Robbie Johnson's Mythology and Folklore Blog

 This was a very interesting story. I liked the writing style but this was not the most interesting story I have read all semester. Honestly, this unit was probably my least favorite of all of the units because I had the hardest time finding stories I liked and could see myself writing myself. All of that is besides the fact, however. This story was interesting because the knight forgot his vow to guard all of the women. This was something I thought I could make a twist about. I could make the knight seem stupid and act like a clown and be forgetful. I could potentially rewrite this story but make it more funny rather than serious. I think that would be more entertaining.  ( Knight ) Bibliography:  The Chaucer Story Book  by Eva March Tappan (1908).

 I looked at the tech tips and found them very useful. One that I use more is the multiple browsers. Not only is it useful for this class, but using multiple browsers has helped me in all of my classes as well as enrolling. For some reason, when I enroll some browsers do not work. I constantly have to switch browsers in order for it to work properly for me. 

 I like how this story starts. Dante places us right in the thick of it with him and avoids any backstory that would take up time. This is an interesting way to start a story because I am so accustomed to reading the backstory of a character first. I really like this method because the reader gets to know the character as the story goes on rather than having a general idea of the character before the story starts. I also like how the author has Dante meet Virgil. Furthermore, he has Virgil explain his life story which gives the reader some back story on this new character. I like how we know a more about Virgil than we do about Dante at the beginning of the story. This was a very interesting read and I learned a lot of writing skills from it.  ( Descending Through Dante's Inferno ) Bibliography:  Dante's Divine Comedy , translated by Tony Kline (2002).

 The Robin Hood stories were very interesting. When reading these, it reminded me of high school because of the poetry. I have not had to read any poetry in college so this was a wake up call for me. I always remember not liking poetry in high school so if I were to rewrite this story, I would probably do it in a more traditional way. I liked the content of the story and it was done very well; however, I am not the biggest fan of poetry I would rather them say what they want to say and not try to make things rhyme or seem like a mystery to figure out. Overall, great read and I learned a lot from it.  ( Robin Hood ) Bibliography:  The English and Scottish Popular Ballads  by Francis James Child (1882-1898).

 This story was much different to read than any of the other stories I have read this semester. It was written as a poem in structure and it had a rhyme to it. I thought this could be a very interesting way to write a story, but also very challenging. I think because it would be such a challenge, it would make the story so much better and more impressive. It would take a lot of effort and encouragement for me to write a story like this but I just might end up doing it. I liked how they made it a rhyme but also ensured that no content was missed out on and the story was still easy to follow. Overall, this was a great learning experience.  ( Robin Hood ) Bibliography:  The English and Scottish Popular Ballads  by Francis James Child (1882-1898).

 Not as long ago as you would typically think, the possum was by far the coolest animal on the planet. The possum was the superior house-pet and was considered to be a luxury to own. While these animals were not the smartest by any means, they had these luxurious and beautiful tails covered with hair in intricate patterns and colors. Only the wealthiest people could afford these incredibly expensive animals.  One winter morning, a little girl asked her mother for a possum for Christmas. Her mother kindly told her that she did not think they could afford these animals because they were not a wealthy family. The little girl did not understand what life was like as an adult, so she got really angry and sad. All she wanted was a possum because all of her friends had one. The little girl went back to school and told her friends that she could not get a possum like them because her family could not afford it. Instead of being good friends and trying to raise money or let her play wi...

 This story was very interesting to me because I absolutely hate possums. I do not know why I am so afraid of them because they are helpful to the environment by eating ticks and mosquitos, but I just think they are the creepiest looking animals. One thing that makes them even more creepy to me is the weird naked tail. I thought it was very cool that this story gave a background explanation on why their tail is this way. I thought it was very clever how they wrote the story and made the tail bare. I liked how they created a backstory on how the possum used to have the prettiest tail of all of the animals and was so proud of it. This was an interesting story and I could see myself rewriting it with my own twist.  ( possum ) Bibliography:  Myths of the Cherokee  by James Mooney (1900).

