Showing posts with label Week 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 2. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2015
Week 2: Review
My favorite item from this week's current events is:
This image was from Saturday, September 5. I thought this Thesaurus Saurus was cute!
Week 2: Famous Last Words
My reading for this week:
The reading for this week went really well. I enjoyed reading Cupid and Psyche's story. I finished both portion of my reading. I also enjoyed the extra reading unit where I read some Brothers Grimm stories. What I remember best about the reading was part where Psyche found out who her husband really was. I thought it was the most exciting part. Regarding my Reading Diary strategy, I did not like how I did it at first. I wrote a lot more than I should have and didn't focus on what I specifically liked and focused instead on summarizing. I think for the upcoming week, I will do it in bullet form so that I can look over it and get a clearer idea of what my thoughts were.
My best writing for this week:
I thoroughly enjoyed the week 2 storytelling of my story unit. I liked trying to imagine myself as Cupid in order to write his diary entry. This was my first time writing in this point of view and I think it was a great experience!
Other people's writing: I read a story that was written about a nursery rhyme by one of my fellow classmates, Amanda. It was called The Beginning and I liked her storytelling style. It had a very good hook and ending. The story was very open-ended, which left me wanting to read more of it.
My other classes:
My other classes are going relatively well. It has been a little difficult keeping up with assigned readings for other classes because I have had a lot of meetings since classes started but I plan on remedying that this Labor Day weekend. I have been on top of the homework so that I don't lose any points, so everything should be a-okay!
Difficult is not impossible meme.
"Difficult is not impossible" by Laura Gibbs. Source: Growth Mindset Memes
Outside of school:
Here are some upcoming events at OU:
- Vietnamese Student Association 1st General Meeting Thursday, September 10 at 6pm at the Henderson-Tolson Cultural Center. Here is the Facebook event page: Facebook.
- Be the Change 2015: This is a community service event on September 26 held by Delta Phi Omega Sorority, Inc., Delta Epsilon Psi Fraternity, Inc., and Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity. It's a smaller version of The Big Event here at OU. Facebook event page: Facebook.
Brainstorming Myth-Folklore Topics
Topic: Untold Memoirs of a Japanese Ghost
Comments: I'm interested in this topic not because I like watching horror movies (Oh no, never. Movies give me nightmares!), but because I like hearing about the stories of Japanese ghosts and how they became "ghosts" whether it be because they were wronged by their lover and want revenge or just came back in order to take care of their loved ones in their spirit forms. I don't know many Japanese ghost stories, but I have heard of a few creepy ones that were told from an onlooker's point of view. I want to focus on the spirit's point of view and kind of bring a different perspective on their intentions.
Possible Stories: One interesting story I found on Wikipedia was the story of Oiwa, one that I would like to write a story about in her point of view. I also found a list of Japanese legendary creatures (such as demons and ghosts) that I could peruse in order to find some sources. There are so many to choose from on this list, but I want to find the ones that are the most infamous in Japanese folklore.
Sample Story Comments: I went through the Sacred Texts Archive and found a story about a girl who killed herself in a well because she couldn't marry her love. Although it wasn't extremely scary, I found that this story could be a good source to help create a sort of backdrop to my own story.
Bibliography Information:
Sample story: Ghost of the Violet Well
Website name: Sacred-Texts
Topic: Reincarnation, the Story of Life After Living
Comments: I have always liked the idea of reincarnation. I don't know if it's real or not, but my family has always told me to do good things so that I can have a better life in the "next life." I think writing a story about reincarnation would be super interesting.
Possible Stories: Instead of a sample story, I have a book that is named "Reincarnation" that I really liked. The format of the story is multiple stories about two star-crossed lovers throughout the course of history. I also found some additional information regarding reincarnation on Wikipedia.
