Reading Diary for Week 7: Anansi Stories

Anansi's Stories

Part 1:

• All stories told by made became Anansi Stories. 
• Anansi was an incredibly clever spider. He used his wits to trick a tiger, snake, and bees to all go to Nyankupon's house. When they all reached Nyankupon kept his promise. 
• Anansi and Nothing's story is really clever. The world play on nothing is great just like from The Odyssey. The story is about Anansi and a rich man named Nothing. 
• They went of into a neighboring town and went to look for wives. Along the way Anansi tricked nothing into trading cloths with him. Upon doing so Anansi was now dressed in beautiful cloths and found all of the best looking wives. Nothing had rags on and couldn't find anyone except for 1 woman. In the end, the two went back home and the roles reversed because it was really Nothing who was rich and Anansi who had "nothing"
• In the end Anansi killed Nothing and his wife mourned for him. She would make yams and give them to children crying. So this is were we get in today's society that he is crying for "Nothing". 
• The next story shows how selfish Anansi is. He got gifted a magic pot that supplied him food from Thunder, but instead of feeding his family he just wanted to feed himself which eventually got him beat up. 
• What I like most about these Anansi Stories is that each story shows how selfish or clever Anansi is, Also the stories all pertain to something else in the real world like the crying children, or the white ants 

Part 2:

• The story of how to tortoise got their shells is quite interesting as well. 
• The tortoise as a very fast creature at first, but one day he was asked to retrieve some palm wine (which is alcohol. Before returning back form where he came he couldn't bring all of the palm wine so he drank it.
• It made him slow, so when he got back to the gates they were closed and no one could find him. He eventually died and by the time the other found him the weight from his load formed into a hard shell. Side Note: What I've noticed about most of these stories is that most of then explain how something was made or came to be. Also most of these thing come from a negative event. I find that interesting that nothing has came from something good yet. I will keep that theme in mind when I am writing my story for Wednesday. 
• In the Hunter and the tortoise story, the tortoise taught the hunter a lesson. It was a basic listening lesson. The hunter was so amazed by the tortoises singing that want to show him to the rest of the town.The tortoise said that he only sang for him. Eventually the hunter was beheaded for "lying" about the talking/singing tortoise. The hunter brought that on himself
• After reading the elephant and the wren story, once again it is shown how selfish Anansi is. It is ridiculous he ended up loosing his elephant because he didn't was to share it with his family. 

Essay for Week 6: Monkeys!

Essay for Week 6: Monkeys!

This week in the Un-textbook I read The Monkey King. I decided to read this story because our teacher Mrs. Gibbs recommended it, and was it a great story! I really enjoyed the whole story of Sun Wu Kung. What I liked most about this story is reading about how Sun Wu got his power and reacted to others. At first he was just a monkey that was made from stone. He then became the king of his island, but what made him different was his obsession for everlasting life and power. He wanted to live forever so bad that he traveled around the world for years in search for it. When he finally got it he just did whatever he wanted. I wouldn’t say that Sun Wu was a bad person, but he was very rude and beast like. This made many of the people and gods angry with him.  This theme recurred throughout the story where Sun Wu gets angry that he is not of he highest rank or power, then he fights with anyone who is thrown at him. What really surprised me was the very end of the story when Sun Wu met Buddha. Buddha made a bet with him and said if Sun beat him then he would become the new Lord of the Heavens. Of course he accepted, but Sun lost to Buddha. Buddha then trapped him in isolation for over 300 years! His reasoning was that Sun was too out of control. He needed to tame him and basically chill out. 300 years is a very long time to be held in one spot! When Sun came out he was calm and polite.

I really enjoyed this story this week and I would read more about Sun Wu’s travels. I wrote my storytelling post about the Monkey King. In my story I just told the beginning part of the story where Sun (Moon in my story) had to overcome the trail to become the King of the monkeys. Overall I give this Unit an A+ so far. I really enjoyed the story and hope to read another good one next week.

Jet Li as The Monkey King

By daffy duck. 

