Week 11 Story: The Woman and the Bear

The Woman and the Bear

Hundreds of years ago, in a small village in the Norwegian forest, a strong, wise old woman named Sylvi lived by herself in a cottage. Sylvi's neighbors helped take care of her by periodically bringing her food, as she was too old to fend for herself. One day the village hunters brought something else to her doorstep: a bear cub! "We found this cub far away from its mother and have no idea what to do," explained the leader of the village hunters. "The only idea we had was to bring it to you, oh wise Sylvi, and see if you wanted to take care of this young creature."

Sylvi quickly agreed. She was full of compassion and had never raised a child of her own. The bear filled an emotional void in her life. Sylvi named the bear Ruben and loved him deeply. For years she nurtured the cub and fed him as he grew bigger and bigger. "Look at how Sylvi loves that bear!" town villagers would remark.

After about four years, Sylvi suddenly grew sick with a fever. She could not leave her bed, and other villagers helped take care of the now fully-domesticated bear. At the same time, the hunters in the village had been struggling to find food. The village had become desperate and was beginning to starve. Some began to whisper, "We should kill Ruben and eat him."

Ruben could sense something was wrong with both his adopted mother and the village-people. He decided to do something. One day, Ruben snuck away from the village to look for food. As he was looking, Ruben noticed something strange: other bears! As he got closer, he began to communicate with them. He realized something amazing: these bears were his long-lost family! Ruben snuggled up to the bears with affection and explained what had happened over the last few years. He also told them about the current situation in the village. Upon hearing how kind Sylvi had been to Ruben, the bears agreed to help. They led Ruben to a secret lake, only known to bears and other woodland creatures. The lake was full of fish!

Ruben returned to the village the next day. Sylvi had been deeply worried about her bear, but had started to recover from her fever. However, hunger in the village had continued to worsen. Ruben communicated to the hunters that they needed to follow him. The kind bear led them to the secret lake full of fish. The village hunters caught hundreds of fish that day and returned to the village with joy. A great feast was held, and Ruben brought his bear family to the feast to meet Sylvi. Sylvi's kindness in raising Ruben had ultimately led to the saving of the entire village. Bears and humans continue to live in friendship in this region.

THE END

Author's Note: I started with the story "The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son," which is part of the Eskimo Folk Tales unit. Story source: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen (1921). The story tells of an old woman who mothers a bear. I kept the basic premise the same, but changed the setting and created an entirely new plot with different events and a new ending.

Image Info: European Brown Bear. Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: Inuit (Eskimo) Folk Tales, Part B

More reading notes from this section of folk tales!'

Bibliography: The notes are on the Eskimo Folk Tales unit. Story source: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen with illustrations by native Eskimo artists (1921).


One story I enjoyed from this section of reading was called "The Wife Who Lied." It starts in a startling and attention-grabbing manner: "NAVARÁNÂPALUK, men say, came of a tribe of man-eaters, but when she grew up, she was taken to wife by one of a tribe that did not eat men." Wow, what a way to introduce a character! This origin story here is pretty intense and definitely intriguing.  Then she proceeds to start a inter-tribal war for unclear motives. Characters who do dark things for vague reasons always add an interesting wrinkle to a story. As the tale progresses, there enters "one old woman among them" who "had a  strange dream." Prophetic characters can be fun additions to stories, I may look at adding one into one of my upcoming stories. Navaránâpaluk is murdered by men from the opposing tribe for lying. This was quite an adventure for such a short story, only around 500 words. I hope to work on packing in action like this into my short tales.

Another story I enjoyed was about a man named "ÂTÂRSSUAQ."  The story, like the last one I took notes on, starts in a compelling way: "ÂTÂRSSUAQ had many enemies. But his many enemies tried in vain to hurt him, and they could not kill him." Introducing characters can be difficult, but the Inuit/Eskimo authors have done a great job in these folktales. This description creates in my mind an image of a brave, strong warrior who has done things to generate some animosity towards himself.

One final introductory characterization that I thought was especially effective came in the story of "Tungujuluk and Saunikoq." This story begins strongly: "TUNGUJULUK and Saunikoq were men from one village. And both were wizards. When they heard a spirit calling, one would change into a bear, and the other into a walrus." These attributes are unique and help bring the reader into the story quickly. Wizards who can shape-shift are always fascinating characters.

