Styles

The Life of Mermaids: Styles Brainstorm

Topic:

My storybook will be about mermaids interacting with different sea creatures.  There are so many different stories and tales about mermaids, what they do underwater, and their different traditions. I’d love to include this story called “The Mermaidand the Boy” including the interaction of a mermaid and a boy and following the boy in his travels. I would also love to include the story of the Little Mermaid and some of the background information that went into making that movie.  I also want to include a lot of the information about the mermaids with the Gods and Goddesses. The ancient mermaids were known for their singing and this story called the Symbolism andFolklore in the Little Mermaid, explain a lot of the history behind mermaids and how the stories have changed over the years. 

Bibliography:

1. The Mermaid and the Boy, from the Brown Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang [1904)

2. The Little Mermaid and the Archetype of the Lost Bride, by Margaret Starbird

3. Symbolism and Folklore in the Little Mermaid

Possible Styles:

Mermaids as the Storyteller or narrators. There are so many different stories with the mermaids in different circumstances and situations.  I would write my storybook from the point of view from the mermaid to know more about their life and what they are struggling with at the moment.  Some mermaids struggle with love and humans, or protective fathers, or problems coming in contact with other sea animals. 

Following the mermaids in their daily life. I could have one person or narrator to narrate and tell the story of all the mermaids in my story and somehow relate them all at the end.  When I retell the story, I could incorporate a similar character in each story to relate them all to the same group of mermaids.

Mermaids within one area. There were a lot of mermaid stories coming out of the northern Celtic area and the Norway region. I could retell those stories and relate them all at the end to connect them with their geographical area.  They could all tell their stories to one another because they are all in the same general area of the world.

Mermaids today telling stories about their ancestors. Most of the mermaid stories date back to hundred of years ago.  I could have a group of mermaid friends sitting around and telling the story that their ancestor mermaids told them growing up.  We all listen to our stories from our grandparents and they are always so interesting because so much has changed.  In this case, so many of the mermaid stories change from century to century, as well.  Hearing mermaid stories from different regions but coming together with a common group of friends could be a way to hear about mermaids all over the world and throughout history.

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Essay: The Aesop for Children (Winter)

Essay: The Aesop for Children (Winter)

The Aesop for Children is a book of short stories ending in good morals and life lessons.  One of my favorite stories within the short stories was the Fox and the Leopard.  Especially in this day in age, so many people are so materialistic and worry about their outside appearance but then they forget the importance of knowing people for themselves.  The Leopard was so proud of his fur and how he looked that he kept bragging about it and put the fox down.  The smart fox knew what the leopard was doing and just let him keep bragging about himself because the Fox knew that he was smarter than the leopard on the inside.  This story ends with the moral teaching the readers that there is more to life than looking good on the outside.

Another one of my favorite stories out of the bunch was The Cat, The Cock, and The Young Mouse.  The saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” stems from this story here.  The young mouse had never seen or experienced anything in the world and did not know who was good or who was bad.  After coming across the cock and the cat, the little mouse was terrified of the cock because he thought he looked really scared.  He thought the opposite when he saw the cat.  The young mouse saw the cat and wanted to become friends with him because he thought the cat looked very friendly and soft.  Little did the young mouse know, the cat was the one that he should have been scared of and the cock was the friendly one and couldn’t hurt the little mouse.  This taught the mouse to never judge people on their appearance and how they look on the outside.  Some people can look very friendly but can turn out to be mean or hurtful and some of the people that don’t look the happiest or friendliest at the beginning turn out to be the most loyal friends. 

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Storytelling Week 3: The Horse and His Rider

The Horse and His Rider (From the Ass and His Driver)

There once was a horse named Jack.  He was a stubborn little quarter horse that has been traveling his whole life.  Day after day and night after night Jack traveled the same roads.  It was a sunny Saturday morning and Jack was chosen to deliver a very important package to the leader of his village.  His rider, Flynn, takes these missions very seriously and will not let anything stand in the way of him delivering this important message.

Needless to say, Flynn was not the nicest person in the village so he treated Jack very poorly.  Flynn bossed and he bossed Jack around until he couldn’t handle it any longer.  “Go this way! Now go that way! No do this!” exclaimed Flynn to Jack.

As they climbed up the tallest mountain in the village to deliver the package to the leader, Jack couldn’t listen to one more word that Flynn was telling him and he was fed up with walking the same roads over and over again.  Jack thought to himself about his dreams and all the other things and beautiful sights that the world has to offer.

With a cliff up ahead, Jack only had one thing on his mind and he wasn’t going to stray from that.  He wanted to look over the cliff to see the most beautiful views of the village from the tip top of the mountain.  As Flynn and Jack walked closer and closer to the cliff, Flynn knew Jack was going to stop listening to him because he started to disobey his orders.  Flynn hopped off the little horse and started pulling Jack towards the middle of the mountain and away from the cliff.  Although Jack was little, he sure was strong and he out-pulled Flynn and tumbled down the cliff. 

Fortunately, and little did Flynn know,  Jack landed in a giant hill of hay and he was finally free from any duties! Jack could now follow his dreams to venture out and explore the world like he always wanted to do.

