Mythology and Folklore

(Grand Warlock of Wikipedia from  Wikimedia Comons ) For part B of the writing I chose to look at the story "The Warlock" from the Russian Folktales unit, part of the European stories unit. I chose this story because I think there is a hidden meaning behind it that I can get behind. There is the meaning of outwitting other people sure, but I also think it has something to do with sticking true to one's beliefs. The old man asks that the daughters remove any means of defeating him before they take their watch, but the third daughter was wise enough not to abandon her prayers or cross, and in the end it saved her. It talks of a meaning of wisdom, but I think it has more to do with piety, or at the very least sticking true to what one holds dear. Bibliography: The Warlock,  from "Russian Fairy Tales" by W.R.S. Ralston, found on  UnTextbook

(Yelling Woman from  Pixabay ) For this week I chose to look at the story of The Bad Wife from the Russian part of the European stories section. In this story, I greatly liked the character shift over time of the peasant as he learned from his foil: his own wife! He learned how to manipulate people and gained wisdom through manipulating her into doing what he wanted. This eventually led to him being smart enough to outwit the demon, and ended with him getting everything he could possibly hope for. Evolving characters are great for stories, so hopefully I can work something like this into a story of my own. Bibliography: The Bad Wife, a Russian fairy tale from "Russian Fairy Tales" by W.R.S. Ralston, found on  UnTextbook

(Eyes Crazy Funny from  Pixabay ) Author's Note: For this story, I chose to recreate the Italian tale of the Man, the Serpent, and the Snake. They key elements of the story are still there, but in this case I chose to replace the characters in the story with humans, and place it in modern day Britain. This gives the story, in my opinion, a more humanistic feel (obviously, I mean, it's with humans instead of animals). The characters of the horse and greyhound are portrayed a little differently though. One key term that is good to know is "bobby". In this case it is not a name, but rather a term that is used in the UK for a police officer sometimes. One day, a businessman was on his morning walk to work. As he strolled by the coffee shop he frequented, he noticed a Crook chained to a nearby lamp post. "Oi, mate, help me out o' this jam wouldja?" The crook asked the man. "Absolutely not you dimwit," the man started, "If

(Cat and Mouse from  PublicDomanPictures )  For this set of reading notes in the Italian section, I decided to look at the story of The Cat and the Mouse. The reason I chose this story is that it is very... odd, to say the least. I think I don't fully understand it. For me, most ambiguous stories seem to have an end that has some metaphor or something like that, and perhaps there is one that I am missing. But with this story, it sort of just felt like things dragged on and on for too long, and then just sort of stopped. Maybe the underlying theme is something to do with gossip? How things get around? I'm really not sure to be honest. I think that as far as my notes go with this story, I think it's going to be more of a "what not to do" for me. I think I should refrain from dragging out my stories or having short, abrupt endings that don't really make much sense for the readers without some explanation.  Bibliography: The Cat and the Mouse, from

(Northern-Watersnake-2-Returning-to-Rock from  Wikimedia Commons ) For part A of this week's reading notes, I chose to focus in on the story of the Man, the Serpent, and the Fox. I chose this story specifically because of the characterization within it. In the story there are two figures that represent cunning typically in stories: the fox and the serpent. Both are known in folklore to be personified as witty. Here we see a serpent trick a man into freeing him so that he may eat the man. They go ask a few different people whether the serpent should be allowed to. Two characters say yes: the greyhound and the horse. Both believe they are to die because of man, so both perhaps hold a grudge towards man for this. The greyhound believes those who do good will find evil, so it is simply the man's fate. The horse believes he is wronged for aging, so he thinks the man should die because he was wronged by man. These grudges are not directly mentioned, but seem to be implied th

(The Riddler from  Wikimedia Commons ) Author's Note: Inspired by the section we have had this week based on riddles, verbal puzzles, and paradoxes, I chose to spend some time coming up with a few riddles of my own to share with everyone. I have always enjoyed riddles and brain teasers, so it makes me happy to share a few of my own on here. At the bottom I'll list the answers in order so that people can see if they're right or not! --- I am one, we are two, As I move, so do you. In the light, by my side, In the dark, run and hide. What are we? --- What a bore, what a bore That loudness that's in store Positively agitating Could even drown out a war Restful? Hah, please! It sounds like angry bees! Buzzing away the night and day My mind is not at ease! What is the riddle about? --- Deep, deep, deep A sign of restful sleep Deep, deep, deep After counting sheep Deep, deep, deep A body well at ease Deep