Mythology and Folklore

There was one a single servant named Amihan living on large banana plantation. Despite being a solid worker, he was often sad because he was alone. One day his master saw his worker's somber mood and asked why he was sad. Amihan responded by telling his master of his problems. The master, taken aback by his servant's despair, decided to remedy Amihan's problems by finding him a wife. Yet, after doing so, Amihan still was not satisfied. He quickly realized that having a wife would solve all of his problems; he needed money to take care of one. Once again he approached his master to solve his problems. The master, known foe his kind heart throughout Manila, did not hesitate again and gave him one thousand Philippine pesos. Amihan was amazed by his master's kindness and immediately grabbed the money and took it back to his wife. His wife, Angel, was also shocked by the master's kindness. They did not know what to do with the money, but they decided to spend all of the...

Like Part A of the Filipino tales, Part B is a collection of short stories from the Philippines. One story read was Why Mosquitoes Hum. I was drawn to this story because I was curious to see how the stories explained the humming of mosquitoes. As I am sure many people can agree, this buzzing can often be a nuisance. Without the help of the note above the story, I probably would have not understood the characters in the story. I tried to research the character names online to see the language of origin but failed to find an answer. I would think the names are of Tagalog origin due to the presence of the language on the islands, but it is difficult to confirm my inclination. It is interesting to see how the author uses personification to bring the animals to life in the story. I was confused by the author mean when the Lamoc, or mosquitoes, were carrying fire. If perhaps the the Lamoc referred to lightning bugs, then it would make more sense, but this confusion may be due to lack of und...

Similar to the folktales and short stories seen in the other units, the Filipino folktales consist of a collection of short stories. An interesting and notable story of the collection was The Clever Husband and Wife . The story recounts a Servant who manipulates his master to obtain a wife and money. It is interesting to note the name of the servant, Pedro. Pedro seems to be more of a Latino name, rather than a traditional Filipino name, so this is perhaps commenting on the Spanish influence on the Philippines since the the Philippines used to be a colony of Spain. Additionally, the name of the wife, Marta, also indicates Spanish influence. The doctor's residence, a hacienda, is also a Spanish word meaning a large estate or plantation. Overall, it is clear that the Spanish have had a large influence on the Philippines.  I also found interesting the title of the story and the outcome of the story. While the servant and his wife were certainly clever in stealing money from the ...

Recently I discovered that my research mentor from my research program is on twitter, so I decided to give him a follow. As part of the Stephenson Cancer Center and the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center, he is focused on tobacco cessation as well as the cancer implications. He often tweets updates of his lab as well articles regarding the subject, so I am looking forward to what he posts! Additionally, as an avid fan of fantasy football I decided to follow the fantasy "expert" Matthew Berry from ESPN. I always look for a competitive edge, so I hope his tweets can help me out this season!

One day a Brahman happened to be walking through the sultry jungles of India. While on his walk through the thick forage, he came upon a tiger stuck in deep hole. The tiger was in much distress and was crying out to the Brahman to help him out. Yet, the tiger's sharp teeth and fierce appearance caused the Brahman to hesitate. The Brahman stood in his tracks and pondered in his thoughts: "Why should I help this tiger? He's only going to attack me when I let him go." However, the tiger started crying, "Oh please please please let me go!". "I'll do anything anything!". The tiger kept on going for a quite a while, and the Brahman began to get annoyed. "Okay tiger, I'll get you out", the Brahman said grudgingly. Using a nearby stick, the Brahman pulled the tiger from its place deep in the Earth. The tiger landed on the ground with a loud thud and immediately grabbed the Brahman onto the ground. "How dumb you are! There is nothing ...

Part B of the Khasi Folktales continues from Part A with a collection of short stories. One story of interest was The Leap of Ka Likai. It follows the story of a widow who becomes distraught due to the unfortunate loss of her daughter. The waterfall she jumps into due to her distress is named after her. When researching Kai Likai, it appears the actual waterfall is in north-eastern India, specifically in the East Khasi Hills of the Meghalaya. The wikipedia page also mentions the story when explaining how the waterfall got its name. Regarding the story, it is weird how the husband seems to suffer no punishment for his actions. He killed the daughter of his step-wife and prepared her remains in a curry dish. Perhaps if I choose to rewrite the story, I would create a punishment for the husband and his deeds. The only explanation I could see for the lack of punishments is the lack of women empowerment in the region. Nonetheless, this is an aspect of the story I could explore in a uni...

The Khasi folktales is similar to the Indian fairy tales in that is a collection of stories. Notably seen in both collections of stories is the prominence of animal characters. Specifically, this aspect is seen in the Khasi folktale The Tiger and the Monkeys . In this short story, the tiger's fear of monkeys is a "real-life" explanation. The tiger seems to have a prominent role in Indian stories, especially when consideri ng the Khasi peo ple are from a state in India. I have also found that the Bengal tiger is the national animal of India, adding to the animal's significance in that area of the world. Again, the premise of the story is to explain why the tiger is afraid of the monkey. Outside research does not really seem to confirm this idea that tigers are fearful of monkeys, so this story may have more regional meaning rather than universal significance. The characterization of the monkey is on par with typical portray of monkeys that I have seen before. The monk...

