Reading Diary B: Italian Popular Tales

The stories in the second half of the unit Italian Popular Tales are a little bit darker than the first half. The first half was filled with fun and engaging fairy tales. Each of the stories had a happy ending. The second half of this unit is not like that. The stories do not all have a happy ending. I still really like them though. They are really interesting and a lot of them have religious backgrounds.

Pilate looking about as creepy as the story
would suggest (Happy nightmares to you)

One story that really stayed with me was the story An Incident in Rome. This story kind of gave me the creeps honestly. It was pretty cool at the same time. It definitely had an air of mystery all throughout it. The image I had of the carter coming across a man deep in the ground, reading over and over a piece of paper and not responding when he was spoken to was so weird and creepy. I thought it was even more mysterious when he finally answered and wrote his name on the carter's back. The idea that the carter came out of the cave looking like he had aged fifty years was really kind of scary. It indicated to me that the man in the hole had done something bad, and that going down there had almost sucked the life out of the carter or something... really creepy. Of course this story ended up having a religious background when the man in the hole was revealed to be Pilate. This story was so weird, but it really stuck out in my mind because of all of the mystery that surrounded it.

I also read The Story of Crivoliu. This story was also weird. Within the first two lines there was a mention of incest... gross. I kept reading however, and was really intrigued. It ended up being a story with a religious background as well. When Crivoliu found out the circumstances of his birth, he being a man of faith, left his home of his adoptive parents and went to go do penance for his parent's sins (incest, seriously, gross). Long story short Crivoliu ends up becoming the pope, and his parents come to confess their sin from long ago, and Crivoliu says that he is their son, has spent many years doing penance for them, that they are forgiven, and should come live with them. Really nice and pope like of Crivoliu, but honestly kind of weird. The whole basis of the story was just so weird that it stuck so heavily in my brain. This unit definitely took a strange turn from the Beauty and the Beast story.

Reading Diary A: Italian Fairy Tales

Beauty and the Beast

I love these fairy tales in the Italian Popular Tales unit! These stories are exactly the type of stories I think of when someone says the words fairy tale. I really loved that several of the stories were familiar and that I got to read Italian versions of some of my favorite stories like Beauty and the Beast. There were also several stories which were completely new to me, but they all read very distinctly like the fairy tales I read as a child.

One of my favorite stories was the very first one Zelinda and the Monster. It is the Italian version of beauty and the beast, which is one of my very favorite fairy tales. I loved getting to compare this story with the Beauty and the Beast that I know and love. There were no dancing and singing teapots like in the Disney movie, but there still was the air of magic in the palace. Zelinda and her father were served dinner by invisible hands! The beast is different in this story as well. Instead of being a big hairy bear like beast, the monster looks like a dragon. What a thing to imagine! 

I also really liked the story How the Devil Married Three Sisters. This story was funny and really clever. I loved that the third sister was able to outsmart the devil and save her two older sisters in the end. I would definitely be interested in rewriting my own version of this story, maybe from the youngest sister's perspective. I really liked how this story had a happy ending that didn't rely on a woman being saved and married by a prince or a king. Instead it is a story about a smart girl who is able to outsmart her devil (literally) husband.

College Writing Review

As a second semester senior, I have done a LOT of writing throughout the last four years. Because I am a Microbiology major, the writing I do is often tailored specifically to scientific manuscripts. Writing in a class like this one is a lot different than writing for my science classes. Writing in microbiology is governed by an insane amount of rules. Sentences must be kept succinct and detached, practically everything must be cited within the text and in an intensely tedious manner. All of it is very formal, very informative, and really incredibly boring to do (haha, but really).

Most of my labs for my major have been pretty writing intensive, so I've had a LOT of practice with scientific writing. Outside of my major I haven't taken a lot of really intensive writing classes (because all of my other classes are already so intense and I don't fancy the idea of making my class schedule any more miserable than it already typically is, haha). This class and a classics class I took called Greek Tragedy (everyone should take this, Ellen Greene is the best and will change your life) are probably the two classes outside of my major that I have had to write the most for, and I've actually really enjoyed both. It is nice to get to escape from the monotony of science writing and get a chance to explore writing creatively.

I have especially loved this class because it has allowed me to explore and rewrite so many of my favorite stories. I don't often get a chance to be creative like this, so the storybook project has been really exciting, and such an awesome experience. I would love for everyone to have the opportunity to create a storybook like we have in this class. It is such a great way to explore your interests, your creativity, and to learn about stories all over the world.

On another note, I was actually thinking just last week about having a required writing class for science majors. We currently don't have anything like that, which honestly is pretty stupid. Science writing is really hard because there are so many rules, and it has such a distinct style (distant and terse) that most people are not used to writing with. When you have to write your first scientific manuscript, it's really hard, really scary, and you feel completely lost because you've never really learned what to do. Your professors give you a brief little presentation, tell you the title of some microbiology writing standard books, and send you on your way. It's really overwhelming, and not super helpful. I think providing a class that distinctly focuses on how to write science manuscripts, review articles, etc. would be so helpful, and an easy way to increase student success, especially because it is such an important part of classes and the real world of science.

