Reading Notes: Hans Christian Andersen (Part B)

So for this reading notes assignment I have decided to try a new style that I noticed from a classmate's reading notes. 

The little mermaid was an interesting read, though quite different from the movie. In summary: 

• The little mermaid knew from the time she was young that she was meant to live on land. 
• When she was finally allowed to rise to the top of the ocean she saved the prince's life and took him to shore.
• The prince didn't know it was the little mermaid who saved him, but perceived it to be a young girl at the religious school where he woke up. 
• The little mermaid watched the prince for a long time before inquiring about how to live on land.
• She ends up visiting a witch in the sea who agrees to give her a potion to grow legs if she will trade her voice.
• The little mermaid makes the deal and swims to the house of the prince where he finds her in human form. 
• They live together for some time where they both grow fond of each other, but the prince doesn't see her as a wife. He longs for the young girl who he though saved his life. 
• The prince's parents arrange for him to marry a young woman from an island a bit away. It is the girl who he thought saved his life.
• The little mermaid fears for her life because one of the contingencies of her deal with the witch is that if the prince ever marries another she will turn into sea foam. 
• They wind up getting married and her sisters make a deal with the witch to keep the mermaid alive if she will kill the prince with a knife. She starts to do it but remembers her love for him and instead throws herself into the sea. 
• To her surprise, she turns into sea foam but starts to float into the air. Because she tried so hard to do right, she had earned herself an immortal soul so she could enjoy the world of mankind forever. 

The Little Mermaid - DeviantAr

Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen

Reading Notes: Hans Christian Andersen (Part A)

My favorite of all of the part A readings for Hans Christian Andersen was the story about the Brave Tin Soldier. At first, the little soldier is taken out of his box along with his twenty-four identical brothers. All of them have two legs except for the brave little soldier who is the main character in the story. When he is taken out of his box he lays eyes on a beautiful castle. All of the soldiers marveled at the castle which had a spectacular lake with swans swimming around on it. The brave little soldier saw something even more beautiful – the dancer standing in the door of the castle holding a cute little dance pose. His breath was taken away, and he couldn’t help but stare. When night came, the little boy who played with all the toys left, and the toys had their own fun. Sometime in the night, a goblin told the brave little soldier not to wish for what wasn’t his. The soldier dismissed the goblin because he wanted the girl! The next morning, the boy put the brave soldier in the window sill. Somehow the window opened and the soldier fell out. After a few days, the boys found the soldier and made him a paper boat. They sent him down a stream in their yard with his little boat. He was terrified because the waves were huge. Somehow he ended up in the sewer, and a mean rat was chasing him. Fortunately, he escaped, but it was all in vain. He came to a dead end and the water started flooding in. His boat was sinking, and so was he. Eventually it became too much and he started to drown when a fish came and gobbled him up! It was dark inside the fish, and it sure did move a lot, but one day it stopped. Another day later, the fish was cut open and the soldier could see the sun again! The lady who fileted the fish said, “Hey it’s the little tin soldier!” Next thing he knew, he was back on the table that where he first saw the dancer, and she was still there holding her cute little pose. In a sudden change of events, the soldier was snatched from the table and thrown onto the stove. The poor soldier was starting to melt, but he didn’t care because he could see the little dancer. Then the door to the home flew open and a gust of air came inside. The little paper dancer fluttered up with the wind and landed on the stove next to the soldier and they melted happily ever after. 

The Brave Tin Soldier - Wikimedia

Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen

Alice in Wonderland: Part B

Alice found herself in a court room, but this wasn’t an unfamiliar space. She knew who most of the figures were from the jury, the judge, and others. She noticed that before the trial had even started, the jury were already scribbling things on their note sheets. “Stupid things” was written on each of the jury members’ notes for some weird reason. Eventually the white rabbit blew in his horn three times and the trail started. The Rabbit read a little poem about the Queen of Hearts making some tarts, and then they proceeded further. In came the first – the mad hatter. The King really didn’t like the hatter, He questioned the hatter on if his hat was stolen, but the hatter explained that he sold hats for a living.

Alice was looking on as the hatter was interrogated, and as she did when she first fell down the rabbit hole, she began to grow enormously tall. The dormouse sitting next to her complained that she was taking up too much space.