Sample Story Comments: The most interesting thing about this book is that it utilizes the same characters, and you can tell how they are the same characters because they have similar features throughout their reincarnated lives. For example, the antagonist always had green eyes and red hair for her defining features. I think the story also focuses a lot on the aspects of reincarnation that most people don't know about, for example, it is said that people reincarnate into families that they are the most familiar with. So in your past life, your grandfather could have been your best friend!
Bibliography Information:
Book Title: Reincarnation
Book Author: Suzanne Weyn
Year: 2008
Topic: The Monkey King's Adventures
Comments: I am fascinated by adventure stories and I especially like the Monkey King because of his martial artistry and heavenly powers. I also loved watching the TV show for the Monkey King's journey through life as a child and the various demons and heavenly beings he came in contact with.
Possible Stories: I would like to write the story in the perspective of the Monkey King and why he wreaked havoc in the beginning of his life, thus causing the Great Buddha to punish him. I also want to write about his various adventures, which taught him how to become a better person (or rather, monkey).
Sample Story Comments: In the Sacred Texts archive, I found a story called How the Monkey King Became a God and it basically has a bunch of smaller stories that detail his journey to become the God of Victorious Strife. This could contribute good background information as well.
Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: Myths and Legends of China
Author: Edward T.C. Werner
Year: 1922
Topic: Psychology of Disney Characters
Comments: I like psychology so I think I can tie some stories to psychological topics. Disney movies have always been my favorite as well!
Possible Stories: I want to write stories about the possible psychological stability/disorders of the Disney characters. For example, in Beauty and the Beast, Belle developed something like Stockholm syndrome and fell in love with her captor.
Sample Story Comments: In the past storybooks archives, I found a storybook that wrote about the psychological disorders of various Greek/Roman mythological persons. I learned a lot indirectly about the characters from the story, but the author didn't focus on the disorders. I want to focus on the possible disorders in my story.
Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: Greek Therapy: The Myth in the Psychology
Author: Courtney Shubert
Comments: I'm interested in this topic not because I like watching horror movies (Oh no, never. Movies give me nightmares!), but because I like hearing about the stories of Japanese ghosts and how they became "ghosts" whether it be because they were wronged by their lover and want revenge or just came back in order to take care of their loved ones in their spirit forms. I don't know many Japanese ghost stories, but I have heard of a few creepy ones that were told from an onlooker's point of view. I want to focus on the spirit's point of view and kind of bring a different perspective on their intentions.
Possible Stories: One interesting story I found on Wikipedia was the story of Oiwa, one that I would like to write a story about in her point of view. I also found a list of Japanese legendary creatures (such as demons and ghosts) that I could peruse in order to find some sources. There are so many to choose from on this list, but I want to find the ones that are the most infamous in Japanese folklore.
Sample Story Comments: I went through the Sacred Texts Archive and found a story about a girl who killed herself in a well because she couldn't marry her love. Although it wasn't extremely scary, I found that this story could be a good source to help create a sort of backdrop to my own story.
Bibliography Information:
Sample story: Ghost of the Violet Well
Website name: Sacred-Texts
Topic: Reincarnation, the Story of Life After Living
Comments: I have always liked the idea of reincarnation. I don't know if it's real or not, but my family has always told me to do good things so that I can have a better life in the "next life." I think writing a story about reincarnation would be super interesting.
Possible Stories: Instead of a sample story, I have a book that is named "Reincarnation" that I really liked. The format of the story is multiple stories about two star-crossed lovers throughout the course of history. I also found some additional information regarding reincarnation on Wikipedia.
Sample Story Comments: The most interesting thing about this book is that it utilizes the same characters, and you can tell how they are the same characters because they have similar features throughout their reincarnated lives. For example, the antagonist always had green eyes and red hair for her defining features. I think the story also focuses a lot on the aspects of reincarnation that most people don't know about, for example, it is said that people reincarnate into families that they are the most familiar with. So in your past life, your grandfather could have been your best friend!