Once Thunder, Lightning, and Snowflake were all going to the birthday of their close relative, Rain. They all were excited to go celebrate their cousin's birthday, but their mother, Cloud, was sick and could not go. As such, Snowflake was hesitant to go. "How can I leave my dear mother all home alone and in a terrible state while I go have fun with no worry", she thought to her self. Nevertheless, Thunder and Lightning were adamant that they all go and thus Snowflake tagged along. Despite the festive mod, Snowflake felt more and more guilty about her sick mother. She saw Thunder and Lightning cracking jokes and dancing, acting as if they had no worries in the world. Snowflake could not handle it any longer. She quickly took an Uber back home, and tended to her mother. Thunder and  Lightning, being the party animals of the family, remained at the party until the early hours of morning before they finally came back home. When they arrived, they saw that their mother had mir...

Part B of Indian Fairy Tales is like Part A in that it is a collection of short stories. The short story  How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went out to Dinner is typical like other short stories that explain aspects of life or impart wisdom. Personification is prominent in the story as the Sun, Moon, Wind, and Star are all portrayed as living characters. However, they are not presented as humans and still retain some of their celestial and Earthly qualities. Additionally, characters such as Lightning and Thunder are personified. The overall message of the story is to present how each of the celestial bodies and Wind acquired the characteristics that make them what they are known as today. Overall, the Sun and Wind are shaped to be greedy and unjust characters with no regard to their mother, the Star. On the other the hand, the Moon is shaped to be the justly and good one. While the story explains why the sun is scorching, the wind is dry, and the moon cool but bright, it also leaves the rea...

The Indian Fairy Tales are similar to the Jewish Fairy Tales I read last week in that they are a short collection of short stories. Like many short stories and fairy tales, the purpose is to impart a lesson or some wisdom to the reader which the Indian fairy tales cleverly do. Notably is the story of the T he Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal . This was actually a story that I had read earlier in the semester, and I had already wrote my own retelling of the story. Nevertheless, reading the story again reminded me of the trickery of the jackal in order to outwit the tiger. When analyzing a single story, The Broken Pot was a fun and quick read. The lesson from the story is not to be greedy and not to take advantage of people as the miser's fantasy of becoming rich and exploiting people would be his downfall. Being Indian, I did notice some details in the story that were unique to Indian culture. One example is the use of rupees in the story which is the currency of India. I also no...

Welcome to the Greek mythology Common App comment section! Feel free to comment, share, or predict whose application will have the most success! Link to storybook : https://sites.google.com/view/greekcommonapp/home Wikimedia : Temple of Apollo, a major figure of the storybook

As I have discussed in some of my previous posts, the premise of my storybook will focus on Greek mythology. While the portfolio was an idea I entertained, I am excited to pursue my take of Greek mythology figures. Specifically, I will examine the stories of Apollo, Artemis, and Atlas. The theme of the storybook will take these gods and titans and convert them to high school seniors applying for college. Essentially, I will be writing college applications for each figure from their own perspective. For Apollo, my story will focus on his battle with Python, and how he would use this to convince colleges he is an appealing candidate. My story on Artemis will retell her heartbreak story with Orion and how her tragedy has shaped her to be a motivated college student. Finally, Atlas's college application will focus on his story with Hercules and his task of bearing the weight of the heavens. As an older non-traditional applicant, he will detail why he is ready for a change of scenery an...

My storybook will focus on Greek mythology, specifically the Greek figures of Apollo, Artemis, and Atlas. Researching these gods, goddesses, and titans revealed a myriad of facts that I did not know otherwise. Regarding Apollo , he seems to be depicted as having a complicated relationship with the partners he has chased after. Notably the stories of Cassandra, whom he shunned from the world after she rejected him, and Daphne, who turned herself into a tree in order to escape Apollo. I also found some interesting facts regarding his encounter with Python which was motivated by revenge as Python hindered Apollo's mother, Leto, in giving birth. Picryl : Apollo beating Python My research of Artemis brought to light many facts that I did not know simply from early understanding of Greek mythology. Artemis is quite known for her chastity and this is evident in the story of Actaeon and Siproites . Both Actaeon and Siproites were punished severely for spying on Artemus while she ...

