Week 10 Story: The Logical Pacifist Hiawatha

A movie poster for the 1913 film adaptation of the Native American legend Hiawatha.

On one fateful day, Nokomis, Hiawatha's grandmother, looked up from the ground pointed in the direction of the western sky and told her grandson some troubling news. There was an evil magician named Pearl-Feather who has been hoarding large sums of food and money, while also using his evil magic to spread disease amongst the population. Additionally, this Pearl-Feather had killed Hiawatha's grandfather. Hiawatha took on Nokomis' request and agreed to stop Pearl-Feather once and for all. 

Hiawatha began trekking toward the direction of Pearl-Feather's lair, and after two days of walking, he came upon a large home in the middle of a lake with pitch black water. Upon approaching the shore, fiery snakes leapt out of the water, guarding the only walkway to his home in the middle of the lake. After being unable to come up with a way past them without fighting them, he realized something strange... How were these snakes on fire, but also in water? And at that exact moment, the snakes suddenly were extinguished, and left, almost as if they were also confused by their existence. 

After walking a while, Hiawatha approached the door of the dreaded Pearl-Feather and gave it a quick knock. There was no response. Hiawatha turned to leave, and just before he left the vicinity of the house, he felt an evil presence and Pearl-Feather appeared from thin air. Hiawatha began trying to settle the incident peacefully. He explained to Pearl-Feather that his powers and wealth and riches could be used to improve the lives of others and work toward a communal good. Pearl-Feather was very hesitant, as he enjoyed doing evil things, but did realize that he was quite lonely out here on this lake and he really could change the trajectory of his life in the best way possible. Hiawatha and Pearl-Feather walked back to the village together. Upon arriving at the village, Pearl-Feather apologized and gave away his wealth to build up the community, and began using his magic to improve crop yields and vanquish disease. Perhaps violence is not always the answer after all.

Author's Note: In this version of Hiawatha story, I added an unconventional twist, given that the protagonist is often forced to use violence as a means to achieve his goals and do what he considers best for the ultimate and communal good. I focused on the retelling of his encounter with Pearl-Feather, an evil magician that hoards wealth and spreads disease, because I am the most familiar with this particular story in the realm of Hiawatha stories.

Bibliography: The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Published in 1855. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-song-of-hiawatha.html

Reading Notes: Native American Stories; Hiawatha, Part B

A depiction of the great Native American story hero, Hiawtha.

Hiawatha is one of the most influential Native American stories because of its renowned status in the literature and mythological community. In the reading, Nokomis looks toward the western sky and tells Hiawatha that a magician named Pearl-Feather lives in that direction. Pearl-Feather is evil because he hoards all kinds of food and wealth, and keeping a bunch of stuff for yourself isn't encouraged in their tight-knit village. Pearl-Feather has been sending famine and disease to Hiawatha's people, and this magician apparently killed Nokomis' father. Nokomis would like Hiawatha to go defeat Pearl-Feather, but he is guarded by fire serpents that swim in black water. When he comes near Pearl-Feather's hideout, Hiawatha runs into the fiery serpents. They tell him to head home and call it a day, but he responds by killing them all with arrows. All the animals that live in the area cheer Hiawatha on because they're sick of the evil Pearl-Feather making their lives horrible. Hiawatha fires a single arrow at Pearl-Feather's wigwam and calls him to come outside. After tricking Pearl-Feather and shooting him with three arrows, Hiawatha divides his riches and wealth amongst his people and creates communal wealth, which Pearl-Feather did not seek to do. This represents the lifestyle of Native American communities and how they value the collective good over individual wealth, which is something all cultures can learn from.

Bibliography: The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Published in 1855. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-song-of-hiawatha.html

Reading Notes: Native American Stories; Hiawatha, Part A

A depiction of the title character of the story of Hiawatha

The reading begins talking about Mudjekeewis, who is Hiawatha's father and a demigod in his own right. Mudjekeewis engages in a tough battle with Mishe-Mokwa, who is the Great Bear of the Mountains. After defeating and killing Mishe-Mokwa, Mudjekeewis becomes the Father of the Four Winds in his own right. His son, who is named Wabun and also the great East Wind, later falls in love with a maiden, whom he turns into the Morning Star, also known as Wabun-Annung. The North Wind, Kabibonokka, later attacks Shingebis, "the diver." Shingebis repels the North Wind by burning firewood and then wrestling and defeating him. Lastly, the South Wind, Shawondasee, falls in love with a dandelion, mistaking it for a golden-haired maiden. The reading goes on to describe Hiawatha's birth and early childhood, including the tales of adventuring, especially fishing, in which Hiawatha slays the ancient water God Mishe-Nahma, the king of all fishes. The story also covers Hiawatha's fasting and relationship with his demigod and Father of the Four Winds, Mudjekeewis, who is a distant and irresponsible parent to Hiawatha.

