Reading Notes: Ozaki Part B

Reading Notes

Ozaki Part B

For the second half of the reading from the Ozaki Unit, the stories were more my style. You had more elements of the fairytale by adding in the different characters and scene depictions that I want to incorporate into my story. First off? The writing in all stories starts off with a sentence that screams fairytale being that it was ages and ages ago from the current time you’re hearing about it. When it’s given a timeframe like that, it also feels quite mystic and ominous to me as well. It’s hard to explain, but when I read it, I’m given a sense of mystery because it happened so long ago and it was such a tremendous experience we get to hear it as a story. Something else I love about these fairytales is that they add moral value. The Japanese are always great at showing their customs and religious practices within their storytelling regardless of how whimsical and unreal the story may be. Most Asian culture is the same actually and with a traditional standpoint over a modern twist back to “olden” time, I’m more drawn to the lore and the magic and the framework as a whole. I also liked that it recounts every detail, regardless of how small. From the movements of the characters to the motions of wildlife, even the weather. I was sad at first when reading Ozaki and feared that I would not get back into any excitement as I moved forward. The second half really saved this story chapter for me. So hopefully at the end of my story project for the semester, each reader will fill the same way of moral understanding and traditional practices that these stories did for me.

Image: A Demon (Wikipedia)
Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki

Reading Notes: Ozaki Part A

Reading Notes

Ozaki Part A

I’ve been waiting to get into these stories reading weeks since the start of the semester! Asian stories of myth and fairytale were the exact pieces I wanted to draw from for my semester project in this course. Considering I want to take a very “adventure” style vibe, I decided to read Ozaki’s stories of Japanese Fairytales that documented encounters with ogres, serpents, kings, and even supernatural being. The first half of my reading was actually surprising for me. I thought I’d like it more than I did? There go right into each story speaking in third person and even third person omniscient, which is fine, but it took away from the overall set up in the story for me. Much of it was build up to describe who was being talked about and then the actual story became more of a fragment instead of the main picture. It got better towards the final part of the reading, something I was thoroughly impressed with. Lots of Onomateopia were included as well in the storytelling. The effect of words like this is great to me because it makes the story slightly interactive! The writer is getting you to experience that crash, that bang, that thud, at the same time the protagonist would have to. I appreciate that since it’s third person you also are left wondering “oh what’s going to happen next” rather than “well I know this and this happens so... I expected this and this.” It’s a position I want to take in storytelling while adding in more dialogue to help shape the characters a bit better. The final story of this half of the reading did a beautiful job at that! My goal is to use it as inspiration in my project later on.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki
Image: Origami Figure (Pexels)

Story Lab Week 6

Story Lab Week 6

Crash Course Mythology

This week, I listened to the story lab “Overview of Mythology” which went into detail about how to avoid arguement and how to compare myth with religion among theory and protagonists. They want to recount stories that have been used over a long period of time that aren’t necessarily factual or traceable. We often use the word “myth” all the time but there’s no real definition behind this word. It was an interesting insight for how to interpret both the meaning of mythology, theories of mythology, and pieces that go into mythology from characters to setting to overall story. I recommend a watch if you have the time!

Image: Religion and Mythology (Wikimedia Commons)

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Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sinbad Part B

Reading Notes

The Voyages of Sinbad Part B

During the second half of this reading assignment, I was getting past more of the sentence structure and staying focused on the story flow. Something interesting about these voyages that Sinbad is embarking on is that it is very repetitive over time. The stories each start off on the same foot or with the same reasoning while ending with the same result and feeling. It's a nice story for short reads over time. Think of the book series' that you would read as a child about a hero. Something that is positive about this tales is that you do get excited and happy when the protagonist makes it out of a sticky situation in a rather crazy way. How he managed to get through the Old Man, the Elephants, even the Roc parents is phenomenal. You never forget that he is a child of luck just by how unbelievable it is that he ends up always being the lone survivor. This is without fail every single time. I probably would have loved it more if I had read each voyage individually rather than just straight through like a novel. Aside from those remarks, Sinbad really does give off the storyteller vibe throughout each tale. He'll make side comments that remind you that this had already happened and he's recounting it for you. When his side comments and remarks do pop up every few lines, it's always a seamless insertion and you don't have a break-up in imagery. I really appreciate a writing style like that! I keep the flow going beautifully but never takes you away from the main idea or plot. It makes sense as to why it would be predictable that no matter the tragedy of the situation, Sinbad would have to have survived in order for him to be telling these stories to the other Sinbad. Oh if you haven't read this story, Sinbad the Sailor is telling his ventures to another man named Sinbad. It's actually hilarious.



