Shea's Myth-Folk Blog

This week, I looked through the TVTrope website. I specifically looked through Fairy Tale tropes , as a thought they could be beneficial to this class. I thought the "Once Upon a Time" trope was interesting to read about; I learned that it dates back to 1380 and has been in almost every fairy tale since. I also read about "Happily Ever After." Because this phrase is so classic, it can be considered a discredited trope and is now often subject to parody. People like this ending because they simply like a happy ending. One trope I thought would be interesting to use is the "Rule of Three." This is a pattern of telling a story three time, each time with some differences. In the third time, a twist is often incorporated. Alternatively, there is also the "Rule of Seven." This trope is most often evident through the use of a group of seven characters, such as the seven dwarfs, seven days of the week, or seven celestial bodies. This would be easy to i...

A wealthy man named Ray lived in New York City in the penthouse of a tall building. This man was well known and respected throughout the entire city. Ray had so many riches, he decided he needed to keep them secure. He hired a team of builders to construct a strong, secure vault in a nearby building. While working on the project, one of the builders secretly wrote down the code for the vault and hid it away. A while after the vault was complete, the man became very ill and realized he would not live much longer. Shortly before he died, he gave the code to his two sons, giving them instructions on how to get into the vault. Their father passed, and realizing they needed a source of income, the brothers decided it was time to go to the vault. One night, they snuck into the vault and took enough treasure to last them a while. Ray entered the vault the next day and was shocked by what he found! He had no idea how someone could have entered and escaped his vault without leaving a trace. ...

"The Tale of King Rhampsinitus" tells the story of a king named Rhampsinitus, who creates a chamber for his wealth. He has builders construct a stone chamber near his palace. One of the workers put in a stone in a way that allowed it to be taken out and put back in without anyone noticing. The worker realizes he is close to dying, and he tells his sons about the stone so they may go into the chamber and take treasures from the king. One night, the two sons entered the chamber and stole some of the riches. The king realizes someone has stolen from him, but does not know how. He places traps throughout the chamber to catch the thief. When the brothers go back, one enters first and is caught in the trap. Realizing he would be killed the next day if just left there, he also tells his brother he should cut off his head so his body will not be identified. The escaping brother does as the trapped one says, and leaves with his head. The king again returns to the tomb and is conf...

In the story " The Death of Osiris ," Osiris's brother, Set, creates an ornate chest that match Osiris's exact dimensions. During a large feast, Set tells everyone that whoever's dimensions are a perfect match for the chest will be gifted the chest. All the guests tried fitting in the chest, but none fit. Finally, Osiris tries laying in it and fits perfectly. Before he can get out, however, the "evil followers" of Set nail Osiris into the chest, killing him. The party quickly becomes filled with sorrow rather than joy, and Osiris and his coffin are put in the Nile, which they float down until they set sail in the ocean.  I think it would be interesting to tell a similar story to this one, in which people thought someone was doing a good deed for society, but it is secretly a sinister act. I could use the same basic premise by having someone create an object that is unknowably created for one specific person, people trying to win this object, and ...

In the story "The Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis," Odysseus and his men encounter sirens and two sea monsters. Odysseus has just heard from many ghosts and has gotten advice from Circe on how to get through his upcoming trials. When Odysseus and his men sail past the sirens, his men put beeswax in their ears to block out the sirens' song. Whoever hears the song is lured to their death. Odysseus wants to hear the song, so instead of putting beeswax in his ears to block it out, he has his men tie him down to the ship so he cannot be lured to the sirens when he hears their song. Although Odysseus is very tempted by the sirens' song and tells his men to let him go, but they just row harder and faster and tighten Odysseus's ropes. I found it interesting that in the sirens' song, their promise is for wisdom; perhaps this is what is so tempting to everyone who hears it, or maybe it is specific to Odysseus. The crew gets past the sirens, but immediately find themsel...

Visit my Storybook to read my stories and then leave comments here! Constellation from  Max Pixel

I was so excited to see watching Crash Course videos was an assignment option this week! Crash Course has always been one of my favorite ways to learn; the videos are fun to watch and easy to understand, and yet I am able to learn quite a bit from them. One of my favorite parts of these videos is reading the fun facts during the opening sequence. The  Overview of Mythology  videos gave a comprehensive look at what makes a story a myth and different ways to look at mythology. The first video ("What is Myth?) was helpful for me to get a better idea of what constitutes a myth. According to this video, only stories are considered myths, which means myths cannot be historical. The host, Mike Rugnetta, points out that myths can be difficult to strictly define, and there is sometimes crossover between different types of stories. This video looks into the story of Persephone and explains how this story was used as an explanation for the reasons. Mike then looks into some of the th...

In the story "The Cyclops Defeated," Odysseus and his crew have been captured by a Cyclops and trapped in his cave. Odysseus tries to think of an escape plan after the Cyclops begins eating some of the capture men. When the Cyclops leaves to tend to his flocks, Odysseus and his men take the Cyclops' club and fashion it into a spear. They plan on stabbing it into the Cyclops' eye when he falls asleep. When the Cyclops returns, Odysseus offers him wine under the ruse that he wants to give the Cyclops the wine as an offering so the Cyclops will not kill him. After giving him several glasses of wine, Odysseus tell the Cyclops his name is Nobody. When the Cyclops falls asleep, Odysseus and his men drive the heated olive wood stake into the Cyclops' eye, causing blood to pour out. The Cyclops runs outside to his fellow Cyclopes and they ask why he is yelling in pain, to which he replies Nobody is trying to harm it. The Cyclopes take this to mean that the harmed Cyclops...

