Week 4 Reading Notes: Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish Part A

The Tablet of Destiny strikes me as a Pandora's box of sorts. Or, better yet, it reminds me of Schrodinger's cat, specifically because it tells the fate of every person, and it would be better not to know. I am familiar with the Christian creationism story, but I find this version much more creative. Perhaps it is only because I have not heard it told this way. I like that the story includes an explanation for varying skin tones. Satan is a fallen angel, just like in Christianity. The story of how Adam was male and female, then split into two separate beings is interesting. The female resists submitting to Adam because they came from the same dust. Her exile from Paradise establishes a strong sense of patriarchy from the very beginning. Then Allah makes Eve out of Adam's rib! I am fascinated by the reference to European doctors endangering women in childbed by refusing to let other women visit and amuse them. This is the first I have heard about the forbidden fruit being wheat, and I just found that interesting. Adam bringing tools to earth when he was kicked out of paradise is a neat way of explaining how some tools came to be. A donkey had the sense not to enter the ark with Iblis hiding on his body, but his offspring got into heaven because Noah beat him until he got on the ark. That was well written, specifically because Noah and the donkey cannot communicate, but Allah knows everything. Noah turned a donkey and a dog into replicas of his daughter because he promised her hand in marriage to too many men. I thought that was pretty humorous. And wow! Allah really put Ayub through the wringer. He killed his children and gave him leprocy just to see if Ayub was a devout follower of Allah. Tough crowd. I like the stories of Lokman because he is a character that sets a good example and is grateful for what he has.


Illustration of Book of Job Chapter 2-4 by Sweet Media, found on Wikimedia.

Bibliography:
Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish by J. E. Hanauer, found here.

Reading Notes Week 3: Homer's Odyssey Part B

The fortune Teiresias tells to Odysseus is extremely specific and very long. I won't be using this form of foreshadowing. It was a really obvious way to describe the rest of the story, and it took all of the surprise out of the plot. What Greek story would be complete without a casual rape committed by a god? I could use that as a plot point that establishes the antagonist, or I could leave it out altogether. I find it interesting how nonchalant the Greeks were about rape. They were a historically patriarchal society. I do rather enjoy the smaller stories within the story as Odysseus describes the women he met in Hades' House. I could use that technique to tell backstory or create motive. However, it does seem to take up a lot of space on the page without really moving the story along in a desirable fashion.
 Ah! I like that Achilles and Odysseus get the chance to talk to each other. I think it's cool that Homer brought the epic heroes together. I find it incredibly interesting that Odysseus wanted to hear the Sirens' song for himself, despite not allowing his crew to hear. I think it shows that Odysseus holds himself in higher regard than other men. I feel like a true leader would have plugged his ears with wax like the other men. I really like that the story ends in tragedy. I think Homer wrote very good stories with extremely strong characters. He was incredibly descriptive, sometimes to a fault. He wrote clever solutions to seemingly large problems, and his imagination was fueled by myth and legend. It is always convenient that the hero of the story is never the one that gets scooped up and devoured by the monster of the moment. That would cut the story terribly short. Maybe I'll write a story that keeps changing perspective because the protagonist of the moment keeps getting killed. I will definitely do that this semester.

Odysseus' Journey Map by Giulia Zoccarato, DensityDesign Research Lab, found on Wikimedia. Bibliography:
Homer's Odyssey as told by Tony Kline, found here.