I enjoyed these Inuit/Eskimo folktales, especially the characterizations found at the beginning of many of these stories!

From Source: "'Eskimo family and their igloo from Labrador, Seattle, A.Y.P.E.' Photograph shows two Inuit 

couples and two children, outside fake igloo at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition."

Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: Inuit (Eskimo) Folk Tales, Part A

Bibliography: The notes are on the Eskimo Folk Tales unit. Story source: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen with illustrations by native Eskimo artists (1921).

Here are my reading notes for this week!

One story that stuck out to me was "The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son." This creative folk tale featured a great narrative of a relationship between a bear and a woman who raises the bear. I enjoyed the character of the woman, who nurtures the bear but is willing to let him go when he grows and the need arises. They model a compassionate understanding between human and animal. I am writing about Saint Francis's love for animals some in my storybook project, so this relationship could help serve as a guide when I am crafting my stories. The story also ends with a bit of mystical mystery, suggesting that the bear may still be alive. This was a fun twist and left the reader curious. I want to practice ending my own stories in ways that leave readers thinking and engaged. 

Another tale that I found interesting was "The Insects that Wooed a Wifeless Man." This story has a clever and funny opening: "THERE was once a wifeless man. Yes, that is the way a story always begins." This really made me laugh and seems to be true in a lot of stories! The man in this story is a bit of an outcast, rejected by society and dealing with chronic sleepiness. Things begin to turn around for him after he saves the life of a mysterious "noseless one" who was from "beneath the earth" and who blesses our main character. The girls in the town begin to like him and he becomes an impressive hunter/fisher. He marries a woman, but eventually tells her his secret to hunting and loses all he has: the ability, his wife, etc. The story ends in a strange way, but I was fascinated by this idea of losing all you have after exposing yourself. The reminded me of some modern book/movie plots. This story and others in the unit were told in engaging, easy to comprehend ways!

According to source, "Photograph of a book illustration of an Inuit village, Oopungnewing, 

near Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island in the mid-19th century." Originally from 

Arctic Researches and Life Among the Esquimaux: Being the Narrative of an Expedition in Search of Sir John 

Franklin in the Years 1860, 1861, and 1862 by Charles Francis Hall (1865). 

SOURCE: Wikimedia

Week 10 Lab: TED Talk videos

For this week, I chose the lab option and watched two TED talks about stories and storytelling.

In the first video, "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Adichie tells of growing up in Nigeria and experiencing a lack of representation in children's books. She began writing, and her characters resembled the White American/British characters of the books she was reading. Eventually, she was able to read African literature. This helped her reframe her view of books. She then talked about the concept of a "single story" that leads many to misunderstand people from other parts of the world, including her college roommate in the United States. People may be well-meaning, but have a skewed perception of countries like Nigeria--just one country in the diverse, complex continent of Africa. "Single stories," framed by people in power, can paint entire people groups in one way repeatedly. Ultimately, Adichie concludes in the lecture that a single story "robs people of dignity." In the talk, she highlighted how stories can be used for both bad and good. I really enjoyed learning from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and hearing her powerful perspective on the importance of stories. It definitely changed how I conceptualize stories as a society-affecting tool.

The next talk, called "Imaginary Friends and Real-World Consequences," was given by Jennifer Barnes. Barnes is (or at least was at the time of the lecture) a professor and psychologist from right here at OU! She notes the massive amount of time and money that humans consistently spend on consuming fiction, whether books, TV shows, or movies. She also examines how fictional stories and fictional characters end up affecting us. The relationships between humans and fictional characters (or even real people in general that we only know from media) are called "parasocial relationships." She also discusses the philosophical concept of "alief," which I thought was fascinating. I learned a lot from this lecture! She also talked about the effects of having fictional friends being comparable to having real friends in some ways. Knowing how people engage with characters psychologically will help me in crafting stories and characters going forward in this course. 

Fan art representation of Lupin from the Harry Potter series, one of my favorite fiction characters. 

Artist:  Mademoiselle Ortie aka E. Tihange. Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes, Part B

Bibliography: Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes unit. Myths and Legends of the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes, edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1914).

Reading notes for this unit of legends continued! I want to focus on character names in these stories.

