Oral Traditions

Final Entry

2005-05-01T13:54:00.000-06:00

Well, I've finished the individual presentations notes. Please see them at my notes site if you need a brief refresher on topics brought up and memorizations.

I want to thank everyone for a wonderful semester. I've had so much fun getting to know you all through class discussion, presentations, and epic poems. For those of you graduating, best of luck! We'll miss you and REMEMBER you fondly. All others, perhaps we will meet again in a future class. This will certainly remain one of my most memorable course experiences both for the things we learned and the people that I've met. Thanks very much for eveything and never forget:

Dog, grapefruit, bottle of wine, toothpaste, left shoe, eyebrow. :O)

Have a wonderful summer!

Wrapping Things Up

2005-04-30T13:39:00.000-06:00

It's just about the end of the semester. *sigh* I'm working on updating my notes page with group and individual presentations and will have them finished by Sunday afternoon. Please do not rely entirely on my stuff! Debbie and Nikole and others have also summarized presentations very well.

Here's my notes site again:

http://oraltraditionsnotes.blogspot.com Check it out! :O)

Classmates' Journals

2005-04-28T13:18:00.000-06:00

Hello all fellow Oral Traditions students! As you may know, it is most helpful (and fun) to read everyone's web journals to gain insight into new and different ideas and viewpoints. Here is a compilation of web addresses for your use.

Allison http://oraltraditions.blogspot.com
Brian D http://www.geocities.com/fenwayfan80
Brian J http://rememory.blogspot.com
Cara http://dineenc.blogspot.com
Cindy http://spaditions.blogspot.com
Courtney http://www.livejournal.com/users/wilsoncourt/
Debbie http://oraltraditionsdeb.blogspot.com
Dustin http://dythonoraltradition.blogspot.com
Ed http://trex2.oscs.montana.edu/~eshanley/index2.html
Hanna http://precontamination.blogspot.com
Jennifer Turcotte http://jst-oraltraditions.blogspot.com
Jeremy http://www.adamlamb.com/webPages/Oral%20Traditions%201/Feats%20of%20Memory
Jeremiah http://guywiththecowboyhat.blogspot.com/
Josh http://www.livejournal.com/users/jgerdes
Juliet http://julietno.blogspot.com
Justin http://oraltraditionsengl337.blogspot.com
Kelly http://galacticgerbil.blogspot.com
Kristi http://saffiatu.blogspot.com
Lauren http://oraltraditions337.blogspot.com
Mick http://msuenglish337.blogspot.com/
Nikole http://www.geocities.com/nikoledidier/index2.html
Opai (Apabrita) http://www.geocities.com/apabritabasu
Samantha Fife http://originaldrivel.blogspot.com/
Shauna http://ideasandramblings.blog.com
Sophie http://oraltradsophie.blogspot.com
Stephanie Urban http://stephurban.blogspot.com
Tracy http://assignedjournal.blogdrive.com
Valerie http://thefirebird2005.blogspot.com
Wayne http://www.wayne.blog-city.com
Wesley http://www.livejournal.com/users/wesleyfriske/
Zac http://zaxoraltradjournal.blogspot.com/

That's all I've got for now. I'll add to it as you all establish your sites. :O) Thanks!

Sherman Alexie

2005-04-23T20:50:00.000-06:00

I hope that many of you were fortunate enough to check out Sherman Alexie's lecture on Thursday night. He was hilarious, but he really made some interesting insights, too. I was sitting by Allison at the lecture and at one point Alexie said "That's the oral tradition." Since we are both now students of the oral tradition we took notice and paid closer attention as he continued, "someone tells a story and then the next person tells it wrong and then he tells it wrong and then we have American History". (This was not exactly how lexie phrased it, but, you get the jist) I thought that was hilarious. The oral tradition created history. I totally agree with that and now I wish I had written my term paper about it. I love history but how can we really know what's true and what's not? Although some might get caught up in the "truth" of history, I don't think we have to. At its heart I think that history is just stories. Stories of people and places and events. Early history certainly has imaginative touches. Anone who has read Herodotus would know that! Thank goodness for the oral tradition! Without it, where would we be?

Read Other entries!

2005-04-23T12:43:00.000-06:00

It's weird that I'm writing this entry becuase it is assuming that people are reading my posts....anyhow. I've just made my weekly (or bi-monthly) journey through each journal for this class and I am quite impressed by the entries! Kristi's site has some great insights. I have especialy enjoyed her short response to "Hotel Rwanda" and her entry "African Time". Allison's entries are always entertaining. Valerie and Hanna are doing cool things, too. Really, I know it takes awhile to read every person's journal, but it's worth it. I come away with a new idea everytime.

PICTURES

2005-04-20T21:00:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures of our last few weeks of presentations. :O)

2005-04-20T21:00:00.000-06:00

Heather sings praises of the beautiful Hannah

2005-04-20T20:59:00.001-06:00

Brian retells of Steph's adventures in Europe

2005-04-20T20:59:00.000-06:00

Steph tells us of Brian

2005-04-20T20:58:00.000-06:00

Samantha enthralls us with Josh's life story

2005-04-20T20:57:00.001-06:00

Tracy is compelling

2005-04-20T20:57:00.000-06:00

The class enjoys an oral presentation

2005-04-20T20:56:00.001-06:00

Brian and Stacy: Soulmates

2005-04-20T20:56:00.000-06:00

Debie memorializes Opai

2005-04-20T20:54:00.000-06:00

The Oog offers light by which to read a script.

2005-04-20T20:53:00.000-06:00

Dreams

2005-04-20T20:52:00.002-06:00

Flowers for all!

2005-04-20T20:52:00.001-06:00

Kristi is surprised by what she sees

2005-04-20T20:52:00.000-06:00

The boundaries group entertains

2005-04-20T20:51:00.001-06:00

Faith enlightens us

2005-04-20T20:51:00.000-06:00

Group Presentations

2005-04-20T20:36:00.000-06:00

Dr. Sexson as Dr. Seuss!!!!

Memorizations/Group Presentations

2005-04-19T20:13:00.000-06:00

A BIG "Great Job!" To everyone for their fantastic memorizations and group presentations. I think that all the groups really stepped up to the challenge of entertaining us and engaging in the oral culture's prominant ideas of storytelling. I have to say that my favorite group was the Cindy, Valerie, Juliette, Dustin, Wayne, Opai group with their blindfolds. At certain points the noise of the ongoing conversations was almost unbearable and that's something that I don't tend to notice when I can see what's going on. The smells were a fantastic effect; especially the smell of the pipe smoke. I loved your creativity. Awesome job. To all the groups though, we have a class of budding actors and directors in this class. :O) I was thoroughly impressed by all.

As for memorizations...AWESOME! I love the wide range of topics that the class has chosen. Music to universities, to poetry. I was the most "into it" when Wayne recited from the First Quartet. I have never heard those read aloud and it was so captivating and magical. Ed was rocking my socks with his German/English translations of "Prometheus" and I actually was learning from some people! Wildflowers, religions, top songs. Thanks for all your insights.

I chose to do Dr. Seuss because I love Dr.Seuss and I think that his messages, especially in Oh, The Places You'll Go, are valuable for all of us to remember. Now, whenever I know someone is off to do something great, I can recite the book to him/her. I think that's an important thing. :O) Above you will see a picture of our very own Shaman Sexson as Dr. Seuss...great! I just figured out the picture thing and I LOVE IT! Too bad it's the end of the semester. :O(

It's been awhile...

2005-04-13T22:22:00.000-06:00

I still haven't posted my journal entry re: memory and Shakespeare. I will do that at some point. Really. This last few weeks has been pretty crazy though.

Great job to the performers on Tuesday. Sadly, I was unable to see groups one and two because I told Brian I would "suit him up" in his...armor? I hope that everyone enjoyed our production. It was fun but next time, we should each have reading lights. It was a little difficult to see our lines. Or maybe we should memorize them. I am looking forward to tomorrow's presentations. :O) Good luck to groups 4, 5, 6!

I've got half of my memorization for Tuesday the 19th down. It's going pretty well but the memory palace wasn't working for me. I don't know how to use it with phrases and words. If you used the memory theater and memorized a poem or passage from something, tell the rest of us about it. I want to know the secrets.

Exam #2 Reactions

2005-04-06T00:21:00.000-06:00

I'm glad that we graded this test in class because there were a few that I wasn't sure about. I was sooo close to coming up with Xanadu for the Citizen Kane mansion question, but I just couldn't. My memory failed me. I was not surprised by anything on the exam except the questions from the Top 100. I wasn't expecting that to be on there. Interestingly, I had been reviewing my memory palace just this weekend to see that I could still make it all the way through. I can' believe that I still have them all in there.

Anyhow, good exam. I do expect, however, that the essay question will be extra credit. I don't think that anyone ACED it.

Recitation of Epics: The Audience

2005-04-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

While we were presenting our poems in the last week and a half, I definitely began to see the huge role that the audience plays in an oral performance. I was smiling through every single poem, and, in looking around the room, I noticed that everyone else was, too. It was really fun to see the class getting so into the performances. People fed off of the energy in the room and made their gestures bigger and greater than they might have normally. We all incorporated Ong's idea of a participatory quality in our stories in order that we could draw the group in. I hope that our group presentations are just as memorable.

Notes

2005-04-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

Due to the upcoming test, I have updated my notes site (finally). Here, in case you have forgotten it, is the site:

http://oraltraditionsnotes.blogspot.com/

Feel free to go here to study. I have done my best to get the important stuff written down. Nikole, Hanna, and Opai have notes on their sites as well. Use them all!

Epic Poetry Recitations

2005-03-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Wow! I did not realize the talent and wit of my fellow Oral Traditions classmates. Everyone did a FABULOUS job! I think that my favorite was Jerimiah's because, well, it was amazing! He mixed the epic descriptions with country music and made a great song. Get that one into the recording studio!!!!

Valerie's poem about Wes was my favorite of the traditional poems. Her memorization was awesome and her language was perfectly matched to the assignment. Great job, Valerie and thanks for recording everyone. :O) I'll get you a videotape soon.

"Peace Corpus Krisiti" did an awesome job with Wayne's life, too. I will always remember " I siiiing of Wayne. Wayne the Brain."

As far as admiration poetry, Ed's poem about Cindy was certainly like an Ode to a Goddess. You know how to flatter a lady, Ed. :O)

I have to say, I was disappointed by my inability to remember the poem I wrote. I swear I had it memorized. I got up there and just wanted to get through it. If I had sat there long enough, I could have remembered it all. That's boring though. I could have started earlier though...that might have helped me.

I loved this assignment because of the insight that it gave all of us into each other. We never get to know people this closely in class and I'm glad that I've gotten a chance to hear about people's lives and accomplishments. This is a talented group that will go far. Thanks for your great poetry everyone. And remember, if you don't mind it being posted on the English Club board next to the English Office, please post your poem on your site. I check everyone's page out frequently so I'll see it. Thanks!

Epic poems?

2005-03-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

Soooo....is anyone else stressing about the poems we are supposed to write and recite about our soulmates? I have no idea how I'm supposed to memorize this thing? Is the Memory theater supposed to work with this? I'm going to have to get creative. I know we've had a few weeks to do this but, really, we've all been quite busy with other things, right? If there are any suggestions for this composition and memorization, please let us all know the secret. I'm a horrible poet. This is a warning to all who will hear my poem.

FINALLY a New Entry

2005-03-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

So, Spring Break really threw me off for my entries. I had no Internet access for 11 days and that's killer for a journal that's supposed to be continually updated. I hope I'm not the only one who slacked off a little this last week. :O) I also hope that Spring Break was relaxing for you all. I need at least another week off to recover from the week I was gone, but, no matter. Only about 7 weeks left in the semester!

On Thursday we discussed sections of Ong chapters 4-7 that struck us. On page 103 Ong writes "With writing, words once 'uttered', outered, put down on the surface, can be eliminated, erased, changed. There is no equivalent for this in oral performance, no way to erase a spoken word...Corrections in oral performance tend to be counterproductive, to render the speaker unconvincing. " This made me think about some of the reasons that the oral word is so strong. The power of the spoken promise in oral culture has already been discussed. The signature is irrelevant to them while the promise is the most binding of contracts. I don't know how many of you watch TV courtroom dramas or movies, but sometimes a lawyer will ask that a witness's answer be "stricken from the record" and the judge often grants the request meaning that the divulged information cannot be taken into account when making a final decision on the case. That's just stupid. As Ong says, we cannot take back what we've said as much as we might like to. Similarly, we cannot forget what we've heard once we've heard it. Those jurors aren't going to 'forget' what that witness said even if they are supposed to. The spoken word is too powerful to be erased or forgotten without some kind of memory erasure system.

I also thought that Ong's discussion of Finnegan's Wake as a text written for the print medium despite its obvious roots in the oral culture. It could not be copied in huge numbers without print because there's no way that the weir spellings and sentence structures could be easily reproduced. Also, Wake is a prime example of a text that cannot be understood without thhe knowledge of all past printed texts. It's a really interesting aspect of intertextuality at work here. :O)

Top 100 Recitations Day #2

2005-03-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Everyone did a fabulous job on memorizing the Top 100! I especially enjoyed Tracy's musical and theatrical interpretation of the "text"! Awesome work! I hope that the epic poem performances go equally as well.

In the discussion following our recitations we talked about what made things memorable for us...I think that humor was really key for a lot of us. Like the assocation between condoms and The Birth of Tragedy or Brian's Catcher in the Rye. I didn't think about things that I wanted to use for my assocations and then map my palace out around those. I chose my path first and then made necessary assocations as I went. For example, Pale Fire in the fireplace makes sense but the bear next to it doesn't really equate to Divine Comedy I just had to make that connection and remember it. I think that having a set path really helped me to not get lost in the order of the books. I can't believe that some people did it just by rote memory. Yikes. I could NOT do that. I wonder if people that aren't that visual had more trouble with the Palace technique.

Thanks!

2005-03-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

Hey! I wanted to give a HUGE thank you to Stephanie Urban and Mick for their postings of pictures (that's the back of my head on Mick's site) and notes from Rushdie's class and lecture. Please, those of you who took notes (I know Nikole and Cindy did, too) post them!!!! I took notes during the Master's Class and I will post them ASAP but I want to have the lecture notes as well if you guys can manage to get them up. Thanks so much! :O)

Salman Rushdie

2005-03-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

SALMAN RUSHDIE WAS HERE!

