Famous Last Words Week 2

This week I was really “into” writing my storytelling assignment and was happy with how I was able to recreate the story of Mars and Venus with a modern twist. I enjoyed drawing parallel’s between the drama of the Greek Gods and Goddesses and the drama we experience today. It seemed quite easy to find similarities between the stories of Greek mythology and stories I hear in the news or pop culture. I liked being able to take the basic plot-line of the story but transplanting it into modern New York City.

            However, this week instead of focusing on my writing in the “Famous Last Words” post, I want to focus on a post I read from one of my fellow classmates. The blog post for storytelling week two by Paula was one of my favorites I have read. She choose the Cupid and Psyche unit for this week and her recreation of the story was amazing. The language between Venus and the how she speaks to the mortal in the story really captures how Venus holds herself above everyone else. She speaks down to Psyche and immediately casts her aside as insignificant because she is human. Paula really did a great job of capturing Venus’s character traits in the story. You get a sense of how jealous, vengeful, and prideful Venus is. Venus cannot stand the fact that Psyche has these gorgeous eyes and gets jealous. It is not just that Psyche should not have such gorgeous eyes, but Venus should. She wants them for herself. She then comes up with this brilliant plan to punish Psyche for trespassing on the blessed land by taking her sight away. Psyche said she wanted to see the blessed land so her punishment will be to never see again: the punishment fits the crime. But really, Venus just wants the eyes for their beauty. I think that Paula did an exceptional job conveying the character of Venus in a new story. She really captured what the storytelling blog post is all about. 

 

Psyche Before The Throne Of Venus;  photo by Henrietta Rae; source:ArtScroll

Week 2 Essay: Analyzing Ovid 1 Unit

I am so happy that I started the semester with the Ovid 1 Unit but the only downfall is having the other units interest me just as much as this one did. I have always been interested in Greek mythology and decided it was a good place to start the semester. The first story of Deucalion and Pyrrha was not my favorite. I found myself getting somewhat confused and had to re-read certain parts of the story to make sure I was getting all of the details correct. The notes were definitely helpful. It was nice being able to read a little summary with hints to look for in the story. For example, in the story of Io I probably would not have picked up on the creation of the peacock. However, since the notes in the beginning mentioned it, I knew to look for the details in the story. I can honestly say that all of the other stories I enjoyed. The second half of the reading seemed to contain the more dramatic and exciting stories, in my opinion. The stories contained more symbolism and imagery that drew me into the stories. I feel like I knew more about the personality of the characters in the stories like Echo and Narcissus. I never knew the creation of the peacock, the echo or coral and found these as some of the most interesting things I learned. The only thing I would have maybe liked to have in the notes is the explanation of different symbols: whether physical or colors. My overall goal for the class is to expand my knowledge of the cultures of different people and lands through the use of myths and folktales. Although I knew many of these myths already, I gained new insights from the stories this time around. I think I would like to do another Greek mythology unit next, but also do want to break away from what I am already familiar with. I recommend this unit to anyone who wants to gain more knowledge about Greek mythology and fears it might be too complex for them to understand. The notes by the professor and the language of Tony Kline, the translator, were simple to read and easy to follow. Overall, I am very happy I started with this unit because it was nice to have content that was somewhat familiar to write about as I navigated how to write the blog posts and assignments. 

Juno and her sacred bird, the peacock: Source

Storytelling for Week 2: Caught on Video

Lindsay was one of the most beautiful, successful women in the public relations industry of New York City and worked in the Trump building. She wore fitted black suits and pointed-toe heels, and as she walked her perfect figure moved elegantly. With such a powerful woman, came an equally powerful man, whom she got to call her husband: Andrew. Andrew was the typical sleek Wall Street broker. His shiny dark hair never had a strand out of place, and he walked with purpose with a stern look on his face in his perfectly tailored suits He carried a brief case and took his coffee black. He was a no non-sense kind of man and everyone knew not to mess with him.