One name that stuck out to me was from "The Worship of the Sun" story in the Un-Textbook. In the intro, readers meet a character with a great name: "an Ojibwa Indian and his wife lived on the shores of Lake Huron. They had one son, who was named 'O-na-wut-a-qui-o,' 'He-that-catches-the-clouds.'" In this story, the boy is taken to the "Sky-land" and is gone from his earthly home for a while. In this way, the name really fits what happens to the character. The naming in the introduction gives clues to the subsequent plot; rather than just being an interesting or beautiful name, it literally tells readers what the character will go on to do! This would be a fun way of using names in my stories.

In another short story, this one called the "Sun and Moon," I really enjoyed the name of the moon: "ONCE upon a time, Ke-so, the Sun, and his sister, Tipa-ke-so, the Moon, the 'last-night sun"."

The idea of the moon being called the "last-night sun" was creative and seemed conceptually interesting to me. The way this society associated the sun with the moon demonstrates a beautiful way of thinking about the natural world that I would enjoying implementing into my telling of stories.

A story called "The Lone Lightning" features a character named just that! However, he isn't given that name until the end of the tale. The author concludes the story by saying "Thus at once he changed the boy into Nazhik-a-wawa, the Lone Lightning." This name not only sounds cool, it really is the culmination of the story. It would be a great idea in one of my stories to have the plot build up to the giving of a significant name.

Names can be so powerful! Interesting, strong names are a great way to draw-in readers to a story. I enjoyed this unit on Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes stories.

Picture of Lake Huron "taken from east of Port Dolomite, MI 

in the upper peninsula." Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes, Part A

For this week, I'm reading the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes unit!

Bibliography: Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes unit. Myths and Legends of the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes, edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1914).

These readings were enjoyable and interesting. For my notes, I want to focus on the character of the Creator in the Chitimaca tale of "Creation." 

The story begins with a fascinating, compelling description of the Creator: "THERE was a Creator of All Things. This Great Mystery understood all things. He had no eyes, yet he could see. He had no ears, yet he could hear. He had a body, but it could not be seen." The idea of an omniscient Creator reminded me of the Abrahamic religions. However, this creation account and Creator were unique, distinct from more well-known/widespread creation accounts. This creator creates fish first, which I thought was neat and likely connected to geographic and/or cultural realities. The account says that the Creator made the first humans at Natchez, grounding this account in a familiar, spatial location. 

An interesting etiology for tobacco can be found in this story: "He gave them laws but the people did not follow the laws. Therefore many troubles came, so that the Creator could not rest. Therefore the Creator made tobacco. Then men could become quiet and rest." The existence of tobacco is connected directly to human disobedience of the creator, which I thought was a fascinating explanation for something so popular in the region. 

The creator then makes women, "but at first they were like wood." We then see direct interaction between the Creator and the people, as he takes an active role in their world. The Creator teaches the women how to move normally and some additional valuable skills. He also teaches the people in general how to hunt and cook.

The characterization of the Creator depicts a benevolent, powerful deity who knows much and wants to help his created people. I found this account engaging and want to incorporate these types of meaningful characterizations in my own stories! Reading a creation account (and other stories) from a tradition that is largely unfamiliar to me was a worthwhile experience.

"Flag of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw of Louisiana (formerly the Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees)" 

made by Wikimedia user "Xasartha". Source: Wikimedia

Week 9 Story: The Secret Shapeshifter

The Secret Shapeshifter

I'll never forget one of the strangest events that ever occurred in my life. I'm just a normal man who lives in a rural area, but I'm not the important part of this story. One day I was walking around my property, just a few minutes off the highway in Arizona. Suddenly I saw him. A man, running quickly towards me. He was tall and bald with a large frame. As he got closer, I could tell he was distressed; his eyes, which were an almost otherworldly pale color, displayed great panic.

Arizona State Route 64 in Coconino County, Arizona.

Source: Wikimedia

Seeing me, he approached me and aggressively began to speak. "Can I hide?" he demanded to know.  "Please show me somewhere I can hide, evil people who want to do me much harm are chasing me."

Though I was confused and entirely unsure about this man, he had a childlike innocence about the way he asked for shelter. It proved very compelling, and I agreed to let him hide in my shed. Just a couple of minutes after he had locked himself inside of the shed, I noticed two men in dark suits and sunglasses sprinting towards me. They approached me and I could instantly discern their serious manner. One of the men began speaking to me.