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Author's Note:  I loved reading these tales.  They were a quick and enjoyable read and really kept my attention.  Out of all the tales I read, this one stuck out to me the most because it made me laugh and I thought it taught a good lesson about listening to others and the importance of not being too stubborn.  The story I wrote is much different than the original story because I changed the driver to portray someone that would be looked at as a "bad guy" and the horse (which was a donkey in the original) was the "good guy" in the story. It still has the same moral as the original until the very end when the horse actually ends up being free from his stubborn ways so that worked out to his advantage.  The characters differ slightly but the main thing that I changed for this story was the perspective. I wanted to change the characters mainly to create a more modern situation.  In our culture today, we are more used to hearing about horses rather than asses or donkeys.  I also changed the viewpoint at which the story was told because when I was reading the story I felt bad for the donkey and I wondered what made him want to go his own path and tumble down the cliff. 

Reading Diary B: Aesop for Children (Winter)

Aesop for Children (Winter)

The Bear and the Bees

Bears always tend to have a bit of a temper.  I love this character in the story because this happens so much in reality.  When something really little strikes the temper of someone, it can turn into something so much bigger if not handled properly.  Sometimes people with a bad temper create more problems because of the scene they create from the smaller problem.  The snow ball effect occurs and pretty soon, just like the bear diving into the pool of water after the whole swarm comes, a bigger problem will come with anger. 

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The Fox and the Leopard

The story of the Fox and the Leopard is a great moral lesson, especially in society these days.  So many people are just like the Leopard and get so caught up in what they look like and what they have.  The Fox realizes that there is more to life than having the best and most shiny things and being materialistic.  Some think the most attractive things about people are about what they have but the things you can buy and your outward appearance can always change but having a beautiful inside with the brains and a good personality can take you much further because those are the things you cannot buy. The person with the most attractive clothes or haircut is not always the most well-rounded and attractive person on the inside.

The Cat the Cock, and the Young Mouse

This is the perfect story to portray the moral of never judging a book by its cover.  The poor little mouse had no idea but the animal that looked really scary was in fact the animal that wouldn’t hurt him at all, rather the animal that looked gentle and sweet was the animal that could have eaten him.   There have been many times where I have thought someone looked really nice and friendly and they have actually been the complete opposite or someone that looked really mean and scary at first ended up being a great friend.  You never know the personality of someone or the behaviors of something until you really get to know them.  

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The Mouse and the Weasel

The Weasel really caught my attention in this story because he proves a good lesson.  Although, typically, people would show a little more sympathy, the mouse got exactly what he deserved.  He was eating food that was not his and ate way too much of it to the point that he could no longer fit through the hole he came through.  The weasel made it a point to tell him that he couldn’t help him but that he had to wait until all of his food had digested and he could fit through the hole he entered through again.  Poor little mouse probably learned his lesson about eating and taking more than he needed and I think that is a very important lesson in America today.  Too many people take as much as they possibly can even if they don’t need it.  For some reason we all have this mentality that we need to stock up on resources and food and other things just to get by but in reality, we usually have way too much and we could have given it to other people.

Reading Diary A: Aesop (Winter)

Aesop (Winter)

 The Wolf and the Kid

There was a little Billy goat that was really scared of the Wolf but when he came in contact with the wolf, all he really wanted was for him to play him some music so he could dance to it as long as he could.  The rest of the flock knew something was wrong when Mr. Wolf played his pre-feast song.  They ran back to the pasture but by then it was too late.  The moral of the story is to never stray away from the goal or the end of the tunnel.   Poor little kid didn’t listen to his mother from the very beginning and ended up falling into trouble with the wolf.  Sometimes I feel like I can take on more than I can handle, when in reality, I should have listened to my parents all along because they knew what was best for me.

The Tortoise and the Ducks

I can relate to this story in my life a lot because it is hard for me to keep my mouth shut.  The tortoise wanted to see the rest of the world and when he was made fun of for being lazy and never seeing what else was filling this world, he felt like he was missing out.  Sometimes when I’m feeling down, the easiest thing for me to do is open my mouth and talk about things that I shouldn’t talk about.  In this case, when the tortoise was sad, the ducks took him on a flight but he had to keep quiet the whole time or things would end very badly.  Sometimes in my case, there are many times that I need to bite my tongue and hold on to that stick between my teeth to not say something I know I would regret in the future.

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The Ass and His Driver

The Ass in this story is a perfect representation of many people I know.  He is very stubborn and only wants to do exactly what he thinks is the best thing to do even if that may not be the case.  The Ass also reminds me of myself sometimes.  When I have my mind set on something that I believe is the beet thing to do at the moment then nothing will change my mind, even if it is ultimately not the best option.  By not listening to the driver, the Ass fell into a lot of trouble and tumbled off the cliff.  Many people in my life are stubborn and, although they may not tumble off a cliff, I know they continue to do something stupid only because their mind is made up and set on an action they want to accomplish.

The Sheep and the Pig

I never thought about the difference between sheep and pig until this story.  The pigs cannot be brave when they are caught because they are captured to be killed when the sheep are only captured to trim their coat.  In reality, this makes so much sense because it is so much easier to be brave when you know your life is not in danger.  Such as soldiers getting sent off to war to risk their life to fight for our country and the people that sit and do the behind-the-scenes work for the wars that have little to no risk when they are doing their job.  

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