Reading Notes, Babbitt Jataka Tales: The Ox Who Envied the Pig

Bibliography: Babbitt Jataka Tales. Story: The Ox Who Envied the Pig

Notes: Hmmmmm. I don't know what to make of this story. At first glance, it seems that the story is trying to tell us not to envy the people who have more than we do, because they are destined for failure (or, in the case of the story, food). Yet I think that the meaning of the story might be more sinister than that. If you think about it, the oxen don't actually have some wonderful life. Sure, they are actually alive at the end of the story, but they only reason they are is because they have use as beasts of burden. In return for their labor, they are fed rather poorly. Not that the pig's life is much better. He gets to live high and mighty, but only for a while... 

        Looking at it this way, the moral of the story seems more to be that you can't really win. There is no way, at least in the setting that has been established in the story, to live both well and for a long time. That is, unless you are the farmer. It must all seem rather dystopian to the animals, this way of life. 

        I think that this might be an interesting way to approach a story- a dystopian setting for a dystopian moral. Perhaps there could be tidbits of a revolution thrown in there as well as the characters realize that what is needed in order for them to escape this caged existence is for them to revolt against the farmer character. The real moral could be, essentially, that rampant capitalism is bad. The farmer represents the 1% who literally feasts on and exploits the other 99%. Very Animal Farm..... 

        I just also think that it would be more fun to write this story in a dystopian setting than in the "real world". 

(Storytelling Inspiration. Source: Flickr)

Extra Credit Reading Notes, Babbitt Jataka Tales: The Sandy Road

Bibliography: Babbitt Jataka Tales. Story: The Sandy Road

Notes: I am really intrigued by this story. A number of the Jataka tales that I have read have been somewhat untraditional moralistic tales in that they have not really presented a moral. I don't really know if it is fair for me to be comparing the stories to "moralistic tales" since that may not actually be the point of the stories, but most stories tend to have a deeper meaning, which I have struggled to find in some of the stories (though that may be more of a personal failing than one of the story). This story, however, is unconventional in a different way. Most moralistic tales (I will just continue to use this classification because I think it is the closest one I know to use) have "good" and "bad: characters or "wise" and "foolish" characters (think "The Wise and the Foolish Merchant", though I had thoughts on that that can be seen in my reading notes on the story). This story combines both of those tropes into one character. The merchant is both the foolish one and the wise one. He is the one who makes the questionable decision to throw away the water and firewood before they are out of the desert, but he is also the one who does not give up and finds the place for the well. I really like this actually, since it presents a much more realistic view of how the world works. There are not completely "good" or "evil" people, neither are there completely "wise" or "foolish" ones. People make mistakes. Yet, as my grandfather used to say, "It is only a mistake if you don't learn from it." Perhaps in a re-telling of this story I could have the merchant, now old, telling his grandchildren this story and incorporate my own grandfathers wise words in there as the "moral". 

(A sight that would make most people want to give up. Source: pxhere)

Week 12 Lab: Crash Course Mythology

What is Myth:

    Wow. I had no idea that the definition of a myth would be so complicated. I guess I could have baseline told you before that there is some difference between a myth and a folk tale, I had never really thought about quantifying that difference. I think that the definition of myth is like that of "art". I think that staying power and humanistic significance are both important aspects to it. I would also add that I think beauty plays a role in both definitions. For "myth" this might present as "is it a good story- did I like listening to it". This aspect might have more to do with the storyteller than the story though. 

Theories of Myth:

    I think that a really interesting theory of myth is that of using it to explain the things that we don't understand. Isn't that the point of most stories? Fables use myths to explain morals that children might not understand yet in terms that they can (haha) come to terms with. I think that one of the big differences in myth and religion is- do we understand these things now. Thor and the legends that surround him are thought of much more in a mythological sense in current society. We now know how thunder and lightning work, so his stance as a religious figure is no loner quite so pertinent. However, we still don't know what happens after we die, so most of the tales that surround that particular issue remain in the realm of religion. 

The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth:

I really liked being able to look at this list of "heroism". I think that it will be a really helpful thing not only to keep in mind when I am reading other stories, but also when I am producing them myself. I like especially that the typical story of a myth includes the re-integration into society. I have been on a couple of really long trips in my life, and have found that "culture shock" is weirdly often worse when coming back than it is when starting a new adventure. You do not expect yourself to have changed so much on a journey, so it is often really disconcerting when your relationship with what is supposed to be a familiar setting is so different. 

(The newest book on my reading list. Source: Wikimedia)

Reading Notes, Babbitt Jataka Tales: The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking

Bibliography: Babbitt Jataka Tales. Story: The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking

Notes: I think I might have heard this story before! I tried to google it to see if an iteration of it also existed as an Aesop fable (I know that a lot of folk tales have a lot of overlap), but I didn't find anything. Maybe I have heard the Jataka tales before and I just haven't known what I was listening to. 

        I am someone who is both quite opinionated and is not afraid to express those opinions. I have found that this can be both a blessing and a curse. While I think it is good to be outspoken and talk about those thing that you are passionate about, there have definitely been situations in which I have found that I think things would have been better off if I had just kept my mouth shut. I think that the turtle in this story can definitely relate.... 

        I think it is a valuable skill to know when to talk- when to make the choice to engage in a conversation or not to and knowing what battles you want to fight and what hills you want to die on. Frankly, if you choose to talk all the time about the things that you feel passionately about, not only is it likely annoying to others, but it is also just exhausting. 

        In a society so fraught with all different kinds of turmoil, I think that the story of the turtle could definitely be relevant. Sometimes not talking about the things that are causing this turmoil is actually the best way to get past it- to just exist in a pleasant manner with friends- to spend time together having fun rather than having conversations with a capital "c". I don't necessarily know that this is the story I will choose to write this week- I am feeling slightly more inspired by my Ganga reading notes, but it's an idea!