Image: The Tales of Sinbad (Web Source)
Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainment by Andrew Lang (Un-Textbook)

Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sinbad Part A

Reading Notes

The Voyages of Sinbad Part A

For the reading this week, I thought it would be fun to get into the tellings of Sinbad, the heroic merchant that speaks of tales that most wouldn't believe. I was really excited to delve into this read because a hero tale is like a chocolate chip cookie; a classic heart-warmer. Right off the bat, I noticed that something this story has that others don't, the excessive use of commas. There I said it. I'm not sure if this is done to put more emphasis on the fact that he's recounting an epic feat that he endured. Maybe it's to help express the emotion behind his storytelling method so he can keep the listener hanging on each word? Or because it's so wonderous that he'll just talk on and on without stop making sure the listener has been given all the detail just as he took it in first hand? I'm honestly not too sure. It was hard to process and read through in the beginning for me because I felt like even reading in my head, I needed a break. As I got more into the story flow, it wasn't as noticeable to me if we're being honest. I can't say that it helps build the vibe of this being a re-telling; however, I can say that as the story goes on you can visualize both what's going on and Sinbad actually telling it to you. His personality is greatly shown in his storytelling style, and you also get a sense of familiarity between each voyage. It's fun to almost predict how he may handle a situation or react to a newfound problem. Thus far in these class readings, I'd say this has been the most exciting read I've gotten into!

Image: Sinbad the Sailor (Wikipedia)
Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainment by Andrew Lang (Un-Textbook)

Week 5 Story: The Meadow of Many Colors

Author Notes: This story is based on the Arabian Nights tale of Sultan and the Fish, which involves a fisherman who had given a series of colorful fish to the Sultan in exchange for riches. Upon discovering that these fish were not native to the area, curiosity strikes and he seeks to discover where they come from and why. He realizes that over time, these fish are actually people places under an enchantment by a wicked woman who lives in a castle nearby. One of the other enchanted beings she hits is her husband. My story is inspired by this with using flowers instead of fish being the people, as well as the king needing these flower for restoration and being lead by his curiosity to find the source of how these flowers conduct their magic. Please enjoy!

The Meadow of Many Colors

There once was a king who spent many nights praying to the gods of old and new. For his lovely wife had been stricken with an illness so cruel that he feared she would sleep and not make it to first light. He loved his queen dearly, just as she loved him. Her sickness had caused him to lie awake many nights. Over and over and over he’d talk with apothecaries, physicians, witch doctors; any being who had the possibilities of the right attributes to cure her. One day, he became so desperate that he sent word to all of his subjects that if they knew of a cure to come forth and he would shower them in riches.

Countless times members of his community would gather and speak so highly in their abilities just to gain treasures, yet every attempt had failed. Sorrow, despair, guilt. The king was washed in an anxiety as to why his beauty was chosen over him to bear such horror. In the peak of his wails, a veiled mistress enters his palace with a bed of vegetation in her wake.

“Sire,” she said, with a kneel and bowed head. “I wish to aid you in curing your queen’s illness. May I present to you the answers you pray upon.”

She proceeds to move the basket that holds her vegetation beds closer, revealing a magnificent array of flowers that glimmer as though direct sunlight still shined upon them. Each petal had it’s own brilliance, with mystic hues of blues and reds and yellows. For no flowers amongst the kingdom had been granted such splendor and awe like these at this moment.

“Why... how shall I use these fine beauties? Perhaps a sniff of their floral hands or a prick by their tough stalk?” The king was left curious but hopeful.

“A tea. Brew her a tea of these fine blooms and once warm to the touch, have her drink a whole cup in one go. Only then will she be cured.”

Image: Floral Tea (Pxhere)

The king ordered one of his kitchen staff to take the flowers and do as the mysterious woman requested. Tea brewed. Cup poured. The Queen brought in on a bed of fine silks and sturdy bamboo framing. With the temperature dropping to the adequate level as deemed by the kitchen hand, the queen drank until the very last drop had slid down her throat just as the few prior to. Within the next sunrise, she had been cured of all her ailments.

