Reading Diary Week 5: Turkish Fairy Tales

Turkish Fairy Tales

Fear:  It's interesting that this boy is so determined to find what many of us face on a daily basis. He seeks something that is solid in form and not an emotional state, which is why he cannot discover it. I found it funny that the one thing that did scare him was only a slight moment of shock as a pigeon flew out at him.

The Fish-Peri: It made me think of a college student trying to figure out what their skill sets were and how they could apply them to a particular future job. The progression of the story, however, made it to where it could be difficult to formulate a storytelling project from it. It is interesting that in most fairy tales there is always some sort of task(s) that the protagonist must accomplish.

Patience-Stone and Patience Knife: The Persians certainly like to tie "forty day" or "forty nights" into their stories, which is interesting. I could maybe use this story for the storytelling assignment and have the young girl tell it from her point of view. This story certainly had a much nicer ending than I had anticipated.

The Imp of the Well: The poor woodcutter has an absolutely awful wife who did nothing but bring him misery. It's funny how she ended up being the one to help the woodcutter in the end even though she was not there in physical form. The idea of her alone was enough to scare off the Imp!

The Soothsayer: A man and his wife were living a comfortable life until the woman saw what she did not have and envy took hold of her. She threatened to leave her husband if he did not obtain the profession that would give her the life of the woman that she saw. I could make this into a modern day story.

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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)