Potential Class Improvements

The biggest benefit for the course would be to create "writing tutorial videos". There are many students who are not required to ever write anything in the daily course work of their major, especially anything that is more creative in nature. I know an assignment that I struggled with during the semester was the "reading notes"assignments. They became repetitive in nature for me and I noticed my note taking quality began to slip as the semester wore on. I became bored because in every story I was finding essentially the same material to focus on and in turn base my own narrative upon. Perhaps there could be a video describing how to dig deeper into the original story to find a deeper meaning that I could then translate to my own narrative. Feedback assignments, these were the bane of my existence during this course. These 150 word assignments, to comment on three different storybook or portfolio entries, were something that I dreaded the entire week. If these could be changed in some way or another I think the class would then be perfect. It was a wonderful semester and one that I enjoyed far more than I had expected at the beginning. Thank You.

Week 14 Story: Robin Hood

Robin Hood and his band of outlaws were truly onto something this time around. One of Robin Hood’s spies in the city of York had uncovered information pertaining to a shipment of King John’s taxation collections. Namely, there was soon to be a large supply of gold on the move through the countryside, prime for the taking. A heist such as this would be nothing short of a walk in the park for Robin Hood and his band of outlaws.

While Robin Hood was excited to hear news of such an easy target, he still remained hesitant on pursuing this target. The king’s men knew this route would take them directly through outlaw territory, specifically his own. Why would they willingly take this route? Yes it was the fastest path, but there were other far safer options for travel. Robin Hood had an uneasy feeling in his stomach the morning of the planned raid, one that he could not ignore.

So with his instincts telling him no, Robin Hood called off the planned attack on the King’s Taxation transport, preferring to wait for a target that did not seem to be good to be true. The majority of his subordinates accepted this order, with only a select few feeling that their leader was simply going soft after so many years of living outside the law. These few would go against the orders of their commander, endangering the entire band of outlaws.

Late in the evening as King John’s transport of taxation funds was moving through the woods, the few men who decided to go against Robin Hood’s orders were positioning themselves to ambush the transport. As they leapt from the cover darkness it quickly become apparent that Robin Hood’s intuition was correct on this transport. Rather than be alarmed by the outlaws the presence the transport reacted as if they were expecting it, bracing themselves for an attack. This was a trap.

The following morning Robin Hood learned of his men’s disobedience. This left him with a decision to make. Leave to them to their fate, which surely is to hang, or risk the lives of others who obeyed his orders to save these few who let greed corrupt their better judgment. While he felt these men potentially deserved their fate for disobeying his orders, he knew it would be wrong to leave his men to die without even attempting a rescue. They may have been outlaws, but they were also a family.

Robin Hood’s spy in the city of York informed him that his captured men were being interrogated in the city’s jailhouse, with an execution scheduled for the following morning. This left very little time for a plan to be devised and a plan of action made in case his men turn on him and expose the location of their encampment. This left only a few hours to prepare, an almost impossible task, even for the legendary Robin Hood.

The following morning his men were in place in the town square, each with a specific job to do in accordance with the plan for it to succeed. The plan would not be initiated until the men were being marched up the steps of the gallows to their fate. As the ropes were swung over the heads of his men Robin and two other skilled archers took aim from a distant rooftop. Right before the trapdoors gave way Robin Hood and his other archers unleashed their arrows, cutting the ropes at the perfect moment as the executioner pulled the lever to release the trapdoors. As his men were falling to their freedom the remaining outlaws in the audience deployed a number of smoke bombs and distraction devices to allow for the group to escape.

Robin Hood and his band of outlaws escaped to the woods at the edge of York, where the king’s men dared not even follow, knowing they would never find the fugitives in the woods. Robin Hood managed to save his lost men this day, and they all learned to never go against the word of their leader ever again.
    

