Thursday, November 30, 2017

Week 14 Story Planning: Little Red Cap

Next week I want to create my own version of the story Little Red Cap from The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D.L. Ashliman (1998-2013). While taking notes over this story I had a few ideas to change it and make it my own story.

My first idea was to change the point-of-view from which the story is told. The Wolf would be telling the story, so the reader would see a more sympathetic side of the Wolf and maybe see his reasoning for his actions. He is a Wolf, so it's natural for him to behave the way he does in the story. He must do certain things to survive and to take care of his family. For all we know, he could have baby wolves back home.

My second idea was to flip the role of the villain and the victim. The Wolf would be going to visit his family, but on the way there he encounters some hunters who are trying to kill him. The hunters know how clever the Wolf is, and they try to outsmart him.

After researching this story, I found that the origin is in fact European. The specific country of origin of this story is Germany. I found the story along with other details at the website Lit2Go.

I found out an abundance of information about the original and early forms of the tale from Wikipedia. The earliest form of this story actually comes from French folklore. The story then was known as Le Petit Chaperon Rouge by Charles Perrault. This version, as well as some early versions, were more sinister than the newer versions. I find that very interesting, and I could possibly make my story more sinister to have more of a resemblance to the original tale.

Little Red Riding Hood
Source: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: The Headless Princess, Part B

For the reading this week for Part B, I read the Russian Unit. My favorite story was titled The Headless Princess from Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887). I liked this story because it was something unlike I'd ever heard before. It definitely wasn't what I had expected at first glance.

I don't particularly like the ending of the story, so for my version I would make it a more happy story. I think that even though the Princess is a witch, she still has some good in her. Rather than dying, I think the boy should seek out to help her. I also think the character of the little boy should be a bit older, close to the age of the Princess. He wants to help her because he falls in love with her. He only tells her secret to his teacher, and his teacher helps him get closer to the Princess and gives advice on how to win her over.

Instead of making the story about defeating a witch, I want to make it about a boy who is trying to win over a Princess. He knows she is a witch, but he sees past that flaw. In the end the Princess will fall for the boy, and she gives up her witch ways in order to be with him. Her secret will be revealed at the end to all the other characters, and they praise the boy for saving her.

Princess Witch
Source: Pixabay

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Reading Notes: Little Red Cap, Part A

For this week of reading, we read stories from the European Unit. I decided to read the Ashliman stories, and my favorite story from Part A was Little Red Cap. This story came from The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D.L. Ashliman (1998-2013) It's the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood that I was already familiar with that I first heard when I was a child. It had some minor differences than what I had heard because it is the story told from a European view, but most everything stayed the same.

If I were to retell this story I have two ideas in which I'd like to change it. My first idea would to be to tell the story from the Wolf's point-of-view and show the more sympathetic side of his character. He's the villain in the original story, so I would tell the new version in a way that they see that he is an animal who relies on eating others for the survival of him as well as his family.

My other idea would be to flip the roles of the victim and villain. The wolf would be traveling to help his sick grandmother. Before he leaves, his mother tells him to beware of the hunters who are out hunting for wolves. It would be a similar story, but the roles will be reversed. I will change a few details of course, to make it better fit the new version.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf
Source: Wikimedia Commons 

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Famous Last Words: Thanksgiving Break

This week the reading was done a bit early because we got a week off for Thanksgiving break. I was happy to get a small break for a whole week and it was definitely exciting to not do homework for awhile. I probably should've used my time to get ahead in my classes, but now it's time to finish the semester strong!

My best writing this week was probably from my revision of my story in my project. We're nearing the end of the semester so I was on my second to last story in my project. I was running out of ideas for this particular story, so I didn't include a lot of details in my first version. After reading the revisions, I think I added quite a few good details and my story really benefitted from it. I have one more story to finish the project, so I'm already thinking of new ideas to make it special.

My other classes are starting to wind down along with this one. I don't have any final exams this semester which seems crazy to me, but instead I have projects and final papers. In my introduction to advertising class we have been working on an advertising campaign all semester and this next week it will finally be presented to the class. My group did a campaign for Whole Foods Market, and I'm excited to present the final product.

I got to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family a couple days ago and it was really nice. I'm glad I got to see my parents, siblings, and everyone else. We had lots of food (of course) played some games, and shot guns at some targets. I'm officially counting down the days until Christmas now because it's the most wonderful time of the year!

This next week is going to be hard to transition back into the school and work life after a small break, but I also have more motivation because there are only a couple weeks left.