Mr. Rushdie was in Bozeman yesterday. The experience of meeting him and getting to hear him speak on a variety of political and literary issues was one of the highlights of my life thus far. (I hope there are many more good things to come, but, for now, Rushdie is at the top.) I really haven't had an opportunity to fully ruminate on the things that Rushdie said and the things that I learned from him, but I am trying to do so and I hope that I will be able to write an articulate post regarding him speech and our small seminar class with him. For now I'll say that Salman Rushdie is a brilliant but approachable, funny, and deeply human man. I am so glad and thankful that this opportunity came to Bozeman, Montana!

Read Allison's "Recitation" Entry

2005-03-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hey! Read Allison's entry titled "Recitation" and do what she asks regarding the associations that memory palace users have made with #1, #50, #100. I'd love to see what you all have done in your brains. :O)

Rushdie Insights

2005-03-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

Since one of the greatest writers of all time is going to be HERE on MONDAY I am really trying to immerse myself in his texts before he gets here. I am about halfway through The Satanic Verses right now and I have read about 50 pages in Midnight's Children. I am also trying to get through his essays and to read some supplemental material to enhance my understanding. As I was reading on http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/anglophone/satanic_verses/svnotes.pdf, I found a section called "The Crucial Book of: Salman Rushdie". Within this section Rushdie discusses the influence that Joyce's Ulysses (#12) has had on him and on his writing. Here are some of the quotations that I found most interesting:

"Joyce built a whole universe out of a grain of sand."

"Joyce is always in my mind, I carry him everywhere with me."

"Everyone said that it was such a sealed book, hard to penetrate, but I did not think so at all. You never hear people say that there is so much humor in the book, that the characters are so lively or that the theme - Stephen Daedalus in search of his lost father and Bloom looking for his lost child - is so moving. People talk about the cleverness of Ulysses and about the literary innovation. To me it was moving, in the first place."

"Nevertheless, they would not have become friends, he believes. "Joyce was not very good at friendship. There is a story about his put-down of Samuel Beckett, who adored him and often came along his place. He plainly told him that he only loved two people in the world: the first being his wife, the second his daughter. His only encounter with Proust was also very comical. Joyce and Proust met each other when leaving a party. Proust had his coach standing at the door and was wrapped up fom head to foot, afraid as he was to catch a cold. Joyce jumps into the coach uninvitedly, lights a cigar and opens the window widely. Proust says nothing, neither does Joyce. It is like a silent movie. Two masters of the word, who say nothing to each other and yet disclose themselves. Fantastic!" --> I thought this one was hilarious!

Within the interview he also recites a portion of Molly Bloom's monologue. The importance of memory is evident in Rushdie's life and his work.

It's obvious that Rushdie has been profoundly influenced by Joyce but I think that it's really interesting to realize that Rushdie's admiration comes from more than just the creative and technical aspects of Joyce's writing. He also has a definite sense of Joyce's thematic goals. Whereas most readers cannot get past the technicality and the challenge of reading Finnegans Wake and Ulysses, Rushdie points out the tenderness and sensitivity of subjects that Joyce discusses. I feel much more obliged to read these texts all the way through now that I've read Rushdie's testimony to them.

I have more to say re: Rushdie and his texts, but, it's late. I'll do more later!

Memory Palace Day #1

2005-03-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

What a day! I am so excited that everyone did so well today on their Memory presentations! I think that almost everyone used the Memory Palace method but at least one person, Josh, used a song. I thought that the song was an awesome idea because I know that I remember almost every song that I have ever been taught. I was just talking with a friend about a song that listed all the states in alphabetical order. I can't forget that song. "Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut...." Good stuff.

I also thought that it was really interesting to listen to Zac recite the "out-dated" Top 100. As he would mention a book that was out of place from our list, I would immediately go to the loci which I had associated that book. Example...100 Years of Solitude is #27 on the new list while it is #12 on the old one. When Zac said "100 Years of Solitude" my mind jumped ahead to the lamp in the living room even though I was only in the kitchen for the previous book. I started my memorization on Sunday and I never thought that I would be able to form such strong associations in my mind so quickly. I am soo impressed by this method. Thanks to Sexson and Yates for letting me in on a too well-kept secret.

Memory Palace Experience

2005-02-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

Alright, so, I was not exactly excited when, at 1:30 pm on Saturday I remembered that I had to have the Top 100 Memorized by Tuesday. Yikes! Panic is probably the best description of my feelings at that moment. I sat down then and there to construct my palace and begin what I was sure would be an arduous journey to remember 100 book titles and their ranking position.

However, I actually ended up loving it! Not only does the method work (doubters MUST try it) , but I found myself actually enjoying the process of making associations between places/things and the books in the list. For example, there is a hallway in my home with a portrait of me and my two sisters displayed prominantly. That portrait is #43 Midnight's Children. Cupid and Psyche sit in the transom above the upsaitrs bathroom to remind me of The Golden Ass. I lead my sister through my palace and she loved it. I wish I had known of thi technique sooner! I might have gotten better test scores in Science classes.

Anyway, it works and it's awesome! Can't wait to hear about everyone else's experiences!

Re: Exam #1

2005-02-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well...the first test was more difficult than the exams of Children's Lit but, it was okay. I think that the most difficult part for me, like most everyone else, was the section about the Ong's 9 most important ideas. I could not figure out which things went with each other. I guess that I just don't have the memory that is needed to be able to visualize the pages and answer questions. In preparation for the exam I memorized the 9 ideas and gave them each a brief definition, but the application of the examples to the terms was difficult for me. Oh, well. I am thankful and appreciative to Shaman Sexson for making the essay part extra credit. That will boost us all up a little bit. :O)

Anyhow, I hope that my notes were of some help to those of you who used them. If there's something that I can do differently please let me know. We are a community of learners after all.

If you have not read Allison's conspiracy theory entry about this class, go do it! http://oraltraditions.blogspot.com It is funny and enlightening to our current situation. Excellent thinking my friend. Thank you for letting us in on the secret.

Flyting

2005-02-19T13:49:00.001-07:00

We talked about Flyting a long time ago but I was just reading Courtney's journal which included the EXCELLENT scene with Peter (aka Robin Wiliams) and Rufio. Great example!

I remember in high school that my teacher gave us an assignment to "flyt" with each other using only Shakespearean insults. It was really fun! There was one that I'm not sure if she made up or if it's from a play, but you tell someone that he has "hirsute, pediculous, clarty oxters". Figure out what that means. :O)

Here are some more of Shakespeare's insults from http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/index.html? Visit here from more great flyting lines.

*Thou errant folly-fallen whey-face!
*Thou caluminous beetle-headed nut-hook!
*Thou art not so big as a round little worm
*Thou puking unchin-snouted malcontent!
*Show your sheep-biting face, and be hanged an hour!
*O lilliterate loiterer!
*Hence, horrible villain, or I'll spurn thine eyes like balls before me; I'll unhair thy head, Thou shalt be whipp'd with wire, and stew'd'in brine, smarting in lingering pickle.
*Thou goatish beetle-headed harpy!
*Thou bawdy swag-bellied death-token!
*Thou art a very ragged wart.

Good stuff, eh? I think that Shakespeare's insults could rank right up there with the best of them.

Another TESTIMONIAL :O) to the power of EJournal

2005-02-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

People not from our classes actually read our thoughts!!!! I have gotten 7 comments on my posts this semester, mostly regarding the Salman Rushdie lecture saying how lucky we are to be able to go and asking for a summary of what happens at the talk. One guy asked about a post I made regarding Literate Presuppositions and said he "enjoys reading" my blog. That's so cool. I was surprised to see that there are others interested in my words. So keep writing profound thoughts...perhaps you will make a connection with someone.

Salman Rushdie on Memory

2005-02-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some of the links to Rushdie sites that classmates have in their journals and came across an interview at http://www.subir.com/rushdie/uc_maps.html.

In response to the question of how he prepares himself to write Rushdie replies:

I think I relied mostly on memory. I spent a long time just kind of excavating my memory and the memories of other people. And when there were errors in the remembering, I found I quite liked that, because I didn't want to write something that had journalistic truth but rather some- thing that had a kind of remembered truth. And of course memory does plan those tricks. For instance -- this is something that Indian readers catch at once -- at one point Ganesh is described as having sat at the feet of Valmiki and taking down the Ramayana, which of course he didn't. There are a lot at mistakes like that: they are consciously introduced mistakes. The texture of the narrative is such that it almost depends upon being an error about history; otherwise it wouldn't be an accurate piece of memory, because that's what narrative is, it's something remembered.

I was soo excited when I read this! Obviously, memory and stories have been a huge part of Rushdie's writings. I especially like that he discusses the fallibility of memory. That it can never be truly perfect; that the only way to accuratly portray memory is to include the forgotten or misremembered moments. His mention of the idea of a "remembered truth" also intrigued me. It reminds me of Plato's theory about our pre-birth expanse of knowledge. Plato argues that we know everything before we were born and that we forget it when we enter this world. Rushdie seems to be alluding to a similar idea that there are some truths that all people, in all situations know at some level. The question becomes, do they remember?

Rushdie also mentions one of our favorite people as an influence in his writing. :O) It seems that Joyce has given Rushdie confidence to try things that other, less talanted, authors may not have the assurance to do.

As for other influences, well, there's Joyce, for a start... And Joyce, because Joyce shows you that you can do anything if you do it properly.

Oral Culture as Homeostatic

2005-02-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

One of the 9 Characteristics of orally based thought and expression is that it is Homeostatic, in other words, that the holders of knowledge (mythtellers, elders, etc) take out information that is no longer relevant to the situation of the community. For example, if I were telling a story that had previously included information about what it was like during prohibition, I might amend the story because prohibition no longer exists as a national statute across our country. (I can't think of a better example right now) In Ong's words, "oral societies very much live in a present which keeps itself in equilibrium...by sloughing off memories which no longer have present relevance" (46). This got me thinking. I am also majoring in History and most people who study history (and even some who don't) would agree that the point of studying the past is to learn about where we came from, how we came from that place and time to the one we are in now, and where we may be headed in our future. Where, then, do oral cultures draw the line at what is "worthy" of being held on to and what is not?

Some people out there hold the view that history often simply reminds us of the evil in mankind rather than teaching us the reasons to avoid that evil... is an oral culture's history like this? Does it keep memories of good times and reject the bad? or does it keep the bad in order that a lesson might be learned from it? It seems to me from the myth tales that I have read thus far in Kane's book, that the histories and memories of oral people are of the bad things. The tales are didactic and therefore remain relevant.

Ong's discussion of word meanings in this context are quite interesting. The Oxford English Dictionary is FULL of word meanings that we are rarely even aware of, let alone using. I suppose that for a print culture, the meanings of these words must be kept and catalogued so that when we go back to a 15th century text we can make sense of it in its own context. Oral cultures have no use for this because the word is only present as it is being said. After that, it is gone and cannot be referenced.

*My notes http://oraltraditionsnotes.blogspot.com

Class Notes

2005-02-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

I've started a new blog site reserved for notes. Check them out if you like. Sorry if anything is confusing...I don't always write everything down. :O)

http://oraltraditionsnotes.blogspot.com

Genealogy...What's fun about Leviticus?

2005-02-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

My mom is also a genealogy nut. I think that her interest in genealogy stems from the fact that our family background is so newly American, yet, we know very little about when or why the journey from Norway took place. My mom has traced her family roots back to the 16th century but hasn't had time to do the Newman side yet. Although it seems like a goofy thing to spend, literally, days in a library or church pouring over documents, when the searching is for information about your own ancestors there is a level of excitement and fun in it. My family genealogy is truly MY story in a context that is much more comprehensible than saying that the Bible and all of time is also my story. To have names and places and dates attached to that history adds a dimension of reality to the story of my family. Besides, my mom doesn't use the "begat"s in her rendition of the family history. :O)

Don't forget!!!!

2005-02-09T22:41:00.000-07:00

Go get your SALMAN RUSHDIE tickets!!!!

He will be here on Monday March 7th

and the Leadership Institute is expecting

tickets to sell out quickly. Get them while they last!

Top 100 revisited...

2005-02-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

So, I'm a slacker. I still haven't really attempted my memorization. I think that I need to get a few more distractions out of my mind before I devote my self fully. But I've been wondering whether it would be better for me to use my home in Alaska as my "palace" or the home that I live in now. In some ways I think that having to reconstruct the old home may make the memorization easier because I'll be engaged in remembering details to begin with. On the other hand, I don't remember the house as well as the one I'm in now and this new house is bigger with more nooks and crannies. I think that I'm going to try my current house first and actually walk through it and make the associations with loci as I go. I hope I have as easy a time with it as Jennifer did. :O)

Marginalia

2005-02-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago in class we brought up the subject of marginalia and how, perhaps, reading a used book with highlighter already in it, underlines, and notes in the margins can screw one up in her reading of a text. I found this conversation interesting for a couple of reasons. First, I always write in my books. I write margin notes; I write in the front covers; I underline; I circle and box around things that I think are important. (I do not, however, underline. It's too difficult to write with a highlighter.) I think that reading a used book can be a help and a hindrance depending on the previous owner's intelligence and her book-writing-in habits. If there are only a few marks and underlines, it often doesn't bother me. But, I do think that every mark that is made in a book becomes a part of the text. It reminds me of the deconstruction tenet that any conversation about let's say Orality and Literacy become a text in itself to be closely analyzed. I find often that if I am reading a text that has been written in by a stranger, I ponder their markings. To mark in the text is to put precedence of one piece of information over another. Sometimes that screws me up. Maybe I don't think the sentence that Kaitlin marked with a star is particularly important or interesting...it's already marked and now I have to think about why.

I found Dr. Sexson's story about a conversation in the margins interesting because, while I think I have some intelligent thoughts in my marginalia, I am slightly uncomfortable with the idea of letting people read my copies of books if they are all marked up. Those are usually my initial responses, questions, and epiphanies and, to me, those seem pretty personal. I don't go back and erase or scratch out those initial markings so, even if my ideas have evolved, the original ideas are still in my text.

In a way then, isn't text changeable? To change a text would, of course, mean passing along the same book from person to person, but if the marginalia are to be counted as a part of the text, perhaps the words in books are not quite as concrete as we thought.

Go Jennifer!

2005-02-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

I was just reading Jennifer's account of her Memory Palace experiment...great job! I'm going to start tonight!!!

Hmmm

2005-02-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

I was reading Sophie's journal and I checked out the other top 100 lists that she had linked there. I think it's really interesting to think about the reasons why our book list is so drastically different from Harvard's and why Harvard's is so different from the BBC's. Only one of the 4 lists I looked at included any of the ancient Greeks and that was the list by the Harvard Bookstore and all it included was the Aeneid and Iliad. There was no mention in any of the others about Sophocles, Aeschulys, or Homer's Odyssey. I find that strange. Also, Shakespeare was only included in one list and ONLY Henry IV was listed; none mentioned the Bible. Finnegan's Wake was 77 on the Modern Library's "Board" list. The "Readers" list did not include it at all. I think that Ulysses is the only piece that is on every list as well as ours. I find it fascinating that our version of the "Top" books is so different from other communities around the world. Why is Finnegan's Wake in our top 10 when only one other list deems it worthy to even be included? And why does every other list but ours include The Heart is a Lonley Hunter by McCullers and Huxley's Brave New World? I suppose that these are questions that really can't be answered, but, I think that they are interesting to ponder anyway. I think that as I become more connected with our Top100 through my memorization I will begin to see changes that I would like to make to our list.

