Reading Notes Week 15: Russian Folktales, Part A

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Goat (Wikimedia)

Reading Notes Week 15: Russian Folktales, Part A

The Dead Mother:

· I could learn a thing or two about creating titles that draw interest from this story

· Story is short and to the point. It is comprised mostly of descriptive action prose, might be interesting to add a bit more embellishment. I like how direct it is right now but I think there could be a significant amount of detail added. Particularly at the end.

· The ending is great and really shocking with the dead baby as well. I think this ending deserves some expansion. Some interesting ways to take it could be that the mother never really died. Could also be that the mother is sentient or “alive” still. I like the creepiness of it and the fact that the baby is dead too adds to the gruesomeness of the story. Could tone it down by making it ghost mother and baby lives. Could also intensify the terror by having the mother bring take the baby with her. Many possibilities.

The Treasure:

· This seems like a bit of critique on the church in Russia. I wonder what time period this came from and what the dominant religion was at the time. A corrupt pastor like this does not seem ideal though

· Crazy how money changes people. I like the role of money in this story and I think there is potential to remix that element and emphasize some moral with it.

· Not a fan of how the pope says that the protagonist must tell him his sins as he must tell god. They are really going after the church in this story. The reverend really is greedy though, eyeing the possessions of others at a funeral.

· I like the ending of this story. This Pope was just plain mean and greedy, he deserved an ending like this. I will say though that this story could again use some embellishment with descriptive imagery or others. Might even be interesting to have the devil himself appear when the Pope attempts to trick the old man out of his money. This could actually be really funny and will probably be my retelling. It will be fun to write a scene where the devil calls out the pope for his greediness. Might even have God appear and justify it.


Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston

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