Bibliography Information:
Book Title: Reincarnation
Book Author: Suzanne Weyn
Year: 2008
Topic: The Monkey King's Adventures
Comments: I am fascinated by adventure stories and I especially like the Monkey King because of his martial artistry and heavenly powers. I also loved watching the TV show for the Monkey King's journey through life as a child and the various demons and heavenly beings he came in contact with.
Possible Stories: I would like to write the story in the perspective of the Monkey King and why he wreaked havoc in the beginning of his life, thus causing the Great Buddha to punish him. I also want to write about his various adventures, which taught him how to become a better person (or rather, monkey).
Sample Story Comments: In the Sacred Texts archive, I found a story called How the Monkey King Became a God and it basically has a bunch of smaller stories that detail his journey to become the God of Victorious Strife. This could contribute good background information as well.
Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: Myths and Legends of China
Author: Edward T.C. Werner
Year: 1922
Art of the Monkey King in full armor and various creatures.
Posted Andrea Ferri, 2014. Source: Pinterest.
Topic: Psychology of Disney Characters
Comments: I like psychology so I think I can tie some stories to psychological topics. Disney movies have always been my favorite as well!
Possible Stories: I want to write stories about the possible psychological stability/disorders of the Disney characters. For example, in Beauty and the Beast, Belle developed something like Stockholm syndrome and fell in love with her captor.
Sample Story Comments: In the past storybooks archives, I found a storybook that wrote about the psychological disorders of various Greek/Roman mythological persons. I learned a lot indirectly about the characters from the story, but the author didn't focus on the disorders. I want to focus on the possible disorders in my story.
Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: Greek Therapy: The Myth in the Psychology
Author: Courtney Shubert
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Week 2: Curation
Here are some interesting posts that I found this week!
10 Famous Japanese Ghost Stories
As I was browsing for inspiration on my Storybook, I came across this post about Japanese ghosts, which I think will be a good source for my book.
Greek and Roman Gods
10 Famous Japanese Ghost Stories
As I was browsing for inspiration on my Storybook, I came across this post about Japanese ghosts, which I think will be a good source for my book.
Greek and Roman Gods
This picture from Pinterest was pretty useful to me while I was doing my reading this week. It helped me brush up on my Classical gods.
I also found this on Pinterest and I think this would be useful when I start reading for the Biblical unit of this course!
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Week 2: Growth Mindset
Talking About Mindset
Earlier this week, the concept of "the self" came up in my social psychology class. There were four C's in the self-concept content and one of the C's was Changeability. Changeability is directly related to Dweck's research of "fixed" vs "growth" mindsets. My professor gave me some additional information regard these two different mindsets and this is what I learned.
Fixed mindsets: avoid challenges, give up easily, see effort as useless or bad, respond to criticism poorly, and feel threatened by others' success
Growth mindsets: embrace challenges, persists, sees effort as the path to mastery, learns from criticism, and inspired by others' success.
He even mentioned that he had a two sons and one obviously had a growth mindset while the other had a fixed mindset. By observing his sons, he found that the one thing that a fixed mindset person would say the most is "No. I don't like that." On the other hand, the growth mindset person would say "Let me try it. I might like it."
While I was pondering over this information, I asked my professor after class if it was possible to be both a fixed mindset and growth mindset individual at once, because that's what I thought I was. He told me that it is possible and to be both and that may be because I can compartmentalize different parts of me/my personality. For example, in academics, I could be a growth mindset, whereas in fashion, I could be a fixed mindset. I thought this would be interesting to share!
Earlier this week, the concept of "the self" came up in my social psychology class. There were four C's in the self-concept content and one of the C's was Changeability. Changeability is directly related to Dweck's research of "fixed" vs "growth" mindsets. My professor gave me some additional information regard these two different mindsets and this is what I learned.
Fixed mindsets: avoid challenges, give up easily, see effort as useless or bad, respond to criticism poorly, and feel threatened by others' success
Growth mindsets: embrace challenges, persists, sees effort as the path to mastery, learns from criticism, and inspired by others' success.