Top 100 Memory

2005-02-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure that the slideshow from Tuesday's class will help me. I think that I may need to look up other pictures to help me remember. It was an interesting excersize nonetheless. I was astounded by Justin's story technique and found myself remembering his story throughout my day. I don't know that that method will work for me because I won't be able to remember what part of the story comes next but I've been trying out my "memory palace" and I think I can do it. I'm excited to be able to impress my friends/family at my brilliance. :O) Good luck all on your memory journey.

So many texts...so little time...

2005-02-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

In keeping with our discussion of literacy, I am going to begin a list of texts that Dr. Sexson mentions/passes aroud during class. Every text that he brings up has relevance with what we are doing in this course and will be helpful at the end when we are writing term papers and doing presentations. This list will be updated as necessary so check back often for new titles! :O)

BOOKS
The Singer of Tales Albert Bates Lord
The Gutenburg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age Sven Birkerts
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image Leonard Shlain
Secular Scripture Northrop Frye
The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci Johnathan D. Spence
The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture Mary J. Carruthers, Alastair Minnis
History as an Art of Memory Patrick H. Hutton
Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man Marshall McLuhan
Metaphors of Memory Douwe Praaisma
Learn to Remember Dominic O'Brien
The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man Marshall McLuhan
The Songlines Bruce Chatwin
The Mwindo Epic from the Banyanga Biebuyck

ESSAYS/PAPERS
Re-Membering Finnegan: James Joyce's Masterpiece in the Age of Cyberspace Michael Sexson
Beyond the Orality, Literacy Dichotomy: James Joyce and the Prehistory of Cyberspace Donald Theall
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Walter Benjamin

MOVIES
Farenheit 451
Memento
Until the End of the World
The Story of the Weeping Camel
Walk About
Dead Man
Coffee and Cigarettes
8 Mile (flyting)

Google any of these for more info. Also visit http://www.law.pitt.edu/hibbitts/or-lit.htm for more papers/books/courses devoted to the Orality Literacy subject.

Wisdom of the Mythtellers

2005-01-31T22:55:00.000-07:00

I, like Jennifer, have really enjoyed reading these first two sections of Kane's Wisdom. I like the style of his writing and that he is so tied to the environment and the myths that come from it. I have not yeat read my "Dreams" chapter but I am sure that it too will be most wonderful.

One of the most interesing parts of the chapter "Patterns" was his story of the Red-headed Sapsucker and how he ties that to a universal truth that everything repeats itself forever. I think that this section really illustrates the tie that this book makes to other kinds of literature that we are all accustomed to reading. We read the same stories over and over again. Sure there are different character names and different plot twists, but, in general, the stories we read an write are the same stories that the ancient peoples told to each other and that have been told and written since. I find it fascinating that human nature stays so constant through all the other changes in our world and I think that in a way, it's all just more patterns.

The Apothegms of W.H. Auden

2005-01-31T22:31:00.000-07:00

How do I know what I think, until I see what I what I say?

That Auden, always thinking. I like this quotation and I think that, for me, it is quite true. I often have a bunch of mixed up notions in my head about this or that topic until I sit down to make an opinion for myself. In order to form that opinion, I write. That's why I think that I enjoy the EJournal activity so much. I rarely engage with the texts that I am reading in a really full extent unless I am writing a paper or preparing a presentation on it. EJournals give me the opportunity to write about every text, discussion, or idea that I find interesting and go with it to a full thought. Usually, I just read and call it good until class discussion. I really need to work on that because writing, even informal responses, to a book is a great way to get at the questions/insights that I have. So, in my case, writing gives me the clarity that I need to form an opinion or theory about a text. Auden is brilliant. I think that I shall hang this saying above my door when I'm a teacher...or maybe I'll go with Dr. Morgan's decorative sign "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here" from Dante's entrance to hell. :O) Just kiddin'.

By the way, I looked up the word "apothegems" as we had it spelled in class and found that it is actually "apothegms". I was disappointed by this because I liked having the word "Gem" within it. Sort of refers to the saying as a valuable, beautiful piece of wisdom. :O)

Ong's Interesting Insights

2005-01-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

When asked to find a passage in the Ong book that surprised/intrigued me, I was drawn to the following portion of the text:

Without a text, how could a given hymn...be stabilized word for word, and over that many generations ?

As I read this, I thought of the little sing-song games that we all used to play when we were little. "Miss Mary Mack," the one about "Judy had a steam boat the steamboat had a bell...", all those little cheerleading ditties, "Cinderella dressed in yella, went upstairs to kiss her fella"...the list (of course) goes on. I'm fairly certain that these (seemingly) meaningless songs were never written down and studied in order that we all learn them. We memorized them through an oral community of kids and they have stuck with us. I think it's really interesting that although these words are not "cemented" in text, we will always correct each other if some one happens to make a mistake in his rendition of one of these songs. Unless a text is written down and acknowledged as the "right" version, I think that all interpretations are valid. Some would disagree but it seems that in orality there is a flexibility that is not present in literacy.

My Literate Presuppositions

2005-01-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

Dr. Sexson asked us to think about things that we take for granted in out literate society... For sure I take for granted that I can pretty much find out whatever I have questions about. I can go to the Internet or an Encyclopedia, a dictionary, a book on the subject...If I can't find it, it probably has not been documented yet! I suppose that's something that I take for granted because even though all of that knowledge is at my fingertips, I often choose not to look for it. I don't know how a television works or how to put a computer together, or why volcanic eruptions happen but I could find out in a second if I wanted to. It's pretty sad that I don't take advantage of our technology and written information because I'm sure that in an oral culture things that are a part of everyday life (like TV and computers are to us) are always understood and explained. Certainly natural phenomena are given explanation, usually through story, but that's an explanation.

As (I think) Valerie was saying in class one day, we all take advantage of the fact that we have stories right in front of us for us to enjoy at anytime. Those stories, although our experiences of them might be different every time we come back to them, do not change in plot or character. The story is concrete and one that can be counted on every time. Therefore, we can take a reading quiz on Dickens's Tale of Two Cities because I KNOW and can argue that on page one it says "It was the best of times..." It gives a sense of certainty.

I think that one of the most striking differences between written and oral cultures is in the idea of a "contract." It is interesting that in our time, nothing except the signature is valid in a contract or agreement. The spoken promise or vow or oath is nothing in court or in most people's minds whereas it seems that in oral cultures (and certainly in children's lit) the oral promise is everything. Think about "Rapunzel", her dad and the witch next door never signed a contract, but she expected him to hand over the baby just the same. I find that shift really interesting and potentially problematic for a literate and an oral culture co-existing. I do my best not to promise what I can't deliver, but, as I'm sure happens to others of you, sometimes it doesn't happen. In our society though the promise has been devalued a bit for this very reason.

Related to this, I think that we are sometimes careless with our speech but careful with our writing because we have the two different ways to communicate. If orality was our only way to express ourselves we might be a little more careful with our speech.

WOW!

2005-01-27T01:15:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I am totally impressed by the great journal entries that I have read thus far. I loved Jennifer T's discussion of Joseph Campbell and Kane and really wish that she had been a part of Children's Lit last semester! All of her experience with Campbell would have made her an expert. Shauna's story about annoying her mom with the work "Mom" is calssic! I can see how that word just feels good to say though. I'm excited to see where these journals go this semester!

Annoying???? Me??

2005-01-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

So, I asked my mom about what word I annoyed her with as a child. Either she's a good liar or I was "never annyoing," as she told me. What can I say? I was an angel. I do know, however, that my first word was "Wow" and, because I know a few kids just now discovering language, I know that even cute little words can become irritating. My cousin Laurelin (those of you in the Tolkien class will recognize her name from The Silmarillion) LOVES the movie "Finding Nemo" and can say three words well, "NO!" "K" (as in Okay), and "Momo" (for Nemo). She said "No!!!!" all the time which was frustrating because genreally crying went along with that, and she answered everything with "K!" Often, a conversation went thus: me --"What are you doing Laurelin?" her--"Momo??? K???" As cute as that is, it got slightly old, especially after every adult in the family began to imitate her.

At work the other day there was an infant sitting in one of those Kangaroo pouches just babbling away for about 15 minutes. Know that I know the correct term for this...echolalia...and can understand that babies just love the sound and the feeling of sound I understand why they do it for so long and soo often. The aby was just content as he could have been making senseless (or IS it senseless????) noise. It was exciting to see echolalia at work.

Childhood as an Oral Culture

2005-01-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

I think that in many ways being a child pre-writing and pre-reading is much like me sitting in an advanced calculus class. I would recognize sounds and some symbols as letters or numbers, but as far as communication or comprehension I'd be pretty lost. I don't remember what it was like to sit in front of an open book and not have a clue what was in front of me. I think that that is one of the most interesting points that Ong has brought up so far in his text. In true oral culture they have NO CONCEPT of the "word" in a visual field. Whenever I am asked to ponder a word's meaning, I immediately write the word down and look at it. Searching for ways to break it down and find its history. Oral cultures cannot do this. I have NO CONCEPT of what that is like.

I've been thinking, and I believe Ong discusses it too, that to be in a literate culture separates us from our environment in a way that an oral culture would never be separated. As a literate person, I can read about the climate of Montana without ever having to really experience it. When we are children we are in an oral culture insodfar as this idea of human + environment is concerned. As young kids we learn EVERYTHING through experience. What hot is like, what snow is, that all objects have sounds that define them. When I learn to say "water" I have no concept of the word. To me it was only the sound of the word and the water itself that were unified in my mind. I will have more to say on this later. I find Ong fascinating.

Our First Meeting

2005-01-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

To begin, Kory/Kori/Corey/Cory (?? spelling is not necessary in primary oral cultures) Winslow did a spectacular job in her introduction to the course. I think it really helps that she has taken the class before and gave us the "most important information"...Dog, Grapefruit, Bottle of Wine, Toothpaste, Left Shoe, Eyebrow.

One of the things that Miss Winslow brought up in her talk that I thought was really interesting was in her distinction between the artist/storyteller in the typographic (and chirographic as well, but mostly typographic) culture versus the artist of the oral culture. In a primary oral society, the artist is never a solitary isolated genius unto himself. He is always a part of a line of other storytellers that have come before and taught him and those that will learn from him and carry on his knowledge and stories. This is a wholly different concept of the artist as we are used to thinking about it/him/her. We tend to imagine A Tale of Two Cities as a text written by Charles Dickens: one man who created a world where Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette exist as people in the midst of the French Revolution in his version of late 18th century France. This all takes imagination and the book is attributed to Dickens's imagination alone. The idea that I have in my head of an artist is a person sitting alone in the corner of a coffee shop with a laptop writing away, then going home alone to write some more. This is, I think, a pretty common stereotype even going back to the romantics sitting alone in a wood for inspiration. However, I think that it is interesting to ponder the degree to which any of these supposedly "solitary" artists are really solitary. All writers exist in a tradition much like the oral cultures. They use bits and pieces of other texts within their own, follow the stylistic elements of predecessors, and rely on the readers' knowledge of pre-established theories/themes/ideas in order to make their texts effective. I think that the idea of copyright, perhaps, rather than writing, has caused the idea of author to be come singular.

On the website http://www.copyrighthistory.com it is explained that the first copyright "law" in the world was in 1710 with the "Statute of Anne". If you are interested in reading it here it is...

Anno OctavoAnnæ Reginæ.
An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vest-ing the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors orPurchasers of such Copies, during the Times thereinmentioned.
Whereas Printers, Booksellers, and otherPersons, have of late frequently takenthe Liberty of Printing, Reprinting,and Publishing, or causing to be Print-ed, Reprinted, and Published Books,and other Writings, without the Con-sent of the Authors or Proprietors ofsuch Books and Writings, to theirvery great Detriment, and too oftento the Ruin of them and their Fami-lies: For Preventing therefore suchPractices for the future, and for theEncouragement of Learned Men to Compose and Write use-ful Books; May it please Your Majesty, that it may be En-acted, and be it Enacted by the Queens most Excellent Majesty,by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual andTemporal, and Commons in this present Parliament Assembled,and by the Authority of the same, That from and after theTenth Day of April, One thousand seven hundred and ten, theAuthor of any Book or Books already Printed, who hath notTransferred to any other the Copy or Copies of such Book orBooks, Share or Shares thereof, or the Bookseller or Book-sellers, Printer or Printers, or other Person or Persons, whohath or have Purchased or Acquired the Copy or Copies of anyBook or Books, in order to Print or Reprint the same, shallhave the sole Right and Liberty of Printing such Book andBooks for the Term of One and twenty Years, to Commencefrom the said Tenth Day of April, and no longer; and thatthe Author of any Book or Books already Composed and notPrinted and Published, or that shall hereafter be Composed, andhis Assignee, or Assigns, shall have the sole Liberty of Printingand Reprinting such Book and Books.

Anyhow, I guess that I'm just skeptical of the idea of artist as solitary even in "literate" society.
It seems that the open sharing of ideas and knowledge is actually hindered in some ways by the copyright laws which have restrictions even on how much of a text a teacher can teach without buying 30 copies of the book.

Just in case you missed it, here is the information on Mnemosyne and her daughters that I was previously oblivious to...
Mnemosyne was the mother of the Muses and her name means memory. Her nine daughters were named the following:
1. Calliope 5. Melpomene
2. Clio 6. Polyhymnia
3. Erato 7. Terpsidchore
4. Enterpe 8. Thalia
9. Urania
Good to know for future literary experiences, I'm sure.

I also thought that the information that we were given regarding the relationship between the storyteller and the audience was interesting. It makes sense that a bard would not tell a tale that was in anyway removed from the community in which he was performing. Ideas are, therefore, not terribly abstract and very relative to the people's lives. I learned a new word: Homeostatic which Kory/Kori/Cory/Corey described as the practice by which unuseful information gets left out. What's the use of irrelevant or obvious knowledge. I think what is most interesting though is that these storytellers were the possessors of all the cultural knowledge for a group of people. That's quite the job description. I'm not sure that I would want to take that on. Thankfully though, someone did. That's how we got to where we are, right?

ORAL TRADITIONS!!!

