Week 10: Reading Diary- The Day I Questioned Reality

A long time ago, my brothers and I were living in the forest.  We enjoyed the woodland creatures as well as the fresh plants and meats available for our consumption whenever we got hungry.  One day, a Brahmin found us though and was in desperate need of help.  He told us that his staff and kindling were taken.  He was on his way to make a sacrificial fire and out of the blue, a huge buck took it.  The Brahmin was elderly and frail, so we agreed to try and help.  My brothers and I ran after the deer for hours.  It’s large graceful bounds outpaced our shorter strides.  Our bodies had been conditioned by living in the forests, but we were not ready for this kind of physical challenge.  We tried our best to beat the deer and save the brahmin’s belongings- after all, if we caught the deer, we would have a dinner out of the meat. After a couple hours, we gave up.  We lost sight of the deer and were far from the area of the forest we typically reside in.  Luckily, we all stumbled upon a river flowing into a lake with cool, crisp water.  My brother Nakula was the first to find the lake so he took a drink first.  I’m not sure what happened, but he died on the spot.  It was horrifying.  My brothers and I were talking and then when we looked back up, Nakula was on his side and had stopped breathing.  My conclusion was that maybe he ran to hard and his heart had given out.  It was extremely sad.  Before we could carry his body back to bury it, the rest of us still needed water.  Sahadeva was the next to take a drink.  He made some sort of weird hand motion as if he was shushing someone but no one but us were there and we certainly weren’t talking in memory of our brother.  Crazy enough, he died on the spot as well.  I could not believe my eyes.  I was extremely distraught but also couldn’t really believe what was happening.  Arjuna and Bhima took a drink at the same time and they, as well, died from some mysterious force.  I was extremely upset and didn’t know what to do.  My body was crying from fatigue and my heart was broken by this point.  I went to get a drink and heard a voice.  I talked to the voice out of curiosity.  Sure enough, it turned out to be my father Yama.  My whole world was turning upside down at this point…my brothers came back to life…and I remain very confused.

Large deer.

(Source:  Wikipedia)

Author's Note:  When I read this tale in the book, I could not even begin to put into words the emotions that would have been felt throughout this whole experience.  One minute, the brothers are chasing a deer together and the next minute, all but one are dead.  Thus, I wanted to try and explain the thoughts that may have accompanied this scene.

Buck, William (1973).  The Mahabharata.

Week 11: Reading Diary A/B

The monkey and the crocodile story is fun to read- simple language and it reminds me of stories I read when I was younger.  The crocodile is so not smart though.  I enjoy the cunningness of the monkey and at the end how he was still on alert even though the crocodile claimed to leave him alone in the future.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-monkey-and-crocodile.html

Again, the turtle is very clever- I really like these stories.  On a more superficial note, how could the king think the turtle is a demon?  I could see if the boys had never seen one they’d be scared but the king?

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-how-turtle-saved-his-own.html

The poor turtle.  I understand that too much talking can get one in trouble, but I also dislike how talking is somewhat portrayed as foolish.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-turtle-who-couldnt-stop.html

I love how all these stories are so simple and easy to read yet make good points.  The man should have known better than to treat his ox harshly maybe in an attempt to look more manly in front of many men.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-ox-who-won-forfeit.html

As this story exemplifies, working together is so crucial.  I have seen this commonly on sports teams- if there’s quarreling or drama, the team falls apart.  Also, being a part of the RA staff, we have to all work together to keep things running smoothly and then the job is easier and more fun.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-quarrel-of-quails.html

This story is so true and so relatable.  Gossip gets spun out of control.  Whether or not the story changes, the original source may be terribly inaccurate and before long, many people are shocked/scared for absolutely no reason.  It’s good to verify some things before believing them and the lion does a good job of showing how important that is.  I also found it fitting that the lion was one to verify since he seems to run the show in his environment.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-foolish-timid-rabbit.html

I don’t really get the moral of this story- if you work too hard, you’ll be taken away from where you want to be?

