Week 4 Essay: The Story Retold

Since this week's reading options were between the Middle East and India, I chose to go with the subject I surprisingly knew less about - Arabian Nights. I took Epics of India a year and a half ago and still remembered those stories pretty well, so I wanted to see what the Arabian take on an old favorite of mine - Aladdin - would be. When I started reading the story (starting with Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp) I was extremely disappointed to see in your notes that Abu and Iago were not a part of this story! How could they not include the stories most entertaining characters? I was also very surprised that Jasmine's name (or at least her name in the Disney movie) was never a part of this story either. She was always referred to as "the princess." It's very interesting that Aladdin was the only person in the story given an actual name. There was the "sultan," the "vizir," Aladdin's "mother," the "magician," and the "magician's brother." It would be interesting to know if this is common in Arabian storytelling or if it is just the writing style of this particular author. Maybe it is a way to avoid distraction from the main plot of the story. Who knows? Another aspect of the story that was very different was the idea of two genies versus one goofy blue guy and that the magicians were the two truly evil antagonists. Yes, the vizir slipped his son into the mix of marrying the princess before the three months were up and Aladdin would be given her hand, but I had anticipated for the vizir to something especially evil like take hold of the lamp/ring or thwart another one of Aladdin's pursuits towards a happy life while reading the story. All in all, I thought that it was a fun and interesting twist on the story that I was so accustomed to.

(Aladdin: Illustration by Michael Sporn)

Storytelling for Week 4:

Jasmine wondered through her father's marble palace disgusted with the day's events. She had been told that she would be marrying a man who had presented jewels beyond compare to her father for her hand. Of course she would want to marry someone who thought that she was worth such precious stones. What turned her day so sour, however, was when her father told her that the plan had changed and that she was to marry the vizir's son, Iago.

Iago had always gazed at Jasmine longingly every time they were together. He was the type of boy who had trouble holding a normal conversation and - needless to say - had a way of making Jasmine feel uneasy.

The next day, the wedding bells were chiming and Jasmine was dressed in a flowing white dress standing hand in hand at the alter with a crooked grinning Iago.

Later that night, as the newly wedded couple slipped into bed, a strange sensation overcame them as their surroundings suddenly changed. Jasmine now found herself sitting upright in her bed with another man!

"Who are you? Where is my husband? What do you want with me?" Jasmine yelled at the strange man.

"Calm down Jasmine whose beauty is beyond compare. I am the man your father promised you to," Aladdin said calmly as he slid under the covers. Before Jasmine could say another word, Aladdin was softly snoring.

***

Well as you can probably guess, Aladdin removed Iago from the equation and took Jasmine as his wife. Jasmine was far happier with her kindhearted and handsome new husband and she was even more elated to be residing the the most beautiful palace she - or anyone else - had ever laid eyes on. Hers and Aladdin's bedroom alone was larger than the grand hall in her father's palace. This one even went to the extremes of having precious jewels dispersed about the walls so that when they early morning son hit them, her bedroom glowed with vibrant reds and piercing blues.

(Woman that I imagine to look like Jasmine: Photo by Frank Kovalchek)

Author's Note: I based this storytelling assignment off of the story Aladdin from Arabian Nights. In the beginning of the story, Aladdin falls in love with the princess and has his genie provide him with jewels to present to the sultan for Jasmine's hand in marriage (by the way, the name Jasmine was not used in the story, so I added it into mine). The sultan's vizir had always wanted his son to marry the princess, so I gave his son the name Iago, since the Disney parrot, Iago, was not a part of the original story. I decided to retell this marriage fiasco through Jasmine's eyes instead of Aladdin's.
Bibliography: "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp" from Arabian Nights by Scheherazade. Web Source: Un-Textbook

Week 4: Arabian Nights

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 1: It's funny how easily the human race falls prey to greed. Even in the midst of fear, Aladdin heard the word treasure and instantly became interested in what his "uncle" had to say. The uncle was both the tempted and the tempter in this story. In this version of Aladdin, he rubs the ring to expel the genie versus the lamp.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 2: Aladdin is freed from the cave via wish granted from one of the genies and goes home to his mother. It was his mother that rubbed the lamp to expel that genie. Aladdin falls in the love with the Sultan's daughter. It is Aladdin's mother who goes to the Sultan to ask for his daughters hand in marriage to her simple son. I love that the Sultan was so pleased by the mother's gift for the princess's hand and that he was was not immediately appalled at the idea.

*Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 3: The vizir's son and the princess divorce and Aladdin's mother returns to remind the sultan of his promise. He tells her that he requires a gift of far more value for his daughter's hand. Aladdin met this demand and married the princess. This is the part of the story where the vizir begins to question whether or not magic is involved.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 4: Uh-oh. Big-bad bad guy discovers Aladdin's fortunes and is not so okay with that idea. The sly magician was very cunning to offer new lamps for old ones in order to obtain the magical lamp. With it's power, he sent the palace and princess to a deserted area in Africa.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 5: "'Alas!' she said 'I am the innocent cause of our sorrows.'"Aladdin discovers the fate of his lamp and the magician's desire to steal his wife. Aladdin must finally rely on his own wits to save them versus magic.