Storytelling for Week 6: The Moon King

The Moon King

In the Valley of Dust and Gravel there was little civilization. The valley was completely flat and you could see for miles. Far off somewhere in the valley there was a giant boulder. This was the only huge structure within as far as the eye could see.  The boulder was the most smooth and shiny think on the earth. The energy of the night and the moon gave the bounder its appearance and life.  Suddenly one day a storm brewed and a lightning both stuck the boulder. It began to open up and out came a monkey; he was made out of complete Iron. His eyes were a bright as the Moon’s rays on a full moon. The Iron monkey was birthed form the Moon’s energy. No other being was like him.

            The monkey decided to venture out from the From the Valley of Dust and Grave and try to find other monkeys like him because he was all alone. He walked for days and days until he came across the Great Sea. He crossed it and found the island called the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. There he met the some other monkeys. They were very welcoming and allowed the Iron monkey to stay with them for as long as he wished. They kept saying he reminded then of someone they knew and loved dearly. The Iron monkey asked who is was and they said that there used to be another monkey that ruled over us but he has been away for over 1000 years. His name was Sun Wu Kung and he was the Monkey King of the Sun.

            The monkeys then asked if the Iron monkey had a name. He said that he didn’t, so they decided to give him a trail to see if he had what it took to be there new leader. Now this task was very dangerous. The monkeys make up this test for whoever was trying to be the next king. Since Sun Wu was made from the Sun they wanted to try and honor him while making the challenge. The Iron monkey’s task was to go on top the huge volcano on the highest point on the island.  Then he needed to go inside the mouth of the volcano and retrieve the Tablet of Sunlight. This tablet would allow the Iron monkey to become their ruler. Upon retrieving the tablet the monkeys would then find a name to suit him, since he did not have one.

            So, the iron monkey made his was up toward the volcano. The Volcano was so tall that when he reached the base of it there was still a four-day journey left ahead of him.  When he reached the peak of it volcano the iron monkey slowly made his way down into the cave. He was extra careful to make sure that he didn’t slip and fall into the magma. The other monkey didn’t know for sure if he would pass or not but they hoped so. To the Iron monkey this was easy because he did not feel any heat from the magna. In fact, he slipped of the slide of the slope, but when he hit the bottom the magma instantly cooled and turned rock solid. All the monkeys were baffled!! Then the Iron monkey retrieved the tablet and left the cave. When he brought the tablet to the monkeys they rejoiced and honored the iron monkey as their new king! The last think left to do was to name him. They decided to come up with the name Moon Ru Dung, which means “The Icy Moon” in their language. This is how  Moon Ru Dung the iron monkey came to be!

Michealjackson by: Mikael c

(Looks like a monkey king)

Authors Note:

I decided to base my story of the The Monkey King. The story is about how the stone monkey named Sun Wu Kung came to be. I decided base my story off of the intro of the reading where Sun Wu was tested to become the king of the other monkeys. If you have read this story then you would have noticed that I tried to create a new main character that had opposite qualities of Sun Wu, and from this Moon Ru was born!

Week 6 Reading Diary: The Monkey King

The Monkey King

Part one:

• On the island of the Mountain of Flowers in the Far East, A stone sat on-top of the the hill.
• It had absorbed all all of the energy form the sun and moon. Then it cracked open and a monkey came out. He was made out of complete stone and his eyes shined brighter than the Sun's rays. 
• He overcame a trail and became the King of the other monkeys that lived on the island. The others called him Handsome King of the Apes, and they lived happily for 300 years. 
• He left the island in pursuit to try and find everlasting life. He wanted to be a Buddha, blessed spirit, or a god. 
• His search took him to Asia where he stayed for 9 years blending in. Then he went to the Western land. The Monkey King heard a man singing so decided to follow the voice and see who it is. 
• The Monkey King went to find the Master. He named him Sun Wu Kung. 
• For seven years the Master taught Sun how to read and act correctly. 
• The Master taught the way of eternal Life, but Sun Wu had to learn the art first. He told him that he had to overcome to great dangers. 
• Sun Wu learned how to fly on a cloud. 
• He then showed his other pupils how he could transform, so he turned into a pine-tree and they all started to laugh, but the Master didn't find this funny and casted him away. 
• The master said to Sun not to ever speak of him being his pupil ever. 
• Sun Wu Kung went back home and greeted the apes. They were happy to see him, but they could them of a Devil-King that took children and lives in the North. 
• Sun Wu killed the King and rescued his children. He went back home to train the other monkeys. 
• They realized that they needed strong weapons besides bamboo so Sun went to the city armory and took all the guns. 
• He sent to see the Dragon-King. The Dragon-King brought out weapons but they were all to light, even the 7000 pound one. 
• He ended up taking a staff that was magical. It changed size on command. 

