Famous Last Words Week 2

Adam and Eve, Lincoln Cathedral Great East Window

 For this week I read the unit on Adam and Eve.  I think it was a good unit to start off with.  It was something that I already knew a little bit about, so that really helped.  The first two parts were from the book of Genesis, but the rest was all new to me.  It was really interesting to get the mythology and folklore about the story of Adam and Eve.  For my Reading Diary, I chose to use bullet points to list out my notes as I thought of them.  I tried not to focus on just writing down the main events, but instead, I wrote down the things about the story that stuck out or the questions that stuck with me throughout the story.  Overall, I think this week went by fairly smoothly.  I stayed a week ahead in the class.  My general plan is to do that for the rest of the semester. 

  In my other classes, things are going pretty well also.  I’m not very worried about my classes.  Most of the work in them is reading, which is something that I really enjoy.  I actually just finished reading Beowulf for one of my other classes, so I’m thinking about doing the unit over that in the next week or two.  I’m excited to see how this class and the readings from some of my other classes coincide.  I’m actually surprised with how well I am staying on top of things so far this semester, though it is only the second week.  Hopefully I can keep it up!

  Outside of class, there have been some pretty interesting things going on.  I’ve been following the goings-on with the presidential candidates more than I did last time around.  This coming election will only be the second that I will have voted in, so I’m excited.  The last election, I had barely turned eighteen and was super focused with graduating high school and getting into college.  Now, it seems like it is a bit easy to follow what is going on than it was back then, though that could definitely be the influence of living in a college town.  

Word count: 361

Brainstorming Topics for Storybook

Topic: Trickster

Comments:  I’ve always liked trickster stories.  The cleverness and wit in the stories always hooks me.  I know that there are some trickster stories where the trickster wins and others where the trickster gets beat at his own game.  I want to learn how those that outsmart the trickster manage to do that.

Possible Stories:  There are tons of sites and places to find information on tricksters.  Just about every culture has one.  Rumpelstiltskin is one of the stories that I found most enjoyable and interesting when I was younger, so that is one that I would like to explore.  There are also stories of the fox, a kitsune, in Japanese folklore, as well as several others in Native American cultures.  

Sample Story: I chose Rumpelstiltskin because it was one of the stories of someone outsmarting the trickster.  It is also his own fault that makes him lose.  I really like that he starts out seeming helpful, but then that just leads to a more devious plan.  

Bibliographical Information:

Story: Rumpelstiltskin

Author: the Brother’s Grimm

Source: the UnTextbook

Topic: Mean Queens/Mothers in Fairy Tales:

Title: “Royally Pea-d Off”

Comments:  This seems to be an incredibly common thing in fairy tales.  If I do this as a Storybook, I want to see if I can play with that idea and make something a little bit more comical and significant out of it.

Possible Stories:  There are so many possible stories I could use.  Cinderella would be one of the most obvious.  So would Snow White.  Rapunzel would be a good one to look at as well.

Sample Story: I think I’m going to focus on the Princess and the Pea.  The queen/mother in it isn’t particularly nasty, but she goes out of her way to test the princess and is a kind sneaky.  I think it would turn into a really fun Storybook.  Another reason why I would like to use this story is because it is one that has lost a good bit of popularity.  It isn’t a movie either, so it would be fun to really run with it.

Story source: The Princess and the Pea from Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by H. P. Paull (1872).  UnTextbook

Topic: Titans

Title: Prometheus Unbound

Comments:  Whenever people think of Greek Mythology, they usually think of gods and goddesses.  There were an entire different group in charge before the gods were, yet most people don’t know much about them.  My plan would be to focus on Prometheus.  He was essentially the protector of mankind and tried to take them under his wing.  Zeus, unfortunately, didn’t like him or his methods and punished him.  Prometheus was chained to a rock and an eagle would come and eat his liver everyday.  Because of his immortality, his liver regenerated and he was forced to live through it until his punishment ends.  

Possible Stories:  I could probably use the story of Prometheus taking fire for the humans.  He was also known for being clever and tricking Zeus.  There are also a lot of different resources and stories I can use about him.

Sample Story:  I found out a lot more about Prometheus than I previously knew.  He was a bit of a trickster, but he used his skills for good.  He also set the precedent for the way people gave sacrifices and offerings to Zeus and the other gods.  

Bibliographic Information:

Story: Prometheus

Website:  Greek Mythology  

Topic: Titans

Comments:  Whenever people think of Greek Mythology, they usually think of gods and goddesses.  There were an entire different group in charge before the gods were, yet most people don’t know much about them.  Atlas is one of the most well known Titans.  Most people know that he was forced to hold the heavens on his shoulders.  There are a lot of other stories about him though.  He also was against the gods and lead the army against them.  

Possible Stories:  There are several stories about Atlas.  Something I found out was that the Atlantic Ocean and Atlantis were named after him.

Sample Stories:  I really like the story of Atlas leading the titans against the gods.  It’s noble in a way.  After he is defeated, he carries the burden of the heavens.  He tries to get out of it by tricking people.  I chose it because it makes me wonder if there would ever be a way for him to be free from his duty.