Bibliography: The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Published in 1855. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-song-of-hiawatha.html

Week 9 Story: The Monkey King Reigns

A depiction of the Monkey King from Chinese legend, Sun Wu Kung

The Handsome Monkey King, known simply as Sun Wu Kung to many, had been a huge disruption to the status quo of Heaven. Since his birth from a stone from the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, to his coronation for leading a group of monkeys upstream to the source of their river, which was near a great waterfall and cave they now reside, to his very reluctant appointment to a job in Heaven after gaining several magical and powerful artifacts that have established him as one of the greatest and most feared beings in existence. After being "promoted" to keeper of the Garden of Peaches, Sun Wu Kung, in a fiery rage, decided to plot and destroy those in Heaven who belittled and opposed him. After wreaking havoc in Heaven and defeating many celestial generals, deities, and dragon kings, it became time for someone to step in. The Buddha himself appeared before Sun Wu Kung and made a wager; if Sun Wu Kung could escape from his palm, he would not imprison him and, in fact, make him a Buddha himself and have him ascend. Sun Wu Kung vehemently agreed, and the wager was on. After many weeks of wandering and running, he had approached five large white pillars unlike anything he had ever seen in his life. Believing he had escaped Buddha and found the end of Heaven itself, he began to carve his name into a pillar. Upon further reflection and inspection, Sun Wu Kung, by sheer luck, began inspecting his own hand before finishing engraving his own name. He realized that these pillar must the edge of the Buddha's finger and quickly jumped between the pillars, falling into a void of pure darkness... 

And like that, he had caught and held open once again in the familiar air of Heaven. The Buddha had caught Sun Wu Kung after he had escaped his hand. Always a being of his word, Buddha opened the mind of Sun Wu Kung and gave him the ability to ascend into a powerful Buddha in his own right, co-ruling Heaven as Heaven's Equal, finally. 

Author's Note: In this version of this portion of the story of Sun Wu Kung, our protagonist is faced with his greatest challenge: trying to escape Buddha himself. In the original version of the myth, Sun Wu Kung cannot escape the palm of Buddha and is then enclosed and imprisoned in his fist for 500 years as punishment for wreaking havoc in heaven after being disrespected. In this version, Sun Wu Kung is successful and contributes to a sense of an unstoppable force in media, like Michael Myers from the Halloween horror franchise, which I think is an interesting idea to ponder in life. 

Bibliography: Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-monkey-king-sun-wu.html

Reading Notes: Asia, The Monkey King, Part B

A depiction of Sun Wu Kung, The Monkey King, from Chinese Legend

In this portion of the story, the Havoc in Heaven, Sun Wu Kung is given a job in Heaven by the Jade Emperor as a means to appease the disruptive Monkey King and make him more manageable. The job, however, is the Protector of the Horses, the lowest job in Heaven. To spite the Emperor, he sets the horses free and declares himself The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal. The Gods are forced to recognize his status, however the Emperor "allows" him to guard the Heavenly Peach Garden. Sun Wu Kung is left out of an important feast with every other major god and goddess, and after finding out about it, eats the Peaches of Immortality, Laozi's pills of longevity, and drinks the Jade Emperor's royal wine before he heads back to his kingdom to plot his revenge. Later, The Monkey King defeats the Heavenly Army of 100,000, the 28 constellation, 4 heavenly kings, and Nezha, as well as proving the equal of the Heavenly Generals. After a group effort of the greatest and most powerful deities in existence, Sun Wu Kung is captured. He escapes and resists all attempts to be murdered and executed by these Heavenly beings. After all of this, Sun Wu Kung smugly challenges Buddha himself and tries to escape his palm, and leaves a marking on one of five pillars after thinking he has escaped. It is shown only to be the edge of Buddha's hand, and he encloses Sun Wu Kung in his palm for losing the wager, and leaves him trapped for 500 years. 

Bibliography: Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-monkey-king-sun-wu.html

Reading Notes: Asia, The Monkey King, Part A

A depiction of Sun Wu Kung, the monkey king of Chinese legend.

At the top of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, there rested a magic rock. It eventually forms a magic womb, and a stone egg is formed from it. Wind blowing on the egg causes it to take shape into a monkey after tumbling around, and has the ability to crawl and walk. The monkey has beams of light shooting out of his eyes, and it startles the Jade Emperor in his palace. He sends agents to check on the disturbance, but after feeding the monkey, his eyes stop glowing. The monkey then befriends various animals and other monkeys and becomes beloved. After bathing in a stream, the monkey and his friends head up to find the source of the water and find a waterfall. They declare that whoever can do that will be king, and the stone monkey does this and wins, becoming their king. He begins going by the name Sun Wu Kung, or the Handsome Monkey King, and has the monkeys relocate to the cave near the waterfall to live together. Sun Wu Kung establishes himself as a demon king and searches for various weapons, like the Ruyi Jingu Bang, which is a large staff that weighs many tons, but he wields and conceals as the size of a needle behind his ear. After conquering other dragon kings and lords,  he obtains a golden chainmail shirt and a phoenix feather cap. After gaining this immense power, he befriends the Bull, Roc, Lion, and many other Demon Kings to add to his influence and power. He even overpowers death and erases his name from the Book of Life and Death. 

