Reading Notes: Alice's Looking-Glass Part A

I was surprised when Alice asked if Kitty would want to live in the Looking-glass House because I thought this would just be a metaphor for a part of the story. The White Queen having a daughter is news to me, this could really affect the way her character is seen. The Looking-glass book was clever and I like that there is a reoccurring theme to this: the house, room and book. Tweedledum and Tweedledee are two of my favorite characters because they mean no harm and they can usually put a smile on the reader's face. The Walrus and Carpenter story was different in Alice's Looking-Glass than it was in the movie. I thought it was interesting when Humpty Dumpty became upset about being called an egg. I wonder why Lewis Carroll chose to include Humpty Dumpty in this story because I think he stands out from the other characters. He was very rude to Alice and if I included him in my project I could talk about why he was in such a bad mood when she arrived. Having Humpty Dumpty explain the Jabberwocky poem was a really great plot twist. I'm surprised Alice does not get offended when Humpty Dumpty says he won't remember her if they meet again. The poems are filled with fun word usage and I hope I can recreate that in my semester project.

Image Information: Tweedledee, Tweedledum and Alice from Alice in the Looking-Glass and What She Found There, Web Source: Wikipedia
Bibliography: Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, Web Source: Alice's Looking-Glass

Story Lab: Crash Course Myth Videos

I really enjoy watching crash course videos to understand biological concepts, so I am really excited to see the crash course on mythology! I liked that he pointed out that mythology can be interpreted in many ways. People can feel a certain way or imagine the setting while reading a story completely differently than someone else reading the same tale. I am happy to know that swallowing eight spiders a year is not correct. A lot of people think that if something is considered 'mythology' it is not true at all. As pointed out in the video, the myth can have an element of truth even though some parts of the story are obviously fictional. It is important to realize that not all myths have a super natural element. I have heard the Persephone story before, but I did not know the pomegranates were the reason she had to stay half the year with her mom and the other half with her dreadful husband. 

It is interesting that mythology was created two separate times in the east and west. Being that both creations were in two different areas, that could explain some of the differences in style we see. When the guy in the video said that myth is not symbolic, but more of a guidance of man, I really thought about that. I thought this metaphor  was really creative because Most of the stories that come to mind when I think of mythology involve magic or  morphological elements, but they all contain some sort of lesson in them. I found Campbell's ideas over everyone sharing common patterns in mythology was interesting and I want to look for these patterns in hero stories as the semester goes on.  I think after watching this series I am going to appreciate the characters and stories being told even more.
 
Image Information: Pomegranates, Web Source: Pixabay
Web Source: Crash Course Myth

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights Part B

The first part of this unit held multiple stories within the story being told. I am interested to see if the second part will follow this trend. At the beginning of the story, I have a strange feeling that the man is not really Aladdin's uncle. I thought it was an excessive move to hit Aladdin when he tried to run away. The ring added a nice plot twist for Aladdin. I enjoyed the author saying 'they sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time.' The story is very easy to follow which is probably because of the setting description and characters dialogue. I thought it was interesting that the genie grants Aladdin as many wishes as he wants rather than just three. The two genies having separate powers also makes for an interesting plot. I'm glad that Aladdin was not upset with the princess for giving the lamp away. The roc's egg metaphor for the genie's master was a clever ending. I am surprised the genie did not leave sooner because of everything Aladdin asked for. Aside from Fatima, everyone had a happy ending.

Image Information: Aladdin and the Magician from Arabian Nights by Crane Walter, Web Source: Wikimedia Commons
Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang Web Source: Arabian Nights

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights Part A

For this week's reading notes I want to write my favorite portions of the stories, so that I can look back to see which one I want to incorporate in my story! I was really curious to hear what story Scheherazade would tell her sister, but the surprise was the story was an ending to the first tale while introducing the next. When the man returned to be killed by the genius, I thought the plot twist was interesting that other men kept showing up to ask what happened and stayed with him for protection against the genius. I thought justice was served when the woman was also turned into a cow and the son was brought back to human form and married. My favorite part of the fourth story was when the husband and wife were thrown to sea, but you are told she is actually a fairy and is able to save both of them. I thought The Fisherman was interesting because the genius wants to kill the man who freed him but if he would have been set free a century before then he would be rewarded. At this point in the unit, the story is being told by a character in a story that is being told by Scheherazade. It is kind of confusing, but extremely creative! I thought it was clever of the wife to trick the parrot into thinking there was a thunder storm by showing bright light and pouring water over it's head.  I was confused when the ogress did not eat the man in the story because he was so afraid of her. Using the characters from The Fisherman to end the story of the Greek King was very clever. I was intrigued when the Sultan wanted the fisherman to show him where the lake was because I thought he would just continue to purchase the fish from him. I enjoyed the young king's sad story being connected to the fish from another story in the unit. I enjoyed reading the first half of this unit because each story fed off of the previous one.

Image Information: Fish swimming in a pond, Web Source: Pxhere
 Bibliography: Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, Web Source: Arabian Nights