Bibliographic Information:

Story: Atlas

Website: Wikipedia  

Essay: A Merciful Punishment

God the Father by Girolamo dai Libri

The story of Adam and Eve is one of the most renowned stories in world.  It is the story of the first man and woman, how they lost paradise, and how they became mortal.  Though the biblical book of Genesis tells the most known parts of their story, there are other sources that help to complete it.  Two such sources, the Legend of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg and the Forgotten Books of Eden edited by Rutherford H. Platt, add significance to the tale that may not have been quite so obvious through the book of Genesis alone.  Throughout the story there is a theme of loss.  Adam loses a wife; Adam and Eve lose Paradise in the form of the Garden of Eden; Adam commits suicide on several occasions; Adam and Eve lose their sight as night takes over the day.  What really stands out, however, is the temporariness of those losses.

Folklore often cites Lilith as the first wife of Adam.  God created her from the dust, just as he created Adam.  Unfortunately, Lilith loathed Adam and rebuked him.  Her displeasure was so great that even three angels could not force her to return to him.  Because of this, Adam lost his first wife and was alone again with no one to share in all of God’s creation.  The Lord, however, saw Adam’s need for a companion and created Eve to lessen the burden. 

                According to the book of Genesis, the first man and woman disobey God’s one command; they eat of the Tree of Knowledge.  As a result, the couple is kicked out of Eden and sentenced to mortality.  From this point on in the reading, Adam mourns this loss.  Mercifully, God promises Adam that he and his people will be readmitted into the Garden after a period of time.  Though the promise seems to do little to console Adam, the loss is lessened by the eventuality of his return. 

                Despite God’s promise, Adam’s anguish does not dissipate.  He often throws himself to the ground from great heights in attempts to repent.  Even after God tells him that the act is unnecessary and forgiveness will be his, Adam still strikes himself down.  His many deaths last only a short while, as God returns him to his living state time and time again. 

                Upon multiple reassurances, Adam and Eve return to the cave where God had bade them to live.  Whenever night fell, the darkness was so intense that they could not see.  They cried out to God, begging to know why he would punish them with blindness.  Once again, God reassured them and promised that the loss of light was only temporary.  Still, they wept and mourned the loss.  God promised them that the night and the darkness were not punishments, but part of the day that He had created, for he knew that man would disobey him.  Soon, day broke and the darkness faded.  Once again, Adam’s loss was only temporary. 

                The impermanence of loss throughout the storytelling speaks both to the mercy of God and to the temporary nature of man.  This significance within the story is nearly impossible to find through the book of Genesis alone, which focuses more heavily on the consequences of disobedience than on mercy.  With further study into the mythology, however, the theme mercy and impermanence of loss become much harder to ignore.   

Source: Adam and Eve unit from the UnTextbook

Storytelling: God's New Creation (Week 2)

Lucifer Versus the Lord by Mihály Zichy, Source

Adam.  God’s little pet.  His favorite.  I’ve been around for far longer than he! Yet, somehow, he gets God’s blessing.  I, who was by God’s side for so, so long, had been cast aside instead.  The injustice of it all is really quite baffling.  The other angels agreed with me.  Or at least some of them did.  Of course, the cowards weren’t willing to stand with me when the time came to confront the Big Man, so I was the one infamously punished.  I wasn’t even one of the ones who tried to set Adam on fire! The only real thing I was guilty of is question my Creator’s judgment.

All the angels talked of Adam, God’s new creation, as if he was were the most magnificent thing to grace the heavens since God himself.  At first, I didn’t mind it.  Adam was new and shiny; of course he would draw attention.  Soon, though, the shininess faded.  The angels quieted themselves and things were calm for a short while.  Despite early indications of God’s favor, we all acted as if there wasn’t an imbalance.  Unfortunately, the favoritism soon became blindingly clear.  Some of the angels wept, for they had been replaced in God’s highest graces.  Others turned a blind eye.  Others yet were angry, rightfully so.  I was one such angel.  As the morning star, I felt it my duty to stand for the other angels, to represent them in this injustice.  A creature that He had created from the dust of the earth was more glorious than I?  Than the other angels?  Preposterous!

I took my complaint before my Father.  I begged him to see the error of his ways, to see that angels were really superior to this one man.  I asked him for a test, something that would prove how mighty I was in comparison to Adam.  My Father assented.  The test, however, was absurd.  God had recently created animals, but had yet to name them.  Our trial was to name the animals.  It was deceivingly simple.

The animals had yet to be named.  How could there be a wrong answer?  Somehow, there was though.  My answer was the wrong answer.  Ox!  Cow!  Camel!  Donkey!  What sort of names were those?  Adam shot the names off like rapid-fire.  It sounded like he just said the first bit of gibberish that came to his mind.  Wherever he pulled the names from, God seemed to be content with them.  He declared Adam victorious.  I was livid.  How could this happen?  There was no other explanation other than God’s unbalanced favor.  Immediately, I told my brethren of the offence.  Many rallied around me.

