The Woman Warrior/ White Tiger

In The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston talks about her childhood and how women in her communities is looked down upon and thought as useless. In order to give women and femininity a sense if purpose she altered the talend Mulan, where the women has a role and power in society. However what confuses me is that in the end Mulan gives up her power to become a housewife. Doesn't that defeat what Kingston was trying to prove in her version of Mulan? In White Tiger, Mulan becomes a warrior who fought against oppression and for her village. This gives women a sense of purpose rather than just people who are useless to society. I believe that tales like this are altered so something that is looked down upon can be changed and given a sense of purpose.

"Trickster Tales" Ed. by Matt Dembicki

"Trickster Tales" composed of two stories "Raven the Trickster" and "The Wolf and the Mink" which involves deception and trickery. In  "Raven the Trickster", the raven gets into trouble due to curiosity, but also manages to escape form the whale due to curiosity. The raven showed how deceiving he was when he lied to the hunters about the whale being cursed and as a result the keeps all the blubber and meat.  "The Wolf and the Mink", the mink and the wolf were tricksters, but one was better than the other. The wold managed to put the mink to sleep with a boring story and ate all his fish. In order to trick the mink into believing that the did eat the fish, he put bones and pieces in the minks mouth. In the end the mink thought he ate the fish. Trickery can be used to deceive others and get out of trouble.

“Graphic Memoirs Come of Age” by William Bradley/ "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang

In “Graphic Memoirs Come of Age”, William Bradley talks about how graphic novels are a form of literature and a more detailed and sophisticated version of comics. Bradley would go on to praise books that he is fond of such as "Are You My Mother" stating that the author uses visualization to sate her thoughts and make the story more clear. Different terms were used in this passage such as auto-bio comic and graphic memoir. While more works are considered by the readers to be comics, Bradley feels that their more like essays because of how much more complex they are. A lot of authors have trouble narrating their life, and not realizing that their is specific pattern to follow. In the end it is the writer's choice to decide what to leave out and what to emphasize on.
 "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang is a very influential graphic novel which teaches the readers the right way to act in life and society. I believe the moral of the story is that one should not be too greedy and should not seek for more if they already have enough. Greediness and desire for power can lead to consequences and can hurt the ones you care about.

American Indian Myths and Legends Ed. by Richard Erdoes & Alfonso Ortiz

Many myths and folktales from all cultures around the world have been told and altered in order for them to have a presence in modern society. As time passes, norms change and people have different perspectives, so myths tend to be altered in order to adjust to the current society. This is a way for myths and folktales to be preserved and still be relevant. As said in "American Indian Myths and Legends Ed.", the link between the past and the present through myths is always strong. Thanks to folktales and myths, cultures and norms has been passed down and preserved and for this passage in general, Indian history. The tone of this passage seems to be against English literature. The author believes that because of white culture, Indian literature is becoming lost and misrepresented. Myths and folktales will continue to live on and although they are told in different ways, they will continue to impact society.

The Three Wishes by Ricardo E. Alegria and Juan Bobo: A Folkloric Information System

In Ricardo E. Alegria's "The Three Wishes", there were similarities and difference to other fables and folktales. Unlike others it isn't as short and direct. The Three Wishes slowly introduced thoughts explained through Puerto Rican culture. I thought it was harder to interpret and understand the main focus compared to  Juan Bobo: A Folkloric Information System. Juan Bobo's was more straightforward and share major similarities to other folktales. Just like other fables, John Bobo's used animals and what surprised me was that God was also included in one of the tales. It surprised me because God is very symbolic and a very powerful image of religion. I really enjoyed reading the "The Witch's Skin" because of the powerful ideas I have after reading it. The witch is evil in the eyes of other people despite her not doing anything evil or dangerous. Many men died trying to gain her love, but it was never her intention for them to die. However, society needs someone to blame and take out their frustration on. This correlate to the modern society where the innocent can get hurt when they haven't done anything wrong. 

Post #2- Living Folklore

When people say a piece of art or story is just a folklore, they assume that it is untrue or a made up belief. Martha Sims tries to explains that folklore isn't always just a "myth". She believes that folklore consists of habits and traditions and behaviors people have. With these traits people are able to learn about themselves and others around them. Sims points out the misconceptions that others have about folklore and shows that there is more to it. I agree with Sims that folklore isn't always based on the past, but that it is constantly developing and changing because of what humans do. Folklore is more than whether something is fake or real. It's about the way people behave and developing concepts based on the behaviors. Through past experiences and learning what others have accomplished in the past and present defines what folklore truly is. A major example of folklore in modern day is the media and what is trending. A lot of people are obsessed with Jordan's and because many people buys the brand. There's a trend that everyone starts to follow. However some trends, when people stops following it, the trend starts to die out. Through the media, traditions and pop culture are passed around the world. As soon as we hear about trends and ideas, it becomes a part of us and we begin to pass it on. It is an endless cycle, where information and culture continuously flows through us.

The Role of Aesop's Fables

I enjoyed reading Aesop's fables and learning the morals after reading them. As a child I have read similar fables and it's prefect for children as it teaches them how to behave through storytelling. With fables, children are able to know the difference between right and wrong at an earlier age. As I was reading the fables, I realize that the morals are the little things that tends to shape and define us as humans as we grow up. In "Aesop, Aristotle, and Animals: The Role of Fables in Human", Clayton shows that fables were used in ancient Greece among the weak.The fables made the weak cautious of themselves and taught them how to behave in society.These fables also deliver political messages among the people on top and the people with little power. I believe fables were used to depict social hierarchy in the past. Animals are used in fables because they have many similarities of humans in terms of the way they behave. However, I also agree with Clayton on the fact that it also shows the differences between humans ans animals. When humans are in a sticky situation or dilemma they tend to use reason to achieve they goal. Not only were fables used in the past, they are still used in modern society to teach kids about morals and behavior.