Week 11 Reading Diary: Alice

This week I am reading the stories from Alice in Wonderland.

In Down the Rabbit-Hole Alice and her sister are simply sitting in the forest and are contemplating what to do. Then she thinks about if she should make a daisy chain. She then falls in a hole and gets very confused. She feels that she has fallen close to the center of the earth. She looks around and tries to examine where she has arrived.

In Down the Rabbit-Hole (cont.) Alice sees that the rabbit is still running down a dark hallway so she heads out after him. She approaches a table with only three legs and that is made fully out of glass. There is a key on it and she uses it to open a small door. She then enters the tiny room and sees a drink. She is encouraged to drink it and after speculation and investigation she agrees and drinks the whole thing.

In Down the Rabbit-Hole (end) Alice finishes drinking the mysterious beverage. At once she begins to shrink to a tiny ten inches tall! She is so confused what is happening and feels that everything is but a dream. She heads out to the garden but realizes that she left the key so heads back inside for it. She then realizes she is far too short to reach it. She then heads to a tea party and encounters many lovely foods.

In Advice from a Caterpillar Alice is talking to the caterpillar. He is asking her who she is and what she is doing here. She explains nervously that she has no idea who she is and that she cannot answer that question. She tells him how she knew who she was this morning but no longer does since she has shrunk so much.

In Advice from a Caterpillar (cont.) Alice eats and at once grows to be a giant! She then is given a mushroom from the caterpillar and he tells her to eat it. She is very skeptical does not trust it but she feels she does not have much of an option. So she takes a bite.

In Advice from a Caterpillar (end) Alice has her neck grow very long and all the way up in to the sky. She is so confused and still feels that everything is a dream. A pigeon then approaches her and he is convinced that she is a serpent. He will not leave her alone and continues to bombard her with labels.

Storytelling Week 7: The Mighty Ones

The Mighty Ones

I, the mighty crocodile, was the ruler of the water and all surrounding marshland. There was also talk of a leopard that ruled the desert but I had never laid eyes on him. He did not threaten me nor did I pay much attention to ever finding out who he was. I went on day-by-day and continued to rule the water and marshland.

Image Source: Flickr

(The leopard waiting for his food)

Day after day I would see a man walking by my water looking very sad and confused until one day he finally approached me. “Mr. Crocodile,” he said, “if I bring you fruits and nuts each week, will you provide me with fish? I have so many wives to feed but have no way of providing." Mr. Crocodile responded, “Yes, that sounds like a wonderful option!”

I agreed to these terms because I loved fruits and nuts but I told him that he could be executing this deal only with me. It was important that he was only agreeing to the exchange with me because I did not like feeling taken advantage of. I felt only exchanging goods with me would help us build a sense of trust. So he agreed and we set a time to meet up the next day to perform the exchange. The following day came and I brought all the fish I had promised. They were in a basket dangling from my mouth. The man brought the promised fruits and nuts in a basket as well. This was looking to be beneficial for both of us. I was now able to enjoy fresh daily fruits and nuts and he could provide fresh fish for his many wives. I was in heaven and full of all the most delicious foods in the land!

Now little did I know but this very same man had been doing the exact same thing with the leopard. If I had known this information all along, then I would have put a stop to the deal immediately! I was feeling jealous because I wanted all of the fruits and nuts to myself! But this was information I would not find out until the very end.

Now back to the story:
so these exchanges continued for months. I felt that everything was fair and moving along smoothly. We were both extremely happy! As time went on, I began to grow more tired of the same old same old so I thought about what I could request now. We met up as usual and I asked for him to bring me a dog. Now I had never seen one before but I heard they were the most delicious meat in the world. I also heard from a fellow crocodile that he knew all about them. The man said he had none but knew of where one would be. He told me the location and the next day I set off to find it!

I wandered and wandered but never did find that dog he spoke of. I did find a leopard though. We examined each other from afar. Then I asked him what he was. He responded with "I'm a leopard." Then he asked me the same question, and I answered with "I'm a crocodile." At once it all began to make sense. We had been tricked and deceived. We found out that the man had been scamming us both! He agreed to each of us that he was only providing to us when in reality that was a lie! We decided to let him live but warned him to never come near our territories again. He thankfully accepted and promised to never cheat us again.

Author's Note: I am retelling the story The Leopard and the Crocodile. I decided to keep the story pretty close to the original this time around because I didn't want to add too many other details in to clutter the story. In the original the man sends the leopard and the crocodile to the same place and they each think that the other one is the mysterious dog. They end up fighting each other to the death and the man and whole town are there to watch. I elected to change the final outcome of the story. I decided to change it to the two animals not killing each other and instead befriending each other and casting the man out. I decided to change the ending because I felt that the original was very dark and twisted so I wanted to make the ending more pleasant. Another thing I changed was who was telling the story. I thought that telling it from the crocodile’s point of view could be beneficial! I mostly just told the direct story of the crocodile with not as much focus on the leopard. I found it to be important to get the right messages across from the crocodile’s point of view and I’m hoping this was done successfully!


Bibliography: Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).  The Leopard and the Crocodile.