2005-01-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome all to a new semester! I just wanted to get a first post up for the new class. I've started to read the Ong text but I'm only on page 2...I don't have much to comment on yet. I am, however, looking forward to our first class meeting despite the fact that our professor will be absent. This semester will only be as good as we make it...no pressure. :O) See you all in class.

The Lady of Shalott, by Alfred Lord Tennyson

2004-12-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Valerie's presentation reminded me of how much I love this poem! I can picture Anne Shirley drifting down the river in the old fishing boat reciting this poem as clear as day. Everyone should read! Here's part One, if you want the rest go to http://charon.sfsu.edu/TENNYSON/TENNLADY.HTML

PART I

ON either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow-veil'd,
Slide the heavy barges trail'd
By slow horses; and unhail'd
The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd
Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott?

Only reapers, reaping early
In among the bearded barley,
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly,
Down to tower'd Camelot:
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers ''Tis the fairy
Lady of Shalott.'

Day Two of Individual Presentations

2004-12-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Bridgett started us off with her paper about the role of the imagination in Haroun, Through the Looking Glass, and Wind in the Willows. She discusses the belief in things unknown, unseen, and forgotten and the power of the imagination to give characters potentials that they would never have known otherwise. Aside from just the characters in the books, the language and imagery have the power to transport the reader or listener into a world "outside" the "real". I'm always suspicious of mirrors now...they're tricky if you get too close.

Lindsay Beck's presentation was about women and the art of weaving and storytelling through history. She discussed Penelope's tricky weaving as an example of a way that women were given a voice in societies where they were usually silenced because of their gender. I thought that her reference to the Fates was perfect for her topic. These women had the ultimate say in the events and lives in the world. Important ladies!

I loved Cindy's topic! She discussed the connections between fairy tale and myth using "Rapunzel" as the reference point to Persephone and Demeter story, the Tripartite Goddess (maiden, mother, crone), Thompson's cosmological interpretation, and the motif of male as intruder. She should post her paper because I'd love to read it.

Allison rocks! I love this! She discussed the Pied Piper of Hamlin and how that figure, a guy who leads children away with his music, is like Jim Morrison (Mr Mojo Risin') from The Doors. They play hypnotic music that frees youngsters from the confines of adult rules. I think that a lot of pop culture people could be viewed in this light. How many millions of people are obsessed with bands/singers. Their fans would follow them anywhere. It's crazy.

Drew focused on the role of the elderly in fairy tales (and maybe just stories in general...I can't remember). His categories of the elderly were the hermit, the healer, the shaman, the sage, and the witch. He argues that these characters are pretty central to most of the fairy tales that we read. I agree. There is almost always a wise older person to lead the younger, innocent and inexperienced generation through their life journey.

Sarah Peila refutes Alex Robbins' assertion that fairy tales adversely affect young children. She thinks that kids know what's a story and what's not and that they can distinguish between the parts that are applicable to life and the parts that are not. I agree that kids are smarter than we tend to give them credit for but I do understand that fairy tales, movies, stories can be scary. My sister used to be terrified of the witch in Disney's "Snow White". She would cry and scream when she cam on the screen. For that kind of fear to come out of a kid there must be some part of them that believe that the figure they are scared of is REAL and a real threat.

Fallon's paper has a similar focus as Kristen's in that they both look at gender roles. Fallon's paper argues that feminist signatures, like "Paperbag Princess" are nice but that the signature shouldn't demolish the archetype. She cites "Ever After" as a good example of a signature on "Cinderella" that both sticks to the story while making it more feminist in the process.

Michelle Humber's paper is kinda like Lindsey's in its focus on women and weaving and their role as the primary storytellers, but Michelle put much of her emphasis on refuting Zipes essay and supporting Rowe and Warner. She disagrees with Zipes' claim that there is no proof that women were the primary storytellers citing their weaving and role as home makers(and therefore childcare givers, children's encyclopedias, and entertainment) along with Rowe and Warner as her main support for that claim.

Megan's central topic is that of the Hero, how his quest is the same or different in the children's lit we've read than the traditional/classic hero quests. Alice, Haroun, and Catcher in the Rye are the texts she uses. She claims that these archetypes are different in that they do not need prodding to begin their quest following the call to adventure. They follow almost without thinking.

Jason uses the crtic/philosopher/thinker (?)Mircea Eliade to examine "Little Red Riding Hood" and its connections to sacredness and religion. I can't really remember where darkness came into the equation, but it was something about mysticism and symbolism.

Serena compares and contrasts Perrault and Grimm versions of "Little Red Riding Hood" to see what's different and what the difference might say about the tales' meanings. Grimm sugar-coats the ending and places an emphasis on the child and family, whereas Perrault's version does none of these things. I wonder if the Grimm Bros were more in tune to the existance of the story for children and maybe Perrault wasn't. Otherwise, why wouldn't the child be the focus of a children's story? That doesn't make sense.

Kelby's paper looks at what he feels is the central theme of children's lit: self-examination ritual. He argues that fairy tales do not offer an accurate representation of this ritual and that Catcher is much more realistic.

Wes talked about the book The Horse and His Boy from the Narnia series and focused not so much on the Christian influences, since evrybody talks about those, but more about the connections with the tales we've read in this class and other children's stories. There are parallels with the Arabian Nights in the character Aribus (he's a storyteller like Schehrezade), references to Norse mythology, and the motif of the bildungsroman in Shasta and Aribus' journey.

Brian's paper is about The Catcher in the Rye and Holden as the anti-hero. He is critical of others just like him (hypocrit), immature, and has an obsessive fixation with the phoniness in others. But, he is interesting because he's so young and he's trying to find a meaning in his life. Brian argues that Hodlen is the best example we've read of a character in the process of the transition from childhood to adulthood. Sexson asks us in respone...what is the value of a negative role model??

Emily's rather depressing but interesting topic is the real-life illustrations of the fairy tales "Bluebeard" and "The Little Mtch Girl". Bluebeard's legacy lived on in Ed Geene the serial killer who is actually reminiscent of Buffalo Bill in "Silence of the Lambs" and, apparently, the deranged killer in the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Nice, huh? "The Little Match" girl highlights the number of homeless people who freeze to death. This is sad and scary. I think that making the connections back to ral life makes everything seems worse. I wasn't freaked out by the "Bluebeard" story because I thought of it as just a story. Now, I'll never look at it the same.

Liz's paper discusses women and their passivity within the story, but Liz put a little twist on it all saying that although she may seem passive and dim-witted, it's all an act. Passivity is her strength because it is unexpected that she'll do anything else. The women are also often treated badly but they perserver through it all until the right time to go.

Jeremy talked about the Bildungsroman motif specifically thinking about the effects of industrialization and urbanization of the 18th century on Wordsworth and Blake (those crazy Romantics). HE talked about the rather grim outlook on life and Blake's "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience". Jeremy also mentioned a need to revert back to childhood and escape, but I wasn't sure exactly what that would mean. Isn't reverting back to childhood reverting back to the ignorance that comes from lack of experience? Any way there are four realizations to get through in order to be experienced, 1. Evil of the world 2.Time 3. Sex 4. Death.

Valerie's topic is really interesting and I've been thinking about it everytime I'm in front of a mirror. She argues that the mirror functions as a window for women who are confined, using "The Lady of Shallot" "Beauty" "Alice in Wonderland" and "Snow White" queen as her examples. The mirrors hold the key to magic worlds and real worlds that the women can experience through the mirror. Valerie's epiphany was that looking into the mirror is looking into one's self which, in the end, proves fatal for the Queen and the Lady of Shalott.

Wisdom

2004-12-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
---Eleanor Roosevelt

"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end."
---Ursula LeGuin

"Our children's children will hear a good story. "
--- Richard Adams, Watership Down
(I think that we have an obligation to make
our lives good stories...and, after all, we are
in charge of our own fairy tales. )

"This world is but a canvas to our imagination."
--- Henry David Thoreau

The Last Day

2004-12-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I, like many others I'm sure, am sad to say so long to this class. I will miss the subject matter of course. How often are we allowed to read books that don't seem like a chore and give us such imaginative people and places? I will also miss my classmates! Everyone in Children's Lit was brilliant, carefree, fun, and, of course, entertaining. To those of you graduating or moving away to begin new chapters in your lives, good luck! Especially to Michelle and Libby (and any others that I don't know about) who are going on to teach young minds the importance of literature. Remember these words of wisdom future teachers...

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." --Henry Brooks Adams

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." --John Cotton Dana

Our last little lecture at the end of class today was a great wrap-up of the semester. I hope that you've all had as much fun as I did and I hope to see you in other classes while we're still at MSU. Have a wonderful holiday break!

Day One of Individual Presentations

2004-12-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Wonderful job to all who presented today. There were some really interesting papers and I think that we should post them on our sites. I'll do it if other people do. :O) I've decided that although I want to finish this tonight, my exam tomorrow is more pressing. However, I will do my best to continue updating it until all the information and my responses are up.

I think that Lindsey's presentation intrigued me the most because there was math involved and math is always mystifying. It reminded me of when I used to read those TeenBop magazines or whatever they were. In the back near the Horoscopes was always a "Numerology" page where you'd figure out using your birthday numbers what number you are. I was always a 9 I think. I've always wondered though, what about nicknames. I feel much more comfortable being called "Jennie", in fact, "Jennifer" is something I rarely even think to respond to. So does it make sense to factor my name using "Jennifer" when I feel like "Jennie" is more my self? "How am I not myself?" (Anyone seen I (Heart) Huckabees???? Great show....Existentialism rocks and so do Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman) I will NEVER finish this at this rate....

Tristan was the first to present to us and his paper explores the differences between two versions of "Iron Hans", one by the Grimm Bros and the other by a guy named Friedmund von Arnim. He concluded that the Brothers added the sex, contrary to their normal action of deleting sex. They also added the key, the golden hair and the ownership of the golden ball to the effect really changing the story entirely.

Sam made an interesting comparison between our good friends Hamlet and Holden. Sam thought that these characters understood that there was something wrong in human nature and each had to confront that. I think that if any of us truly thought about what evil goes on in the world, we might end up in a mental institution, too. It was bad enough to hear about Emily's serial killer example, there are hundreds of others.

Jamie's paper sounds really interesting. She examined the role of the imagination in "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Little Mermaid" (I think she used the books and movies of each) I hadn't thought of the fact that, at least in the movies, the girls end up wanting to be out of the imaginative world and back to "reality". And why does Ariel desire the human world? After all, "It's a mess...life under the sea is better than anything they got up there..." :O) I would never leave a world of talking fish and colorful coral, but, I suppose, it's all relative. If that was my reality, I might want to see something else.

Jillian decided to critique the feminist alterations of fairy tales. I agree with her that changing the stories often ends up "oppressing" or devaluing the male gender and that's not fair. Or is it? Should men get their turn to be silenced and written out of history? :O) Probably not. Just putting it out there.

Charlie: He wrote that the Bible is similar to the evolution of oral stories. I really would like to read this paper. I just wrote a paper in me Ancient Greek History class refuting the commonly held notion that Herodotus was the first historian in the Greek world. I said that it was actually the bards and Homer (and/or his transcribers) who were the first historians because oral stories are history. My professor liked it and I found it to be a really interesting topic overall. I'd like to do more with it, but yeah, this paper was interesting.

Heather talked about the violence in "Snow White: A Tale of Terror" actually being closer to the Grimm brothers version of the story. I thought that that was interesting because it seems like when Heather was describing some of the scenes that we were all pretty grossed out. However, in reading the story I wasn't grossed out at all. I think that there is something very powerful about the visual images of events described in stories. If I were to read about Cinderella's stepsisters and their decision to hack toes off or whatever, I wouldn't really cringe, but to see that on film...I doubt I could look at it. It kind of ties into something that Northrop Frye talks about in his "Educated Imagination". He says that being exposed to a human truth like evil through a story is easier on a child than actually witnessing evil in people first hand. I think that this applies to the differences between film and stories, too.

Tyler's paper was a great topic! Sibling roles in fairy tales. Interesting...I kept thinking of my self and my sisters as he described the characteristics associated with youngest, middle, and eldest children. I think that Tyler's overall conclusion was that the youngest is always superior in some way than the older siblings. Often more beautiful or handsome, more kind, more intelligent, more hard working. I think though, that it would be interesting to expand this topic and look at sibling studies. I think that the results might be quite different. Often, the oldest are the most dedicated and responsible, where as the younger are more carefree. I did a project on it a year ago. I'll see if I can find it....probably won't but I'll look.

Libby took an approach similar to Jillian's in refuting the feminist rewrites of classic fairy tales. She argues that Cinderella is a more realistic female role model than the Paper Bag Princess because women will never simply reject men...if they do, they might end up lonely and that's no good. Cinderella show girls that if you want a Prince, don't give in too easily but show him that you're good enough for him.

Kristen's paper is about gender roles in fairy tales. One of the things she talked about that I thought was really interesting was the Beautiful=good and Evil=ugly rule and the huge focus that fairy tales put on apperance in general. She said that in one Grimm story physical apperance was mentioned over a hundred times! That's incredible. I wonder if women back in the Grimm Bros days were self-concious about things like hair and body image. Probably not, but then, why the preoccupation with it?

Kelly had to preface her talk today with a little speech about her "devil's advocate" position. I think she was nervous about the wrath of a class full of people that have really embraced fairy tales. She argues that the violence in fairy tales is gratuitous and that it makes the fairy tales have very little value for kids. Now, on the surface I think most of us disagree because of all the wonderful things about fairy tales, but, in thinking more deeply, what is the point of all that violence? Does it add anything to the story besides a descriptive sentence? Is the point that the physical wound is a punishment and kids will abstaine from the negative behavior if they're afraid of having thier eyes pecked out? and if that's the case, is it ethical to make kids afraid?

Michelle O's presentation was really great. I love it when people combine disciplines to make a full argument. I, too, had to read The Moral Animal for BIOL104 and I think that Michelle's application of it to marriage anf amily in literature, especially, fairy tales is well done.

Hali's presentation was about "Calvin and Hobbes" being the modern signature on "Puss in Boots". She argues that both the comic strip and the cartoon have similarities in the characters' witty rearks and their shrewdness in helping themselves and their partners in crime.

Rebecca did a really great job breaking "Cinderella" down into the crucial and complex part that are in every version. The three major components she found were the presence of union and fraction, the faith of a character in a material object, and the transformation. I really thought that her discussion of union and fraction was interesting. She argues that Fraction in the story is the death of the mother. The new mother is an attempt at re-union but because she treats Cinderella horribly, it really desn't work. So, then, is Cinderella's quest for a husband (and the family that will come with it) a search for her own union of family? Also, as far as tranformation, Cinderella goes through a lot in the story. I think she goes from innocence to experience in what seems to be a four day period. Talk about a tumultous adolescence!