On the outside everything in their relationship seemed ideal. They lived in a gorgeous Victorian penthouse on the Upper East Side. The ate at five-star restaurants. On the weekends, they attend galas and black-tie events. In the summers, they vacation in the Hamptons. You could say they had it all. Or at least, Andrew thought they did. He also thought Lindsay had everything a woman could want.

Andrew and Lindsay on their wedding day, Carver Photography

Lindsay, however, had been sneaking off with Andrew's business partner, Derek. When she said she was "having brunch with the girls" or "attending yoga class" she was actually sneaking to his loft downtown and engaging in unspeakable behaviors. She was cheating on Andrew. She was having an affair. And with her husband's business partner, no less.

One day in the office, one of the brokers at the firm knocked on Andrew's office door and asked if he could come in for a minute. Andrew checked his clock and let out a sigh because it was nearing time for him to head home so he and Lindsay could get ready to attend a gala at the Met that night. He hesitantly obliged to hear what his co-worker had to say, figuring it was about making a deal of some sort.

"Hey I just wanted to give you a heads up that there has been some talk around the office. I did not want to be the one to say anything but I respect you and think you have a right to know what is going on," said the broker.

"What is this about?" asked Andrew.

"It seems that Lindsey and Derek have been... how do I put this... having adult relations. Basically, she has been cheating on you with him for about six months now. I hate to be the one to share this  news but after it going around the office I figured it was about time you knew," continued the broker.

Andrew could not even mutter a word. He opened his mouth and his lips hung limp. He could not even muster a thank you as his co-worker walked out of his office. Although, he did not know if thank you were even the words he was looking for. He was shocked. He was shocked and angry.

On cab ride home, Andrew thought of his options. He could stay in the marriage and avoid the publicity. They would have an "open marriage" or whatever the celebrities were calling it these days. He could walk in the door as soon as he got home and demand a divorce. But Andrew was a calculated man. And he decided he would get even. He was going to make a plan to destroy Lindsay just as she had destroyed him.

Andrew knew where Derek lived and knew that Derek had left the office early to go visit his parents in Connecticut for the weekend. And luckily, he knew the doorman of Derek's building from the times the two had watched football games together or relaxed with a drink in hand after a long day at work.

"Change of plans," Andrew said to the cab driver. "I need to go to 61st and 8th. But first, I need to make a stop at an electronic store on the way."

Andrew paid the cab driver and walked out onto the street in front of Derek's apartment building. The doorman recognized Andrew and gave him a nod and slight smile.

"As you know, Derek is out of town and he left his sport coat upstairs. I am meeting him tomorrow and he asked me to grab it out of his closet. Could you please let me in?" asked Andrew. He did not think it was going to work but remained hopeful.

The doorman pondered for a bit before he reluctantly led Andrew upstairs to Derek's loft. Once inside Andrew thanked the doorman and found the bedroom. From a plastic bag, he pulled a small video camera he had purchased at the electronic store before coming to the loft. Andrew set it up in the corner behind a picture frame, positioned perfectly to catch his wife and Derek in the act. After he was pleased with his work, Andrew left and returned home where he would pretend like everything was "just perfect" between him and his unfaithful wife.

It only took three days for Andrew to catch them. Lindsay had left for "yoga" and Andrew took this opportunity to follow her to Derek's apartment. After waiting for about thirty minutes, he stormed upstairs and knocked angrily on the door. When Derek opened the door his face turned white and he tried to compose himself quickly. Andrew threw open the door and immediately grabbed the camera from behind the frame, and before storming out thrust open the closet door to expose Lindsay standing there wrapped in the bedsheets.

The next day at the office, there was a TV set up with video of Lindsay and Derek that Andrew had captured on the camera. All of the workers found it quite hilarious that for the big talker that Derek was, he should not have been boasting. Derek was the new joke of the office and everyone snickered as he walked by.