I think this week's readings are going to be very helpful for me, as I always feel unsure about the feedback I give to others. I typically feel rude giving constructive feedback and think I am being too critical. When I have given feedback before, I usually say something like "I like what you did at this one part..." because I do not want to be rude. The gallery, however, gave me good ideas on how to give good feedback that doesn't sound too harsh. I specifically like the idea of asking questions about parts that were unclear to me. Questions are not mean, but rather allow the author to look at the story from the reader's perspective. The first article I read was " How to Give Feedback Without Sounding Like a Jerk " by Adam Grant. This article first looks at the "compliment sandwich" style of giving feedback: give a praise, give the criticism, then finish with more praise. Grant examines why this often does not work for the person receiving ...

One topic I am interested in doing my project on is Greek Constellations. I think it would be interesting to tell the stories behind the people/animals that are depicted in the formations. I could just tell the story of what the constellation depicts, tell the story of how it became a constellation, or tell the story of the constellation in modern times watching the world below. The first (former) constellation I think would be fun to write about is Argo Navis . Although it has now been divided into three separate constellations, it once depicted the ship which Jason sailed in search of the Golden Fleece. I would like to tell the story of Jason's journey and the trip the boat sailed. The second constellation I could tell the story behind is Andromeda , who was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. This constellation is one of 88 that remains as a modern constellation. The third story I would like to tell is of the constellation  Pegasus . The constellation depi...

I walked around the palace gardens, blissfully taking in the bright sun, light breeze, and soft grass. But my favorite part of the gardens has always been the abundance of flowers in it. Every day, I came out and picked a bouquet from the various stems and bushes of tulips, roses, daisies, petunias, lilies, and carnations. Today,  I walked around on my daily walk selecting the most beautiful flowers I could find. As I reached the center of the garden, I came upon a single orchid. I pass by this flower every day, but have strict orders from my father-in-law that I must never touch this flower. I never questioned him, but rather just admired the flower's beauty every time I walked past. As I selected a red rose, the finishing touch for today's bouquet, I was approached by one of the palace workers. He came up and said," Princess, why is the orchid not a part of your bouquet? I see you admire it every day, and yet you never pick it." I replied, "The king has tol...

The stories "They Die a First Time" and "Suicide and the Salvation" take place after Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit in the garden and have been punished by God. Both stories are written from a third person perspective. In my story, I could write from one the character's perspectives. In the stories, it is difficult to understand what Adam and Eve are thinking when it comes to their actions; telling a story from their perspective would be give some insight into why they do what they do. Telling the story from God's perspective would also be interesting. Like the reader, God watches Adam and Eve, but telling the story from his point of view might make the audience feel closer to the story. There are many recurring themes throughout these two stories. The first that stood out to me was death. There are several instances in which Adam and Eve die, come close to dying, look like they are dying, or think they are dying. The fear of dying is also very preva...

In the story of the fall of Adam and Eve, a serpent asks Eve why she has not eaten from the garden of Eden, to which she replies that God has ordered her not to or she will die. The serpent tells her that God does not want her to eat the fruit because it will give her knowledge and wisdom. Eve knows the fruit looks good, and eats it with her husband, Adam. After they eat it, their eyes are opened to their surrounding and they become self aware. God returns to the garden to find Adam and Eve hiding in embarrassment of their nudity and he realized they have eaten the fruit. God curses the serpent by making it a lowly animal and creating a divide between it and humans, woman by giving her a painful pregnancy and having her husband rule over her, and man by making it difficult for him to live from the land until his death. The serpent and the forbidden fruit have become popular symbols. The serpent has come to represent deception, evil, etc. The fruit has come to represent sin, desire, ...

I have always been scared of feedback, but I think this class will be a good start for me to embrace it. In school, I have not had many good experiences with feedback, especially from peers. Many times that I get feedback from peers, either I take it personally and just feel down about it or my fellow classmates only give feedback because they have to for a grade and it is worthless comments such as, "I really liked what you did here..." and "I agree with your point about..." The best feedback experiences I have had are usually in English or writing classes by getting notes from my teachers; the feedback I receive from them shows me what I am doing well and where I can improve. I think the most important thing to remember when I receive feedback is that no matter how much I focus on the negative, there will always still be some positives. The first article I read was John Spencer's " Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work ." I particularly ...

One topic I think would make a good Storybook topic is Dante's Inferno. I have read it before, but did not get to look at the story in much detail. I like the idea of keeping Dante's structure the same by telling a tale that moves through the circles of Hell. Dante, however, just came up with what each ring represents, so I could do the same and change what each circle of Hell means. I also think it would be interesting to update who the narrator meets along the way. Dante used ancient historical figures, but much time has passed since the "Divine Comedy" was written and there are several more people that the narrator could meet on his or her journey. I also am drawn to Italian Tales (as I have said in almost every assignment haha). Particularly, I think Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Crane looks promising. This book contains dozens of Italian stories I could draw from. I have read some Italian literature before, but never any folk tales or fairy tales. I know ...