Sheldon Cooper (also RIP Leonard Nimoy)

Extra Reading Diary: Alice in Wonderland

Alice falling down the rabbit hole in the 1951 Disney adaptation

I love Alice and Wonderland! I remember reading the book as a kid and thinking it was so magical! I watched the Disney movie all of the time with my sisters, and when the live action movie directed by Tim Burton came out my little sister (a giant Tim Burton fan) and I were so excited! I was really excited to read this unit, and it didn't let me down. It was a great short version of the story, and all of my favorite scenes were in it!

I really love the first part of the story Down the Rabbit Hole (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). I love reading about Alice's first moments seeing the White Rabbit, and falling down the hole. The beginning of the story is so fun because it's her very first delve into the world of Wonderland, and she is just so filled with wonder and curiosity. I love the description of her falling through the rabbit hole. It is so dreamlike and slow placed, and really sets the tone for the rest of the story.

I also just really love the way that Lewis Carroll uses so many parentheses. His writing style is very casual, and the parenthetical phrases feel like he is speaking to you directly, giving funny little side remarks or letting you in on little secrets. It makes the story so much more personable and fun to read. His writing is just so incredible. He does such a great job of creating this wonderfully curious and whimsical character of Alice. She is so instantly likable and embodies the wonder and imagination of childhood. I think his writing style and characterization is what absolutely makes the story of Alice and Wonderland so completely wonderful. I am so glad I decided to read this unit because it's been years since I've read the book and I had forgotten how magical and whimsical the story was.

Reading Diary B: Celtic Fairy Tales

This has been one of my favorite units so far. The stories are so fun to read. Every single one is different, and each has an element of magic, mystery, or a lesson to be learned. I have loved these stories.

Ivan and the Farmer

From the second half of the unit, one of my favorite stories was The Tale of Ivan. In it a man leaves his wife so that he may make wages for them. He works for a farmer, and for three years he sacrifices his wages for a piece of good advice. During this story, each time he received a piece of advice, I tucked it into my mind knowing that they would come into play later in the story. When he finally leaves to go back home to his wife, he follows those pieces of advice so well that it ends up saving his and his friends' lives. This story was so fun to read and I loved how the advice that was given was applicable later in the story and we were able to see how it changed the outcome. The final piece of advice is something that I believe is very applicable always "Honesty is the best policy." I find that being honest results in more rewards and better outcomes than lying ever does, and this sentiment is even shown in the story. I think this story would have been a good story to tell to children in order to show them the importance of listening to and heeding good advice.

I also really liked the story Beth Gellert, mostly because I really love dogs. This story shows how faithful and loyal dogs are, and it made me really happy to read a story about a dog protecting its owner's child. Although it was really sad that the dog was killed, I still thought the entire sentiment behind it was so sweet.

Reading Diary A: Celtic Fairy Tales

I love this unit so much! The stories are so magical and fun! I love that these stories are so easily recognizable as fairy tales. Many of them have all of the same components as a modern day fairy tale. These are especially exciting to me though because I am a fan of Celtic history and culture.

The first story Connla and the Fairy Maiden, was one of my favorites. I really liked the bones of the story and I could see myself writing a more detailed and slightly different story based off of the original. I really liked the dynamic between Conn the King and Connla, his son. I almost wish that this story would be turned into a novel that I could read. I would love to know more about the fairy maiden and her Plain of Pleasure. I think adding more detail about life there and who she is as a person/fairy would add even more to the story.

I also really liked the story The Shepherd of Myddvai. It also had really interesting elements. It was quite funny in a way because when she said not to hit her meaninglessly she had meant that he could not even tap her on the back or anything, and he had not known that. Because I love for my fairy tales to have a happy ending, I would have liked for the lake lady to have come back instead of leaving forever with all of her marriage offerings, but either way the story was really cool!

Silver-Tree asking the trout who the most beautiful queen inin the world is

I absolutely loved the story Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree. It was so reminiscent of Snow White and I loved getting to see a story that may have inspired one of my favorite fairy tales. It was such an interesting story and while very similar to Snow White, a lot of the details were so different and new and I really loved that about it. I could easily see myself writing my story this week over this story.

Reading Diary B: Faerie Queen- Britomart

Britomart and Sir Artegall meeting

Okay so this unit (Faerie Queen- Britomart) is still so so good. It has been one of my favorite units to date! I'm so glad that we are in the British stories section of the class because I have been looking forward to this since the class started in January.

One of my favorite stories from the second half of the unit was the very first one called What Britomart saw in the Enchanted Chamber. There was not that much action in it, but it had such awesome descriptions. People named as feelings were described, their outfits and facial expression were given in detail. It was so so cool to read about the way Hope would be dressed or how Desire would dress and look. It was just such an interesting take that I had never thought to think about. I loved the way that the happier and uplifting emotions tended to have brighter and more extravagant clothes, while the more forlorn emotions tended to wear darker, simpler clothes. What a cool and interesting idea to utilize throughout the story.

I also really loved the very last story describing the end of Britomart's quest to find Sir Artegall. (How Britomart Ended her Quest). Although it was a little cheesy, I thought it was such a cool representation of the culture created by the code of chivalry in the time of knights. I really liked the description of Britomart's actions when she realized that the knight she had been fighting was her true love Sir Artegall. It describes her as trying to lift her weapon, and being unable to, and also trying to speak hateful words but only being able to say nice things. I thought that was so interesting and such a good representation about how love and change how we behave, and prevent us from doing things that we wish we could in the heat of anger.