My Blog for Myth and Folklore

Homer's Odyssey, retold by Tony Kline  mythfolklore One thing I noticed and neglected to mention was the use of wine and those under its influence, almost as a contrast to Odysseus. He is always praised as cunning and smart. Whereas, when he gives the wine to the Cyclops he is able to dull its senses and escape. It is even more evident later when Elpenor drinks wine on Circe's island, climbs onto the roof, misses the ladder, and falls to his death. I found the entire part with the ghosts to be rather dark and sad, especially when Odysseus meets his mother, who he didn't even know was dead. When he found her, he couldn't embrace her. Also when he meets Agamemnon, who was killed by his wife and his lover. After all that time at war, that was the homecoming he received. He didn't get to see his son or family again before he was killed. He also was very bitter toward women and advised Odysseus not to fully trust his wife, which was bad advice because Odysseus' ...

Homer's Odyssey, retold by Tony Kline  mythfolklore I have read parts of the Odyssey before but it was a while ago and I don't remember most of it. I liked how Odysseus is finally showing his cleverness. He was praised as the most clever and well spoken of the Greeks in the Iliad, however, there are not many opportunities for him to prove it. The first challenge Odysseus and his crew come across is the Cyclops. When they are trapped in the Cyclops cave, he devises a plan to escape by blinding the monster while he sleeps. Furthermore, he has the sense to tell the Cyclops his name is "Nobody" so that the other Cyclopes in the area won't come to his aid when he says Nobody is killing him. Finally, Odysseus ties his men under the sheep so that they can leave the cave without the Cyclops feeling them. However, once they escape, Odysseus' warrior side comes out and he can't help taunting the Cyclops from the perceived safety of his boat. Even blinded, tho...

I am one of those people who would rather receive negative feedback than give it. I hate having to tell people that they messed up or were wrong. I do not like confrontation. If someone comes to me asking for help or advice, I readily give it but I have a hard time approaching someone to address a problem. Why do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise hbr This article discussed the fact that many managers do not give positive feedback and view it as optional. The author, however, believes that this is a mistake. In the article it is stated that managers underestimate the value of positive feedback and think that only negative feedback is necessary, however, employees who were polled think that managers should give both.  I am inclined to agree. I have worked at places before where my manager only ever spoke to me when I had made a mistake that needed to be addressed. I began to dread seeing him because we rarely had positive encounters. I feel like when you only hear abo...

Out of all of my options, I think I like the Canterbury Tales the best. For the three stories, I would like to rewrite the tale in a more modern setting, I like the idea of them being on an airplane, train, bus, or boat. I am not sure where they would be traveling to yet but maybe a tour or something like that. I would be introducing three new characters on this trip and telling their stories. Though I will have new characters with new backgrounds, occupations, and stories to tell, I think it would be fun to take the main theme of three of Chaucer's Tales and write my tales with the same themes. I haven't settled on specifics yet, however, wealth, love, competition, and deceitfulness seem to be prevalent in the tales. However, writing three new characters with backstories and tales might end up being too long. In which case, I could make one new character, giving them a long introduction and then having them tell two stories as was Chaucer's original intention. Some r...

Hector's Fate Achilles was approaching, fast as the wind, and Hector stood to face him. He leaned casually on his spear, by the gate of his beloved city, unfazed by the valiant warrior, the best of the Greeks. As the gap between them closed, Hector took up his spear in a fluid motion and readied it. They stood and faced one another, the greatest of the Greeks against the greatest of the Trojans. Despite the sweat, glistening at Achille's golden brow, the mighty warrior appeared fresh as if he had just started the fight. There was no sign of fatigue in his limbs or his eyes, keen and ready. It was as if Hector was looking on a god and not a mortal, yet his resolve never wavered, his courage never left him. He stood firm, the defender of Troy. Achilles hefted his massive spear, a gift from the gods, which only he could wield. He threw first and his spear flew straight. It would have struck true but Hector saw it coming and ducked. The spear hit the ground behind him and lo...