Michael was one of those who opposed me.  He was always one for the rules.  He begged me to praise Adam, like God desired.  He also warned me against my disobedience.  Neither he, nor anyone else could stop me.  I had proven myself time and time again.  I deserved a place among the stars; I deserved a throne.

Soon, God received word of my rebellion.  He anger was immeasurable, but I expected it.  I expected to feel his wrath, and I thought was prepared for it.  I wasn’t prepared to lose my wings.  I wasn’t prepared to lose heaven and earth.

I was fallen.  But I would have my revenge on Adam.  If I had to be cast from Paradise, he would too.

Author's note

For the reading I decided to do the unit over Adam and Eve. Part of the unit was from the Bible and part was from other sources.  The section I focused on mainly in the story above wasn't from the Bible but from another source.  I chose to write about the fall of Satan because it was a story that so many people know about and it's one that I have always been curious about.  I specifically chose to right it from his point of view because I thought it would provide an interesting twist.  

The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909): Volume 1

Source: UnTextbook

Adam and Eve: Reading Diary B

·         Adam and Eve would have been forgiven if they had washed themselves in the sea to the North of Eden, but God kind of hid it from them.
·         Cave of Treasures.
·         God made time.
·         Adam and Eve could see angels when they were in the Garden, but not after they left.
·         Adam and Eve killed themselves and God raised them back to life.
·         They could return back to the Garden after 5500 years had passed.
·         God stopped speaking to the couple.
·         Adam and Eve drowned themselves in the water that feed the Tree of Knowledge.
·         They decided not to touch the water because it would further their punishment.
·         They seem to mourn and weep a lot.
·         Adam keeps killing himself.  This seems like a real problem.
·         There seems to be a big difference in God in the passage called the Darkness (http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/adam-and-eve-darkness.html)
·         “Verily I say unto thee, this darkness will pass from thee, every day I have determined for thee, until the fulfilment of My covenant when I will save thee and bring thee back again into the garden, into the abode of light thou longest for, wherein is no darkness. I will bring thee, to it, in the kingdom of heaven."
·         “All this misery that thou hast been made to take upon thee because of thy transgression, will not free thee from the hand of Satan, and will not save thee.” Maybe they will stop mourning so much.
·         “and take upon Me the infirmity from which thou sufferest” Is humanity a disease?
·         The sun didn’t exist in the Garden?
·         The snake was blown away to India?
·         Did Adam kill himself again?
·         Why are Adam and Eve searching for the Garden?  God said they can’t go there yet.
·         Seriously.  This is a ridiculous amount of suicides.
·         "O Adam, do not again kill thyself as thou didst, by throwing thyself down from that mountain." Finally, he stops.
·         “O God, do not away with me altogether, but be favourable to me every time I die, and bring me to life.” Nevermind…

Painting by William Blake, Source

Adam and Eve: Reading Diary A

Adam and Eve

I learned a lot through the first half of this unit.  The first two parts of the reading were stuff that I knew really well from reading the Bible.  The rest of it was far more unfamiliar to me.  I’d heard bits and pieces of some of the stories, but never the whole thing.  It was really interesting to discover more of it.  Some of the most memorable points were:

·         Man is superior to angels, specifically Adam vs. Satan

·         God used the animals to test them both (ox and cow, camel and donkey)

·         Where did the idea of Lilith come from?

·         The angels knew Adam was only a human because he fell asleep.

·         Lilith was created from the dust, like Adam.  Eve was created out of his rib.

·         Why are Lilith’s children demons?

·         Who are the three angel protectors who went after Lilith?

·         Author is extremely critical of the Daughters of Zion but fails to mention the shortcomings of the Sons of Zion.

·         “To this day it is true that men do not appreciate the charms of women whom they have known and observed from childhood up.” What? Not true at all.

·         “Indeed, God had created a wife for Adam before Eve, but he would not have her, because she had been made in his presence.” Complete contradiction with the previous part of the story.  Lilith left Adam; she wouldn’t have him.  They had to send angels to force her back to him, but she chose to have her children killed instead of being with him. 

·         Women are bad, according to the story, yet souls are referred to as feminine objects.

·         “The first portal is the Cave of Machpelah, in the vicinity of Paradise, which is under the care and supervision of Adam.”

·         “The soul then proceeds until she arrives at the gate of Paradise guarded by the cherubim and the flaming sword.”

·         “The third portal, Zebul, is at the entrance of heaven. If the soul is worthy, the guard opens the portal and admits her to the heavenly Temple. Michael presents her to God, and conducts her to the seventh portal”

·         What happened to portals four-six?

·         “six commandments which every human being is expected to heed: man should not worship idols; nor blaspheme God; nor commit murder, nor incest, nor theft and robbery;”

·         What happened to the full ten?

·         The serpent was originally almost as noble as man.

·         The fig was the forbidden fruit? The tree of knowledge was a fig tree?

·         God would have forgiven man and woman if they had not lied about their sin.

Illustration for John Milton's "Paradise Lost" by Gustave Dore, Source