 One day, a man was walking down the street and saw a great big neon sign for a coffee shop. He decided to give it a look and walked in. Once he entered the coffee shop, he browsed around for a seat so he could sit down and enjoy the good smell of coffee. Little did he know, this was no ordinary coffee shop and once you enter, you cannot leave until you resolve your issues with someone that has a differing opinion. This man was a very easy going person and did not have very many conflicts with others so instantly, he thought he was going to be stuck there forever.  He finally found a spot and sat by himself, but there were two people nearby that were going at each other's throats. Based on the conversation he overheard, he was able to determine that one man was a die hard conservative republican and the other was a raging liberal. Unfortunately for the man, he was a registered independent and was unable to pick a side. However, the man had an idea; he was going to use his impa...

 The Squirrel and the Spider was a very interesting read. I'll be honest, it was not the best story I have read this semester. I could not get past the fact that a spider was able to steal corn. Is the spider something that is not an insect like I am imagining, or are they massive spiders? I will never know. Other than that aspect of the story, I liked the moral at the end of the story. Basically, this story teaches people not to steal and if you do, you will be left empty handed. Overall, this story was alright but I have read better. There were still some things I can take away from it and apply into my own writing.  ( squirre l )   West African Folktales  by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917).

The Wicked Husband was a very interesting story to read. It was a little disturbing, but there were some things I could take away from this story and incorporate into my own writing style. I thought it was unfortunate that the husband had his wife mutilated in the woods. Because his wife disrespected him, she was murdered. Unfortunately, this does happen in some parts of the world and it is very sad. If I were to write this myself, I would have the wife escape and murder the husband. I think that would be an interesting and fun twist to the story.  ( Congo )  The Wicked Husband   Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort  by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).

 So far, I have completed each assignment for each week but have not done any extra credit yet. Looking forward, I might consider doing some extra credit in an attempt to finish this class earlier. I took a glance at the progress sheet and I am doing just fine for where we are in this class and am on track to receive an A. As long as I keep up what I am doing, I will be fine. There is not much that I need to change, I am just considering doing extra credit and working ahead so I can finish faster.  ( You Can Do It )

 Looking back on the feedback I have received, I have found it to be very useful and helpful for making my writing better. Furthermore, looking at the feedback I give, I feel like I do a good job at pointing out what people do well. Personally, I do not like telling people that they have done things wrong because their writing is done in the way they want it to be done. When I give feedback, I usually correct a few grammatical mistakes or ask for a little more detail to explain a character. In the future, I can work on constructive criticism more to try and further help other students but as of now I am satisfied with how I have been delivering my feedback.  ( Feedback Cats )

 Looking back on my work, I am very satisfied with my stories. When I write my stories, I put a lot of effort into each of them and I try to make them educational and fun to read. Some of my stories are better than others. I think my favorite story that I have written is Sindbad. I had a lot of fun writing this story and look forward to writing more stories like it. I like writing stories in the first person and will try to do that more in the future. I also like reading stories that are in the first person mainly because I find narrators to be very boring. I was never a huge fan of reading but this class has taught me how to enjoy reading and writing.  ( Animal Kingdom ) I chose this image because I think it sums up my stories pretty well. As I went back through my stories, I noticed a lot of them feature animals. I did not intend on this happening, but I think it is pretty cool that I subconsciously chose so many stories that have animals as main characters or big parts of t...

 In the beginning, there was war amongst the animals. The elephants were at the top of the food chain and would eat the majority of the food available. The rest of the animals had to fight amongst themselves for the elephant's leftovers. As you can probably guess, this caused a lot of tension amongst the other animals. One day, the tortoise got his food stolen by a cheetah and because he was too slow, he could not get it back. This angered the tortoise so much that he decided he was going to stop this madness. He gathered a large group and held a meeting with all of the animals except for the elephants. In the meeting, the tortoise came up with the idea to combine the force of all the animals and wage an attack on the elephants. Even though there were many more animals than elephants, the elephants were massive, strong, and healthy because they had been eating full meals their entire lives.  During the meeting, the tortoise explained that the animals must all share the food ev...