Happy Late Thanksgiving and an early Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving
Source: Pixabay

Tech Tip: Blog Profile

I decided to keep my profile visible on my blogger profile. In my major and future career it's important to have an online presence, so I want this blog to be a part of that. I have a separate blog that is more centered around my interests and I have included a link to this blog on that site. I have thought about my online identity a lot, and I think connecting a class blog with my professional blog will be beneficial. A key ingredient for my online identity for the years to come would be to keep my blog as updated as possible. In today's world your online identity is very important and that's sometimes the first thing that people research about you, especially when applying for a job. Another key factor for my online identity is to always keep it professional. Social media is closely related to blogging, and I think it's important to keep both of them professional at all times.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Week 13 Story: Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Once upon a time, there were three bears who lived in a mansion deep in the forest. The family included Father Bear, Momma Bear, and Baby Bear. The year is 2017 and the family adored all of their technology. Father Bear worked hard for his family so that they could have the newest and most popular items in their mansion.

One day, the family left their home to go visit their relatives in the next town over. While they were out, a little girl named Goldilocks stumbled upon their mansion. "Wow, this is the most magnificent home I've ever seen! I want to see inside!" she said. Being the curious girl that she was, she creeped inside the home and realized that nobody was home. She was immediately entranced by the new, shiny devices all around the home. They had everything she had ever imagined and dreamed of!

I'm very hungry she thought. So she entered the kitchen and saw three different bowls of soup. She tried the first large bowl, and said "This soup is too cold!" She tried the second middle-sized bowl and said, "This soup is too bland." She tried the smaller bowl and said, "Ah, finally. This soup is perfect." She finished her soup and started to get very sleep.

I want to watch TV to relax before a nap she thought. She went into the living room first and settled on the couch. "This TV is too high for me to see," she said. She went into the biggest bedroom and said, "This TV is too small." She went into the smaller room and said, "This TV is perfect for me."

She watched her favorite shows and set her favorite channels on the remote. She was getting very sleepy and began to drift off...

Father Bear, Mother Bear, and Baby Bear arrived back at home later that night.

"Someone ate our soup!" said Baby Bear.

"Well, that's what you get for leaving it out and not putting it away," said Mother Bear.

"Someone left the TV on wasting electricity all day!" said Father Bear.

"It was probably you, dear." said Mother Bear.

"SOMEONE is in my bed!" shrieked Baby Bear. Goldilocks was awakened abruptly. The family entered the room.

"What are you doing in our home?" asked an angry Mother Bear.

"Well, I was out in the woods and I came across your home. It's very lovely I just wanted to see inside. It was getting dark out, so I decided it was too late to go home alone. I got hungry and ate some soup then I watched TV before falling asleep. I'm deeply sorry." said Goldilocks.

"Well, if you put it that way I guess we can understand. You're too young to be traveling alone after dark. You can stay here for the night. But please, get permission next time before entering someone's home. It may not turn out so well some places." said Mother Bear.

Story Source: Scrapefoot from More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Author's Note: In the original story, there is a fox named Scrapefoot who enters the castle of three bears while they are away. He found a hall with three chairs in it--one small, one medium, one large. He tried them all out and the smaller one was the best fit for him. When he was hungry, he went to the kitchen and found three saucers--one small, one medium, one large. The smaller bowl tasted the best, and he finished all the milk in it. He was getting sleepy, so he decided to take a nap. He again found different sized beds and selected the smallest one. When the bears arrived back at home they noticed someone has been in there home. When they found Scrapefoot, they threw him out of their castle. In my story, I changed the main character to Goldilocks because that's the original story that I know. I changed the setting to a more modern version with technology. I also changed the ending. Instead of the bears throwing them out, they decide to show sympathy and understanding.


Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Monday, November 13, 2017

Reading Notes: Scrapefoot, Part A

For this week's reading I looked into the second unit of English Fairy Tales. My favorite story from part A was Scrapefoot. I liked this story because it's the familiar story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Except, instead of Goldilocks, the character is a fox named Scrapefoot. The story comes from More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs.

If I were to choose to rewrite this story this week, I would make the main character Goldilocks instead of the fox because I like the original story that I've always known. I would also like to change the different things that she does while she is in the house. I would like to make the story more modern, so when Goldilocks enters the bears' home she will tamper with other things. For example, I had an idea that she would mess with different TVs in the home. The dad has the biggest TV in the living room, the mom has a middle-sized TV, and then the baby bear has the smallest TV. Goldilocks will alter all of their preset favorite channels. She will also tamper with some of their foods. Finally, she will break the baby bear's bed.

When the bear family arrives back home, instead of throwing Goldilocks out, the family will welcome her and accept her apology. They will be understanding and decide to be friends and welcome her as a visitor anytime she wants to come back.

I only wanted to change the ending to a more happy ending because I don't like how they throw her out. Even though it's reasonable to throw an intruder out. It's hard to change such a well-known story too much.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Reading, The Coffin-Lid, Part B

For part B of this last week I stuck with the Russian unit stories. My favorite story from this second part was titled The Coffin-Lid from R...