And finally for Day One's presentations, Clint discussed Horatio Alger's book "Ragged Dick" which contains the archtypal "good" boy. He argues that Ragged Dick is a forgettable character compared to Holden even though they are both considered literary icons. I've never read Ragged Dick so I'm not really sure where to go with this, but, I can definitely see how Ragged Dick would be a character you'd forget because there's so little chance that you will ever be like him. Holden has faults and questions like we all do so we remember and embrace him. Good argument. I concur.

So that's it for the first day. I think that most of these people have posted their papers on their sites..Check 'em out.

It's almost over!!!!

2004-12-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that the semester is almost over! I've had so much fun! I am going to try to get these term paper ponderings finished before Thursday evening, but, if I don't, I'll at least put the theses up with my entry of websites a little farther down the page.

I've decided that I think I'll continue doing this blog thing even when I'm not taking a class from Shaman Sexson. I've really enjoyed it an it's nice to be able to look back at your thoughts in such a nice, clutter free way. :O) However, next semester I will be taking Oral Traditions. For those of you not taking that class, keep checking my journal out if you'd like to live out the experience vicariously through me. :O)

Term Paper Progress

2004-12-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

I'm hard at work on the paper. It's coming along quite well but I keep getting off track and leave the thesis that I am working on. I think that Children's Literature has become another of myfavorite areas of study. If I decide to go to Grad school right away, I might think about diving in more deeply to the issues that we have discussed in this course.

Anyway, I'm excited to be enlightened by my classmates tomorrow. It should be fun. :O)

Reading List According to Sexson

2004-12-04T22:39:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my class notes, and I thiught that it'd be cool to have a list of all the books/essays/articles/stories that Dr. Sexson has given us over the semester. So, I have compiled them here for their potential use in term papers and future scholarship. They all sound really interesting...maybe they'd be good Christmas presents. :O) Sorry for any mistakes in spelling of names or titles...I've done my best.

Don't Tell The Grown-Ups: The Subversive Power of Children's Literature Alison Lurie
Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: The Wisdon of Children's Literature Jonathan Cott
The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales Maria Tartar
Imaginary Landscapes: Making Worlds of Myths and Science William Irwin Thompson
The Madwoman in the Attic Sandra Gilbert
Transformations Anne Sexton
The Hero with a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell
"Petrified Man" Eudora Welty
The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light William Irwin Thompson
Folk and Fairy Tales Ed. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek
Iron John Robert Bly
"Night Sea Journey" from Lost in the Funhouse John Barth
Text Book: An Introduction to Literary Language Robert Scholes, et al
The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth Robert Graves
Fairy Tale in the Ancient World Graham Anderson
Orality and Literacy Walter Ong
At Play in the Fields of the Lord Peter Matthiessen
Fairy Tales and After: From Snow White to E.B. White Roger Sale
"Little Gidding" T.S. Eliot poem
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales Bruno Bettelheim
Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature Eric Auerbach
"An Event in 1946" Ted Flicker
Only Connect: Readings on Children's Literature Sheila A. Egoff et al
The Sorrows of Young Werther Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Stories and books by GioiaTimpanelli
Stories and Poems for Exteremely Intellegent Children of All Ages Harold Bloom (That's quite the title...)
Bluebeard's Egg: Stories Margaret Atwood

Suggestions of classmates...
Jabberwocky Graeme Base
Bridge to Terabithia Katherine Paterson
Wise Child Monica Furlong
Anne of Green Gables L.M. Montgomery
Jacob Have I Loved ALSO by Katherine Paterson....interesting, I never put those two together!
The Giver Lois Lowry
Number the Stars Lois Lowry
Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret Judy Blume
Where the Red Fern Grows Wilson Rawls

This one isn't from class, but I thought that it sounded interesting...
Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears Ed. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Day Two of Group Presentations

2004-12-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

Once again...an excellent set of presentations for the "Bluebeard", "Hansel and Gretel", and Hans Christian Andersen groups. I enjoyed them all just as much as the ones we saw on Tuesday.

The "Bluebeard" group has permanantly changed my thoughts on Dr. Phil and Oprah. Bridgett and Drew were superb in their portrayls of these televeision icons (do you think they're icons? Oprah is, what about Phil???) Michelle's character was a little bit harder to love because she was a misogynist, but Michelle's performnce was brilliant despite the words that were coming out of her mouth. Lindsey, Brian, and Hali were wonderful as their characters. It was interesting that they tied Adam and Eve into their presentation...thinking about it now, the curiosity motif is obvious, but in my reading of it at the beginning of the semester, it didn't occur to me. The group also taught me the word "sparagmos" through its discussion of lost body parts, etc.

"Hansel and Gretel" had some Oscar worthy performances! Cindy ROCKS as the crazy, child-eating old lady. I loved the little touches of the shoe in the pot of water. I again really enjoyed the displacement of the tale and how they made it into a parody of the "Unsolved Mysteries" series. Brilliant! The little breaks from interviews by the dinner and a fairy tale sections were nice too because they tied in the motifs (Lucky Bumpkins & Neglected Daughters) and how the group saw them influenceing the "Hansel and Gretel" story. The gingerbread houses were a cute was to tie the two parts together. Liz and Valerie are awesome as the rebellious teens who escaped from evil Cindy. Excellent job.

The Hans Christian Anderson group had the most difficult topic, I think. They had to focus not only on 6 motifs but also one multiple stories. Finding a way to tie all those things together would have been difficult but I think that the way they did was really cool and it made sense. I loved the little mentions of "Finnegan's Wake" and John Kerry that snuck in there, nice touch Jeremy. I could definitely see parallels between the stories that this group did with the other groups we've seen and the other stories we've read in the class.

Awesome job everybody! This has been a really fun week and I can't wait to hear what people do individually as well. :O)

By the Way...

2004-12-01T23:31:00.000-07:00

Just in case anyone was interested at all...at the beginning of the semester I couldn't remember the name of one of my favorite childhood books and because it was loved to death, we no longer own it. Well, with the help of www.abebooks.com and their "book sleuth" I found it! It is written by Stephen Cosgrove and it's called "Cranky". Its main character is a creature named Moonbeam and when he wants to stay up all night like the grown-ups, the Switch Witch gives him a magic light so he can stay awake. This, of course, makes him dreadfully cranky. To hear the end, you'll have to read it. (Doesn't this remind you of a "Reading Rainbow" segment. :O) ) Anyhow, I was excited.

Day One of Group Presentations

2004-12-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

Awesome job groups 1, 2, and 3! I had a ball watching and listening to everyone! We have so many clever and talented people in our class. We're going places.

"Red Riding Hood"...definitely the most subversive of the groups. What exactly was going on with Mr. Fox and Grandma anyway? Allison should think about changing her major. Dr. Frang-Freud (did I spell that right) was a great character for her. It's obviously a sign that after literature she needs to go on to conquer the mysteries of the human mind. I loved the musical accompaniment :O) so fun, and all of you acted very well! Grandma and Little Red were unafraid to really embrace their roles and Jason, well, the wolf nose was genius. :O) Bridgett (the hairy man in the disco) also gave an inspired performance to be proud of. Overall, I think that I most informative part was the explanation of the map that was drawn on the board, but, Allison's discussion of signature and archetype in deciphering Jamie's dream was great, too. GREAT WORK!

"Snow White" was kick ass...Somebody put a lot of time into that editing process. Brilliant who ever you are! Lindsey as the young Snow White was excellent. Great costume! I loved that you made it like an E! True Hollywood Story of "Snow White". The documentary style rally added to the humor, especially because no one shared the same story. The Mirror Monologue was well done and a nice touch to include the mirror. After all, it was around most of the time, and it's all-seeing. The addition of Prince was excellent! In the right light, he actually looks like Prince Charming. :O) You guys were great and I can't wait to see the director's Cut, complete with bloopers. :O)

"Cinderella" was the group I was in so I don't feel that I can offer an unbiased critique. After all, usually we are our worst critics, right? I will say though, that this is the most elaborate presentation I've ever done for a class but also, the most fun and the only one that I've ever done that I was not at all nervous for beforehand. I loved the assignment and I'm psyched to see what the other groups do tomorrow!

Also...I'm working on my thesis. It's coming...

Class Journal sites

2004-12-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

I'm reposting these in case people still need them. :O)
I've also added each person's term paper thesis or topic.

Abbie http://www.abbiej.blogspot.com/
Allison http://thegoldenkey.blogspot.com Thesis: Didactic fairy tales have typically been seen as the exclusive provenance of children, but these displaced myths have an equally important message for parents: protect your children from hedonism or lose them. This is evidenced particularly in the classic tale "The Pied Piper of Hamlin" and the real life example provided by The Beatles.
Brian Davis http://goumtcats.blogspot.com
Bridgett http://www.geocities.com/bmpaddock82/childlit.html Thesis: Haroun, Alice and The Wind in the Willows all deal with the art of forgetting. By moving into the state of a dream, these texts are capable of showing us the immense power of the imagination to teach about life.
Cindy http://Cinbad.blogspot.com
Clinton http://shearouse.diaryland.com
Drew http://www.livejournal.com/users/drewpogge Thesis: Despite numerous stories regaling the wisdom of elderly characters, fairy and folk tales overwhelmingly display a distrust of the old, infirmed, or deserted.
Dustin http://dythonchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
Emily http://eaknodle.blogspot.com
Fallon http://fallonross.blogspot.com Thesis: There are many major differences between the Grimms version of the Cinderella story and that portrayed in the movie "Ever After." A lot of this can be attributed to the chaning ideals of our society, and because of such we re-tell the story in a way that more fits the current time.
Ginnell http://www.livejournal.com/users/ghalstad/
Hali http://www.livejournal.com/users/halijc_kids/
Heather http://barkerhl.blogspot.com
Jamie http://thefirebird2004.blogspot.com
Jason "Red Riding Hood" http://english304jaw.blogspot.com/
Jeremy http://www.adamlamb.com/jamesjoyce/Child%20lit Thesis: The bildungsroman theme in children's literature is a story that builds the bridge from innocence to experience.
Jillian http://www.geocities.com/jilliebaby04 Thesis: Due to societal demands for women's rights, many authors have decided to revise classic fairy tales with a smart, powerful heroine and non-traditional family situations. I do not, however, agree with the revision of classic fairy tales to suit our ever-changing and often misinformed society.
Jody http://www.2punk.com/~mecca Thesis: Modern romance novels function as a fairy tale by, introducing women to sexuality and marriage, as well as reinforcing traditional gender roles.
Kelby http://kfischer.blogspot.com
Kelly http://www.galacticgerbil.blogspot.com
Kristen Paterson http://tailsandfairies.blogspot.com/ Thesis: Fairy tales contain within themselves messages on how each gender is supposed to behave. Women are to be beautiful (not so easy), meek, charming, modest and humble. Men are portrayed as strong, bold and willing to inflict themselves on women in order to marry.
Kristen Smith http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=klsmith
Libby http://libbyhellekson.blogspot.com/ Thesis: The feminist revisions of fairy tales, such as The Paper Bag Princess and others, do not represent reality and the actual sturggles and curcumstances that women and girls will face.
Lindsay Beck http://www.livejournal.com/users/lbeck/ Thesis: While both sexes undoubtedly have contributed a geat deal, the art of story-telling is intimately linked to a matrilineal history through the association of females with weaving.
Lindsey Moos http://www.livejournal.com/users/lindseymoos/ Thesis: In Grimm's fairy tales, the common recurances of certain numbers, particularly of the number three, can be contributed to and interpreted through the principles of gematria.
Liz http://lizkendallonlinejournal.blogspot.com Thesis: The fairy tale tradition places strong emphasis on the female character and her voice, and quite often the power of the female is hidden within a weak, unintelligent "girl" figure; however, may she be outwardly strong or not, the female character is inevitably placed in the tale for a vital cause.
Megan http://www.student.montana.edu/~mhelgeson Is going to focus on the archetype of the hero in "Harry Potter", "Where the Wild Things Are", and "Alice in Wonderland". (This is subject to change)
Michelle http://www.student.montana.edu/~mhumber Will discuss the role of woman as the primary "original" storyteller. (There's more to it, but it's too long to post here) :O)
Michelle Osman http://www.livejournal.com/users/mosman
Patty http://www.cs.montana.edu/~nolop/304journal.html
Rachel http://trex2.oscs.montana.edu/~rds/eng304.html
Rebecca http://rebeccaruthlee.blogspot.com
Sarah Peila http://sarahpchildlit.blogspot.com Thesis:The fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" is at the basis of several common romance novels today; these novels, including Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, have been based on B&B but stand as a model for the era in which they were written.
Sam Taylor http://sbtchildlit.blogspot.com
Serena http://renasay.diaryland.com
Tristan http://theblackforeststudios.blogspot.com
Tyler http://tysthoughts.blogspot.com
Valerie http://firebird2004.blogspot.com Thesis/Topic: My paper will discuss the roles mirrors play in fairy tales and children’s literature, mainly Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and Alice in Wonderland, as windows and catalysts; first showing the characters an entrancing world and then compelling them to leave their own secure life for a world that is dangerous, confusing and sometimes ultimately fatal to the characters themselves.
Wesley http://www.livejournal.com/users/wesleyfriske/

Pondering a possible thesis or two...

2004-11-23T23:47:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. What do I want my term paper to be on? I can't really think of just one thing because, as is inevitable, that topic leads into another and another. Intertexuality at work my friends. In fact, maybe I'll look at Intertextuality. Northrop Frye talks about it in his "Educated Imagination" and I feel like I notice it everywhere I look. Just today in fact, I was reading a book called Reading Lolita in Tehran and the author, Azar Nafisi, started talking about fiction in real life, Shaherezad, and fairy-tales. I was excited. Interestingly, I think that intertextuality and weaving can be easily pieced together because of the care and forthought that go into both to make good things. One cannot just throw in an allusion to Philomela without a carefully reasoned and ingenious connection behind it, just as in weaving one must always know the next move to get the desired end product. Also the relationship between signature and archetype is lost without the connections between and the evolution of texts. I don't know how a good thesis will come out of all of this...oh, well.

I also was thinking about some of my ponderings on Catcher in the Rye. I had been questioning Holden's last few statements regarding the act of telling and the subsequent act of missing someone. Does that mean that the one missed is forgotten? or just that once a story has been told, a representation made of that person in story, that the real memory can never be rekindled. I don't know how I'd argue that because I'm not sure what I'd use for evidence for or against...plus, I'm not sure of my own stance.