Author's Note: The basic story of Robin Hood is known to nearly every man, woman, and child in the western world. These tales describe the classic bandit who steals from the rich and gives to the poor who are in need in medieval England. His story has been told time and time again, in numerous languages and a variety of narrative styles. Originally the story was told through a ballad presentation that was commonly sung around the campfire. I attempted to present my narrative in this style, however the work came across as an imposter, and unnatural for my writing style. My inspiration for this story actually came from a Latino version of Robin Hood, Zorro. The idea of having Robin Hood and other marksmen cut the hangman’s rope with a well-placed arrow is exciting, while realistically impossible. Robin Hood is a cunning character that has survived for so long by relying on his wits. This is why he is able to see through King John’s ruse at the beginning of the narrative, choosing to avoid the planned ambush. His wits and ability to avoid a blatant trap allow for the narrative to develop from this point into something more substantial. In the end this is another adventure story with Robin Hood as the main character, but I believe it is one that is still rather entertaining. 
  

Bibliography: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Robin Hood, Francis James Childs(1882-1898)

Photo Information: An actor playing the part of Robin Hood in a stage production
Source: Wikimedia Commons 

Reading Notes:Italian Popular Tales Part B

The second portion of the reading for Italian Fairy Tales was less intriguing overall, with one story in particular sticking out in my memory. An Incident in Rome again involves religion and the mysterious ways that it can operate within our own world. While the tale was more mysterious rather mischievous like the previous day, it still had me wondering how the tale would end and capture my attention. However, for my personal writing style I believe the story from the prior day concerning the Devil and his marriages to three sisters is the most appropriate for me. A story of outwitting the Devil provides ample routes for creativity, while still retaining the core source material.

Bibliography: Italian Popular Tales, Thomas Frederick Crane 

Image Information: The source of creative writing 

Source: Flickr   

Reading Notes: Italian Popular Tales Part A

Reading a fairy tale with one of the main characters being the devil certainly was an intriguing option and one that I had been hesitant to read up to this point in the semester. With this being the last week to complete a reading assignment it meant it was now or never for me to finally read a story where the devil plays a part. I will admit when choosing this section I had no intention of focusing on How the Devil Married Three Sisters, but the name alone was too alluring to dismiss. Naturally a story that concerns the devil would not be complete without this entity participating in form of deception against a mere mortal of our world. Reading this story I cannot help but wonder, how awful these parents were to allow this man to marry not one, not two, but three of their daughters one after the other with the previous wife missing under strange circumstances. The story ends with a surprising twist whereas the three sisters turn the tide against the devil and effectively drive him back into hell. This story could be modernized easily, and would translate well into a modern setting. 

Bibliography: Italian Popular Tales, Thomas Frederick Crane (1885) 

Image Information: Devil's Hole 

Source: Flickr  

Week 13 Story Planning: Rumplestiltskin

The passion of creation-Leonid Pasternak  

source: Wikimedia Commons 

Rumplestiltskin. This is a classic literary story that sticks out to me from my childhood as one that was a favorite of mine. The attempts in guessing the strange man’s name are certainly entertaining to read along with as the woman tries to save her future child from belonging to this despicable man. Hearing the man brag about his cleverness in hiding his unusual name while dancing around a campfire is almost too simple and takes away from his prior cleverness in drawing the woman into an almost impossible situation. For me this seems to be a cop out for the author in regards to not having to explain how the main character was able to outwit the more cunning and senior individual of the story. Aside from changing the manner in which Rumplestiltskins name is discovered and thus his plot foiled, I believe the setting of the story could easily be transitioned into the modern day or potentially even a future date. This would retain the key points of the original story in terms of a deal being made essentially with the devil, while bringing the story to the modern day where can be more easily connected with by modern readers. Instead of having to exchange your first-born child in exchange for aid from Rumplestiltskin, potentially it could be something that is less extreme, while still being of huge importance for younger individuals of this generation. An issue that arises when making a major change such as this is the alienation of older readers who may not connect to this new exchange as well as younger readers. So why would I as the writer decide to alienate a large portion of my potential audience? Well, I would not do that; upon further pondering it seems silly to change one of the key components of the original tale. I think retaining the original story’s key components and simply updating the setting would be the best decision for me as the writer to make.   

Bibliography: The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales, translated by D. L. Ashliman