Reading Diary A: Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland Unit

READING A:

Down the Rabbit-Hole
Down the Rabbit-Hole (cont.)
Down the Rabbit-Hole (end)

• Dear Alice, the purpose of a book is so that you can paint your own pictures and conversations within your own mind. Much like what you did for this story!
• I like how this story uses caps to emphasize things. 
• She's very much like a kid in the way she thinks and speaks... although she is one. 
• the image of shutting up like a telescope is quite... quirky. 

Illustration by John Tenniel. 

Source: Project Gutenberg.

Advice from a Caterpillar
Advice from a Caterpillar (cont.)
Advice from a Caterpillar (end)

It's so crazy, the image of a caterpillar smoking hookah and asking who you are. The little story within a story part with father william was interesting since it rhymed. I always imagined the caterpillar to be bigger than it was but.. it's actually only 3 inches tall.

Pig and Pepper
Pig and Pepper (cont.)
Pig and Pepper (end)

For this story, I could never tell if it was her imagination or for real even though it's quite famous. 

Extra Reading Diary: English Fairy Tales

English Fairy Tales Unit

READING A:

Tom Tit Tot

This story certainly did remind me of Rumpelstiltskin. The differences were that instead of spinning gold, the girl had to spin skein (which I originally thought was skin, which creeped me out a bit, but it was actually just a ball of yarn. That should not have been too hard.) and the little creature wanted to own her instead of her firstborn child. Also, she was already married to the king. The little rhyme that went with the name was cute as well.

The Rose-Tree

This story felt like a Cinderella story gone wrong. The stepmother manages to kill the daughter of the family, and yet, the husband doesn't even bother asking what happened. The younger stepbrother didn't bother telling his father his sister was murdered either. 

The Old Woman and Her Pig

That story was quite repetitive, yet, I liked it. The old woman went through so many troubles just to get her pig to move when she could have done it herself instead of asking both animate and inanimate objects to do one thing or another. 

Binnorie

The younger sister came back as a spirit it seems since the harper used her hair and breast bone to make an instrument. That also sounds weird since why would you use human parts to make an instrument? 

Mouse and Mouser

I wonder why the cat is referred to as the Mouser in this story. The story itself eventually led to the mouse being eaten, unfortunately.

Cap O' Rushes

That was a really cute story. One thing I didn't like was that the dance dragged on for three days until we got anywhere. "Rarely liked" sounds like "really liked." Is that the word before it became modernized?

The Story of the Three Little Pigs

I couldn't tell if that was a happy story or a savage one because the pig ended up eating the wolf in the end. I guess it just sounds weird because we eat pigs and if they're eating other things... then that would be kind of gross.

The Master and His Pupil
I want to know the words that cast away Beelzebub.

The pupil and Beelzebub. 

Source: UN-Textbook. 

Reading Diary B: Canterbury Tales Unit

Canterbury Tales Unit

The Chaucer Storybook Book Cover. Source: UN-Textbook. 

READING B:
The Prioress's Tale: Little Hugh

• this was a sweet tale of a little boy who sang O Alma Redemptoris
• He was killed by Jews but managed to sing even after death
• I found that it was weird that in this story, Jews were affiliated with Satan

Nun's Priest's Tale: The Cock, the Hen, and the Fox

The Cock, the Hen, and the Fox (cont.)
The Cock, the Hen, and the Fox (cont. again)
The Cock, the Hen, and the Fox (end)

• I couldn't tell if the hen was encouraging the cock or just belittling him for telling her about his bad dream
• It looks like the cock is quite superstitious
• he sang so loud that he didn't hear the fox coming closer
• Does pride make us less self-aware?
• No one died in this story so i'm quite pleased.

The Canon's Yeoman's Tale: The Priest as Philosopher
The Priest who Learned to be a Philosopher (cont.)
The Priest who Learned to be a Philosopher (end)

• The priest seems quite gullible. I expected the philosopher to run away with his money at first.
• the language for this particular story is hard to follow
• what is a "canon" or "beechen"?
• So the "philosopher" did trick the priest after all!

Reading Diary A: Canterbury Tales Unit

Canterbury Tales Unit

"The Canterbury Tales" by Eljiasan. Source: DeviantArt.

READING A:

The Wife of Bath's Tale: The Unknown Bride
The Unknown Bride (cont.)

• I had a feeling that this story would end up as a "happily ever after" with the old woman actually being a beautiful young maiden
• It kind of reminds me of the beginning of Beauty and the Beast where the witch disguised herself as an old hag
• I really liked this story
• Possible storytelling post

The Friar's Tale: The Story of the Summoner
The Story of the Summoner (cont.)

• I didn't really understand what was happening until the end of the story for this one
• So the fiend was actually a devil from hell. I thought he was just joking.

The Franklin's Tale: The Promise of Dorigen
The Promise of Dorigen (cont.)
The Promise of Dorigen (cont. again)
The Promise of Dorigen (end)

• It's sweet to see how much Dorigen loved her husband.
• The squire had a kind of "love at first sight" moment
• Arviragus was actually really nice to let his wife go... I would have thought he would fight for her.
• I felt like Arviragus was the most generous, but all three were very generous
• that was a great story too

The Pardoner's Tale: The Revelers
The Revelers (cont.)
The Revelers (end)

• The ending was very clever in that they were trying to find Death and eventually did find him
• The 3 men were equally wretched in this story
• I wonder who the old man really was; was he Death?