He even mentioned that he had a two sons and one obviously had a growth mindset while the other had a fixed mindset. By observing his sons, he found that the one thing that a fixed mindset person would say the most is "No. I don't like that." On the other hand, the growth mindset person would say "Let me try it. I might like it."
While I was pondering over this information, I asked my professor after class if it was possible to be both a fixed mindset and growth mindset individual at once, because that's what I thought I was. He told me that it is possible and to be both and that may be because I can compartmentalize different parts of me/my personality. For example, in academics, I could be a growth mindset, whereas in fashion, I could be a fixed mindset. I thought this would be interesting to share!
Extra Reading Diary: Brothers Grimm (Crane)
The Brothers Grimm (Crane) Unit
The Fisherman and His Wife
I thought it was cool that the prince was a fish, but had magical powers. If he had magical powers, why couldn't he change himself back into a human? Or was he cursed to stay a fish for the rest of his life by a witch? I like the character of the fisherman. He has good morals, but he did not make good decisions when it came to his wife. He was either completely devoted to her (to the point where he kept going to the fish even though he was scared to) or scared of her. The underlying message of this story is clear as well: unquenched greediness will ultimately lead to nothing in the end.
Aschenputtel
I never knew that Cinderella's name was originally Aschenputtel. I watched many Disney movies growing up, so I can see now that Disney changed some aspects of the original story. For example, the two daughters of the widow were beautiful, but in the movies, they were ugly. Also, Cinderella's father died in the movie, but Aschenputtel's father seems to be alive. I like that there were no fairy godmothers in this story; the birds just happened to have a gold and silver dress to drape on her at the right moment. Grimm's version of the story is definitely a little more morbid since both of the stepsisters cut off her toe or heel just so her foot could fit into the shoe. The stepsisters' eyes were also blinded by pigeons. The underlying message is to be kind and have courage and you will be met with good fortune, whereas if you are nasty and contemptuous, you will be ruined in the end.
The Robber Bridegroom
This story is full of graphic imagery with fingers being chopped off, cannibalism, and people being chopped up in pieces. I don't really like this story, but I like that in the end, there was justice. I was relieved when the girl was able to escape.
The Fisherman and His Wife
I thought it was cool that the prince was a fish, but had magical powers. If he had magical powers, why couldn't he change himself back into a human? Or was he cursed to stay a fish for the rest of his life by a witch? I like the character of the fisherman. He has good morals, but he did not make good decisions when it came to his wife. He was either completely devoted to her (to the point where he kept going to the fish even though he was scared to) or scared of her. The underlying message of this story is clear as well: unquenched greediness will ultimately lead to nothing in the end.
Aschenputtel
I never knew that Cinderella's name was originally Aschenputtel. I watched many Disney movies growing up, so I can see now that Disney changed some aspects of the original story. For example, the two daughters of the widow were beautiful, but in the movies, they were ugly. Also, Cinderella's father died in the movie, but Aschenputtel's father seems to be alive. I like that there were no fairy godmothers in this story; the birds just happened to have a gold and silver dress to drape on her at the right moment. Grimm's version of the story is definitely a little more morbid since both of the stepsisters cut off her toe or heel just so her foot could fit into the shoe. The stepsisters' eyes were also blinded by pigeons. The underlying message is to be kind and have courage and you will be met with good fortune, whereas if you are nasty and contemptuous, you will be ruined in the end.
Photo of a glass slipper.
"Cinderella Glass Slipper" by TSTS Sheng, March 2015. Source: Flickr.
The Robber Bridegroom
This story is full of graphic imagery with fingers being chopped off, cannibalism, and people being chopped up in pieces. I don't really like this story, but I like that in the end, there was justice. I was relieved when the girl was able to escape.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Storytelling Week 2: The Chronicles of Cupid
To my most beautiful self,
I have much to tell you, me, for I have met the most beautiful mortal that has walked this earth. You want to know don't you? Of course you do! Her name is Psyche and her image brings pleasure to the eyes of any man, be he a god or a mortal. She's quite exquisite. Her beauty rivals even Mother's, which is probably why Mother sent me to strike her with an arrow that would cause her to fall in love with a man that Fortune has denied any sort of health or happiness. But really, she's oh so beautiful.
