Reading Notes: Ashliman, Part B

Bibliography: For this week I read the Ashliman version of Brothers Grimm unit. Story source: The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2013).


One more round of notes this week, now for part B of the Grimm unit tales as translated by Ashliman.

I want to look at good starts to tales for these notes!

One beginning of a story that stuck out to me as effective was in the tale "The Little Lamb and the Little Fish." The story begins by saying: "Once upon a time were a little brother and a little sister who loved each other with all their hearts. Their own mother, however, was dead, and they had a stepmother who was not kind to them. She secretly did everything she could to hurt them." This start introdcues us to central characters and introduces the conflict that launches readers into the rest of the story. We are told about the mutual love between two sibilings, a source of pain in their mom dying, and the mean nature of their stepmother. This sets up the action of the plot very well.

Another example of a strong start to a story from this unit can be found in the story "Death's Messengers." This start has a very different feel from the last one that I analyzed: "In ancient times, a giant was wandering along the highway when suddenly a stranger jumped toward him and shouted, 'Stop! Not one step further!'" Although explanations and character introudctions can be helpful, another great way to begin a story is what we see here: jumping right into the action. We get introduced to the setting in a vague way ("In ancient times") that allows readers to create their own mental image of the scene. We then encounter an action word ("suddenly") and meet a "stranger." This start is fun and grabs attention in it's own way without a traditional set-up approach. The beginnings of these stories were unique and effective for differet reasons.

I enjoye the tales and stories in the Grimm unit! I hope to use some of these techniques for beginning stories, introducing characters, and jumping into the plot in my own story writing.

Painting of the Brothers Grimm from 1855 ("Deutsch: Doppelporträt der Brüder Jacob und Wilhelm 

Grimm/ Die Brüder Grimm") by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann. Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: Ashliman, Part A

Bibliography: For this week I read the Ashliman version of Brothers Grimm unit. Story source: The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2013).

Another round of notes! I want to focus on strong/beautiful sentences again this week, my favorite type of story notes.

I enjoyed the story "The Seven Ravens." One sentence that stood out to me in that text was in the middle of the tale. After the man wishes that his sons would turn into Ravens, they do: "He had hardly spoken these words when he heard a whirring sound above his head and, looking up, he saw seven coal-black ravens flying up and away." This sentence conveys a tone of immediacy ("hardly spoken") and uses powerful descriptive language ("whirring sound" and "seven coal-black ravens"). Coming at a moment of intense rising action, this sentence launches the story into the conflict. In the context of this great tale, it certainly worked well. 

This unit also had a fantastic version of the famous Little Red Riding Hood story, called here "Little Red Cap." After the wolf has devoured the grandmother, Red finally arrives at the house. The author writes that "She walked into the parlor, and everything looked so strange that she thought, 'Oh, my God, why am I so afraid? I usually like it at grandmother's.'" The sense she has is such a great twist that often gets left out. She already can somehow tell by the environment that something is off, and this strangeness scares her. This sentence not only conveys her emotion, but sets up the next scene where Red encounters the Wolf disguised as her grandmother. Familiar stories can often become less exciting because we know what to expect. However, with vivid language and new ways of framing it,  new parts of stories can stand out to us. 

I enjoyed these European fairy tales/folk tales! I hope to incorporate some of this style of writing into my own folktales, especially creating powerful sentences to be placed at intense plot moments.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf from "The Traditional Faëry Tales of Little Red Riding Hood, 

Beauty and the Beast, & Jack and the Beanstalk, 1845" Source: Wikimedia