The hatter went on, explaining that he was a poor man. He argued with the rabbit about what was said, and the king kept threatening to have him executed. The hatter told him everything he knew, and the judge ordered him to leave the court afterward. On his way out, the Queen ordered the guards, “Off with his head,” but the hatter had already dashed away. He knew that the Queen was likely to make this order, so he made a quick break for the exit. Fortunately, he was fast enough to make it away. The trail continued with the Duchess’s cook. The King ordered her to give evidence but she refused. She eventually provided a little bit of information.

Again the court moved on to the next witness, which came as a big surprise when the next witnessed was called…. “Alice”.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol (1865)

Alice in Wonderland - Ejumpcat

Reading Notes: Voyages of Sinbad

For Sinbad's fifth voyage, he decided to make his own ship so he could take his own time and go where he wanted to go. His crew set sail and arrived on an uninhabited island. The men went exploring and found another Roc egg. The men decided to kill the baby bird inside and cook it for something to eat against Sinbad's advice. Soon after, the parents of the Roc egg arrived and were obviously upset about their baby. The men scrambled to the ship and set sail, but the Rocs traveled after them with huge rocks in their talons. They crushed the ship with their rocks and Sinbad grabbed onto another piece of driftwood. He made his way to the rocky shoreline of a nearby island. On the island he found an old man who needed help getting around. Sinbad helped him travel the island by way of piggy back rides. After a few days of doing this, Sinbad made some wine and they both shared a good bit. Sinbad took this opportunity to get the old man off of his back and left for the coastline where he met some mariners. The crew sailed to a rich city and suggested Sinbad go with an interesting group of merchants. It turned out they were going to fetch some coconuts, but the trees were huge and slick. The men began to throw rocks at monkeys in the tree because the monkeys would grab the coconuts and hurl them back at the merchants. Sinbad went on to trade his coconuts for other valuables on his way back to Bagdad. 

On Sinbad's 6th trip, he traveled to India before setting out on the seas. His ship was caught in a storm that directed them to the deadliest sea current in all the ocean. It led them to the base of a mountain where their ship was torn to shreds. The men made it away with their most valuable possessions, but they appeared stranded for the time coming. Sinbad found a flowing river that went underground, and just as he was about to run out of food he determined he would build a raft and float the river because there was a chance it would lead him to safety. He fell asleep and woke up to a group of friendly black men. They had pulled his raft from the river. The men were amazed by Sinbad's story and brought him to their king. The king was also amazed and treated Sinbad very, very well. Eventually Sinbad asked to leave, and the king sent him on his way with many gifts. He also commissioned him to deliver a letter to "the commander of the faithful". Sinbad set out to do as the king asked. The package contained a vase carved from a single ruby with pearls and other goods inside it. There were a number of other goods including a beautiful slave girl. The Caliph who received the goods asked Sinbad of the king's wealth. Sinbad confirmed the king's wealth and significance, to which the Caliph was pleased. After this delivery, Sinbad returned home. 

Sinbad's 7th, and final, trip was commissioned by the Caliph. He requested Sinbad travel back to the king who had sent the gifts because the Caliph wanted to return the favor. Sinbad asked to be removed from the mission, but the Caliph wouldn't allow it. When he arrived at the king's palace, the king was pleased to see him. Sinbad presented the gifts from the Caliph to the. After a short while, the king allowed Sinbad to leave. Sinbad was ready to return home and enjoy peaceful life, so he left quickly. On his return trip home, he was captured by pirates who sold him in a foreign land as a slave. He was sold to a rich merchant. His owner commissioned him to hunt for elephants in the forest. He killed an elephant and it was buried so that after it deteriorated it would provide beautiful tusks. For months he killed elephants each day. One day the elephants caught wind of him and surrounded his tree. Then the biggest of them all put his trunk around the tree and pulled it from the ground. He flew to the ground and the giant beast picked him up, again with his trunk, and placed Sinbad on his back. The elephants went stampeding into the forest with Sinbad. The elephants brought Sinbad to their burial ground where there were piles of elephant bones in an effort to convince him to stop shooting the elephants with his bow. Sinbad told his owner the story and brought him to the bone pile. There they collected tusks and the master set Sinbad free because he had enriched him so well. His master sent him on his way home with plenty of ivory and other gifts because he had been such a good slave. 

When Sinbad returned home, the Caliph was surprises, but happy, to see him. Sinbad told him all of his stories and the Caliph was amazed. This was the end of Sinbad's voyages.