To be quite honest, when I had my first glimpse of her, she did not look that impressive. Just mere flesh and bones. Nothing compared to me and my godly self! But now, I can't breathe without her. It's all because I fell off of that tree while I was about to shoot her with my arrow and ended up piercing myself instead. The first person I saw was her and I fell madly in love. She's wonderful. Thereafter, I married her and I gave her everything she could have needed. She never saw my face because my mother's wrath would be ignited if she were to know, but I knew she loved me regardless. I just knew. We even conceived a child! Who would have thought that I, the elusive Cupid, would wed and become a father! However, one day she insisted that I let her sisters visit. I was sure it was going to be a terrible idea because of their wretched nature, but I couldn't resist her seductive whispers... I just couldn't. Curse my own power!
Her sisters came and brought with themselves a raging storm of jealousy and contempt masked by sweet words of familiarity towards Psyche. Those vixens persuaded my sweet Psyche to try to kill me by persecuting me with crimes that I did not commit! My poor Psyche cultivated the seed of doubt that those two women planted, and she planned to kill me, even when I warned her of what they would do. The poor lamb didn't know any better and came at me with a blade only to discover my godly body. Once she laid her eyes on me, she ended up falling in love with me even more, of course. I was unaware of her actions at that moment, but I woke as soon as she spilled wax on my perfect skin. I still have the burn scar from it... In a moment of anger and disappointment, I left her. It broke my heart to leave, but I needed to tend to my skin. A god must look his best. Duh.
Little did I know that my mother found out about our elopement. She sought out Psyche, tortured her, and gave her tasks to punish her even more. Mother locked me in my room, but I contacted my friends to make sure Psyche would finish the tasks smoothly. She did great until the very last task. I had a feeling she would be tempted by the jar of beauty (I mean who wouldn't after days of torture from Mother?); therefore, as soon as Mother let me free, I flew to my queen and removed the sleeping spell and embraced my love. I let her go to complete her mission, for I had a mission as well. I went to Jupiter and used my charms to persuade him to make our marriage official. To my utmost delight, he agreed and now, I am off to name our baby! Hmmm... let's see, how about... Pleasure?
~ Cupid
Author's Note: I
am retelling the story of Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche. In the original
story, Psyche was a human and Cupid was a god, the son of Venus. Psyche was
very beautiful and the people thought that Psyche was the embodiment of Venus
herself, which resulted in some of them worshipping Psyche instead of Venus.
This incurred Venus’s wrath. Venus told Cupid to strike her with one of his
love arrows so that Psyche would fall in love with the vilest and unhealthiest
man in the world. Psyche was the daughter of a king and had two other sisters
who were not as beautiful as she, but she was the only daughter who had not
married. After consulting the Oracle of Apollo, her family was told that her
fate was to marry a monster. To their dismay, her family sent her off to
marriage with the “monster,” but it turned out to be Cupid. Cupid accidentally
pricked himself with one of his own arrows while trying to hit Psyche with one
and fell in love with her. While trying to prevent his mother from finding out,
he arranged for his marriage with Psyche and brought her to a beautiful home
and took care of her—all without her seeing his face. Over time, chaos ensued
once her sisters convinced Psyche to find out who her husband was and this
caused Cupid to leave Psyche. Psyche, in her love-ridden state, sought out
Cupid and encountered Venus who made her complete tasks. In the end, Cupid and
Psyche were granted everlasting love and immortality.