“Alas! My love has been restored. I thank you, woman, of unknown merit. I shall gift you what has been promised.” With this, the woman took her rewards and left; remaining with her were the other flowers that had not been used to make the necessary cup of life. With her absence, the king decided to have his garden workers discover the source of this bud’s healing properties and how to grow it for himself with what product he had left from the mysterious woman. What his workers came up with though was both alarming and disheartening.

“Oh, sire... This flower cannot be reproduced. It does not produce seeds. I don't even contain pollen. It’s just... here. I don’t know why and I cannot explain it, but this is no ordinary flower.”

“I don’t believe it. Witchcraft perhaps? Foreign vegetation? I need to know the source.” With this unsolved question, the king left with his best men to search high and low for the mysterious woman. Asking any townsfolk of her involvement or appearance nearby, yet always coming in shorthanded. “She must be here somewhere. Maybe on the outskirts?”

The king and his men decided then that they must look beyond the walls of the city since their luck had begun to fade within. Once out, they traveled far until reaching a familiar sight. Flowers. Beautiful flowers. Flowers with vivid auras so alluring that not even the horses being lead could leave their place after gazing on such a sight. "Here. We've done it, my friends. We've found them."

Image: Enchanted Forest (Web Source)

The sites before them were of the utmost beauty until they began to be filled with anxieties and fear like never before. Once they got closer it was as though an ominous horror had filled them. Swallowing in their sanity and coating their eyes with visions of people. People that were crying. Screaming. Cursing. Hyperventilating. These were not flowers grown from the very soul and soil that the earth had blessed upon the common, but morphism on creatures deemed sinful and unnecessary.
"My god.. these are not flora we should worship. This is flora of the devils on this earth. The evils this world wants to consume us in." The king tried to call out to his brethren only to look around and realize he had lost them amongst the cries and the bright glow.

"Oh, my king. Precious king" said a voice that had at the moment become second nature to recognize. The hooded woman had appeared again. Only this time with a sinister smile that was visible to the eyes, but nothing more. "Do you no longer yearn for my gift. My enchanted beauties you see before you? You wanted prosperity. Health. Sickness to dissipate. Life for life is what I have blessed onto you. They weren't worthy of the gift of life. Your ignorance pains me to believe that you also are fit to hold the same fate as thy before you. This enchantress may give you fuller purpose in that regard."

Image: Glowing Flowers (Wikimedia Common)

"No! No, you cannot do this. I only wanted to understand how this magic cured my beloved. I do not seek to disrespect your generosity!" The king pleaded and bowed; kissing the very feet of the witch herself. "Is it not curiosity that often causes the fall of the might?" stated the enchantress. Then with that, the fair king was changed. He now lies amongst the screaming, waiting for a wise one to one day vanquish the acts of this enchantress. Wishing that he had just lived on with his queen without mystery getting the better of him.




Bibliography:  The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (Un-Textbook)

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights Part B

Reading Notes

Arabian Nights Part B

During the second half of this reading, there wasn't much of a focus on multiple stories tellers as there was in the previous sections. This half has a primary focus on the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp. As a child whose name was Jasmine, I always loved when I was given the chance to watch the Disney film, Aladdin, because I felt like everything that was happening was happening to me. Having a movie I loved so much being retold to me from its original adaptation was hard to digest at first. The story was focused on retelling the counts of what was being done over dialogue and structure in character development. I know that this story was being told from a storyteller that the original Arabian Nights tale was following, but since this was a longer story than the previous ones it was probably intentional to be told this way. The style of these stories was to just recount a situation that had happened, which means it makes sense for there to not be much dialogue going back and forth between characters unless it was important to the story. There also may not seem to be much character development over time because the focus is on a recount of a story, not a made-up tale that you create the structure for. The cool thing about storytelling in this way is that the actual story may shape out to be something slightly different than the newer versions, however; most of the time this approach leaves you to be captivated as a whole rather than "I want this person to have love and justice and ..." you get the picture. You want to know about how the end of the story affects all the people and if it's good or bad regardless of the main characters' fates. This style is good for an approach at a hero tale you'd tell a child before bed, or maybe to help lift the spirits of someone who isn't doing too well.


Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (Un-Textbook)
Image: Aladdin in Arabian Nights (Wikimedia Commons)