Authors Note: I choose to retell the story of Mars and Venus from Ovid 1. When I first read the story, I could not help but think it was something I would see on a Bravo reality TV show. I therefore wanted to set the story in present day cosmopolitan city. I kept the language simple because the story is not one that needs scholastic prose. I tried to make the story one of juicy gossip, which is the feeling I got from reading the original Greek myth: it was the gossip of the Gods.

Bibliography: Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by Tony Kline. Published 1903. http://www.poetryintranslation.com/

Week 2 Reading Diary: Ovid 1

This week I read the Greek Myths: Ovid 1 unit which included stories from Greek mythology pertaining to Ovid's Metamorphoses unit. After reading the brief introduction provided I learned that the reason the epic poem is called Metamorphoses is because it involves myths of transformations.

Deucalion and Pyrrha: Zeus (Jupiter), being angry with the mortals on Earth, wants to destroy the Earth with a great flood, and there are only two survivors remain: Deucalion and Pyrrha. Deucalion and his wife reach out to Themis who advises them to throw the bones of their Mother over their shoulder. The stones turn into men and women. My favorite part of this myth is the ending. The last line reads: "So the toughness of our race, our ability to endure hard labour, and the proof we give of the source from which we are sprung." It alludes to the stones turning to humans and how man-kind came from the Earth and possesses the strength of the Earth.

Io: In this story I found I became very angry with Zeus and his infidelity with a servant to his own wife appalled me. He then tries to cover his own wrong-doings by turning Io into a heifer. I thought it was interesting how Zeus debates what to do when Juno, his wife, wants to keep the heifer as a gift and he must battle between Shame and Armor. He realizes to deny his wife a gift so simple as a hifier would bring on suspision. I also thought the part about Juno taking Argo's eyes and setting them into the feathers of her own bird to "fill the tail with star-like jewels" was amazing in relating it to the creation of the Peacock. Luckily Io is returned to her human form after Zeus convinces Juno she will not be of worry.

Phaethon and the Sun: This was one of my favorite stories I read in this half of the unit! Phaethon learns that his father is Apollo, god of the Sun, and he then searched to find him at his Palace. When arriving there Apollo promises him any wish to be granted to prove he is his father. I think this is interesting in the fact that he must PROVE his kinship. "So that you can banish doubt, ask for any favour, so that I can grant it to you." I find it somewhat ironic that the lesser mortal is asking for proof from the mighty God to claim him as his son. Today if someone found out they were related to royalty they would rejoice and not question for proof or validity in taking their title as royalty. I also found it hard to believe whether Apollo was warning his son Phaethon not to take the journey because of his "fatherly love" like he claims, or for his own selfish reason because he does not want anyone to take over his important role in bringing light to the Earth.

Phaethon's Ride: I felt so bad for Phaethon on his disastrous ride, even though his father did warn him of the hardships he would face. I think this story is important in showing the virtue of being humbled. Phaethon believes that now he knows he is the son of a God that he must be able to do Godly things. When he cannot control the horses and begins to set the Earth on fire, I believe he learns this important lesson in humility. The ending of the story with the Earth crying out to end her misery form the fires was very heartfelt and I could imagine the suffering as if it were a person crying out to be spared from such pain.

The Death of Phaethon: One of my favorite parts of this story was how the death of Phaethon was related to a shooting star in the sky. "But Phaethon, flames ravaging his glowing hair, is hurled headlong, leaving a long trail in the air, as sometimes a star does in the clear sky, appearing to fall although it does not fall." The metamorphoses part of the story comes when his sisters, the Heliads, are turned into trees. My favorite metamorphoses was the one of  Cycnus into a swan. He was stricken with grief at Phaethon's death and his sisters being turned to trees, and was so angry that he became a swan and stayed in water. " He looked for standing water, and open lakes hating fire, choosing to live in floods rather than flames." I loved how he hated everything that the fire stood for so he turned to live his life in the water; the only thing that fire cannot touch.