"Sir, we need to know where this man is," he said, showing me a picture on his phone of the man hiding in my shed. "He likely convinced you to hide him."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I exclaimed, feeling sympathetic towards the seemingly helpless man I was sheltering. "I've never seen him before in my life."

"Sir, he's a dangerous shapeshifter. At any moment he can take any form and cause great damage. We are with the U.S. government and need to know his location. You are not in trouble, but we need to know immediately This is imperative for the safety of you and your community."

Adequately convinced, I sheepishly pointed towards my shed and handed over my keys to unlock it. The men in suits opened the shed, and handcuffed the shapeshifter. They all suddenly vanished from my sight, and I never saw any of them again...



Author's Note: This story is loosely adpated from "The Flying Ogre" story in the Chinese Fairy Tales Unit. I changed the setting, turned the flying ogre woman into a shapeshifting man, changed the other characters completely, and told the story from the first-person perspective. What I kept was the story structure of hiding some stranger and then having to give them up after learning more about who they are.

Story source: The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part B

Another set of reading notes for this week, now Part B!


Bibliography: All readings are from the Chinese Fairy Tales unit in the Un-Textbook. Notes regard stories from The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).


I'll be focusing on starting a story for this set of notes. Starting story is sometimes the hardest part, and it might be really helpful to consider how other writers have started their stories in these Chinese fairy tales.

The first story I read, The Little Hunting Dog, had an enjoyable start: "ONCE upon a time, in the city of Shansi, there lived a scholar who found the company of others too noisy for him. So he made his home in a Buddhist temple." This start engaged me instantly. I think a lot of us can relate to the feeling of being worn out by people and just wanting some peace and quite at times! This man withdraws from the busy world of society and creates his home in a tranquil setting, a temple. This start gives readers a good introduction to the character as well.

       Chinese Buddhist monastery. Gouache painting by a Chinese artist, ca. 1850. Source: Wikimedia

The next story that had a start that really grabbed my attention was The Night on the Battlefield. It began like this: "ONCE upon a time there was a merchant who was wandering toward Shantung with his wares, along the road from the South. At about the second watch of the night, a heavy storm blew up from the North." I enjoyed how it introduces a "wandering" character, on a road. Classic start! And then a problem quickly emerges: a storm. There is already an interesting character and potential for trouble. I liked the framing here.


Another story from the unit, The Flying Ogre, began like this: "THERE once lived in Sianfu an old Buddhist monk, who loved to wander in lonely places." This is a great character description. Some of the most captivating introductions are not detailed descriptions of the setting, but rather descriptions of a central character. The phrase "loved to wander in lonely places" stuck out as especially interesing and nostalgia-inducing.


These fairy tales had some excellent starts! The idea of beginning a story with character descriptions instead of just setting is an element I hope to work into my own tales.

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part A

Another week of reading notes! This week is on Chinese Fairy Tales, and I will be using the "Beautiful Sentences" method of notetaking.

Bibliography: All readings are from the Chinese Fairy Tales unit in the Un-Textbook. Notes regard stories from The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

I really enjoyed Part A of this week's reading. The first sentence that really struck me as particularly effective was in "Yang Oerlang." In describing a character who had become skilled in magic, the author said this: "He also knew how to empty out seas and remove mountains from one place to another." The imagery used here resonated with me as a reader. The ideas of emptying out seas and removing mountains are great word pictures that are original and fresh. In my own writing, I want to use more imagery like this rather than employing cliches and overused metaphors. This sentence gave me a strong idea of the character's power.

A second sentence that I enjoyed was from "The Lady of the Moon." A sorcerer is explaining something, and says this: "The cassia tree grows so luxuriantly that in the course of time it would overshadow all the moon’s radiance. " This sentence worked well in context, but even removed from its original story the language is powerful. The concept of overshadowing "all the moon's radiance" is bold and gripping. Much like the last sentence, the imagery here is beautiful.

Finally, I was captivated by this sentence spoken by a monk in "The God of War" story: "The monk folded his hands and said: 'While you lived you were upright and faithful, and in death you have become a wise god, and yet you do not understand fate!'." This sentence is better in context of the narrative, but the point that this monk is making proves powerful. Even successful and wise people can fail to understand the realities of life and its unpredictability.  

These tales were enjoyable and full of strong sentences! I'm excited to look for ways to incoporate better, more interesting imagery into my own storytelling during the rest of this course.

 Statue of Guan Yu in Jingzhou Park.

