Mythology and Folklore

Motivate So far into the semester, I am thrilled with how this class is going. It keeps me on a strict routine and has actually influenced the routine of my other classes. I am proud of the progress I have made in my writing and in the formation of my portfolio and blog site.  When I did the first week's assignments I was nervous that this class had so many deadlines and little components, like blog comments, that I was sure something would fall through the cracks. However, I have not missed a deadline. Not only am I proud of my dedication to the course, but I also have enjoyed creating a level of communication with Professor Gibbs as I truly respect and value her advise on revisions and my storytelling.  I have taken two writing courses each semester since I began college three years ago, but this class has had the largest impact on my written voice as it allows and encourages me to add detail and dialogue. Most of my other classes have a clear point, but in...

Feedback Honestly, I find the most effective feedback comes from the teacher. I know that may not put too much trust in my peers, but still think that the teacher has the strongest understanding of an assignments objective, thus offering invaluable feedback geared towards the overall objective. There have been a few comments that have proved to be quite helpful, as they typically point out structural issues that I have overlooked upon first publishing. That being said, in addition to structural comments, I have found the most helpful to be those that question the stories origin. Comments like these offer an insight into the audience's opinion of the story and point out if it left them feeling confused or if they understood the general takeaways. Nonetheless, I still feel that many of the comments on my posts are placeholders for people just finished the comment assignments on their end. Meaning, I do not fully trust some comments as they seem to be added hastily in order t...

Reflection As week 8 offers an opportunity for reflection, I look at my work as a glass half full. While this week allows me to look up, I notice just how much work we have done for this class. I am proud of meeting all deadlines, creating two web pages to display my work and growing in my ability to retell and recreate stories. At first, I truly thought that this class would be too big of a burden for me, however, as I went into week 4 I found myself in a routine of completing all my work. My reading notes used to take me two hours each story, but as I got into week 5 I was able to zone in on information I felt was relevant. I did not even gear my focus towards only relevant information, but rather writing trends that stories followed and how to use dialogue and narration effectively. Overall, I like both my blogs and my portfolios layout. They both follow different formats but keeps all each post clean thus making both web pages easy to operate. I have enjoyed l...

The Election of the King Bird Reading B: The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder Thunder is the mother, Lightning is the son Thunder is mother punishing the son for strikings things when angry Stories often give purpose to little things in life  The Bush Cow and the Elephant The theme of public battles to settle a dispute  Explains why they fight  Gives a reason to why you only see them in the bush and not near towns  The Cock Who Caused a Fight Between Two Towns Always a consequence for someone that meddles in other peoples business  mostly narration  The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise The backstory to why hippos are mostly in the water  Hippo promised that if someone guessed his name he would spend his days in the water Why Dead People are Buried Dead people would have come back to life within 24 hours if a dog told the world how to properly bury us in accordance to what god said Put the b...

Group Project **The updated version of this story can be found on my portfolio ** It was that time of year again, group projects were being assigned. The weak were being separated from the strong within groups, as it is typical for the workload to fall heavily on one member. However, who would that member be? The whole class was buzzing as groups were assigned and designated a working area. Each group consisted of four members, and as Margot walked down the aisle of her advertising lecture she carefully summed up her three teammates.  The tallest of the three, Jim, had the most exhausted persona. His clothes were wrinkled beyond repair, hair was poking out of the top his baseball cap and had nothing but a pencil tucked into his flannel shirt pocket. Unbeknownst to Jim, a sheepish blonde girl, Julia, had just sat down to his left and was presumably the second member of their group. Julia looked nervous and confused like she scared to interact with any...

From "The Fish and the Leopards Wife"  As week 7 focuses on stories from Asian and African cultures, I finally decided to explore African tales. Both of these genres are wildly intriguing to me as both cultures are beautifully vibrant and unlike any other. After reading the vivid descriptions of Indian folk tales, I look forward to seeing the difference in how they present morals. So, as I begin week 7, I chose to read  Nigerian Folk Stories .  Reading A:  Of the Pretty Stranger Who Killed the King Only narration  Moral: Never marry a stranger, no matter how pretty she may be very random moral seems irrelevant  Easily written and to the point  Why the Bat Flies by Night Short Narration  Good idea to take common knowledge and make a fun story behind it  The Disobedient Daughter Who Married a Skull Again mentions not marrying a stranger must be a big custom to stay within the tribe  mostly all narra...

Telling a Story As I read EmpoWord's  Telling a Story  I learned invaluable information that will hopefully add a new dimension to my writing. Having taken countless writing classes throughout my academic career, I feel that I am a strong writer. Since high school, I have undoubtedly grown in my abilities, however, I have yet to have an opportunity to explore storytelling. I thought this chapter would only offer tips on how to propel a story, however, it went beyond storytelling and offered advice on how to expand the narrative of any work. I honestly thought I would only skim through the material, but overall I am glad that I chose to read this chapter for I found it majorly fascinating.  Notes:  "We're all stories, in the end. " - Steven Moffat, Doctor Who  I have never heard this but I truly appreciate it  What makes an interesting story:  Not only descriptions, but narration to create impactful and beautifu...