Arabian Nights: Aladdin 6: No happily ever after just yet! The magician had a vengeful and even more wicked brother. The magician disguises himself as a holy woman, but is outed by the genie of the lamp upon Aladdin's wish for a roc's egg. NOW it's happily ever after time.

(Aladdin in the Garden: Wikipedia)

Famous Last Words Week 3

So this past week has been quite exciting and eventful - well at least from Friday to today has been! On Friday morning I received a call from Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine inviting me to an interview! For those of you who are not going the medical route, this is HUGE news! Campbell is one of my top choices because of their dedication to community service and mission trips, so I am beyond excited that they are considering me as a possible future student at their school! Later that same day, I was able to share my news with some pretty incredible friends at the Second Wind potluck dinner for all of Second Wind's baristas and student group members to come together for the first time since last semester to share delicious food, catch up with old friends, and meet excited new faces. It turned into a very enjoyable evening of Apples to Apples and Mario Cart on the Wii. It's amazing to be a part of such a family-like group in college and I am so thankful for the relationships that I have made during my time there. If any of you are looking for a great place to find a delicious cup of coffee, a place to study, or some exciting new friends to meet, you should certainly check out Second Wind Coffee House on campus corner! Back to the medical school application process, yesterday I received a letter from Midwestern University College of Osteopathic Medicine telling me that my application is currently in the running for obtaining a possible interview at that school! Man, growing up is exciting, stressful, and terrifying all at once! Getting closer to my dream is both incredible and nerve wracking, but I trust that God has a beautiful path planned for me and I am ready to follow it!

(Bountiful Potluck Yummies: Web Source: Wikipedia)

Week 3 Essay: Some Lessons are Learned the Hard Way

A common theme that I have noticed in mythology is the idea that lessons are almost always learned the hard way. Advice is rarely heeded and the consequences are quite drastic! One example of this is when Phaethon learned that the Sun was his father so he went to visit him in his temple. Upon arriving, Phaethon asked the Sun to prove that he was indeed his father, so the Sun said that he would grant Phaethon any wish. Of course, Phaethon's wish was greedy, reckless, and dangerous - not too different from modern day teens, ha ha! When the Sun tried to warn his son that his wish would only bring harm, Phaethon would not budge from his demand. Well, Phaethon did indeed learn his lesson the hard way when he lost control of the chariot of fire and then was struck by a lightening bolt sent by Jupiter, which led to his death. Another example is in the story of Narcissus. Narcissus learned his lesson the hard way when he foolishly fell in love with his own reflection. He learned the perils of eternally seeking something that he will never have. As a consequence, he lost out on real love with Echo and was transformed into a flower hanging over the water in an eternal gaze upon it's own beauty. A final example that I will give regards Mars and Venus. This couple chose to commit an act of unfaithfulness and in return, they were caught in the act and put on display by Venus's husband to be mocked by all of the other gods. It is very interesting to read these stories and know that something bad is going to happen to the characters even though the characters themselves are ignorant of their impending doom. It makes you almost want to jump into the story and warn them that what they are doing will only lead to their ridicule or death. In life we all make mistakes and learn from hard lessons, but it's important to also recognize that not all lessons need to be learned from personal experience. Sometimes it works out much better to just listen to you friends or elders who generally know a thing or two about what they are talking about!

(Echo and Narcissus: Web Source: Wikipedia)

Storytelling for Week 3: The Source of Hard Labor

"Grandma! I don't wanna work on the farm today!" Declion complained loudly as he sprawled out on the floor preparing for a temper tantrum.

"Declion, your mother sent you to visit your grandpa and I this summer so that you could help us out on the farm. A little hard work and elbow grease will be good for a young man lie you," grandma replied gently as grandmothers do.

"But I don't know how to do anything on a farm. I don't know how to drive a tractor or feed a herd of cattle. I don't want to help!" Declion complained even louder.

"Declion, let me tell you a story about the man you were named after. There once was huge flood that swallowed up the entire earth because the gods Jupiter and Neptune were angry at the world. The were only two survivors from the flood and their names were Deucalion and Pyrrha. They were devastated by their desolation and begged the goddess, Themis, for her help in restoring the human race. They were told by Themis that they had to, "...throw behind [them] the bones of [their] great mother."

"They had to do WHAT?" Declion asked with wide eyes.

"Haha. Patience, grandson. You will see what they meant in a moment," grandma chuckled.

"Deuclion and Pyrrha were just as confused by Themis's statement as you are. Eventually they discovered the true meaning behind Themis's demand and cast behind them the bones of their mother in the form of stones from their mother earth. The stones they threw then turned into people. 'So the toughness of our race, our ability to endure hard labour, and the proof we give of the source from which we are sprung,' grandma said slowly as the story came to an end.

"So you see my sweet grandson, you are created from the stones of the earth and have it in your bones to do the tasks I assign you on the farm," grandma said with a smile.