Source: Wikimedia

Week 8 Progress

I'm going to answer the progress questions!

1. Looking back. Are you happy with your progress so far? What are you most proud of? Do you have a good weekly routine? What are the class assignments that you enjoy the most? Are you using any of the extra credit options? How have things gone in terms of developing your blog and building your website? 

A: I am so far. I'm most proud of my storybook. I do have a solid weekly routine, and I enjoy the readings the most! Building my blog and website has gone well.

2. Looking forward. Are there any changes you want to make for the second half of the semester? Any pitfalls you want to avoid? Something new you want to try in your writing? Anything you want to change about your blog or your project website?

A: No changes I can think of! I want to avoid the pitfall of skipping assignments when I actually do have the time to finish them. I would love to try more dialogue in my writing.

3. Image. Find an image to motivate you for the big push through to the end of the semester!

The Nicholas Murray Butler Library, Columbia University (NYC).

Image from 2014. Source: Wikimedia

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

For the comments and feedback assignment, I'll go through the questions in the assignment and answer them!

1. Feedback in. Overall, how would you rate the quality of the comments and feedback you are receiving from other students in the class? What kinds of comments are you finding to be the most useful? 

A: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest quality, I would say that most comments range from a 6-8. Comments with insightful questions are always good. Comments that highlight what worked well in my story are also helpful so that I can replicate it.

 

2. Feedback out. Similarly, how would you rate the quality of the comments and feedback you are leaving for other students? Have you found some good strategies that help you give detailed feedback? Are you getting some good ideas for your own writing as you analyze other people's writing?

A: I think I've done a good job of giving comments for the most part! I try to compliment a specific detail of the writing and also ask a helpful question. Analyzing other people's writing has definitely helped me with my storytelling.

 

3. Blog comments. Do you have a sense of getting to know people by connecting with them at their blogs? Are you happy with how your Introduction post and how your blog in general provides a space where people can get to know you?

A: I think so! I am happy with those spaces and how they've worked so far.

 

4. Looking forward. What do you want/need to do differently to make the feedback assignments more useful for others and/or more useful for you? Do you want to make any changes to your Comment Wall and/or your Introduction?

A: I will continue to work on finding good questions and helpful critiques. I like my wall/intro how they are for now!

 

5. Image. Take a look through the "Feedback Cats" and "Feedback Infographics" to find one that expresses what you think is a really important aspect of the feedback process, and explain why you chose that image in particular.

A: I like this image because listening is important and undervalued. This infographic shows how we can be better listeners, which helps us give better feedback in life!

The sketchnote is by Tanmay Vora:

 Leadership and The Art of Effective Listening.

I found it on the Growth Mindset blog.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

For this assignment, I'm going to paste a series of questions from the assignment directions and then answer them!

Q: Overall, how well are the reading and writing assignments working for you?

A: I've really enjoyed the flow of the assignments! The readings are fun and not overwhelming. The writing assignments help me engage with the process of storytelling.

Q: Are you happy with your blog? With your project website?

A: Yes! I like how both look and are formatted, especially my project website.

Q: Are you satisfied with how the writing is going for your project? How about your story 

posts?

A: I am satisfied. I think the writing for my storybook is going really well so far. I like certain story posts better than others, but on the whole I have been satisfied with the products.

Q: What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment(s) in your writing for this class? 

A: I think what I have in my storybook so far, including the layout, introduction, and first regular story, look really sharp and have taken a decent amount of time/effort to craft, so I'm proud of that.

Q: What has been your favorite reading so far?

A: My favorite reading has probably been the Gospel of Mark unit. To read it from a literary perspective and focus on storytelling elements was very enjoyable.

Q: Looking forward. Then, after you look back, look forward. Is there anything you want/need to do in order to get more out out of the reading and writing experiences in this class?

A: I don't think so! I'm getting a lot out of it and just need to stay on track!

Image: I chose this image because it related to a reading I really enjoyed from the Saints and Animals Un-Textbook Unit. The reading helped me decide to write my storybook project about Saint Francis, and I even have included this particular story (Saint Francis and the Wolf) in my storybook project as the story for this past week!

A depiction of Saint Francis and the wolf from Saint Francis of 

Assisi Church in San Francisco del Rincón, Guanajuato State, Mexico. 