Part B of the Jewish Fairy Tales is similar to Part A in that is a collection of short stories and fairytales. They seem to be mainly directed to children as they are easy to read and tend to impart some a lesson or wisdom onto the reader. Of the short stories, King for Three Days was notable as one of the characters is an actual historical character. The historical connection is seen at the end of this story as statues of Godfrey de Bouillon are mentioned to exist currently in places such has Belgium.  Godfrey de Bouillon in the short story is depicted as a greedy king with a dislike of the Jews and thus wants to take over Jerusalem. In regards to history, Godfrey de Bouillon did in fact take over Jerusalem and like he does in the story, he refuses to call label himself as king of the city. While Godfrey de Bouillon reason for conquering Jerusalem was due to his hatred of the Jews, his actual reason for doing so in real life was due Pope Urban II calling for crusade to liber...

The six stories from Part A of the Jewish Fairy Tales were reminiscent of many folk tales: short and with a simple lesson or explanation of some part of life. Notably, the story of the Cat and Dog and how they became categorized as enemies was an interesting read. While it focused on the development of the rivalry between cat and god, it also included some biblical characters such as Adam. The story characterizes the cat to be more unlikeable and evil while the dog is considered the unlucky animal that is trying to make it day by day. There is obvious personification as the reader is able to listen to the animal's dialogue, but the animals are also able to communicate with Adam himself. Other animal characters are included such as the wolf. The wolf is depicted as a kind character, but his decision to make the dog go drive the intruders away almost cost the dog his life. As such the wolf's characterization is controversial as it might be in its depiction throughout other folkt...

This week's reading consisted of reading both units of Adam and Eve. While I knew the story beforehand, I really enjoyed being able to retell it in my own words so that is is perhaps more attuned to contemporary language. In addition, I also worked on my storybook idea which I am really excited to begin. I think some of the stories I found regarding the Greek gods will be interesting to read, and I cannot wait to share it with my own taste. My storybook is going to present the Greek gods and other Greek mythological figures as applicants to colleges, and I will use their "college applications" to retell their stories and myths. I believe the stories of Apollo, Artemis, and Atlas that I have found will lead to some of noteworthy applications. Outside of school, I was really excited to have gone to the first football game last Sunday. I am a huge fan of night football games, and the white-out theme created a cool and new atmosphere that I had never experienced before. Even ...

The article "Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?" provided an interesting perspective of people who are in position to give feedback often. I found it striking that some managers would get nervous before giving negative feedback and would even avoid giving negative feedback to some employees. However, it was even more surprising that managers were less likely to give positive feedback. I find good and negative feedback to both be imperative, but often I see the most growth through negative feedback. Negative feedback allows me to analyze my work from a perspective outside of my own which often brings to light errors and mistakes that I would not normally see. However, I do agree positive feedback is important as this can signal thatnwork being done is approved and should be continued, an important message for someone to have. The other article, "How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk", gave some methods to providing the negative feedback that is need...

For my storybook I have chosen to examine the Greek gods from a unique perspective: college applications. Essentially, the storybook would be set up similarly to the Common Application that countless high school students encounter while applying to colleges but with a Greek mythology twist. Each god or goddess will write a "college application" describing a personal experience and why they are an ideal candidate for university. The personal experiences will be taken from myths of the deities. Story 1: Apollo slaying python College applications are meant to highlight the best of applicants as colleges want to accept the best students. This story will have Apollo appealing for his sake by showcasing his slaying of the dragon-serpent python. There is not too much detail in the story, but Apollo's college application will delve more into the battle. Link: https://www.theoi.com/Ther/DrakainaPython.html Story 2: Artemis and Orion This college application would focus...

Imagine for there to be nothing in existence. It is a difficult prosepct to percieve yet, one day God decided to put forth the world into being. This was a difficult process however. "How shall I create the world and the things that exist upon it?", pondered the mighty Lord himself. The answer was easy. "I shall make man after my own image,: ideal, perfect, and holy", God remarked to his surrounding angels. Thus, with the use of his mighty powers, he created the first man and named him Adam. Yet where would Adam reside, roam, and grow as the first human being? God went busy to work developing and planning his world. He created numerous plants and trees as well as day and night. The work was so long that after six days of creating the world, he had to take rest on the seventh day. Finally, Adam had a world to reside in, but God gave him a special place to live. The Garden of Eden was the epitome of perfection. Rich plants were bountiful, animals lived freely, and wor...

The second part of the Adam and Eve unit brought closure to the two titular characters. Much of the story was a contrast to the beginning of Adam and Eve as the God punished the two for their transgression. Adam and Eve are exposed to much of the opposite of what is seen in The Garden such as darkness, a desire for water, and heat from the sun. This stark contrast from the paradise of what they had experienced before makes it clear to the reader the severity of their sin. Additionally, Part B brings back the serpent and his role as an adversary. Yet, this time God is able to foil his plans and takes away his ability to speak. The serpent's characterization as a villain has not changed from the previous stories. However, Adam and Eve do see a transformation in Part B. Having been favored among God, they soon fall out his favor and are forced to dwell in a cave for five and half days. The culmination of the story does lead to Adam and Eve falling back into good grace as they offer th...