I was also quite intrigued by the concept of nostalgia and "home" within The Wind in the Willows. Grahame's language itself makes me feel nostalgic even though I've never been to the places that he is describing. I want to go there. Maybe desire is key here too.

Those are just some initial thoughts...I'll try to get a good thesis out by the 30th.

Exam Feedback

2004-11-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

The exam on Thursday went well I thought. We formulated some good questions and I thought that the test we were given in class accurately reflected what we talked about in our prep day. I am eager to see the results on Tuesday and to hear the rest of the class' memorizations.

We're getting close to the presentation deadline...I'm excited about it but the pressure of having to entertain the class is huge for me. I'm not a naturally hilarious person so I'm relying on the more comically gifted members of "Cinderella" to guide us in that department.

Anyhow, we're getting down to the wire for the semester. It's gone so fast. :O)

Catcher in the Rye

2004-11-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

I had never read Catcher in the Rye before this class. I knew that it was not a favorite of most people, but that my mom loved it. Mixed reviews are always confusing so I wasn't sure what to expect. I, however, loved it!

On the first day that we discussed the book I was only on page 25 so I wasn't quite ready to talk about anything yet. It was, however, interesting to hear people's interpretations of Holden and then keep those in mind as I read the rest of the novel.

On our first day of discussion for Catcher, people used these words to characterize Holden: angry, depressed, confused, angst ridden, misdirected, smart, fabricator. Yet as I was reading, the character I saw was more sympathetic than that. He is certainly confused and he does make things up, but I think that he is genuinely sympathetic and kind. The scene with the nuns stands out to me most. He gives them his money because he knows that they will put it to better use than he will, and, as he says after the nuns depart, he really enjoyed talking to them. He has a good heart. He cares what others think of him. If he were just out to be a jerk I don't think that the character would be as interesting. Also, he's quite a lot more sensitive to women than the other men in the novel. He explains that he stops when a girl asks him too while most guys continue on. He has a conscious that most others don't and he's really honest with himself. I like him.

In the section where he looks for his sister at the Museum I thought it was interesting that he went into so much detail about his experiences there in the past. I think that his love of the Museum stemmed from the fact that nothing changed there. Salinger writes, "The best thing...in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish...the only thing that would be different would be you." I think that Holden has had to deal with a lot of changes in his life and that he would have maybe preferred more stability. It's difficult enough to be an adolescent but to be that age and having to move away from your home and shipped from school to school is even worse. His parents don't seem to be the most concerned people on the planet either. Why do they insist on prep school? Why not keep him in NYC?

Holden ponders religion a lot and I love his discussion of forgiveness on page 100. It's just after he's talked with the prostitute and I think he's feeling weird. He knew that having sex with her would have been a bad choice but I think he still feels guilty about it. He explains that Jesus would never have sent Judas to Hell and although it isn't directly said, I think that he is thinking about how he can forgive himself and how he hopes that his family will forgive him for his occasional screw-ups. His sensitivity makes me really feel for him. He wants to be a good guy and I think that he genuinely is. I wonder what happens between the time at the zoo and his committal to the mental institution. Also, the scene with Mr. Antolini is weird. Did that happen? Was it a hallucination or just him misconstruing a kind gesture as a sexual advance?

Those last two pages are so sad. He's so lonely. I think that his last lines are interesting. He says, "I sort of miss everybody I told about...Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." It seems that to him, the act of telling, putting the experience and the person into language, takes something away from the teller. I'm not quite sure what to make of it all. Maybe just that telling is always an acto of remembering and therefore it is always removed from the original place and people. The recollection makes one's distance from it all that more hard to bear. That's how I used to feel about missing Alaska in my first year here. When I wasn't thinking about it, I didn't miss it. But when I told stories or looked at pictures, I was sad. Hmmm...

Finnegan's Wake Memorization

2004-11-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

I picked my piece to moemorize a long time ago, but I had not sarted to memorize it by our last class period. Here's what I'm doing though, it's on page 418:

The thing pleased him andt, and andt,
He larved ond he larved on he merd such a nauses
The Gracehoper fered he would mixplace his fauces.
I forgive you, grondt Ondt, said the Gracehoper, weeping,
For the sukes of the sakes you are safe in whose keeping.
Teach Floh and Luse polkas, show Bienie where's sweet
And be sure Vespatilla fines fat ones to heat.
As I once played the piper I must now pay the count
So saida to Moyhammlet and marhaba to your Mount!
Let who likes Lump above so what flies be full 'un;
I could not feel moregruggy if this was prompollen.
I pick up your reproof, the horsegift of a friend,
For the prize of your save is the price of my spend.
Can castwhores pulladeftkiss if old pollocks forsake 'em
Or Culex feel etchy if Pulex don't wake him?
A locus to loue, a term it t'embarass,
These twain are the twins that tick Homo Vulgaris.
Has Aquileone nort winged to go syf
Since the Gwyfyn we were in his farrest drewbryf
And that Accident Man not beseeked where his story ends
Since longsephyring sighs sought heartseast for their orience?
We are Wastenot with Want, precondemed, two and true,
Till Nolans go volants adn Bruneyes come blue.
Ere those gidflirts now gadding you quit your mocks from my gropes
An extense must impull, an elapse must elopes,
Of my tectucs takestock, tinktact, and ail's weal;
As I view by your farlook hale yourself to my heal.
Partiprise my thinwhims whils my blink points unbroken on
Your whole's whercabroads with Tout's trightyright token on.
My in risibke universe youdly haud find
Sulch oxtrabeeforeness meat soveal behind.
Your feats and enormous, your volumes immense,
(May the Graces I hoped for sing your Ondtship song sense!),
Your genius its worldwide, your spacest sublime!
But, Holy Samltmartin, hwy can't you beat time?

In the name of the former and of the latter and of their holocaust. Allmen.

I don't know if I'm doing all of it, only the first half, or only the second half.... For some reason the second half seems to be sticking better. It's way over ten lines though so we'll see what I do. :O)

Goody Two Shoes Rocks!

2004-11-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

I just thought I'd comment briefly on our discussion of Little Goody Two Shoes" from last week's classes with Dr. L Sexson.

I'm glad that I now know the story behind the name because the story and the connotations of "Good Two Shoes" are quite different. She was actually perceived as a subversive character while her name really, for us, means a little teacher's pet type of kid. But her name screams sugar... "Margery Meanwell". Oh goodness. I loved the connections that Dr. L Sexson drew with Nature, child, and book because they were the same that she drew on Tuesday with the Bible. I love connections. It's interesting though that Margery's involvement with children, her compassion to animals, and her teaching of reading would constitute her as a witch. That seems unfounded and drastic. But as Dr. Sexson suggested, independence in women was always viewed with fear and suspicion.

I love the idea of the considering cap. I really think that we should get those and make the candidates use them in elections. She's brilliant.

Then ending was good, too. I had totally forgotten about the brother until the wedding and I was quite excited to see them reunited and her childhood and memories restored to her. If she had just gotten married, I don't think she would have retained the same level of kinship with children. Her brother keeps from getting too far away from her inner child.

Dr. Linda Sexson's Guest Lecture

2004-10-31T13:42:00.000-07:00

Dr. L Sexson's lectures this past week on morality in Children's lit were really fascinating. I enjoyed myself on both days and felt that I really learned something about the nature of "text" for children's lit.

Firstly, attempting to define "child" was more difficult than I had expected. I really thought that I could do it, but the more I thought about the limitations of each definition, the more I decided that "child" is one of those indefinite terms. Similarly, so is "adult." "Adolescent." "Young Adult." Do these have to do with maturity? Age? Experience? I don't really know what I think about that, but, it seems that we should at least know "child" to know the literature associated with it? Right? Secondly, how do we define literature? Is it imaginative or informative? True or false? These are big questions and I don't know...Just thinking things through. :O)

Our discussion of the Religions of the Books' views on children were quite interesting. Dr. Sexson argued that:
1. Children fulfill the patriarchal promise: I can see this. Men, especially it seems of certain ethnic backgrounds, view the conception of a son as a comment on masculinity. I think that men more often than women seem to be disappointed by the lack of a son. They want their sons to be able to continue on as rulers of the society (patriarchy).
2. Children are the pleasure of one's old age: I agree here in a way. The children are more like caretakers than joys. I think grandchildren are the joys. What if one has no children though? I suppose this speaks to why children were so valued and, arguably, necessary to these societies.
3. Children are a risk: DEFINITELY! What if parents invest thousands of dollars into their child's college education and he decides he wants to be a struggling artist. That's, potentially, a lot of money lost. But, I think that the potential joys would outweigh the potential risks of parenthood in most cases.

The history of the early Primers was also really intriguing. The Protestant Reformation lesson brought me way back to AP European History in 10th grade. That was exciting. But it's interesting to see the progression from pre-printing press onward with all of the integral steps in the birth of a literature for children.

More on this later.

Modern Fairy Tale Assignment

2004-10-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

I decided that I would evaluate and explicate Allison's fairy tale because Allison rocks my socks and cracks me up.

As far as the level of displacement in her "Brass Ring" story, I think she did quite well. Using a cellphone instead of the golden ball was a great way to bring the story into modernity. Not only do cellphones provide entertainment if one enjoys gabbing for hours and playing little video games, they are also incredibly important for storing information. I don't keep my formal address book updated, but I do keep my cellphone loaded with recent numbers. I would forget some birthdays without my little reminder screen that pops up. Sometimes the phone even tells me what day it is if it's been an especially long week. :O) So in that way, the cellphone really worked well for Sarah to lose because what would she do without it? A golden ball?...Just entertainment compared to the necessity of the phone.

Allison has also definitely brought in our modern superficiality and celebrity obsession. The merger is described as "a gala affair, all B list celebrities, minor society folk, and recent reality TV expatriates". That is a perfect description of the people that we see in the pages of weekly entertainment gossip magazines and on "The Surreal Life." Sarah's big break is on "Oprah". Allison places Sarah in a situation with the Pepin family in which she must fake them out to make herself look good. She ends up being like those minor celebrity folk whose identities are tied up in the marketability of themselves. I think that Allison is commenting, whether consciously or not, on the personas that we perform to the public compared to the people we really are and our true motivations.

Allison's tale is definitely literary. She is an excellent writer. Her description of people and places in engaging and makes the scene appear in my mind. She also does an excellent job of tying past with present in the form of Sarah's attempted business ventures. There is a clear explanation as to why this guy is so important to her future. However, Amir's importance to Sarah is not in his ability to support, love, and provide for her like it would be in a traditional fairy tale relationship. No, Amir is, for Sarah, a key to her own success as a business woman. I love that twist. Give the lady some independence outside of love. The ladies of "Sex and the City" would be pleased.

The names Allison uses are perfect, of course, for these characters. Sarah is the Hebrew for "princess" while Amir means "prince". The names themselves put the characters on a higher level once we read beyond the literal level. I must admit, Allison told me the significance of the name Amir. I knew Sarah, but, Allison explained her name choice to me prior to my reading the text.

Now, I may be "reading in" too much, but, because I had just watched "Space Balls" before sitting down to do this...Is the name Schwartz in the text an allusion to "Use the Schwartz"? How is it even spelled in the movie? Just trying to make a connection.

Allison's story rocks. I enjoyed reading it. I also enjoyed reading Michelle's story and Bridgett's and Lindsey's and Fallon's....everyone did a great job. We have some future authors in our midst, I believe. :O)

Displaced Fairy Tales

2004-10-20T17:50:00.000-06:00

Bravo! So far, all the fairy tales that I have read and heard are wonderful! I'm still deciding whether or not I want to put mine up online. Not because I'm afriad someone will steal it, just because I don't know if I want you all to laugh at how goofy it is. We'll see what happens in class tomorrow, but, for now, it's not up.

The Internet is being dumb so I'm not going to write any more for fear it will kick me off and I'll have to do it all over again. More later.

Coincidence

2004-10-14T18:04:00.000-06:00

Ha! My ittle sister Melissa, a 9th grader, just had a short story test in her English class and what did they have to read? "The Princess and the Tin Box" the story that we talked about in class as a signature not and archetype. It's totally weird because this semester is the first time I've ever heard that story and in the same semester my sister gets it, too. After she told me the story I gave her a lesson on archetype and signature. I think she was unimpressed, but, I had fun. :O)

Alice in Wonderland

2004-10-14T14:17:00.000-06:00

The exam is now over. I have to say, I thought that the test was fair and that we were well prepared for it. I think that every course should have review sessions like we had on Tuesday. That was helpful in weeding out the most "important" ideas for us.

I started reading Alice in Wonderland on Monday evening. I have never read the book before, however, I haeve seen two or three movie versions; some more faithful than others. Initial impression : fun! It's a really fast read but I'm enjoying it. I chuckle at least once every few pages.

Alice is an interesting character. It seems that most of her time in her "real" life is occupied by studying lessons, or I suppose listening to lessons. Oddly, enough, she's not very bright. Alice is the queen of the logocentric. I think that Carroll, through making Alice a very black and white/ wrong and right person, is commenting on what his society was teaching kids. As we see with the Duchess in during the croquet match, morals abound but they are of no use or real meaning. What's the point of teaching them then? Isn't the experience much more interesting.

I also love Alice's honesty. On page twelve Alice decides that she gives herself very good advice, though she very seldom follows it. She also puinshes herself when she does something that she knows was "wrong". That's not a very healthy message to send to children. "Dwell on your faults; it will serve you well".

There's much more to say about Alice. Unfortunately, it will have to wait for another day. But, in the meantime.... Here's a good site for some interpretations and basic info on the text and its pictures, etc. http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net There's some interesting stuff there so check it out.

Remembering

2004-10-12T15:55:00.000-06:00

In last Thursday's class we were asked what in everyday life has the power to take us back to another time in our minds. I think a lot about this because I tend to be a nostalgic person. I think a lot about the past, mostly, I think, because I haven't been able to keep my childhood with me in a sense. My mom was in the military for 23 years and, as a result, we were never in the same place for too long. I wasn't able to keep those relationships with old friends and fun places like I could have had I stayed in Hawaii or Tennessee or Alaska.

Music is hugely important in my life now as it was in my childhood. My parents are music lovers and I grew up listening to their favorite music mostly. Most anything by The Beatles, Queen, George Throughgood, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Elton John, or John Hartford has the ability to take me back to my childhood. I remember once when my little sister Melissa was about 2 we were in the car on the way to a birthday dinner at Red Lobster when Queen's song "We are the Champions" came on. In the song there's a part where they sing "No time for losers, cause we are the champions, of the world." My sister sang the line as "beluga, beluga, we are the champions" and I laughed hysterically. Every time I hear that song, that moment in the car is the one I think of.

