Reading Notes: Ovid's Metamorphoses (1-4), Part B

1. Echo

It was pretty cool to hear Tiresias' story. I had never known how he had actually lost his sight. Random thought: are any of the stories different in their Greek versions? 

I could see a story being more about Echo, having her successfully distract Juno from getting at the other nymphs who accompanied Jupiter, but I'm not sure how to make it increasingly appealing throughout the story.

2. Narcissus

Were there any instances of love being portrayed as more than physical beauty/affection? One story idea I have is for a person who is like Narcissus, but instead of loving their physical appearance, they love their own personality so much.

3. Pyramus and Thisbe

Never mind, this story seems to be an example of love that is not just purely due to physical affection.

Your reading notes were right, this story is very similar to Romeo and Juliet. The ending especially, having the male think his lover is dead, leading him to kill himself, then the female returning and finding her lover actually dead decides to do the same. I wonder if they share a similar origin, or if this story is just very common among different cultures.

I also realized that almost every one of these stories ends in something unfortunate happening to one of the characters. It reminds me of present-day, where a lot TV shows have unfortunate/scandalous things happen in them like violence, adultery, crime, etc. Humans haven't changed much, eh? 

4. Mars and Venus

And there's the adultery. Not much else to say really because this story was rather short. 

5. Perseus and Andromeda

Perseus really thinks of himself as good guy. While it's kind of annoying, he does do some pretty cool stuff like thinking to turn Atlas to stone and setting Andromeda free. 

6. Perseus and Medusa

I always thought he turned Medusa herself to stone by reflecting her image back to her, but I guess not! Perseus is a pretty successful hero, but it might be fun to write an origin story where he fails at something and as a result is taught to overcome challenges and become a truly powerful hero. 

Photo of a Narcissus flower by cristfer

Ovid's Metamorphoses, translation by Tony Kline; link to the reading online. 

Reading Notes: Ovid's Metamorphoses (1-4), Part A

1. Deucalion and Pyrrha

Floods are pretty crazy. As civilized and advanced as we think we are, there's nothing like a good, old flood from mother nature to remind us how powerless we are to her whims. A flood ending the world sounds pretty devastating, but it's terrible enough when smaller floods strike in big cities, like the flooding that occurred in Paris while I was studying abroad in France. There were a lot of delays and people were really freaked out. I was afraid my bus route was going to be flooded, but I can't even imagine what kind of disaster a flooding from Neptune would do to our world today.

That's actually a decent idea for a story, even if it's kind of been told already in a few end of the world movies. A modern day flooding that wreaks havoc all over the world caused by the gods, or some other powerful existence. 

 2. Io

I was particularly struck by the sentence that the father of Io mentioned about how his sorrow would go on for eternity, and that it was, in this instance, a curse being a god and therefore immortal. 

Also, it's interesting how the author refers to the characters in terms of their relations to other characters in the mythology. It helps show how everyone is related, but also expands your knowledge of the world.

3. Phaethon and the Sun

This is actually a story I am kind of familiar with, but I had no idea Phaethon was so young nor that he was unsure of who is father is. 

4. Phaethon's Ride

5. The Death of Phaethon

I don't really understand the metamorphoses yet. There doesn't really seem to be much explanation, but rather description of the changes occurring. Does change in form come as a result of great emotion, or just great sadness? Both parties that experienced change in this part of the story were intimately connected to Phaethon, so his death affected them greatly. 

6. Callisto

These stories of Jupiter raping innocent virgin girls are pretty sad honestly. What's worse is that Juno, wife of Jupiter, blamed Callisto for the act, and then punished her by turning her into a bear. 

It was cool to find out about Ursa Major/Minor though.

7. Semele

I can see this story retold with a different wish/ending for Semele, but I'm not sure what it would be. Do I preserve the doom that she is destined at the hands of Juno? Or do I save her, but what becomes of Bacchus, whose birth story may be important to his life later on?

Phaethon by Gustave Moreau

Ovid's Metamorphoses, translation by Tony Kline; link to the reading online.

Growth Mindset

Those videos on the growth mindset really supercharged me. One of my big beliefs is self-improvement, so the growth mindset really resonates with me. I hadn't even heard of Carol Dweck or her research, but now I'm definitely going to tell my sister about it because she has kids of her own. I don't want them to miss out. 

The research focused primarily on children, so I'm not really sure what the impact is going to be on me or other adults. I want to believe that practicing growth mindset is going to make things better for me, but it's hard to say. I also really think it's sad how many fixed mindsets I find out there. As college students, I think it's easy to forget about growth due to all of the external stressors that affect us all the time.