I did not change the plot of the story nor the characters. I chose to write it in the style of Cupid's diary entry because I thought it would be funny to portray it in Cupid's point of view because we don't really get to hear much of Cupid in the story other than when the couple just got married or after Psyche finished her tasks. My main goal was to retell the story in its entirety, just through Cupid's point of view as well as his personality. I wanted to also exaggerate the effect of Cupid's "magic arrow" by making him exaggerate his love for her and her beauty.
Bibliography:
"Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche" translated by Tony Kline. Website: UN-Textbook.
I have much to tell you, me, for I have met the most beautiful mortal that has walked this earth. You want to know don't you? Of course you do! Her name is Psyche and her image brings pleasure to the eyes of any man, be he a god or a mortal. She's quite exquisite. Her beauty rivals even Mother's, which is probably why Mother sent me to strike her with an arrow that would cause her to fall in love with a man that Fortune has denied any sort of health or happiness. But really, she's oh so beautiful.
To be quite honest, when I had my first glimpse of her, she did not look that impressive. Just mere flesh and bones. Nothing compared to me and my godly self! But now, I can't breathe without her. It's all because I fell off of that tree while I was about to shoot her with my arrow and ended up piercing myself instead. The first person I saw was her and I fell madly in love. She's wonderful. Thereafter, I married her and I gave her everything she could have needed. She never saw my face because my mother's wrath would be ignited if she were to know, but I knew she loved me regardless. I just knew. We even conceived a child! Who would have thought that I, the elusive Cupid, would wed and become a father! However, one day she insisted that I let her sisters visit. I was sure it was going to be a terrible idea because of their wretched nature, but I couldn't resist her seductive whispers... I just couldn't. Curse my own power!
Her sisters came and brought with themselves a raging storm of jealousy and contempt masked by sweet words of familiarity towards Psyche. Those vixens persuaded my sweet Psyche to try to kill me by persecuting me with crimes that I did not commit! My poor Psyche cultivated the seed of doubt that those two women planted, and she planned to kill me, even when I warned her of what they would do. The poor lamb didn't know any better and came at me with a blade only to discover my godly body. Once she laid her eyes on me, she ended up falling in love with me even more, of course. I was unaware of her actions at that moment, but I woke as soon as she spilled wax on my perfect skin. I still have the burn scar from it... In a moment of anger and disappointment, I left her. It broke my heart to leave, but I needed to tend to my skin. A god must look his best. Duh.
Little did I know that my mother found out about our elopement. She sought out Psyche, tortured her, and gave her tasks to punish her even more. Mother locked me in my room, but I contacted my friends to make sure Psyche would finish the tasks smoothly. She did great until the very last task. I had a feeling she would be tempted by the jar of beauty (I mean who wouldn't after days of torture from Mother?); therefore, as soon as Mother let me free, I flew to my queen and removed the sleeping spell and embraced my love. I let her go to complete her mission, for I had a mission as well. I went to Jupiter and used my charms to persuade him to make our marriage official. To my utmost delight, he agreed and now, I am off to name our baby! Hmmm... let's see, how about... Pleasure?
~ Cupid
Painting of Cupid and Psyche.
"Le Ravissement de Psyché - Bouguereau" by Gisele Prado Pimentel, 1895. Source: Flickr.
I did not change the plot of the story nor the characters. I chose to write it in the style of Cupid's diary entry because I thought it would be funny to portray it in Cupid's point of view because we don't really get to hear much of Cupid in the story other than when the couple just got married or after Psyche finished her tasks. My main goal was to retell the story in its entirety, just through Cupid's point of view as well as his personality. I wanted to also exaggerate the effect of Cupid's "magic arrow" by making him exaggerate his love for her and her beauty.
Bibliography:
"Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche" translated by Tony Kline. Website: UN-Textbook.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Reading Diary B: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche
Week 2 Unit: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche Reading B
Cupid was kind of being a baby about his "scorched shoulder." It was just some wax and he's immortal, but this shows his childish character. The part where the bird said Cupid "lay there in doubtful health" made no sense to me. Venus has very intense jealousy and anger management issues in this story, even towards her own kin. It was crazy of her to say that she would use one of her slave boys to replace Cupid just because he fell in love with Psyche and went against his so called Queen. As the embodiment of love, shouldn't she be more of an advocate for her son and his wife?