Sinbad the Sailor - Wikipedia

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes: Voyages of Sinbad

As it turns out, I really like Hero stories. Today I read The Voyages of Sinbad, and it was so entertaining. To start with, he was given great sums of money from his parents. He lived a lavish lifestyle by spending much of his inheritance until one day he decided he wanted to be responsible with it. He decided to become a merchant and set out for the seas to begin trading. The ship landed on an "island" which turned out to be the back of a whale. When they lit their fire, the whale plunged into the ocean and many of the men drowned as they had left the boat. Sinbad clung only to a piece of floating wood from the fire to keep from drowning. He floated and floated until the morning came and he realized he had arrived at an island. The island he landed on had a king who treated Sinbad well. One day while at the port, he ran into the crew from his old ship. One of them spoke of a man named Sinbad, whose possessions he had because Sinbad "drowned". The sailor did not recognize Sinbad, but eventually was convinced it was him. He then sailed home with his crew.

His second voyage was similarly adventurous. He got bored sitting in his luxurious home with piles of riches, so he set back out for sea. His group of merchants arrived at an island and they got out to explore. He decided to take a nap, but he slept too long and his crew group forgot about him! As he explored his new island, he discovered an enormous egg. It belonged to an even bigger bird called a roc. Sinbad tied himself to the foot of the bird and it flew him to another island. This island had massive snakes on it that came out only at night. He decided to sleep in a cave and put a big rock over the entrance to keep the snakes out. He found a valley of diamonds on this island. They were so big he had never even fathomed diamonds so large. Then huge chunks of meat started to fall off of a cliff into the valley. He remembered that this was done to attract large eagles, so he grabbed onto a piece of meat and an eagle came down and swooped it up. He was flown to ANOTHER island. The eagle flew him to some merchants that had been using the eagle to retrieve diamonds. He accompanied the merchants on their trip home, and he returned home as well.

On his third trip, his ship encountered a mighty storm that set them off their path. They arrived on an island of savages. They crowded the ship in hundreds within seconds and took command of the ship. The minions took the ship to another island and kicked the original passengers off. Then men were so sad because their only means of travel was gone and they deemed themselves stuck forever. They saw a large castle on the island and determined to check it out. Inside, they encountered a cyclops. The cyclops terrified them and he proceeded to eat the fattest of them all. Eventually, they devised a plan to get out. They took a scorching hot stick from the fire and jabbed it into the cyclops' eye while he was sleeping. Afterward, they prepared rafts for groups of three. As they were escaping, the cyclops and his friends started to hurl rocks after the rafts and sunk all of them except Sinbad's. They drifted to another island and decided to rest there. In the night, a massive snake ate his companions, but Sinbad got away. He was terrified, though. The next morning he caught the eye of a passing ship and joined them aboard. He eventually returned home with the ship after making a ton of money... again.

On his last voyage, his ship hit another hurricane and was decimated. He, again, clung to pieces of the wreckage in order to stay afloat. As he washed ashore, he met a friendly people with a kind king. The people liked him, and the king eventually asked him to stay and take a wife. He did, and enjoyed it. One day his neighbor's wife got ill and died. He went to visit him afterward and the man was sad. He informed Sinbad of the tradition where if one of the spouses passed away, the other was to be buried alive with them. Sinbad was horrified and became worried his wife would die. As he feared, she too passed away soon thereafter. He was buried in the cave with her and mourned his death. He began killing the living that were buried in order to take their food, and one day a critter got inside the tomb and he scared it away. He chased after the critter and it eventually led him out of the cave. He was at the bottom of a cliff on the ocean and caught the eye of a passing ship. They let him come aboard and eventually took him home.

Sinbad the Sailor by Edmund Dulac

The Roc - E. Dulac

Reading Notes: Ancient Egypt

In the beginning, Nu bore Ra. Despite being his father, Nu was not as powerful as Ra. As such, Ra became the preeminent ruler of Egypt, and it is said that he created all that their is in the Earth, and all the gods and goddesses that followed him. Ra was a good ruler, and liked by most. However, Isis envied his power and desired to be equal with him, so she devised a plan to get him to conceal his secret name of power in order that she might have equal power. 

Her plan was to gather some of his spit from the ground and form it into a serpent. She then placed it along the path he was soon traveling along, and the serpent struck him. Writhing in pain, he eventually conceded to disclose his name in order for Isis to heal him. 