Part two:

• Sun Wu was called to the King of the Heavens to pay for his crimes.
• He was being disrespectful toward other people and the King had a plan to stop this.
• He basically gave him a warning and made him become the stablemaster for the heavenly steeds.
• Then the other servants of the King threw a feast for Sun Wu after 30 days or so.
•  During the meal Sun Wu asked what his title was. He didn’t realize that it was not important at all. It was so low that he was just like a peasant. This angered Sun Wu and he took his Staff out (Ruyi Jingu Bang) and beat his way out of heaven, and went back home.
•  
• Sun Wu just seems like he is the most cocky being ever. He doesn’t seem to get the fact that he should respect his elders, teachers, and gods. I’m an sure some karma will come back to him one day.
• He is obsessed with power. He wants to be above all others. Since he reached immortality, he believes that nothing can stand in his way. I told his servants to make a flag for him and have it say “The Great Saint Who Is Heaven’s Equal”
• The Lord of the Heavens sent down warriors to capture Sun, but he bested then all. The Evening Star had the idea to just bring him back and give him the title of Great Saint who is heaven’s equal.
•  He decided that he needed to leave Heaven because he was stealing food. He brought back 4 cases of wine with him. 
• Sun Wu began to fight a long battle with Yang Oerlang. He was the Grandson of the Lord of the Heavens
• He could not stop him then Buddha came to step in. 
• He stopped him and made him sit in isolation for hundreds of years till be finally calmed down and became well mannered. 

Week 5 Essay: Mixed Feelings

Week 5 Essay: Mixed Feelings

I have mixed feeling about the Middle East and India unit.  Some of the stories were really good and others not so much. My favorite story for these weeks was Arabian Nights. The collection of stories was an easy read and had great storytelling elements in it. The way one story would lead another, and into another again was intriguing and made we just want to keep reading it forever. Also, the famous Aladdin was featured in the last 6 pages of the story, so that was cool to get a change to read his full story.

            I think that the Arabian Nights story helped me write my best story in this class! It wasn’t my favorite story ever, but the plot and storytelling was so great that it made it easy for me to write my own storytelling post. I’m surprised that this story turned out to be way better than expected. I would go back and read it any time.

            My reading for week 5 was Ancient Egypt . I want to be honest and I really didn’t like this story at all. I actually hated it, but I guess you can’t like every story you read. First of all, I thought that this story was going be about one God/Goddess, or like an epic. As it turned out instead it was about many different goods that I didn’t recognize or get to fully envision. This leads my to my second frustration. The way the stories were written in Ancient Egyptian, It was extremely hard to comprehend. The language structure was ancient and some words I could not even recognize. Next, I thought that there were too many different stories in this unit. I was hard for me to jump from one god’s story to the next. On the Brightside however, I did enjoy the story called The Two Brothers. The story was well writing with a clear plot and motif. There was also not too much interaction with all of the different Egyptian gods besides Ra who had a small but important role in the story.

            Overall I did enjoy this unit somewhat. I really liked my week 4 stories, but not so much for week 5. I can’t complain though. Every week I am grateful to even get a chance to read all of these stories. They each help me expand my creativity, imagination, and also help progress my writing skills. I learned a lot from this unit. I learned about a lot of the different Egyptian gods and goddesses. I learned about genies, and also I learned about the true take of Aladdin and the magic lamp. I didn’t expect too much from this unit but it did reach my expectations and more. There were some great stories in it.  