Ceres as Venus's aunt should have the power to go against her. I thought it was weak of the other goddess to yield to Venus's rage-driven desire to punish Psyche. The way Psyche was treated after Venus put, more or less, a bounty on her surprised me. Here I thought she was one of the king's daughters. How did any mortal have the power to lay hands on a princess? The story exaggerates the characters' emotions, which spur a response from the reader, which I would like to incorporate in my own story.
The trials that Venus gives Psyche reminds me of the story of The Twelve Labors of Heracles. It amazes me that she was able to climb mountains and finish all of the task while carrying a child. I like that wherever Psyche goes, she gets help from various people, plants and animals. And I think that's partly because she has always been a good person. The message that I'm getting from these trials is that when someone has a kind heart, help will always be there for him or her. What really grabbed my attention was the amount of detail Psyche's helpers would give her in order for her to fulfill her task. I really enjoyed the ending of this story. I like that there was a happy ending for Psyche and Cupid as well as Lucius and the captive girl.
Cupid was kind of being a baby about his "scorched shoulder." It was just some wax and he's immortal, but this shows his childish character. The part where the bird said Cupid "lay there in doubtful health" made no sense to me. Venus has very intense jealousy and anger management issues in this story, even towards her own kin. It was crazy of her to say that she would use one of her slave boys to replace Cupid just because he fell in love with Psyche and went against his so called Queen. As the embodiment of love, shouldn't she be more of an advocate for her son and his wife?
Ceres as Venus's aunt should have the power to go against her. I thought it was weak of the other goddess to yield to Venus's rage-driven desire to punish Psyche. The way Psyche was treated after Venus put, more or less, a bounty on her surprised me. Here I thought she was one of the king's daughters. How did any mortal have the power to lay hands on a princess? The story exaggerates the characters' emotions, which spur a response from the reader, which I would like to incorporate in my own story.
The trials that Venus gives Psyche reminds me of the story of The Twelve Labors of Heracles. It amazes me that she was able to climb mountains and finish all of the task while carrying a child. I like that wherever Psyche goes, she gets help from various people, plants and animals. And I think that's partly because she has always been a good person. The message that I'm getting from these trials is that when someone has a kind heart, help will always be there for him or her. What really grabbed my attention was the amount of detail Psyche's helpers would give her in order for her to fulfill her task. I really enjoyed the ending of this story. I like that there was a happy ending for Psyche and Cupid as well as Lucius and the captive girl.
Painting of Providence Carrying Ganymede on His Wings.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Reading Diary A: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche
Week 2 Unit: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche
1. The Captive Woman
2. Her Dream
3. Psyche's Beauty
4. The Oracle of Apollo
5. The Magical Palace
6. The Mysterious Husband
7. The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters
8. Psyche's Husband Warns Her
9. Fears and Doubts
10. Psyche's Husband Revealed
11. Psyche's Despair
The writing uses high-level vocabulary. Sentence structure is very long, kind of like how epic poems usually are. There are also lots of colorful, descriptive language that lays out the setting and character actions. The story is told from the point of view of a character who observes what is happening.
The story is told from the point of view of a man that has been turned into a donkey. He is currently a pack mule for a group of bandits that have kidnapped a wealthy young mistress and are holding her for ransom. Since the girl is so distressed, they send an old lady to console her. It was odd that the old woman was supposed to console the girl, but she ended up getting angry and yelling at her for crying. Then, she decides to cheer the girl up with a story. The transition was a little weird in terms of the old woman's actions. So the young mistress was to be betrothed the day of her kidnapping, which prompted the old woman to tell her a love story.
Thus begins the story...