Over time, Ra become old and eventually ascended to heaven. At this point Osiris took control of power. He was a great ruler who made many just decrees. He was celebrated by the people and respected by everyone. There was one exception, though, and that was his brother Set. He was jealous of Osiris' power and desired to kill him. Osiris wife, Isis, usually thwarted these plans, but one time when she was away Set made his move. 

Set formed a casket to the perfect dimensions of Osiris. It was beautiful and coveted by many. One time at a feast, he proclaimed that whoever fit in it best would receive it. As planned, Osiris fit it perfectly. As soon as he entered the casket, Set and his minions closed the casket and sent it down the Nile with Osiris inside. 

At this point, Set became the ruler of Egypt and there was much less organization. 

Still, Isis and Osiris had a son named Horus. As it was destined, he grew up and eventually battled Set for the throne and won.

Ra - Deviantart

Egyptian Myth and Legend by David MacKenzie

Reading Notes: Homer's Odyssey (Part A)

Homer's Odyssey part A was really entertaining. I was not sure what to expect from it. Many years ago I read it; in middle school I believe. At the time it was a tough read, but the snippets we read in part A were fascinating. 

It begins with Odysseus and his crew arriving at the shores of a cyclops filled island. Odysseus and his men entered the cave of a cyclops by the name of Polyphemus. The crew wished to simply steal some of the many goats and rams that Polyphemus had rounded up in pens. Unfortunately Odysseus did not listen to the crew and decided to meet they cyclops in hopes that he would be hospitable to the crew. Polyphemus arrived and had no desire to be kind to the men. He ate two of them and closed the exit so the rest of the men could not get out. The next morning he ate two more men, and then he left for his daily activities. In the meantime, Odysseus and the men devised a plan to escape. 

When Polyphemus arrived at the cave from his daily activities Odysseus gave him several wine skins full of fresh wine. The giant cyclops became sleepy and fell into a heavy rest. The men grabbed Polyphemus' giant club and shoved it in his giant eye. Since his vision was impaired, the men strapped themselves to the bellies of the sheep. The next morning Polyphemus let the sheep out to graze and the men snuck out with them. 

Later, Odysseus and his crew landed on Circe's island. He sent half of the men to explore a fire they saw from the shoreline. The men encountered the house of Circe, and her many lions and wolves. Surprisingly, the lions and wolves did not attack the men, but it was because they were under a spell. Circe invited the men in and gave them food and drink that had been laced with magic drugs. Circe turned the men into pigs! One of the men snuck away and reported the news to Odysseus. 

Upon hearing the news, Odysseus set out for Circe's house in order to free the men. On the way, Hermes met Odysseus and gave him a root that would make him immune to Circe's spells. It happened just as Hermes said, and Odysseus was immune. This amazed Circe, and she agreed to help him rather than hurt him. All of the men were changed back to humans and she fed them and housed them for almost a year. Odysseus prompted Circe to let them leave in peace and she gave him instructions to find the route home.

Circe and her gentle Lions - Wikipedia

Homer's Odyssey, Book 9-12, Homer

Reading Notes: Gospel of Mark (Unit B)

The second unit of the Gospel of Mark differed significantly from the first unit. In the first unit there were many miracles, healing, and things of that sort. In the second unit, there was a lot more teaching and parables, as well as the details of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It starts with a series of parables and teachings about faith. For example, He mentions the Rich Young Ruler. The young man was a good man. He followed all of the commandments, but he felt like something was missing so he asked Jesus what he must do to receive eternal life. Jesus said sell all of his possessions, give them to the poor, and follow Him. The young man couldn't do it and walked away sadly.

The next significant portion of the second unit of Mark comes when Jesus foretells the upcoming death and resurrection. At the Last Supper He told his disciples that one of the would soon betray Him and another would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. The disciples were highly confused and even slightly disturbed because they were very confident in their ability to withstand the temptation to betray or deny Jesus.

As He predicted, one of His disciples. Judas, betrayed Him for only a few dollars. Likewise, Peter denied any affiliation with Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Jesus was handed over to the authorities for questioning. After a series of interrogations the people judges found no fault in Him, but a mob of men asked for his death. The judge relented in a desire to please the people and Jesus was crucified, beaten, and humiliated. After His death, one of His disciples asked for His body and placed it in a tomb. After three days a couple women looked for His body in the tomb, but it was missing. Jesus met His disciples and many others to show them that He had risen from the grave. He encouraged them to spread the good news of the Gospel. After a short time He ascended into Heaven.