The Iliad  by Homer, translated by Alfred Church  One thing I noticed was how many Greeks the Trojans knew by name and vice-versa. During the fight for the body of Patroclus, the Trojans knew it was Menelaus and Ajax the Greater who fought for him. It wasn't as clear in this version but this part makes me a great fan of Menelaus because he was not a great fighter and yet he was the one who roused the Greeks to defend the body. He was not the strongest but in this instance, he was the bravest and most loyal of them. Apollo also plays a big part in this section as well. He seems to be the most involved of all the gods. He keeps Patroclus from taking Troy and helps to kill him, later he plays a part in killing Achilles, and at this time he saves the Trojans by pretending to be one of them and distracting Achilles long enough for them to escape. Though Hera and Athena are on the side of the Greeks they do not directly interfere this much. They lend strength to their favorites ...

The Iliad- Homer retold by A.J Church mythfolklore After reading these excerpts from the Iliad it struck me how frustrated Achilles must have been. The first time I read the book, I thought he was being overly dramatic when he fought with Agamemnon and then sat idle and refused to help when his countrymen where being killed, however, after reading it again I noticed that he already sacked twenty-three cities while Agamemnon did nothing. It is more understandable why he got fed up and swore not to help anymore. Besides that, he also already knew that if he stayed and fought he would die young. He was literally giving his life for Agamemnon's cause and got dishonored for it. That brings me to something else I noticed in the reading, the importance of honor. When Patroclus kills Sarpēdon, the Lycian's lasts words were to his comrade, Glaucus, imploring him to save his body from being desecrated and dishonored. At that time, honor and glory were more important than life, whi...

Photo Credit:  flickr Feedback is often difficult for me to take, especially if it is especially negative or critical. I have had some good feedback experiences, however, and what I remember most about them were that they were objective and impersonal. One specific instance was in my Comp II class. I went to my professor's office hours and he critiqued the rough draft of my final paper. He pointed out the writing errors, such as misplaced commas or confusing sentences and clearly explained what was wrong and how I could fix it. I liked that he kept the focus on the paper and not on me and that he gave me ways to correct my errors. I felt like I was growing in my abilities as a writer instead of being criticized for my errors. I can also think of a time when I had bad experiences with feedback. Particularly, when it was a personal error. I worked as a teller in a bank and anytime I made an error I got a strike and it always felt like I was being told I wasn't good en...

Iliad  mythfolklore-Homer I have read this both for school and on my own a few times. I really like the story and get something new out of it each time I read it. I am not sure exactly what kind of a story I would want to write yet, however, I might focus on the gods, since there are so many of them and they are all taking sides and fighting with one another over the Greeks and Trojans. Another idea would be to look more into some of my favorite characters such as Patroclus, Ajax, Menelaus, Odysseus, or Antilochus. The Death of Patroclus:  wikimedia Cupid and Psyche mythfolklore-Apuleiuss I read both the original version of this story and one by CS Lewis called Till We Have Faces . I really like both versions of the story and I could easily do a retelling of it. Or I could focus on some of the side characters and describe what happened in their perspective like CS Lewis did. Another fun thing would be to change the time period or setting. Canterbury Tales myt...

Mary and the Tiger It was market day and Mary's two sisters wanted their usual gifts. They demanded their mother go and buy them all the things they wanted, however, Mary knew that her mother was still sick. She worried that her mother wouldn't be able to withstand the long trip to the market, let alone carry the many items all the way back on her own. "Please mother," she begged, "let me come with you or better yet, stay here and rest and I will go alone." Her mother protested but as she struggled to get out of bed she fell back coughing. "Go my child and be safe." Mary left quickly and as she left one of her sister's called out, "and remember, don't come back without the roses, I want three of them!" Mary hurried to the market and spent all days searching for everything on the long list her sisters had given her. When the last of the purchases was complete, she began the journey back, however, it was dark and foggy and...