(From resilient stones to a resilient race. Web source: Flickr)

Authors note: For this storytelling assignment, I decided to not change anything about the actual story of Deuclion and Pyrrha, but instead to create another story around it with a lesson. I thought that this would be best accomplished by having a sweet grandmother convince her grandson that he is capable of working hard because he came from the stones of the earth.

Bibliography: "Deuclion and Pyrrha" by Tony Kline from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Websource: Un-Textbook

Week 3 Reading Diary: Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 1-4)

Ovid's Metamorphoses

Deucalion and Pyrrha: Jupiter (Zeus) and Neptune (Poseidon) cause a flood that turns all land to sea. Deucalion and Pyrrha survived the flood and Jupiter saw their innocence and had Neptune calm the floods. Deucalion is saddened when he discovers that he and his wife are the only two humans left and he then questions her loyalty to him by asking her what she would have done had she been the only one saved from the floods. The first part of this story reminded me of Noah, but now it's starting to sound more like Adam and Eve. When the goddess told them to throw the bones of their mother behind them, they believe those bones to refer to the stones of the earth. I really like that parallel. When the threw the rocks behind them, they turned into people. "So the toughness of our race, our ability to endure hard labour, and the proof we give of the source from which we are sprung." This would make a great storytelling post by using a son visiting his grandparents and complaining about having to work hard on their farm. The Grandmother can tell this story to her grandson.

Lo: Lo was a woman of beauty enough to catch the eye of Jupiter. She ran from him and he caught and raped her. Juno, Jupiter's wife looked for him and when she found him, he had just turned Lo into a cow to hide her identity. Since Jupiter is known for being unfaithful, Juno had an idea that the cow was a really a woman. So Juno asked for the cow as a gift. Lo flees to her family for help upon learning of her new form. In the end, she returns to her natural form.

Phaethon and the Sun: Phaethon was son of the Sun, although he was not claimed. He had to ask him mother forcefully if he truly was the son of the Sun. Phaethon goes to the Sun gods temple to seek him and is welcomed by his father. Phaethon asks for his father's chariot - uh oh. His father warns of the dangers of riding the chariot.

Phaethon's Ride: Phaethon let his quest to be high and mighty cloud his judgement. As I had assumed the task of controlling the horses was too much for him and he dropped the reins from fear. Classic example of a child not heading a parents warning and having to learn a life lesson themselves (although it's a but more complicated in this case!). The earth caught fire as a result and Earth was confused by why she was being punished.

The Death of Phaethon: I love the way the author wrote this phrase, "...his right hand threw it from eye-level at the charioteer, removing him, at the same moment, from the chariot and from life, extinguishing fire with fierce fire." Phaethon's sisters spent so much time grieving over him that they turned to trees. Sometimes when a life is ended, we must learn how to move on so that we are not forever stuck in our grief. The Sun god mourns his loss and blames Jupiter.

Callisto: Go figure that Jupiter against allows his lust to control him and falls in love with and rapes the nymph, Callisto. Jupiter had impregnated her and she was shunned by the goddess, Diana for her lack of purity. Instead of placing the blame on Jupiter, Juno punishes Callisto by turning her into a bear. Jupiter made Callisto and her son, Arcas into constellations, "the Great and Little Bear."

Semele: Again, Jupiter could not stay faithful, and sought companionship with another women, whom he again impregnated. Juno believes that she will be frowned upon by others if she does not punish Semele for baring Jupiter's child. Semele ended up punishing herself for wishing for something that was too great for her to handle in the midst of greed.

Echo: Echo lost her ability to speak normally because she used to be the one who kept Venus occupied while the other nymphs ran off after a time with Jupiter. When Juno became aware of this, she took Echo's ability to speak normally away and can now only repeat the last words of someone else. The way the author played on Narcissus's words and Echo's repeating phrases was fun to read.

Narcissus: Narcissus become thirsty and, "While he desires to quench his thirst, a different thirst is created." Narcissus discovers himself and is disheartened when that love he seeks cannot be obtained. Echo is sad for Narcissus's pain mirroring the same feelings someone in modern day has when the one they love does not want them and they only wish that person happiness. Narcissus turns into a flower.

Pyramus and Thisbe: The more you cannot have something, the more you want it. The two lovers planned to meet in secret. Pyramus comes to the meeting spot at thinks that Thisbe is dead, so he kills himself from guilt and depression. Of course, Thisbe find Pyramus this way and kills herself out of love as well.

Mars and Venus: Venus and Mars were having an affair, so her husband - being the craftsman he is - devised a contraption that caught them in their unfaithful act. The husband. Vulcan puts the couple on display as punishment.

Perseus and Andromeda:  Perseus turned Altas into Mount Atlas using Medusa's head after being refused hospitality. Perseus rescues Andromeda and demands her hand from her parents as reward.

Perseus and Medusa: Perseus is faced by a dangerous sea serpent, which he eventually defeats. He then frees and marries Andromeda. Perseus tells of how he defeated Medusa and how her head now adorns the shield belonging to Athena.