The Last Supper - acatholiclife.com

The Gospel of Mark, The Bible, Mark

Reading Notes: Gospel of Mark

As a Christian, it was awesome to have the option to read the Gospel of Mark for this class. There were several awesome stories and parables in Unit A. First and foremost, Mark, Chapter 1, features John the Baptist. He is said to be "clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and honey." I thought this was a pretty interesting visual description of John as he was foretelling Jesus' coming.

The next thing that caught my eye was just the craziness of the quantity of miracles performed by Jesus. Without even mentioning how incredible the acts were. So many people healed of afflictions like diseases, blindness, muteness, and paralysis. He even raised a young girl from the dead. It always amazes me when Jesus walks on water, but my favorite part about it is how it seems like no big deal that He is just strolling across a raging sea. The disciples were astonished, but Jesus was confused at why they were all so surprised. It made me chuckle. 

Beyond all the crazy miracles that Jesus had already performed, He also fed thousands of people with a couple baskets of fish and bread. Five thousand people had been following Him around when Jesus and the disciples determined the people were probably really hungry! They had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus blessed the food and dispersed it to the masses of hungry followers. When all was said and done they had twelve baskets of fish and bread. I am no mathematician, but I am pretty sure that is more food than they started with. Even if it was less food than they started with, they still spread it over FIVE THOUSAND people. I can almost eat five loaves of bread and two fish when I go to Red Lobster (Have you ever had those cheddar biscuits? They are to die for.). Anyway, the magnitude of this miracle is fascinating to me. The greatest thing about it is the fact that He does it again two chapters later. 

I am thankful for the inclusion of the Bible in this class. As a Christian student it makes me happy to see my faith included in classes - even if it is in "Mythology and Folklore".

Jesus feeding 5000 - Flickr.com

The Apostle Mark, The Gospel of Mark, Mark Ch. 1-9

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

I found the Indian Fairy Tales to be the most intriguing to me. It details the story of the Tiger and the Brahman who seeks the help of the jackal. At first, the Brahman stumbles upon the Tiger who is trapped in a cage. The Tiger pleads for the help of the Brahman and promises to do no harm to him if he will only release the Tiger from the cage. Initially the Brahman struggles with whether to let him  out of the cage, but he eventually relents and lets the Tiger out. The Tiger then threatens to kill the Brahman and mocks his foolishness for letting the hungry Tiger out of the cage. The two agree to allow the Brahman to go ask three beings whether or not the Tiger was justified in his actions. If they concluded one way or another, the two would accept the decision.

The Brahman makes his way to ask the opinions of a pipal tree, a buffalo, and the road. Each of the beings determines that he is foolish, and for his foolishness he ought to be killed. On his way back to the Tiger to accept his death, the Brahman was very sad. He caught the attention of the Jackal. The Jackal asked why he was sad, and the Brahman explained his case.

It was at this point that I had an idea of how the story would end. I saw through the Jackal's "stupidity" from the get go. They visited the Tiger, and through the Jackal's cunning he provokes the Tiger to show him exactly how he got stuck in the cage in the first place. At this point the Jackal shuts the cage and the Tiger is stuck again.

The Tiger, The Brahman, and The Jackal - by John Batten

Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with Illustrations by John D. Batten (1912)

Week 2 Reading Overview

According to the outline given to us in the Course Wiki, I have designed my readings to follow:

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4.

Week 3: Gospel of Mark 

Week 4: Homer's Illiad

Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6.

Week 5: Ancient Egypt

Week 6: Ramayana

Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.]

Week 7: The Monkey King

Week 9: Japanese Mythology

Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11.

Week 10: Hero Tales

Week 11: Inuit (Eskimo)

Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13.

Week 12: King Arthur

Week 13: Celtic Tales

Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15.

Week 14: Inferno

Week 15: Hans Christen Anderson

(Formatting copied from Course Wiki)

I can't wait to get into some of these readings! Specifically, I am looking forward to Ancient Egypt, Ramayana, The Monkey King, King Arthur, and Dante's Inferno. All of the readings I mentioned, with the exception of Inferno, feature gods and goddesses from the video game I enjoy playing called Smite. I am highly interested in hearing the mythology and lore of the gods and goddesses in these chapters. I am least interested in the Native American unit, unfortunately. The readings in that unit didn't appeal to me as much as others. I will probably do some of the extra readings in a couple of the units just because there were so many articles I was interested in!

(The Monkey King - Sun Wukong in Smite - Gamepedia)