Week 10 Famous Last Words: Time

Time

Wow, it is so hard to believe that we are about to start week 11 tomorrow! I know it is so cliché to say but I simply cannot believe how fast this semester has gone by so far! Ii has been a busy one as I have been in 18 hours. I have constantly had exams and presentations this semester, as I am finishing up my business degree. I feel that as we get older the time seems to fly even faster! When I just stop and really think about it I can try to slow myself to enjoy time but usually I feel like I have a million things going on at once and forget to enjoy this short amount of time I have left in college.

Web Source: flickr

 As November is just about a week away I am mentally preparing myself to begin job hunting. I am a marketing major who is hoping to get in to some kind of sales upon graduation. I am hoping to go back to Denver to live and work but we will see what the job market has in store for me! It is really scary and intimidating to start applying for ‘real’ jobs. I feel that the process can become very overwhelming quite fast so it is important to seek help from people who have experience. I love how OU has such a helpful and established career services office that really allows for a lot of help throughout the process. They have the option of conducting practice interviews and recording them so you can see how you act in an interview. I think that is such a beneficial things to do, because we never know what we are really doing in an interview! Once I get past the awkwardness of seeing myself on camera I feel that I will be able to gain a lot of insight!

Essay Week 10: Semester Progress

Semester Progress

As week ten is wrapping up I find it interesting to look back on the progress I have made so far. I am really not a very strong writer, I have always been a more math and science based thinker. So I thought it would be very beneficial to take a writing based class and really work to improve on it. I was unable to do the reading diary this week and the storybook because I have had a very overwhelming two weeks. I had two tests last week and then three tests this week so it has been crazy! Midterms are coming to an end, which is good, and we are approaching the final weeks of the semester. I have noticed a lot of people have been losing motivation as we reach this point in the semester, but it is important to keep pushing through.

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After looking over several samples of the writing I have completed this semester and comparing beginning ones to later entries I have seen several changes. I have always struggled with adding in too much detail and not being very successful at writing in a concise way. I feel that with the help of this class and the assignments we have done I have become a more concise writer. I also feel that my ideas are becoming more relevant to the material. I think it is really to compare samples from the start to samples from now. It is the only way to see your mistakes and then grow from them.

I have really liked the portfolio project this semester; I feel that it is really pushing my writing. I think it is so useful to get a breakdown of advice line by line. It improves the story so much and really allows growth from the writer.

Essay Week 9: The Raven

The Raven

This week I read the story Alaskan Legends. I really enjoyed the stories because they were so different from anything I’ve ever read before. I think it is really beneficial to read stories from other cultures because they advance your knowledge. I also think that it is beneficial because when we read other cultures history and learn about their culture we become more tolerant and accepting to others.

One of the most interesting stories that I read this week was Raven's Creation. This story was about how a raven was the only being in the land and then a man was born of the pea pod he created. The raven observed the man for some time and then he came down and spoke with him. He showed him that he could also transform in to a human being. Once he was a human being he showed the man that he could create things from clay from the river. He grasped it in his hands and created several forms of deer and also mountain goats. Then finally he showed all of these things and the man was feeling lonely so the raven had a solution. The raven then made a woman out of clay for the man to keep him company and to be together forever.

Web Source: Flickr

 One common theme that was seen in most of the stories in this unit was a raven. I thought that this was very interesting and curious as to of why the raven was so prominent. I decided to go look up the symbolism of a raven. I thought that it must be a very important animal to the Alaskan culture since it was seen so much in the stories. Most of the information that I found was talking about how ravens symbolize ill things. I think that is interesting because it represents bad things but they spoke of it so much.

Week 9 Reading Diary: Alaskan Legends

This week I am retelling stories form Alaskan Legends.

In the story Alaska Raven's Creation there was a raven that could transform from human to raven whenever he wanted to. There was also a man that was born and came from a pea pod that the raven created. They became friends and the raven showed the man that he could make food from the clay, then the final thing he did was make a companion for the man. He sculpted a beautiful woman from clay and they lived together.

In the story Alaska: The Flood there was a raven that noticed that people near the water were being ungrateful. So he decided to wish upon them a great rise in the tide. The water rose and rose and he had to take a ladder to the bottom of the ocean to find answers. He left the eagle in charge of the tide and asked him to let him know when the tide had gone back down.

In the story Alaska: Raven and the Seals there was a raven that came across a new beach where a man lived. He convinced the man that they would become friends. Then he decided to eat the man and eat all the seals on the beach. He then hunted seals in the water and cooked them on the beach. A stump wanted some of the food so he went and sat on the hole the seals were being cooked in. The raven was so sad that he couldn’t eat the seals and cried because he was so hungry.

In the story Alaska: Raven and Marmot there was a raven that was being mocked. He went and stood in front of a marmot’s home so he could not enter. He told the marmot that he was going to have to eat him. The marmot agreed but first wanted the raven to dance. Then the raven danced again and fell dizzy so the marmot ran past him in to his home and laughed at the raven.

In the story The First Woman there was a man who traveled far away to take a woman back to his land. He snuck in a home and grabbed a woman but then her husband awoke and the two men were fighting over her. They pulled her in half and each land had one half of her. The land with the top half carved her bottom half out of wood. She was good at sewing needlepoint. The land with the bottom half carved the rest of her body out of wood and she was good at dancing.

In the story The Ghost Land there is a man who travels through a forest and looks for a wife. Once he travels along the river he returns home to this father. He tells his father of how he has found his wife so his father lays out fur coats for his wife. She comes in but they see nothing so he realizes that she was a ghost.