There were a few stories that I really liked this week. The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal Story source : Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1912). I really liked this story because at first, it seemed like the Jackal was very slow and unable to understand but as it turned out it was very smart and was tricking both the Brahman and the Tiger all the time. Another thing that stood out to me was that the pipal-tree, the buffalo, and the road were all so busy complaining they did not even care about the Brahman's plight. Sure, they were unhappy but he was about to be eaten! The jackal, however, helped him by tricking the tiger back into his cage by pretending to be foolish and stupid. Really, it was the Brahman who was foolish by letting the tiger out in the first place. If he hadn't been kind, he would never have been in trouble at all. It is an interesting parallel to look at the Brahman's kind act, which was foolish and cause...

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 3: Illiad Week 4: Cupid and Psyche Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6. Week 5: Ancient Egypt Week 6: Arabian Nights Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. Week 7: Lang Week 9: China Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11. Week 10: Alaska Week 11: Hero Tales Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13. Week 12: Beowulf Week 13: Canterbury Tales Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15. Week 14: Hunt Week 15: Inferno I am really excited about the reading options I have explored and chosen so far. Some of these are stories I will be revisiting and some are entirely new. The stories from the Asian/African and the Native American units specifically I did not recognize but I am eager to read them. I am especially happy to read the Illiad and the Canterbury Tales which I have read before and I really like, however, I am also happy t...

I am notorious for procrastination. I am pretty good at estimating how long something will take me and putting it off till the last minute. While most of the time it works out fine in the end, I know it would be much better if I would do things in a more timely manner. Sometimes, it seems that the people who get things done faster must have more time on their hands. Between work and school, I seem constantly busy and it is easy for me to justify my procrastination during my free time, however, I heard someone say recently that we all have the same amount of time each day. It is our priorities that matter. If we don't have enough time to do something it is because we haven't made the time to do it because we have something we would rather do instead. One thing that works for me is making a list of the things I have to get done and then crossing off things as I do them. Two of the articles I read on time management are: 11 ways unsuccessful people mismanage their time Some ...

I had never used blogger before this class but it is pretty easy to use and I am enjoying learning about it. I have used Google Docs before and I really like it. I especially like using it to collaborate with other people. Whenever I am working on a group project, I like to use Google Docs because all of the group members are able to work together on the paper at the same time. The variety of different websites and tools we will be using this semester make this course different from other courses. I usually don't use many other sites for a class beyond Canvas, even for other online courses. I am excited to be learning more about new sites and tools this semester that I can use in the future as well. Photo Credit:  wikimedia

This class is different from any class I have taken so far, even other online ones. The self-grading with the little one question quizzes is unique. I also think the class is really well set up. I love the freedom it gives me to choose when I work on it and to also have some freedom in the assignments themselves. I get to decide which stories I read and I have a lot of freedom on the projects too. I like how everything is done through a blog, it makes it easy to keep track of what I am working on. I have never kept a blog before but it is pretty easy to do. I look forward to the stories and books I am going to be reading for this class. I liked reading the stories by the other students and I looked at the list of books I would be reading and I like the look of them as well. I also like the Wikipedia extra credit assignment. There is a site called StumbleUpon which I used to use a lot which took you to random websites based on your preferences. I had a lot of fun learning about r...

I had not heard of Carol Dweck before I watched the videos. For myself, as far as school goes, I believe I am more geared toward a growth mindset, however, I have definitely experienced the fixed mindset before when I just want to get through the assignment and get a grade. When I get into that mindset I don’t care so much about learning, it is more as if I am going through the motions or checking off the boxes. When I find myself thinking like that, I remind myself why I am at OU and I remember what I am trying to get out of my time here. I  am not just here for the degree, I am here for the education.  In other aspects of my life, it is the same way. As a poor college student,  I think I approach making food with a fixed mindset. I want it to be easy. I want the outcome to be guaranteed. I don’t want to work hard preparing a new meal that doesn’t work out and ends up wasting time and money. However, when I do other things such as kayaking, I approach with a growth ...