Brain practicing growth mindset, 

image by Flickr user xverges

Starting the Semester

With a new semester, one of the most important things a student can do is get organized. I know it sounds cliche, but there is no more calming feeling than walking into your first class with your folders and notebooks already decided upon for each class. 

To take it further, scheduling study time is also super helpful. During the beginning of the semester, most classes don't have as much homework as they typically will later on. Some students will get complacent and not figure out when they are going to study or do their homework when they actually do have things to do, so setting aside time during the first week not only gets you a nice head start on the material, but it will help you avoid being stressed out later on in the semester. 

Students studying by Master Sgt. Christopher DeWitt, 

image from Wikimedia Commons

Reading Options

For weeks 2 and 3, I've decided to do the unit on Ovid's Metamorphoses. I was already kind of familiar with some of the other classical works, but I haven't heard much about the actual stories that are contained in it. 

For the future, I would like to read the following three units: 

1. Japanese Myth: I'm pretty interested in Japan as a country already, and I really like some of the stories that I've heard so far, but I haven't studied their mythology at all.
2. Indian Fairy Tales: Like most kids, I read a lot of fairy tales growing up. A few years ago, I started to find out some of the origins of the tales that I had heard about as a child. This unit interests me because I want to see what fairy tales from another culture are like and to see if I can draw any comparisons between the ones that I heard growing up and these stories.  
3. Twenty-Two Goblins: I chose this unit because it sounded really strange, and I like weird things.

Image from the
UnTextbook's Unit Twenty-Two Goblins

Storybook Favorites

Storybook 1: Ragnarok: The End of the World

Depiction of Ragnarok,
from Alexander Scott's Storybook website

This storybook piqued my interest for a few reasons. I'm really interested in the concept of "the end of the world." It's something, like the storybook author describes in their introduction, that has fascinated and been dreamt about in just about every ancient and modern culture. The second reason is that I've been around Norse mythology a bit because of Academic Team, but I haven't ever really read it before. The author did a good job at transitioning into the explanation of Ragnarok, noting the key difference that it wasn't any typical end of the world scenario, but one that included the end of the gods as well. Like most humans, I am pretty interested in the future, but I never knew that the story of Ragnarok included premonitions about the gods' deaths. 

As far as design goes, the author did a good job at selecting a theme for their website to match the tone that an end of the world narrative brings about. It's clean and simple and easy to navigate. 

Storybook 2: Project Humanity: Human Research Program

Image from Author's Storyboard website,
Project Humanity

I was attracted to his story right away because of its title. I'm really interested in science fiction and technology, plus I was hoping for some sort of mad scientist story baked in. The storybook didn't turn out to be one detailing the trials of a rogue experimenter, but rather a futuristic tale of a researcher assigned to the boring task of revisiting the past and studying human beings. 

The introduction was fresh because it dropped you right into the world of our main character, subject AXKZ-1029. It was humorous, because his attitudes and thoughts were similar to many of our own towards topics or subjects for which we don't care much.

The color scheme was a little off, but I really enjoyed the rest of the design. The font choice brings to mind thoughts of technology and a potential technocrat future. I really like how the website also refers to the story as a "program", which fits right into the context of the story and its world. 

Storybook 3: Chasing a Rabbit Trail

Image taken from Author's Storybook,
Chasing a Rabbit Trail

I loved this storybook from the moment I saw it! The design is super crisp and appropriate, and the welcome page is a great way to interact with the reader. 

The introduction is both informative and well-written, explain the storybook as a journey that our narrator Oak decides to go on to become who he is supposed to. The excerpt at the top of the page does a good job of explaining the motivations that Oak has for wanting to travel, beyond just visiting some of his rabbit relatives.

I recognized some of the rabbit names, but to be honest I haven't read any of the stories from which these critters originate.

Introduction to a Spicy Food Fan

My name is Joe Wagner. I’m a fifth-year here at OU studying Computer Science, Math, and French. When I graduate, I want to work as a software developer. I think a lot of jobs sound interesting, and for some reason I think becoming a teacher towards the end of my career sounds appealing.

I come from a family of nine. Before coming to Oklahoma, I lived in the same house in Mahomet, Illinois throughout my entire life. College was a big jump for me, particularly because I had some really great friendships that I had to leave behind to come here. I have made not only a lot of great friends here, but also a lot of really great people. I’ve run into a lot of different perspectives and ways of living, but I guess that’s another reason people say that college is where you learn the most.

Last semester, I took another big jump by studying abroad in Clermont-Ferrand, France. It was my first time leaving the country, and I was all alone. However, it proved to be a challenging and ultimately rewarding experience, as I got to travel to many different places and experience several cultures that were different from my own.