One of my proudest moments, musically at least, was when I, along with my high school choir, got to sing J.S. Bach's "Magnificat" and Montiverdi's "Gloria" in NYC's Carnegie Hall. There was a song within the "Magnificat" called "Si Cut Locutus Est". We got the part in the song where finally, all 7 voices are singing together and the conductor got taken over by the power of our voices in that historic space and just went nuts. Jumping and waving his arms. My feeling at that moment is one that I am able to recall just by hearing the song.

Also, for some reason, smells can really bring me back to a time or place. I was visiting a friend in Alabama this summer after not being in the south for 9 years and immediately the smell brought me back to when I lived in Tennessee. The smell of spray paint reminds me of working on Homecoming floats at my high school in Alaska. And the smell of Victoria's Secret perfume "Love Spell" reminds me of my friend Sally Ann.

I've had moments when, like Mole, I catch a smell of something that I recognize but I can't put my finger on why I recognize it. Is it from an old school? An old house? I don't know. But the power of our memory when reminded by external stimuli is pretty amazing. Sometimes just the power of those recollections is enough to make me get teary-eyed in my nostalgia.

General Feelings about this class...

2004-10-11T17:23:00.000-06:00

Does anyone else feel way behind in the reading? I finished Wind in the Willows but I haven't even started Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass. I am beginning to stress. I haven't started to ponder exam questions quite yet. I will definitely think about it tonight though and come up with something brilliant, I hope.

I will write more later regarding the material but I just needed to vent for a second. I feel better now. :O)

More Wind in the Willows

2004-10-06T20:03:00.000-06:00

This class is really giving me problems with the rest of my classes...I keep getting distracted by it when I should be doing other things. :O( Example, today I was in the library to write a paper for my History 313 course. What did I end up doing? Reading a book about Wind in the Willows. Why? Because I am really engaging this stuff and it has made its way into my life in all kinds of ways. I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I suppose good for me, bad for my grades in other courses. Ah, well...the scarifices we make for really good stories. :O)

I was looking for a place for you guys to hear the Van Morrison interpretation of "Piper at the Gates of Dawn." I could only find little thirty-second clips of the song. If you'd like to listen to those, slightly different portions you can go to this site http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000005ILN/qid=1097119552/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl15/103-8555556-9530269?v=glance&s=music&n=507846 or this one http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?userid=so4qQFw9Lb&EAN=731453710122&ITM=2 . The song is number 5 on the album. I was looking for other artistic renderings of this great chapter of The Wind in the Willows and I found another piece of music that I would like to hear. It's a piano suite compsoed by a woman named Wendy Hiscocks. I couldn't find any way to listen to a sample of it, but, I love piano music to begin with and I would be quite interested to hear her interpretation of the experience that Rat and Mole had on that special morning. The whole four pages leading up to the actual meeting of Mole, Rat, and Pan are full of descriptions of the heavenly music that they hear. How does one begin to create that? How do you create a melody that has people saying, as Rat does, "the beauty of it! The merry bubble and joy, the thin, clear, happy call of the distant piping! Such music I never dreamed of...the music and the call must be for us." (132) That's quite a lot to live up to. Still, I'd love to hear it. There are actually quite a lot of examples of musical influence of Wind in the Willows. Sadly, not much of it is accessible for free. :O(

I found a few visual artistic representations of "The Piper", too. You can find them at the following addresses (I apologize for my lack of skill at putting pictures up on this thing, it's really much easier on a real website) http://www.globalgallery.com/enlarge/007-17204/ http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/johnmoores/23/dominic_shepherd.asp
http://www.classicpreservation.com/paintings3.html
Check them out. I wish I could paint. Tristan should give the class his rendering of this scene. :O)

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

2004-09-29T16:04:00.000-06:00

This chapter is one of the most poignant and beautifully written I have ever read in any book.

First of all, the image of the worried and lonely father sitting by the water waiting for his son just broke my heart. The part that really gave me chills though, was when Pan appeared before Rat and Mole with the baby otter in his arms. Those moments before they see Pan are so vividly described and the scene I see in my mind as I read it is incredible. I wish that I was artistically inclined so that I could at least try to represent this scene visually. I don't know how one goes about trying to write and create such a powerful moment but Grahame did wonderfully. I was kind of scared when Pan had Portly in His arms that he was dead...thankfully, he was just sleeping. As I was reading it I tried to imagine what a child would think of this part of the book. Would they be scared? Would they think it comforting? I suppose it depends partially on religious beliefs and the age of the child, but I still wonder.

There was a huge emphasis on music throughout the story but especially in this chapter. The melody that Rat and Mole hear entraps them almost. It reminded me of the Sirens in the Odyssey but there the Siren was a trap and here, while Rat and Mole both admit that they are scared, they are also so at peace and the experience is a good one, albeit short lived since they forget it all almost immediately. I found that one of Pink Floyd's albums is named after the chapter, and Van Morrison's 1997 album "The Healing Game" there is a song called "Piper at the Gates of Dawn." I don't have that album so I can't listen to the song, but I listened to the sample and it's very soothing. Here are the lyrics:

The coolness of the riverbank, and the whispering of the reeds
Daybreak is not so very far away

Enchanted and spellbound, in the silence they lingered
And rowed the boat as the light grew steadily strong
And the birds were silent, as they listened for the heavenly music
And the river played the song

The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

The song dream happened and the cloven hoofed piper
Played in that holy ground where they felt the awe and wonder
And they all were unafraid of the great god Pan

And the wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

When the vision vanished they heard a choir of birds singing
In the heavenly silence between the trance and the reeds
And they stood upon the lawn and listened to the silence

Of the wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

It's the wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

Fun stuff huh? I look forward to listening to other reactions to this book and especially this chapter. :O)

The Wind in the Willows

2004-09-28T18:17:00.000-06:00

After a short but thoroughly enjoyable journey with Kenneth Grahame's book, I have come to the end of the story. I loved it! This was my first experience with this book. We never read it or any of the condensed versions when I was a kid. All that I distinctly remember about the story at all is that I rode on "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disneyland. That being my only prior exposure to the story, I was already excited to read it.

Just in general, I loved the writing. Grahame is so eloquent. His language is carefully chosen and poetic, lovely to read and even more lovely to listen to. Because of the beautiful writing the book was a treat for me and I was sad when I got to the end. I also loved the parts where he played with the language...like on page 125 he writes, "...and Toad was a helpless prisoner in the remotest dungeon of the best-guarded keep of the stoutest castle in all the length and breadth of Merry England."

Something that I noticed more than once in the book was the call to adventure. We talked a little about his in class back in the first or second week and this book exemplified that to me. On page one Mole is just casually minding his own business, cleaning his house and BAM! "Something up above was calling him imperiously." How many of us would just do that? Just up and leave for...I don't even know how long. Just go where we go. The adventurous spirit takes Rat over too as he listens to the seafaring Rat tell stories. The sea rat says, " 'And you, you will come too, young brother; for the days pass, and never return, and the South still waits for you. Take the Adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes!' " (185) I love that! I wish that I was so free spirited and unattached that I could just go to the places I've always wanted to go. I think that this sea rat is telling us something very important. For all that we want to do and feel like we should do out of responsibility rather than desire, we are only guaranteed THIS one life. We can pretty much do with it what we want but the days will pass and they cannot be given back to us. DON'T WASTE THEM!!!!

The connections with Ulysses and the Odyssey were interesting as well. When I read that Toad Hall was taken over by squatters I didn't really make the connection right away. But the title of the last chapter really hits you over the head with a 2 by 4. Going back through Toad's journey, one can definitely see similarities with Ulysses. Especially on page 155 when Grahame writes, "It was hard [Toad] thought, to be within sight of safety and almost home, and to be baulked by the want of a few wretched shillings.." Poor Toad, like poor Ulysses, is sooo close. He just can't seem to get out of his luck. I think though that Toad and Ulysses are two very different characters. Ulysses had Poseidon against him which made his journey ten times as har. Toad, however, just made dumb decisions and was arrogant. It's a lot easier to feel sorry for Ulysses than Toad.

It's late and I have a ton to do tomorrow so I'll ponder the rest of my notes and especially "The Pipers at the Gates of Dawn" next time.

How my life is displaced myth

2004-09-24T23:36:00.000-06:00

How IS my life displaced myth? The story of Michelle's day began so perfectly..."After three days with no newspaper, something had to be done..." I simply don't know where to begin with my story. I was a happy accident for my parents who, unlike most of our fairy tale moms and dads, had not wished and hoped for a child at the time I was conceived. I guess puts me out of the running for "Sleeping Beauty" and " Rapunzel." I am though, the eldest of three sisters who look a lot alike but are all very different. This is beginning to sound familiar...kind of like the stories within the motif "The Art of Good Conduct." In Lheritier's story The Discreet Princess; or, The Adventures of Finette there are three sisters who are very different: Nonchalante, Babbler, and Finette. In this story, the eldest is kind of an airhead. She doesn't care about anything and she's lazy. Now, in real life (whatever that means), most oldest siblings are the least lazy and nonchalant. I'm a classic type A person. Why is the youngest always the virtuous one who gets the prince?

Anyway, aside from the sisters...maybe I'm just at the beginning of my tale. I suppose that I should be patient and let life happen. I'm just waiting for a rabbit with a waistcoat and watch to hop across my path, or for a water genie to wake me in the middle of the night. I am waiting for a fissure to open in my world and when it does, I'll take the journey it offers me.

As for group 3's motifs...I like them! I think that the "Bloodthirsty Husbands" was my favorite, though I'm not sure why. I think I liked those partially because the woman had to think her way out of her situation. The women were also pretty dumb though. All these people in fairy tales are dumb. My advice, if someone tells you that he is going to kill you if you look in his closet, don't do it. Just don't. If he doesn't want you to see what's there then it's either really good or REALLY bad. "Curiosity killed the cat" and these ladies obviously don't know that.

The motif of "Incestuous Fathers" was quite interesting to read also because the stories, surprisingly for me, were the story of Cinderella. I was not expecting that. Now, let me just admit now that prior to this course, most of my exposure to "fairy tale" was form Disney...that said, you can see how I would feel confused by Cinderella being put in with stories about incestuous dads. Dad and mom were dead in Disney's version. Now, as close as these tales come to the story of Cinderella, the tale is also fully represented in the motif "The Revenge and Reward of Neglected Daughters." That such a canonical tale can be seen so prominently in more than one (and likely more than two or three) motifs is quite interesting. It definitely shows the interconnectedness of the tales and their evolution over time.

It's late and I have to work in the morning...cheers!

Questions we have to ask ourselves...

2004-09-24T21:25:00.000-06:00

This is a letter to the editor from my hometown newspaper (the Fairbanks, Alaska Daily News Miner) that I found among old high school papers. What do we think?

Anything safe?
Nov 12, 1999

To the editor:
Is there anything safe to read that does not offend someone? As time passes, I become more bewildered and in doubt. As a child I enjoyed these stories and as a parent I shared them with my children, now I'm not sure it was a good idea. Our favorite characters and the bad habits they promoted could cause all the crime and violence we have today.

Our favorites were: "William Tell" 9child endangerment); "Three Little Pigs" (poor planning and faulty construction); "Robin Hood" (poaching is justified if you have a band of merry men); "Humpty Dumpty" (seek unqualified medical help); "Jack Horner" (unsanitary eating habits); "Jack and Jill" (possible mischif); "Little Red Riding Hood" (vigilantism); "Sleeping Beauty" (unsolicited sex); "Cinderella" (disobediance to parents); Sherlock Holmes (promotes smoking; Santa Claus (breaking and entering and slavery).

Is it any wonder we have an uncontrollable society today? As a responsible parent and citizen can we continue to read and teach our children these kinds of stories? I think not! This looks like a job for "Super Legislator."

Unralistically yours,
Donald Adams
Tok

Regarding "Beauty and the Beast"

2004-09-20T18:17:00.000-06:00

I love the way that Dr. Sexson is showing us Beauty and the Beast because it exemplifies the reason that I LOVE studying English literature. The connections between new literature and ancient literature are fascinating and we are weaving this web of interconnectedness that, I think, makes every story richer. Being able to trace a story from antiquity to present day is something that I think adds depth to a story. We will never again watch Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast without thinking of Cupid and Psyche or Pride and Prejudice, stories of the Bible and Homeric epic poems. We can then compare and contrast the tales, see how they have changed and how they have stayed the same over time.

I was reading more in that history book I mentioned in an earlier entry, Gail Bederman's Manliness and Civilization, and I found a passage that I think has something to do with the idea of marriage as an act of rape. Bederman is writing about the relationship between men and women where women serve as the object of man's sexual desire while the man is the "sexual selector" who holds the cards in deciding whom he would like to marry. She writes, "Women must return to the...position of sexual selector...man as sexual selector-as rapist-must be abolished" (156). She argues that because man gets the choice in wife (reminder: she is writing about a different time than we live in) he gets to choose based on his sexual attraction, and that no matter her feelings, the marriage will be consummated. This is a slightly different direction than we took it in class because she doesn't discuss the taking of a woman from her family, but, I thought it was interesting nonetheless.

Perhaps this idea that the man has most of the power most of the time is part of the reason that we were saying there seems to be an uneasy relationship between men and women in stories from myth and folk tales....hmmm.

Mythos vs. Logos

2004-09-17T19:26:00.000-06:00

You know what's sad? I love the mythos side of life. Fiction, fun, fantasy, myth. Those kind of other-world stories are my favorite to read. The sad part is, I'm immersed in such a "logocentric" world. Academia is all about facts (with the exception of some literature classes, thank goodness) and sadly, I think that although I love the mythos, I am more comfortable in logos. Logos to me represents "the box" that we are always being told to think outside. Why? I am perfectly happy inside the box looking at facts and occasionaly peeking my head out to go out on a limb or two. I wish I wasn't so logos. I'll have to work on my ability to be worry free and adventurous this semester. It'll be good for me in the long run. :O)

Until Later...Cheers!

To shelter or not to shelter?

2004-09-17T15:16:00.000-06:00

Bruno Bettelheim disagrees with the mainstream belief in parenting that to be a good parent and raise a well-behaved, angelic, and generally not screwed up child, one must show the child only good, happy images and read him similarly saccharine stories. Bettelheim's argument is that if children are only exposed to the "sunny" side of life as they grow up, when they do eventually encounter some of the darker but inevitable experiences in life they will more likely to react badly. Fairy tales, he explains, present the bad sides of human nature and some of the more difficult struggles that are "part of human existence". By exposing some of these more harsh situations through a medium like fairy tale, children learn about tenacity and hope even in the face of almost certain failure. They learn to use their minds to discern the difference between good and bad for themselves. I think that Bettelheim's point about fairy tales giving kids a "moral education" is his most important. Usually kids don't learn basic morals in a fun way. Being told ten thousand times by mom and dad that it is not nice to be selfish is not fun and often not effective either. Through fairy tales, the child is engaged in a story that takes him somewhere while he learns that if he is nice to the witch next door she'll grant his wishes.