Bibliography: Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-monkey-king-sun-wu.html

Week 8 Progress

A funny meme I found about progress, which is today's topic of blog post

This semester has been pretty difficult, now that I am getting into some tougher upper division science courses. Biochemistry and Physics have been uniquely tough, but very challenging in a good way. In terms of this class, I have had to be able to learn to be more creative in writing and improve aspects of my writing, which I have not done since AP Language and AP Literature at my high school, which has been tough, but very rewarding to grow in any area outside of my major. That is part of a well-rounded, liberal education that creates free-thinkers and world changers. My progress in this class has been good, and I have been able to keep pace with an A, but I think I will take some time over spring break to do some extra credit assignments to bump my grade so I have more time during the school year. Besides, I will be recovering from wisdom teeth surgery, so I'll nothing better to do! Moving forward, I would like to use the grace period less and give more time and priority to this class whenever possible. I am gunning for an A, and I would like to be able to maintain a 4.0 again this semester!

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

A cool feedback meme that I found on a blog this week.

Feedback is a really important component of creating a growth mindset in an individual. I think all of the comments on my stories and storybook project have been really beneficial for me in developing as a writer and as a reader, as well. I personally feel like my comments have been overall of decent quality. I always try to encourage first, and then suggest a way that they can improve. I really do feel like the introduction blog post comments have been great and so much fun to do, since we all do not physically meet, and it brings a sense of community to the class. Looking forward, I'd like to spend more time on my comments and give greater deliberation to what I am saying to each person. Being more thoughtful is something I could improve on. 

Week 8 Reading and Writing

I chose this image because reading the story of the tar baby in dialect was a fun experience for me, and it reminds me of my childhood because Splash Mountain in Disney World is themed after the Brer Rabbit stories. 

Overall, I have been really pleased with the course and its structure. The reading and writing assignments are engaging and fun, so it's not really a hassle to complete them at all. My blog website got some reorganization and a color scheme change, so hopefully that has spiced it up and easier and more enjoyable to read. My storybook project site feels exactly the way I want it to, with my story being based on the Divine Comedy, so I'm happy with that as well. I think my biggest writing accomplishment in this class has been writing my Brother Rabbit story because I got to change the ending, dialect used, and characterizations of people in order to craft a new story that bears a striking resemblance to the original, while being its own new thing. I still think that my favorite reading so far has been The Odyssey because of its classic status in literature and how it got me into reading mythology and folklore as a younger kid, and a big reason why I took this class! Looking forward, I would just like to continue to try to spend an adequate amount of time on the reading and writing so that I get the out of each assignment. 

Week 7 Story: Brother Rabbit

A Walt Disney Productions depiction of Brer Rabbit from their adapted cartoon series. 

One day at the estate of Mr. Brother Fox, a mischievous and malicious thought entered the catacombs of his mind. Though he was indeed a man of literature and finer things, Mr. Brother Fox was still a fox, an animal with animal needs. After pondering about how to execute his plan to ensnare Mr. Brother Rabbit, he began preparing. The plan was simple: create a life-like child made of tar and turpentine that resembled a very small child. Mr. Brother Fox began sculpting the child out of tar and turpentine, then dyed the skin and painted a greatly detailed face, which was easy for him with his arts background from his study abroad year at the Paris Conservatory. After completing his masterpiece, he laid it out near where Mr. Brother Rabbit would be often approaching. Mr. Brother Rabbit, a proud Yale graduate, came around the corner and quickly noticed the baby leaning against a rock. He called out many a time to greet the child and attempt to locate the parents, but he was finding the child's lack of initiative quite disturbing. After his frustrations grew greater, Mr. Brother Fox delivered the coup de grace. He roared in a child's voice "Yale is a second rate institution and Harvard is clearly superior in all facets." Mr. Brother Rabbit, unable to control his animalistic instincts, punched the baby and quickly became stuck. After struggling and getting more stuck, Mr. Brother Rabbit gave in and Mr. Brother Fox appeared. Trying to think on his feet and escape, Mr. Brother Rabbit began pleading not be thrown into the briar patch, as it would be the worst fate of them all. Mr. Brother Fox, possessing a minor in Biology, retorted that rabbits are actually very comfortable and at home in those particular areas of nature, and was mostly just confused by his pleadings. After allowing Mr. Brother Rabbit to get his affairs in order and visit with a lawyer to set up his estate and inheritance, Mr. Brother Fox hosted a grand party, with the main course being a delectable entree of rabbit. 

Author's Note: I began thinking about the nature of the story and how dialectical language predominates to engage readers that were mostly illiterate, and I thought it would be funny and interesting to experiment with characters that were well-read, literate, intelligent, and critical thinkers. From there, I just put a twist ending on the classic Tar Baby tale. 

Bibliography: Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-brer-rabbit.html