 Why People Are Buried When reading these Nigerian stories, I have noticed that a lot of them start out with a creation story. A lot of the stories I have read start out saying something about people and animals living together and in peace.  This is a really interesting point because it would be a great thing for someone to use in their own creation story or even allow them to change it up and make things interesting. I could possibly write this story but start it out with a huge war between people and animals and animals with other animals. I feel like that would be a cool thing to add into a story. I also like how the creator in this story lives among the people and animals and is present in their every day lives. I also liked the fact that the dog was in charge of telling the people how to treat the dead in order for them to come back to life. In the end, the dog messes it up and tells them to bury people. I loved that this was such a creative way to explain why people are...

 The Elephant and the Tortoise provided me with so many good writing ideas that I can incorporate into my own writing. The beginning of this story also made me think of Adam and Eve when all the people and animals were able to coexist in peace. This was a really cool thing to add into the story because it showed that even the animals were able to get along. I also liked that they talked about how much the elephant eats and how the elephant would eat so much more than all of the other animals. I found it very clever that the elephant and his greediness with food ended up getting him hurt in the end. There is a lot I can do with this story and make my own creative twist to it.  ( Tortoise ) Bibliography: The Elephant and the Tortoise. by Elphinstone Dayrell.  Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria

 As many of us already know, having more than one spouse tends to cause issues. In some cultures they are able to make it work; however, the majority of people experience this powerful feeling called jealousy.  Once upon a time, there was a very rich king that had great looks, lots of money, and a huge palace that he lived in. He found himself wanting more than one woman so he married a second. His first wife had trouble having children and was unable to become pregnant. Because of this, the king spent more time in the bedroom with his second wife. As the basic rules of biology continue to govern, the second wife ended up getting pregnant. This caused the first wife to be very upset and jealous.  The first wife becomes so enraged that she decides to confront her husband and express her anger. She says things like "why don't you love me?" and "Why do you treat her so much better than me? I was here first!" The king responds and says "It is nothing personal, ...

 The Frog, the Bee, and the Bird This story intrigued me right from the start. I knew this story would be right up my alley based off of the name. I love these types of stories because there is always some sort of teamwork or crazy twist involved that really makes the story what it is. In this particular story, the 3 animals came together to kill an elephant that accidentally knocked the birds eggs out of the tree and killed them. I love the reason for the revenge, but they never explained why the frog and the bee wanted to help. If I were to rewrite this story, I would add some back stories for the frog and the bee and what the elephant did to them to make them want to kill him. I can very well see myself rewriting this story and loved every bit of it! ( Elephant ) Bibliography:  The Frog, the Bee, and the Bird  by  Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi  

(The dark well:  the well )  I like how this story starts out with a king and 2 queens. I love this because there is so much a writer is able to do because we can add a jealousy aspect to the story. They did just that in this particular story. I gathered a lot of good ideas from reading this story and would have so much fun rewriting it in a new creative way. I found it interesting that instead of taking action on her own, the jealous queen altered the kings mind and made him hate his own son and become jealous of him. He ended up ordering his hands and feet be cut off and thrown into a well. There is already so much jealousy throughout this story and I love it. After the son is thrown into the well, I can come up with so many different ideas to how the son can enact revenge on his father. Overall, this was a really fun story to read and  these are just a couple of my ideas on how I could change the story up when I potentially rewrite it.  Bibliography:  Raja ...

 I was a party animal. My family was rich and I was living my best life off of my inheritance. All the ladies, all the booze, anything you could imagine and life couldn't get much better. I was living everyone's dream until one terrible day when my whole life would change forever.  It was a Tuesday morning, I remember it like it was yesterday, and I woke up with a massive hangover. I roll out of bed, check my safe, and realize I only have a fraction of the money that I started out with. This was not a good sign and something had to change. I did not know what to do because I had never had to work before. I had a moment where I freaked out but eventually I came up with a plan. I was going to sell everything and join a group of merchants that trade by sea. This could be fun right? Constant adventure by sea, who knows what this new life could bring! First Voyage Me and the crew set sail for the East Indies. This was a routine trip and we were hoping to make some good trades and s...