Mythology and Folklore

Santa-five ( Web Source ) Five Reasons to Stop Saying “Good Job!” I like the point they make about creating praise junkies. There’s definitely a generational issue with people my age and below that need instant gratification and can’t handle when there is significant struggle between them and the reward. I think it’s an interesting point they made about children losing interest. Parents can only stand to give praise for so long. Encouraging growth instead and the learning of different skills inspires sustained interest in an activity. The Trouble with “Amazing”: Giving Praise that Matters This article was interesting, I thought it was pretty funny that their first point was in reference to an American Idol judge, put the point was good. The message was that “amazing” is Paula praise, which the author posits is vague and empty. I like the last point that it “praises the person, not the effort.” Too often people think they are smart enough to do something or they aren’t. Mo...

           Roman de Renart ( Public Domain )             I ended up deciding to go with the theme of tricksters. I thought about doing Thor vs. Marvel Thor but I think copyright issues may make that a bit of a tough time. I like this theme because I think there is an unlimited number of ways I could take it. As of right now, I want to find a central trickster and have each episode be an interaction between them and another character. One way I might go is to have each episode be a meeting between different versions of the same trickster (ie. Reynard the Fox and Aesop’s Fox) or the central trickster’s rivals (ie. Reynard the Fox and Isengrem the Wolf). I will also be keeping an open mind throughout all the upcoming stories with new characters we run into that fit the description of “trickster.” As of now I’ll start with a few base characters. Reynard the Fox ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynard_the_Fox ): Reynard is a ...

The Contractor and the Wolf Boy Who Cried Wolf by Francis Barlow ( Wikimedia )             Once upon a time there was a contractor traveling through the countryside looking for his next plot of land to develop a nice neighborhood. He stumbled upon a beautiful forest. He thought to himself, “I could plow this land up and build a wonderful neighborhood that all the people will come to live in. They’ll pay me extravagantly and I’ll have plenty of money to spend on supper. As he approached the forest to explore a wolf came out. “Why have you come to my forest contractor?” asked the wolf. “I’m going to bulldoze this forest and create a neighborhood here,” said the contractor. “This is not your forest, you cannot do that,” said the wolf. “Well, then,” said the contractor, “I do not see anyone’s name on this forest, so who says I can’t take it?” “I say,” said the Wolf, “I rule over this forest and have made my marking all over the tr...

Aesop's Lion by Wenceslas Hollar ( Wikimedia ) Aesop’s Fables  Lions, Part 1-2: ·          Commented on it last week, but I know it’s something I would struggle with: beginnings are straightforward, can just state the facts as exposition. ·         Even though first fable, Lion’s Share is short, contains beginning, middle, and end. ·         Feels more like a setup to back/demonstrate a greater principle. ·         The sick lion is an interesting tale. Almost like intro leading up to a thesis ·         As someone who likes to talk, I don’t know if I could write this concisely, but I like how concentrated these stories feel. Very little filler        You can tell these are tales that were at one point retained and passed down through word of mouth ·      ...