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-kings-white-elephant.html

Again, the point of this story is not entirely obvious- be clever and catch wrongdoers?  I’m not really sure but the story was entertaining nonetheless.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-girl-monkey-and-string-of.html

Reading Unit home page:  http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-jataka-tales-babbitt.html

What a sad story.  At least the daughters had it right.  I think it’s sad the mother thought the goose wanted something from them at first.  I wish the goose came back to show her what she had done although the mother may have not recognized the goose at all if it looked like other geese.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-golden-goose.html

Another sad tale- that’s too bad.  I hope the gardener didn’t get fired over this incident.  At least the intentions of the monkeys were good even though their actions were bad.  I wonder if monkeys are supposed to be not very smart in the culture although Hanuman was very smart.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-stupid-monkeys.html

I don’t like how the lion was so ungrateful.  The woodpecker was very smart though to prop the lion’s mouth open in the event that the lion decided to eat the woodpecker.  The lion sounds awfully full of himself though to assume he does so much for the woodpecker.  I mean really, what does he do?  Not try to eat him every day?  It’s not like the lion could even get food for the woodpecker since their diets are so different.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-woodpecker-and-lion.html

The wolf is sly- his perspective was not stealing but saw the fish as compensation for settling an argument.  Sneaky….

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-otters-and-wolf.html

Based off of this story, I take back my previous idea that maybe monkeys were considered not as intelligent since in this instance, the chief monkey was very wise and was rewarded greatly for it.  That’s nice the king kept his promise- what a nicer, happier tale.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-how-monkey-saved-his-troop.html

What a nice story.  I like how they all worked together.  It would have been perhaps a little bit nicer if they were friends long before they were needed since it sort of seemed somewhat odd that their friendship would have formed right before.  Also very odd a lion is in the same environment as the other creatures (mostly the turtle).  However, I liked how they had one another’s backs- that’s so nice.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-hawks-and-their-friends.html

Again, a sad story- I applaud that the wolf tried to get better and stronger.  I hate that the story seems to say that one should be afraid of failure because everyone will fail at some point but it will lead to more successes (usually).

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-foolhardy-wolf.html

The poor parents of the lion- they must be so sad.  This is a bit of a jump but I feel like this is what can happen in life and specifically college- some people fall into peer pressure and make friends with who they are told not to and really end up hurt from it.  Of course, it can happen any stage of life but college gives freedom that oftentimes results in bad decisions.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-lion-in-bad-company.html

Cute tale of friendship (no pun intended)- this was a great story to end on.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/jataka-tales-elephant-and-dog.html

Week 9: Famous Last Words

Hey, everyone! So my last week has been a whirlwind (as usual).  I got through the last of my midterms which was good.  However, that has kept me from writing with that much quality.  Unfortunately, all of my assignments have been done pretty last minute so I’m hoping to work ahead as much as I can while midterms are out of the way for a little bit.  Anyways, I have been particularly impressed with the quality and the creativity of all the storybooks I’ve read.  I actually am very much looking forward to reading the new stories over the coming week because they are so interesting and add so much to the reading we have already done for the class.  Also, looking at other people’s storybooks has shown me the neat things people can do with formatting and colors and how it can add to the story and set the tone. 

As for other parts of my life, my week was good.  I was so relieved when my exams were over and spent all day Thursday (after my exam) meeting with my residents over various things.  On Friday, two of my classes were cancelled so after my one and only class that day, I ran some errands, got lunch with a friend, and had a girls’ night.  We went wedding dress shopping, ate dinner at Tarahumara’s, and watched a movie while eating ice cream.  It was a wonderful way to spend the night and then my fiancé got back in town Friday night which was great as well.  Today (Saturday), I slept a lot and am now waiting to go on rounds with my co-RA.  This past week has been really good and I’m sort of sad to know that the fall semester is drawing to a close (or at least it seems that way) since it’s my last year at OU.  Boomer Sooner!

Cute baby pineapple for your personal enjoyment

 (personal photo, May 2014)