Source: Wikimedia

Week 7 Story: The Old Man's Riddle

The Old Man's Riddle

There once was a remarkably affluent man who lived in London. As the rich man went on his daily stroll through his favorite area of the city, he encountered a disheveled, elderly man sitting on a bench. This man on the bench had a powerful presence despite his clear poverty. His eyes told thousands of tales, quietly revealing a fascinating life. The rich man, being more humble and open than most who have great wealth, felt compelled to pause his walk and strike up a conversation with the elderly man. Though short with his words at first, the old man asked the rich man if he would like to be challenged with a riddle. The rich man agreed to the game, and the old man smiled with great amusement.

"Once there was a brilliant, kind, and beautiful daughter of a wealthy king," he began the riddle. "The daughter was in no hurry to leave the house of her father or to get married. However, the daughter did say that if she ever decided to marry a man, it would be to either a wise man, a clever man, or a brave man. Soon after she said this, a man of great wisdom approached her father, asking to marry the daughter. The wise man told prophetic fortunes and explained complex proverbs to demonstrate his wisdom. The father agreed, impressed by his wisdom. A brave man approached the king moments later, also asking to marry the daughter. The brave man told of his impressive feats on behalf of the kingdom and the king marvelled at the man's valor. The king agreed to let this man marry the daughter as well. Finally, a clever man also approached the king. The clever man told the king a riddle and entertained him with magic tricks and jokes. The king, impressed for a third time, agreed to let this man marry his wonderful daughter. The king then went to his daughter and explained the situation, allowing her to choose any of the three men to marry."

The set-up to the riddle being explained, the old man then asked the rich man "So, who should the daughter choose?"

The rich man answered "The wise man, of course. Bravery fades and cleverness bring little practical value. Yet true wisdom can sustain any relationship."

"You have answered correctly," said the old man, "now go on and ponder this truth."

Photo of St. Dunstans Hill in the City of London, UK.

Source: Wikimedia

Author's Note: Though I have completely changed the frame story and altered the outcome of the riddle, the idea for the riddle and its structure are based upon the "Goblins: Brave, Wise, Clever" story from Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder. In this original story, the feats of the three men are described in more detail, other family members are involved, and the correct answer to who the daughter should marry is the brave man.

Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder

Reading Notes: The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung, Part A

Bibliography: Notes are on stories from the 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).

Reading Notes

For this week I'll be reading about The Monkey King and taking notes! Though I enjoyed the entire reading, I'm going to focus in on the "starting a story" technique for today. I'll look at the start of this story unit and think about some ways that I can improve how I begin stories in my own writing.

The Monkey King unit (specifically, "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" story) begins like this: "FAR, far away to the East, in the midst of the Great Sea there is an island called the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. And on this mountain there is a high rock."

The imagery here is absolutely beautiful. In just the first paragraph, the author has already drawn readers in with this description. The setting is detailed here as "far away," before we are told of a special island with a mountain in the middle of a "Great Sea." The authors has painted a somewhat mystical picture that hooks readers with its strong descriptive language. In my own stories, I will attempt to emulate this by creating strong scenery with intriguing descriptions.

Following this opening paragraph, that "high rock" is described and readers meet the main character! Take a look: "Now this rock, from the very beginning of the world, had absorbed all the hidden seed power of heaven and earth and sun and moon, which endowed it with supernatural creative gifts. One day the rock burst, and out came an egg of stone. And out of this stone egg a stone ape was hatched by magic power. When he broke the shell he bowed to all sides."

The rock clearly has amazing power, and the phrase "from the very beginning of the world" gives this scene a sort of eternal significance. Readers have to be greatly impressed by the rock, and then suddenly the rock is broken open! Whatever comes out of that rock has to be special is the clear signal being given to readers. And sure enough, the egg that emerges from the rock hatches (by "magic power" no less!) our main character. This vivid and impressive origin story gives the Monkey-King special standing in the eyes of readers from the very beginning. In my own writing, I can introduce major characters with fun and creative back-stories in order to quickly endear them to readers. This introduction was energetic and powerful. I hope to emulate this style of grabbing audience attention in my own stories for this course!

Japanese depiction of the Monkey-King by artist Yashima 

Gakutei from approx. 1824. Source: Wikimedia

By focusing on the intro this week, I have considered ways in which my own stories could start in more compelling, exciting ways. The Monkey-King unit had my attention from the beginning, and I hope to replicate that feeling in my own readers.