The Egyptian Pyramids by PixelAnarchy

More info on Egyptain Pyramids can be found at Wikipedia

Storytelling for Week 5: Shahar and the Ring

 Shahar and the Ring

Once upon a time there were two brothers named Shahar and Yonatan. The two of them lived in Egypt their whole life. Yonatan was the eldest of the two and had a house, wife, and farm.  Shahar didn’t have much so he lived with Yonatan. The two brothers cared for each other deeply always respected one another.

            One day Shahar was tending the farm like he usually does. But he saw something strange. He called out, “Hello! Is anybody there, Hello!?”, but  nobody replied. It seemed as if there were a strange being standing towards the end of the farm field. It was approaching closer and closer. Once Shahar could see more clearly, he noticed that he saw a beautiful woman.

He called out to here, “Oh why Hello. I didn’t realize you were a woman. I could not recognize you from so far away. “

 Sorry for my intrusion but, I am looking for something,” the woman replied.

“Oh what is it that you are looking for? I’m sure you might be mistaking me for somebody else.  The only people that live here are my Brother, his wife, and myself.”

The woman didn’t respond. Little did Shahar know, the woman was a legendary thief, and she wanted to steal the big diamond ring Shahar had on his finger. The ring was from his mother who passed away, and it was worth at least $50,000 dollars. The woman looked and then suddenly attacked Shahar with a dagger. She struck him into the heart and he died on the spot. The thief stole the ring and fled somewhere into the city of Cairo.

By the time Yonatan came out to see what his brother was doing, he was already to late. Yonatan wept for the loss of his brother and prayed all night long to the god Ra. Ra was the god of the gods and goddesses He heard Yonatan’s prayers and decided to bring back Shahar to life so he could go pursue the woman who stole his ring. Shahar came back as a bull so the woman would not be able to recognize him. Shahar searched for days around the city until one night he spotted her. As he slowly approached her he whispered to the woman who stole his ring.

“Ha you thought you stuck me down! For I am alive and I know what you did. I will have my revenge,” exclaimed Shahar.

The woman freaked out and stabbed Shahar in the heart again. She felt relieved that he was dead again and carried on with her night. Over the next couple of months the woman was resting upon a tree on a hot summer day. Suddenly, the tree whispered to her and said, “ Ha it is me Shahar! Did you think you that you killed me before? I came back as a bull then, and now I am here as a tree.  I will have my revenge!” The woman was so freighted see burned the tree down where she stood. As she was doing this a little piece of charred wood entered her throat, and she swallowed it. The thief became so paranoid that she was unable to sleep for along time, and was constantly looking over her shoulder.

Nine months later the woman bore a child. She was married and had a husband who loved her very much. Everything seemed great and they named their child Anpu. Anpu lived a normal happy life with his family. 30 years later, Anpu went up his mother (the thief) and wanted to speak with her. He said, “Mother, ha. You thought that you got rid of me forever! It is I Shahar! First I came back as a bull, then a tree, and now your son! What ever shall you do to me now? I will have my revenge.”  The woman couldn’t believe her eyes and began to have a heart attack. She couldn’t believe who her son really was. She died minutes later, and Shahar took back his ring and said to the dead woman, “See I told you I would have my revenge! 30 years later, I have gotten my revenge."

Diamond ring by Stephen Durham

Source: Wikipedia

Authors Note:

I decided to base my story of the story of The Two Brothers that can be found in the Un-Textbook unit story called Ancient Egypt. The story is about two brothers who searched the city of the ex wife of one them who betrayed him. The brother came back as 3 different things and tormented her until the brother eventually overthrew her. The god Ra helped the brother come back to life and that is what I decided to do in my story. The main goal for my story was was to try and copy the plot and setting of the original story and I think that I did.