It may sound like I’m pretty sheltered, but I really do like trying new things. I hadn’t been able to eat spicy food before summer 2015, but now I’ve built up my tolerance and rather enjoy piquant flavor that comes with a nice pad thai dish or some Indian curry.

I have a really hard time thinking of “favorites.” I actually do have a favorite baseball team though - the Chicago Cubs. It’s one of the reasons I don’t really like introductions either. Talking about myself is weird. 

One of my few favorites.
Image by the Chicago Cubs 
via Wikimedia Commons.

As far as hobbies go, I really enjoy playing video games (especially League of Legends), reading, speaking in accents, learning foreign languages, and singing in the car with friends.

My Fable-Inspired Story

A long, long time ago, there was a pretty average-looking bat named Ralphie. You see, for years and years, Ralphie and his bat ancestors had lived among all sorts of creatures, making friends with high and low, near and far. Throughout all of these years, bats like Ralphie had lived through times of peace and prosperity. 

A modern interpretation of Ralphie,
courtesy of Pixabay user Alexas_Fotos

But now, a storm was brewing among some of the creatures that were not bats. You see, the quarreling creatures, the birds and the beasts, had decided that they were sufficiently different enough to be reason for a war to be had. 

The beasts thought that the birds, with their thin, flimsy feathery wings, looked like they were trying to show off by being both literally and figuratively above them. 

The birds were of the opinion that the beasts were intentionally trying to make the world a more disgusting place for all animals by being coated in thick, sweaty fur that they hardly ever cleaned. They also stomped anywhere they liked, which sullied the Earth’s beautiful green carpet. 

Ralphie was very nervous about the upcoming battle. Being not quite a bird nor quite a beast, he decided who better to talk some sense into these warring parties than he.

On the day of the battle, Ralphie went to the field of battle that was mutually decided upon by the birds and the beasts: a very steep half-grassy, half-rocky stretch of land. Ralphie saw a giant horde of beasts gathered at the bottom of the hill making grunt-like chants that were filled with anti-bird slurs. The birds were hovering above the hill’s peak, cleaning each other’s beaks and doing some last minute fluffing of their feathers. 

Ralphie ran up the cliff and yelled for the attention of all the creatures. 

“BEASTS AND BIRDS! HEAR ME OUT!”, he yelled. 

“My animal brothers and sisters, there is no reason for fighting! Birds, I know that you don’t understand the fur of the beasts and beasts, I know you aren’t comfortable with the wings of the birds.”

Ralphie paused, swallowed deeply, and then continued.

“But my friends, these differences are not insurmountable! You see, we have been friends for so very long, but I, too have wings like the birds. But you beasts find no quarrel with me! And birds, I have had my thick furry body for as long as I can remember! Yet we still fly together in the skies in peace.” 

A great, audible awe fell over both sides of the young, optimistic bat. Ralphie was thrilled. This was working! This was actually working! 

But just before Ralphie continued, a raspy voice bellowed out from down below, “So bats are just furry birds? How disgusting!” 

“Agreed! They’re so hideous now that I think about it!”, echoed one of the birds. 

And so Ralphie the disgusting, hideous bat saved the animal kingdom from a terrible tragedy by uniting two very opposite creatures.

Author's Note: In the original Aesop fable, the battle between birds and beasts was also resolved peacefully without any fighting, but I thought it would be funny to have resolution come about as the result of mutual dislike for the in-between character. Poor Ralphie. 

Bibliography. "The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts" from Aesop's Fables by Aesop. Source

My Favorite Place

Last semester, I studied abroad in Clermont-Ferrand, France. While there were many places in France and elsewhere in Europe that were tempting to pick for this post, Barcelona was the city that amazed me the most. I spent so much time simply walking through the decorative streets, visiting all the historic nooks and crannies that the city had to offer. 

Barcelona also has a super crazy history, so the tours I took were all so interesting to me. Beyond its storied past, it also offers some great modern-day treasures such as beautiful beaches and parks. I would definitely recommend it to anyone thinking about traveling to Europe! 

The picture below is of the Arc de Triomf, similar to the one in Paris, but surrounded by classic emblems of Barcelona - palm trees and gorgeous, sunny weather. 

The Arc de Triomf in Barcelona [1]

[1] Image by Mattia Felice Palermo. Reuse provided by Wikimedia Commons.

Comment Wall

Hello everyone!

Feel free to leave me any comments or questions here. I'll try to respond to everyone!

Edit: Here's a link to my Storybook site: https://sites.google.com/site/talesfromasemesterabroad/

pexels

-Joe

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