Callisto: I really enjoyed this story, even if it was another of Zeus's infidelities that brought it about. The woman becomes pregnant with a son. Juno, threatened that Zeus's rape with be exposed, turns Callisto into a bear. Callisto had born a son Arcas, who years later, finds her while he is hunting. As any hunter would do, he aims to kill the bear. Before he can stick his spear into the bear, his own mother, Zeus intervenes and turns them both to constellations in the sky. I loved how, in the end, the son and mother end up together in the heavens and become the Great and Little Bear.

Semele: This is one of the stories I had heard before and enjoyed reading it again. Juno, at this point in the many rapes Zeus has caused, begins to become very angry and rightfully so. She also begins to question her authority and power. I think that she is so threatened by the infidelities of Zeus, and if she feels she no longer has his love, then she must declare that she is still the all-powerful wife of Zeus. "If I am rightly to be called most powerful Juno, if it is right for me to hold the jewelled sceptre in my hand, if I am queen, and sister and wife of Jove, sister at least, then it is her [Semele] I must destroy." She is no longer the only lover of Zeus so she must put herself above all the women he has raped by dominating with her powers. As she is dying, the unborn son, Bacchus, is torn from the mother’s womb and sewn into his father’s thigh. 

Echo: I think every girl can relate to Echo's experience when she sees Narcissus. She has been cursed with only the ability to repeat the last words she hears. When she tries to show her affection toward Narcissus she can only repeat his words and runs away in embarrassment. I think every girl has had that moment when talking to a boy she is mesmerized by and can not find the words to say. I think it was clever to have the story take place in the forest so as Echo fades to just a voice she is literally the "Echo in the forest."

Narcissus: I think the story of Narcissus is one that everybody can take away a strong message from. I believe one of the messages is that we cannot have what we long for in vain. Narcissus wants nothing more that to have the image of himself reflected in the water because of its beauty. My favorite quote reads, "nothing of you is in it [shadow of reflected form]" I think this is another valuable lesson that aims to express that we are not our looks. Nothing of what makes us who we are is contained in our looks that are reflected to the world. In the end Narcissus is turned into a flower with "white petals surrounding a yellow heart". One thing I would like to look up or search more into is if these colors are symbols for something.

Pyramus and Thisbe: I remember this story when reading A Midsummer Night's Dream and was happy to get the chance to read the actual story. Of course it very much resembles Romeo and Juliette, but I did like this version. The line, "the more they kept the fire hidden, the more it burned," made me think of the saying "we want what we can't have." It is a forbidden love that makes the two lovers want it even more. The symbolism was strong in this story. The wall was a physical representation of the separation between the two. The color of the mulberries from white to red also provided a strong color symbolism which I thought added to the story.

Mars and Venus: This story was short but I really enjoyed it and how it can relate to modern day "drama." Venus's husband, Vulcan, creates a trap to imprison the two together during one of their cheating acts. The story says how the Gods laughed at the two bound together in their shame and that "for a long time it was the best-known story in all the heavens." It reminds me of reality TV where husbands or wives try to expose their cheating spouses and it becomes the talk of the town.

Perseus and Andromeda: I have heard this story before and the story of Medusa, but I was intrigued by the part where as Perseus was flying with Medusa's head that the blood dropped down to Earth and became snakes. When Perseus asks to rest and Atlas fears the prophecy of death and denies his request, Perseus turns him to stone and makes him into Mt Atlas. I think it teaches us that when we are too concerned about our own well-being to help someone in need, we will be punished. Perseus almost comes off somewhat cocky and boastful when explaining his feats and how he would not be denied Andromeda's hand in marriage should she be saved from the stone she is bound to.

Perseus and Medusa: Right from the start I enjoyed this story because of the vivid imagery used when describing killing the sea monster to free Andromeda from the stone. After defeating the monster, the celebration begins to celebrate the marriage of Perseus and Andromeda where he begins to tell the story of how he killed Medusa using his metal shield as a reflection to not look directly into her eye. I think the most interesting thing about the story was the explanation of how coral was formed. The nymphs took Medusa's head to the living plants and watched them turn rigid like stone. " Even now corals have the same nature, hardening at a touch of air, and what was alive, under the water, above water is turned to stone."