was tricked into an unfair trade by Echo. As payback, Echo could only speak when spoken to and was only allowed to use three words per response. This situation could be reversed if she could create a true friendship with her condition.
Echo attempted to speak with all of her old companions, but without the ability to carry an in-depth conversation she lost her charm. After a long day of trying to form connections, she gave up and went home. She saw Narcissus just upon arriving at her house.
"How are you?" asked Echo. "I have had a long day, but I can handle a little stress. I can handle anything." replied Narcissus. "Funny and Brave" said Echo as she thought of a plan to break the Nymph's curse. She knew Narcissus enjoyed talking about himself and having others listen to him talk about himself. Since she was no longer able to talk much anyways, maybe she could form a friendship with Narcissus.
As the next two years passed, Echo would go over and ask Narcissus how his day was and let him talk about himself for hours. She learned so much about him, but he knew nothing of her.
"Tomorrow is my twentieth birthday, I hope you come. There will be so many gifts and people are coming from everywhere to celebrate me." stated Narcissus. "Of course." replied Echo with an an eye roll. It is a shame that neither of them were aware of the other's curse because they could have helped stop the consequences of both.
The birthday party consisted of everyone dancing, singing and eating from a buffet of food. Narcissus sat in a huge chair, one fit for a king, overlooking his guests. He was sitting right by the gifts making sure everyone brought one. A woman comes in empty-handed and begins talking to other guests. Narcissus scowls at her for not bringing a present, and when she notices she approached him with a smirk.
"I see you are the complete opposite of humble. I know you talk about yourself far more than you speak of others." said the nymph.
Echo enters the party and sees Narcissus. She gives him his gift immediately and says "open". He unwraps the present to reveal a turtle, his favorite animal. He thanked her and returned to the nymph. "I'm sorry, but I think you should go. You are offending me at my own birthday party!" exclaimed Narcissus.
"I offered you twenty years to find humbleness. You are conceited and incapable of loving anyone else." the nymph replied to Narcissus. She turns to Echo and says, "You may have thought you found a true friendship with him, but a connection comes from both people. If he can tell me your favorite animal, I will break your curse. If he can't, you will receive the same punishment as him for wasting years with listening to his stories."
Echo looks at Narcissus with hope in her eyes. No words come from his mouth and he cannot look at her. The nymph laughs while lifting their curses, only to set a new one. Narcissus and Echo were to live the rest of their lives as turtles. The change would start at midnight, so after the party they both went into the forest to find a safe place by a river. They decided to help each other to make the transition easier. Finally, they showed signs of a true friendship, but it was too late to reverse any curse.
Bibliography: 'Echo' from Ovid's Metamorphoses by John William Waterhouse. Web Source.
Image Information: Two Turtles on a Fallen Tree, Web Source: Max Pixel
Hi Jess! I really liked your story! I thought it was really clever how you had Echo give him a turtle and then the nymph transformed them into turtles. Also, making both Echo and Narcissus cursed but giving them a way out of their curses made the story really fun to read. I couldn’t wait to see if they actually became friends and broke their curses.
ReplyDeleteHey Jess, really enjoyed reading the story. The way you portrayed the nymph reminds me a lot of a character I know from another story but I can't quite put my finger on who exactly... I also enjoyed the way you ended it, with them both being able to help each other out and make things easier. Slight happiness in the midst of a bitter conclusion. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI liked how the story didn't necessarily have a happy ending, but then again it kind of did with both of them finally finding real friendship. The new curse of turning both of them into turtles was clever too! It was suspenseful waiting to see if they were able to break their curses. I had never heard the original story before, so I enjoyed yours!
ReplyDeleteHey Jess! I loved getting to read your story. I though it was interesting the idea of turning the two of them into turtles. I also liked that the ending wasn't necessarily a happy, everything is wrapped up into a bow, ending. It creates an open door for more to be written, either by you or in the heads of your readers. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Jess! I loved your version of this story. I love the dramatic irony in the story of Echo. For those who are reading this and may not know, dramatic irony is a literary technique that was often used in Greek tragedies and it occurs when the audience knows something that the characters in a story do not. In the case of your story, those reading it know that Echo and Narcissus are both cursed, but they characters in the story do not know that, creating challenges for them to foster a relationship.
ReplyDeleteHi Jess! That was a great story! I liked how you really expressed Narcissus' arrogant personality. The Greek myths don't have him outwardly expressing his attitude all that much. We just get a more soft-spoken man who inwardly admires himself. Your story gave us a more modern-day Narcissus who is more boastful. I read the original story and I don't remember Echo having that three-word rule. Did you come up with that yourself or am I not remembering correctly? If you did come up with it yourself, it definitely helped you push your plot forward. So did Narcissus' boastfulness. I don't have many suggestions for your story other than, what if Narcissus and Echo expressed their regret in some way at the end of the story? Either way, great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Jess! I really enjoyed reading your story! I thought it was well-written and super easy to read, which is always a good thing. I also think that you had a lot of creative ideas. While reading your story, I was able to create a mental picture in my mind of what the characters and scenery would look like. Nice job!
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