(Turtle. Source: Wikimedia)

Reading Notes, Ganga: The Divine Beauty

Bibliography: Random Comic Book. Story: Ganga: The Divine Beauty

Notes: I have never been a big reader of comic books, but for the sake of pushing myself out of my comfort zone, I decided to go with it! I flipped though a couple of the random comic book suggestions (I don't know if that defeats the purpose of random, but here we are) until I found one about Ganga. I have always wanted to lean more about the mythology behind Ganga, so this was perfect! I actually have had the absolute honor to go with my family to Varanasi and see Ganga herself! 

           I actually thought that it might be interesting to, instead of doing a re-telling of the story that was outlined in the comic, explore some of the characteristics of Ganga. She is known to purify, and I know that actually one of the big problems with the River Ganga is that there is a lot of pollution from the Manikarnika Ghats and from people putting other things into the River Ganga to get purified. I think that this irony is something that could be explored in a story. 

            I have always really enjoyed reading the works of Neil Gaiman, and I especially liked his book "American Gods". I think that the concept that he explores in that book of thinking about what deities might be like if they were a part of our society- essentially if they had immigrated and developed along with all of the people who worship them. I think that a similar concept to this could be explored with Ganga. How has the goddess who purifies changed after years and years of pollution? What does she think about people worshipping her somewhat ironically by polluting her? I think that all of these questions and thoughts of Ganga's would be the basis of a pretty interesting story. 

(Ganga. Source: Wikimedia)

Week 11 Story: Of Pearls and Private Eyes

    Marlowe sat in the smoky bar, twirling his empty bourbon glass on the table. He wanted another - and badly - but business had been slow of late and he didn't want to add any more to his tab. He sighed. He's have to head home soon- the cat would be getting hungry. 

    Just as he had started to put on his coat and amble out of the less-than-high-brow establishment, a man walked in. Now, in this particular bar, it was strange enough to see a new face. But a new face wearing tailored suit? That meant trouble. 

    "I'm looking for a man named Marlowe. Philip Marlowe." the man said. "Was told I could find him here." The man glanced around at the tables, wrinkling his nose at the smell of cheap whiskey and whatever had caused those stains on the back wall. 

    "Yeah, that's me." Marlowe said after a moment. "What are you doing looking for a man like me in a place like this?"

    "I need a PI. I've got a case that needs to be kept on the down low, and I've heard people say that you're the man to talk to if you want something solved fast and quietly." the man said, absentmindedly wiping his hands on the handkerchief he had pulled out of his pocket. As if that would wipe away the grime of this place. Marlowe could swear that he sometimes still felt it seeping out of his pores even after he got out of the shower. You stayed here long enough and the place just became a part of you, ya know?

    "What are the details?" Marlowe tried to play off his eagerness at a new job as interest in the facts of the case. Truth be told, he had been longing for something to do. Too much time alone to think was never healthy. Marlowe wanted to be busy, and some extra cash would be good too, he had to admit. 

    The man joined him at the bar, speaking in hushed tones and casting glances around the place to make sure that no one was paying them too much interest as he outlined his predicament. Turns out his wife had lost some trinket, and now everyone was in some big flap about it. Sounded like it had been stolen, but the house had state-of-the-art security, and none of it had been tripped the night of the supposed theft. Marlowe had dealt with cases like this before. Any time some bozo got their grubby little hands on something shiny that they shouldn't have, it was only a matter of time before they started wanting to show off. Give them a little incentive and saturate the market with rumors of some lesser version of what they'd got and - well - the poor suckers just couldn't help themselves.   Everyone wanted to be top dog, and if they had to incriminate themselves to get there, so be it. 

    "Yeah, I'll take the case. I charge twenty-five dollars a day, plus expenses." 

    Marlowe lit a cigarette and blew out a cloud of bitter smoke. Things were looking up. 

(Philip Marlowe, Private Eye. Source: Pixabay)

Bibliography: Babbitt More Jataka Tales. Story: The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls

Author's Note: I am in a film class this semester, where we are watching and analyzing film noirs. Philip Marlowe is a character from a popular series of noir books that were later made into movies. I thought that the mystery outlined in the original story of The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls would work well within a noir setting, so I did- a re-telling of the story (or the exposition to the story) within the world of smoky bars and private eyes.

Reading Notes, Babbitt More Jataka Tales, Part B

Bibliography: Babbitt More Jataka Tales. Story: The Brave Little Bowman

Notes: I have to admit, I was a little bit worried when reading this story that it was going to take a different turn than it did. I thought that it might end with the small man turning on the big man after he insulted him and leaving him to fend for himself when the other army came. I was then pleasantly surprised when the small man then went out to help the big man anyways. I had just read a couple of other Jataka tales (like Prince Wicked) that I thought had a pretty harsh view of morality. While I understand that there are plenty of morally questionable characters that do questionable things, I just am of the view that there is no situation in which it is OK to take someone's life into your own hands and condemn them to death (I think this viewpoint might be a large motivating factor to becoming a doctor- the whole "do no harm" thing and all...). 

The beginning of the story reminded me of Cyrano de Bergerac. It is one of my favorite plays, and I thought that this story shared some characteristics with it- someone that does not have the "look" acting through someone who does. I think it might be interesting to do a re-telling of this story in that storyline. Taking the story and transferring it to renaissance France would be quite the dramatic change, but I think it would work! Instead of doing battle and hunting as they do in the story, I think it would be possible to stay true to the Cyrano de Bergerac story and have poetry and letters substitute in for battle. As the climax of the story, Cyrano may have to act as an ambassador to the foreign king and write a treatise that appeases him. 

(Cyrano de Bergerac. Source: Wikimedia)