Reading Notes A: Thunder and Anansi

(Agelenopsis from Wikipedia)

For this set of reading notes A, I chose to focus in on a specific story, namely the story of Thunder and Anansi. Overall in this story I get a sense of wonder. In general there are lots of fantasy-style elements, which I think tie in well to my own tastes. I have always been a fan of fantasy stories. For example, the idea of a spider forming complex and cognitive thought. The personification of animals has always been a fun idea to play with in stories. Then, a big element of fantasy is that of shape-shifting, like the way Anansi's son turned himself into a fly. Shape-shifting has been used in fantasy tales for generations, such as in the way Loki is able to change his shape in Norse mythology. A final element that I approve of in this story and like using in my own stories is that of a moral. In this story, Anansi learns, in very general terms, to be wise, but also to be generous. If he had shared the food pot with his family in the first place and not kept it a secret from them, he would not have lost it. This was the wise choice, as Thunder clearly said, "The pot would always supply enough food for himself and his family." Rather than being greedy and keeping it to himself, providing for his family was a safe choice and would have fed all of them for their whole lives. Morals in a story, especially ones that are not readily apparent, are a great element to include in my opinion.

Bibliography:

• W. Barker and C. Sinclair, Thunder and Anansi, from West African Folktales. Found at UnTextbook