In a kingdom, there was 3 daughters, with the youngest daughter being the most beautiful in the land and her name was Psyche. Her beauty angered the goddess Venus. In this story, Cupid was wicked and not an advocate of love. Rather, he enjoyed breaking up relationships and committing shameful acts. Although Psyche was beautiful, she didn't have any suitors. Psyche was very accepting of her fate to be wed to a beast (which isn't too weird for back then, but now, women are less subservient). Once Psyche leaves home to meet her husband, she finds herself in an extravagant house where she is treated with utmost respect as the wife. She is soon pregnant with his child. Her unknown husband was able to have a relationship with her without her seeing his face. The characters speak of fortune as if she was a real person. Psyche's sisters are actually very jealous of her and want to punish her for her so-called arrogance. Psyche's husband is aware of her sisters' plans and warns her of impending misfortune due to their actions, likening them to harpies or sirens, but Psyche naively listens to their false tales. She then intends to kill her husband. But as she is about to kill him, she sees that he is the beautiful god Cupid himself and gets caught up on his bow and arrow, pricking herself and falling even further in love with him. She accidentally spills oils onto his shoulder, waking him, and he punishes her by leaving her, vowing to punish her sisters for their sins. She met her sisters and told them of what happened. The sisters then tried to take themselves to Cupid and ended up dying because Zephyr did not take them with his wind.
For my own story, I want to add a suitor for Psyche as well as make her less subservient.
1. The Captive Woman
2. Her Dream
3. Psyche's Beauty
4. The Oracle of Apollo
5. The Magical Palace
6. The Mysterious Husband
7. The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters
8. Psyche's Husband Warns Her
9. Fears and Doubts
10. Psyche's Husband Revealed
11. Psyche's Despair
The writing uses high-level vocabulary. Sentence structure is very long, kind of like how epic poems usually are. There are also lots of colorful, descriptive language that lays out the setting and character actions. The story is told from the point of view of a character who observes what is happening.
The story is told from the point of view of a man that has been turned into a donkey. He is currently a pack mule for a group of bandits that have kidnapped a wealthy young mistress and are holding her for ransom. Since the girl is so distressed, they send an old lady to console her. It was odd that the old woman was supposed to console the girl, but she ended up getting angry and yelling at her for crying. Then, she decides to cheer the girl up with a story. The transition was a little weird in terms of the old woman's actions. So the young mistress was to be betrothed the day of her kidnapping, which prompted the old woman to tell her a love story.
Thus begins the story...
In a kingdom, there was 3 daughters, with the youngest daughter being the most beautiful in the land and her name was Psyche. Her beauty angered the goddess Venus. In this story, Cupid was wicked and not an advocate of love. Rather, he enjoyed breaking up relationships and committing shameful acts. Although Psyche was beautiful, she didn't have any suitors. Psyche was very accepting of her fate to be wed to a beast (which isn't too weird for back then, but now, women are less subservient). Once Psyche leaves home to meet her husband, she finds herself in an extravagant house where she is treated with utmost respect as the wife. She is soon pregnant with his child. Her unknown husband was able to have a relationship with her without her seeing his face. The characters speak of fortune as if she was a real person. Psyche's sisters are actually very jealous of her and want to punish her for her so-called arrogance. Psyche's husband is aware of her sisters' plans and warns her of impending misfortune due to their actions, likening them to harpies or sirens, but Psyche naively listens to their false tales. She then intends to kill her husband. But as she is about to kill him, she sees that he is the beautiful god Cupid himself and gets caught up on his bow and arrow, pricking herself and falling even further in love with him. She accidentally spills oils onto his shoulder, waking him, and he punishes her by leaving her, vowing to punish her sisters for their sins. She met her sisters and told them of what happened. The sisters then tried to take themselves to Cupid and ended up dying because Zephyr did not take them with his wind.
For my own story, I want to add a suitor for Psyche as well as make her less subservient.
A statue of Psyche and Cupid.
"Psyche and Cupid" by gadgetdude, September 2009. Source: Flickr.
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