So, I agree with Bettelheim that parents cannot and should not keep fairy tales out of their children's hands, but I do think that there needs to be some consideration for the age and maturity level of a child. I would not sit my 4 year old cousin down and read her anything about Little Red Riding Hood getting naked in bed with the wolf...but, maybe when she's older, she will be able to handle that.

Just to reiterate that "everything is connected"...we are reading a book in my History 313 course called Manliness and Civilization by a woman named Gail Bederman. In chapter 3 she is telling about a man named Stanley Hall whose theory it was that little boys were being babied and as a result were becoming wussy and effeminate. Hall suggested to kindergarten teachers at a conference, "All that rot they teach to children about the little raindrop fairies with their buckets washing down the windows must go...we shall go back to reading the old, bloody stories to children, and children will like to hear them because they are healthy little savages" (Bederman 99). I don't think any of us want little savage children running around, but I think that Bettelheim and Hall would have agreed that to keep the bad from children is a disservice to them.

Why pick on Barney?

2004-09-16T17:39:00.000-06:00

When one searches on Google for the phrase "Why do we hate Barney?" the first site on a list of 93,000 hits is this one http://www.silverdragon.com/punkie/cybertusk/kill_barney.html. Please peruse the site at your leisure. I'm having a difficult time putting my finger on a great and profound answer to this question. Part of my problem is probably that it's difficult to intellectually explain a visceral reaction. It's just a feeling. Somewhat like a woman's instinct...do not leave your kids with this dinosaur! I also must admit that I have never really watched "Barney". I was too old to be interested when it was beginning and my little sister, who was the right age, watched movies and played outside more than she watched television. I have only a passing acquaintance with "Barney" through babysitting jobs, and younger cousins. Nevertheless, I don't like him or him show. I think that we've already hit on some major points in class: it's too unrealistic and not educational enough. I don't think that "Barney" gives children anything to grapple with in their own cognitive development. Multiple problems come up and are resolved within a thirty-minute time period and the viewing children are told what the correct solutions to the problems are. Fairy tales and good children's literature call on kids to make judgements of their own, and I think by this, they learn far more than by passively watching an listening to "Barney and Friends."

Now, just a little information to contradict our class consensus about the value of "Barney" to little ones. Following is an excerpt from the "Barney and Friends" website (BE AWARE OF BIAS) about "Barney"'s good effects on kids. Do we argree? Are we smarter than Yale? :O)

Researchers at Yale Commend Barney & Friends

The value of Barney & Friends' educational influence on children has been well documented. Yale University's Family Television Research & Consultation Center produced a series of studies on Barney & Friends, concluding that the show has a very positive educational impact on young children. The show particularly influences language development, one of the early indicators of future success in school, according to the Yale researchers.

In their first study, Drs. Jerome and Dorothy Singer of the Yale Center reported that Barney & Friends was "nearly a model of what a preschool program should be." Later studies indicated that Barney & Friends' positive influence extends to children of culturally diverse and low-income groups. Teachers who took part in the study reported that after viewing Barney & Friends, occurrences of violent and aggressive play were reduced among preschool students. In a study by the Singers, their research illustrates that Barney & Friends helps children be better prepared to enter a structured learning environment. According to the study, episodes in this series were especially strong in dealing with pro-social behaviors and with emotion. "...Barney & Friends continues to be a television series that adds much to our nation's goal to 'ready' children for school." (Singer & Singer, 1999)

Just an interesting note...

2004-09-13T17:25:00.000-06:00

When I read Jillian's note on her site about her name's origin and meaning, I thought I'd look up 'Haroun'. Interestingly, according to www.behindthename.com, 'Haroun' is a varient of Harun, as in Harun al-Rashid, a 9th century Abbasid caliph featured in the stories of "The 1,001 Nights". Cool, huh? I thought it was especially interesting that the last name of the "1,001 Nights" historical figure/character is the name of Haroun's dad in Rushdie's book. I didn't find anything exceptionally interesting about the name 'Rashid'...it means "rightly guided" in Arabic.

Read widely...

2004-09-09T17:58:00.000-06:00

Today (9/9) in class Dr. Sexson kept returning to the premise that we must read widely and deeply to be able to fully appreciate the Children's lit, and indeed any literature, that we read. Also, as Haas and other essayists are telling us in the collections of Fairy Tales we are reading, there are NO ORIGINALS! There are earlier and later versions which have been added to and subtracted from. These topics reminded me of one of my favorite literary theorists, Northrop Frye. In his short book The Educated Imagination in the chapter entitled "The Keys to Dreamland"(a phrase borrowed from a book we will be reading this semester), Frye writes, "You don't relate [imagination in literature] directly to life or reality: you relate works of literature, as we've said earlier, to each other. Whatever value there is in studying literature, cultural or practical, comes from the total body of our reading, the castle of words we've built, and keep adding wings to all the time" (Frye 95). As Dr. Sexson has pointed out, we cannot understand or recognize the 'signatures' within literature without knowing the archetypes. As I've been reading through the Great Fairy Tale Tradition I have noticed that, within motifs, some of the stories are almost identical except for two or three small differences. Those small differences are what can make Straparola's version of a Cinderella story more personal for you than Basile's version. All literature is built on something and all new literature is built on that. So then, are there EVER really originals????

What's the use of stories that aren't even true?

2004-09-09T17:01:00.000-06:00

Haroun's question is a good one. What is the use? More than once in Lit Crit (many many months ago) Dr. Beehler asked us all to ponder the use of studying literature. I think that any answers to that question would apply to Haroun's as well. From what I ca remember of the answers my classmates gave, some expressed that literature helps them learn about new places, new people, and new ideas. Others said that they are able to learn about themselves by reading stories. Still others enjoy the cognitive challenge that analysis of literature gives them. All of these are really great answers to a tough question. The reason that I initially pick-up and eventually purchase a book is because I think that it will entertain me on some level. I like books with adventure, books that make me think, and books that touch me in some way. If I feel like crying, I pick up a Nicholas Sparks novel. When I want to laugh, political literature does the trick.

So, I guess that entertainment is a big reason for me to read stories, but at the same time, I learn from what I read, and I feel like some literature really does "take me away." When I read Harry Potter books, I am engrossed. Completely. Don't talk to me...I'm busy. Those are kinds of "untrue" stories that I think are most popular because they have an effect on their readers. Fiction stories provide us with adventures that we could not otherwise embark on while also showing us some of the most important universal themes to humanity.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories

2004-09-08T18:45:00.000-06:00

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. I finished it the day I started it (perhaps that fact speaks to its power over me) so it's been a few days.

For the most part, each of us in this class is an English major. We are constantly discussing the limits of language in expression while also pondering the power of language in its definition of things through naming. On page 63, Rushdie writes, "To give a thing a name, a label, a handle; to rescue it from anonymity, to pluck it out of the Place of Namelessness, in short to identify it- well, that's a way of bringing the said thing into being." Now, this idea that an object or idea cannot exist fully without a name is something that we college lit majors struggle to get our heads around in ENGL300. I find it interesting that Rushdie has included it in his tale. It certainly gives the storyteller a kind of magical power when his words become reality. Even though the concept is deep, the way Rushdie writes it in makes it accessible to the children who will read this book or have it read to them. On a similar note, some of us have been commenting on the question of whether or not we should give kids all levels and kinds of literature to read. Is sugar-coating okay? Or is it better to teach them that familiar phrase "Life's a bitch...and then you die" early on so they have no time to become disillusioned? (I'm not really that cynical...drama makes these more interesting.) I say sugar-coat things as long as they want them sugar-coated. Example: I didn't WANT to know that Santa wasn't real...I found out. OUCH! I would have much preferred to outgrow my belief in Santa rather than have the lady down the street tell me. That said, kids are tough and certainly the anti-Disney versions of fairy tales are interesting. But, if told in the right way, I think that even stories with more adult themes and situations can be appropriate and even quite valuable for kids.

That took a long time...

Did "The Dark Ship" at the end of Haroun remind anyone else of "Super Mario Brothers"...you know the ship that they battle King Koopa (was that his name????) on? Maybe it's just me, but that's the first thing I thought of. Peter Pan, too.

One of the more obvious parallels I saw between Haroun and other literatures that we all know intimately was with Homer's Iliad. Both tales contain a battle for a woman who has been taken from a ruler without his permission. (This princess, unlike Helen, is less than perfect to all but her love. I find her entertaining.) One could argue that despite Haroun's classification as a kid's story, the conflict at its center is even more complex than the Iliad's. Homer's epic is focused on the tug-of-war over Helen, sure other people get involved. In fact, it gets downright messy, but the goal is to get the girl back and destroy Troy. In Haroun the girl needs rescuing, there are shadow people to be rid of, and, most importantly, the Ocean of Stories is at risk and needs to be saved for future generations. What would the world be without new stories? BORING, that's what. Haroun's quest is essential to the entertainment of our world.

Like Michelle, I enjoy the paragraph on page 90 where Rushdie writes, " 'We are the Eggheads,' they nodded...they pointed at the shiny fellow on the grand balcony and said, 'He is the Walrus.'" Long live The Beatles. :O)

I enjoyed the continual references to the "Process 2 Complicated 2 Explain" because the water genie, Haroun's dad, and others kept using it as a cop out for not explaining the truth. I think that often times adult use this excuse with their children. "You wouldn't understand"...."It's complicated"..."You're too young." We should really give kids a chance to understand. They have great ideas; perhaps they could help us out.

This extremely LONG entry is going to take 1,001 years to publish...so I'll end it here.

Until Later...Cheers!

Classmates' Journals Part One...

2004-09-04T19:15:00.000-06:00

Here are the journal addresses I have recieved thus far. Check them out for more insight and brilliance into the world of Children's Literature. :O)

Allison http://thegoldenkey.blogspot.com

Hali http://www.livejournal.com/users/halijc_kids/

Ginnell http://www.livejournal.com/users/ghalstad/

Abbie http://www.abbiej.blogspot.com/

Tristan http://theblackforeststudios.blogspot.com

Cindy http://Cinbad.blogspot.com

Liz www.lizkendallonlinejournal.blogspot.com

Lindsay Beck http://www.livejournal.com/users/lbeck/

Drew http://www.livejournal.com/users/drewpogge

Jason "Red Riding Hood" http://english304jaw.blogspot.com/

Libby http://libbyhellekson.blogspot.com/

Lindsey Moos http://www.livejournal.com/users/lindseymoos/

Bridgett http://www.geocities.com/bmpaddock82/childlit.html

Michelle http://www.student.montana.edu/~mhumber

Heather http://barkerhl.blogspot.com

I will continue to update this list as the time goes on. It's easy access for me to see what you all are thinking.

Until Later...Cheers

Principles of storytelling and other thoughts...

2004-09-03T11:32:00.000-06:00

As a continuation of the question from Class period One about our favorite children's book...perhaps you all could help me. As children, my sister and I loved a particular book but my parents and myself do not remember the author, title, or even the entire story. Here's the gist, there's a young creature (not a human, he's a little furry guy) and his mother tells him to go to sleep and he doesn't want to. After his mother is gone, he gets out of bed and watches what the grown-ups do after all the kids go to bed. I don't remember anything else. :O( Any help, however small, would be appreciated. This is driving me CRAZY!!!

Now, in class on Thursday we were told the three principles of storytelling. 1) Never get to the end too quickly! 2) In Haroun's words, never take the short cut if there is a longer, 'twistier' way. The story is in the twists and turns. 3)The moral of the story is the story. I suppose these principles are good to know in general, after all most of us will have children someday, but, they will prove, I think, especially useful when writing our own fairy tales later in the semester. Dr. Sexson mentioned observing kids and taking note of what one sees. I work at the Children's Museum so I see a lot of kids interacting with each other and with them selves every weekend. What I notice everyday is that there is always, in make-believe playing at least, a "good guy" versus "bad guy" dynamic. Furthermore, nobody wants to be the "bad guy." It always ends up being the younger sibling or youngest friend because the older ones are bossy.

Why not be the villain? The villain holds a lot of the power and doesn't have to be scared of anything. Perhaps for girls the association with "good" is beautiful. In Disney's versions, most popular by far with the modern youngsters, of "Sleeping Beauty", "Cinderella", and "Snow White", the villains are described as ugly and wicked while the heroines are beautiful and good. No wonder women grow up with a complex about their role in the world. We are shown from birth that it is valued to be beautiful and obedient...maybe Sleeping Beauty (princess Aurora/Brier Rose) wasn't obedient...she just had to sleep. Anyhow, just a thought.

I have been assigned a place in Group 3 (aka the Cinderellas). I'm excited. If it couldn't be "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella is my next choice. My group seems like a vibrant and lovely group of ladies. I'm sure we will have fun and produce something great!

I have started to read the Norton Critical Edition of "The Great Fairy Tale Tradition." I am enjoying myself! More on my journey with those tales soon.

Until later...Cheers!

My Favorite Children's Books...

2004-09-01T22:54:00.000-06:00

In response to the question about our favorite book from childhood, I'd have to say that as far as picture books go, "Harry the Dirty Dog" and "Chicken Little" were two of my favorites. Conveniantly for mom and dad, both books lived at my Grandparents' house so they were only forced to read them repeatedly for a few weeks every summer. At our home, we enjoyed any Dr. Seuss Classics, and books featuring the Bearenstein Bears (specifically "The Spooky Old Tree"). Three books I remember distinctly though, are "One Minute Bedtime Stories" by Shari Lewis, "Baby Strawberry Shortcake and Fig Boot's Happy Day"by Patricia Lakin Koenigsberg, and finally, Theo LeSieg's classic "Hooper Humperdink...? NOT HIM!". I have these three books in front of me for the first time in years and it is truly amazing how much just looking at the pictures makes me smile.

I still enjoy children's books for various reasons. For me though, the biggest draw to children's lit is in its creativity.No topic is too fantastic or incredible for the child's imagination and I love that. One can read a book meant for a five year old and fully believe that there are such things as faries, giants, and genies. I love "Harry Potter" for this very reason. Rowling has created a detailed and full world, so separate from our world that I get lost in it.

On a similar note, I have just finished reading Salman Rushdie's "Haroun and the Sea of Stories." Despite my pile of other assignments to begin tonight, finishing that book was calling to me because I wanted to know how it ended. I wanted to know wheter Haroun and Rashid (the Shah of Blah, the Ocean of Notions) got back home safely and happily with new stories to tell. I was pleased by the ending. :O)

Until later...Cheers!