Week 10 - Story - The Merchant Sam

The Gold Bowl
commons.wikimedia.org

Sam stared at the bowl in disbelief. It couldn't be. No one would be this stupid. 

"Do you think we could trade this for something?" asked the old woman.

Something!!! Sam mentally scoffed. They could trade it for everything he was carrying on his cart plus everything they owned. Did they really not recognize the value of what they presented him? Sure the bowl was covered in a layer of dust but he had recognized it as priceless from one swipe at that grime.

The elderly woman and the young child she had in tow stared at him with wide uncomprehending eyes. Suddenly Sam felt a dark rush of inspiration.

They have no idea how rich they could be. It’s their own fault they aren’t living like royalty right now. I don’t really have to trade anything for this bowl. If I say it’s worthless they will abandon it and I can circle back around and seize it for free.

“This bowl is worth less than a penny!! Why are you wasting my valuable time. This bowl is so old and grimy you might ask well throw it away,” Sam sneered cruelly as he tossed the bowl onto the ground. He felt a twinge of guilt at the hurt look on the young girl’s face but his greed quickly forced it from his mind.

Sam scurried about the rest of his route. He was so fixated on the treasure he was certain still lay in the dirt road that he didn’t even notice that the rest of his bargains were exceptionally generous for the day. Finally he circle back to where he had left the old woman and her granddaughter.

NO! Where is it. Where is it. This isn’t happening.

The bowl was gone. So were the old woman and young girl. He quickly grabbed a neighbor coming out of their house.

“An old woman and her granddaughter tried to sell me a bowl earlier. Do you know where they have gone or where the bowl is.” Sam was unable to keep the desperation out of his voice and the neighbor gave him a strange look.

“ Another merchant came after you. I heard him say that the bowl was priceless. He sold all of his wares to Agatha and her granddaughter and left with the bowl. I Agatha is taking little Sheila to go shopping with the wares. Now I have work to do so go,” the neighbor replied.

How could I have been so stupid? I could have gotten the bowl for a mere trinket and instead I now have nothing beyond what I made today. Perhaps ambition and greed are not the virtues I treat them as. I will have to be more careful in the future.

Bibliography and Authors Note

• Babbitt. Jataka Tales, The Merchant of Seri 

This story is a twist on The Merchant of Seri. In the original story a good merchant is honest with an old woman and her granddaughter about the worth of what they are trying to sell after a greedy merchant tries to trick them. The good merchant and the woman and child all end up wealthy and happy. For my story I wanted to follow the storyline of the greedy merchant and try and explore his motivations and how he must have felt when he returned to try and get the bowl. 

Reading Notes - Babitt Jakara Tales Part A

The Monkey and the Crocodile

 - I liked that in this version of the monkey/ crocodile story, the crocodile is only trying to kill the monkey to please his mother. 

 - The wisdom, rather than just the cunningness of the monkey is evident by his last statement that he will still be on the lookout for the crocodile. 

How the Turtle Saved His Own Life
  - Serves as a good illustration on the dangers of ignorance. If the princes has known that the turtle was not a demon his life never would have been in danger. 
 - The turtle probably didn't help dispel the notion that he was a demon when he started talking. 


The Merchant of Seri
  - I thought it was interesting that the greedy merchant was able to recognize the bowl as gold. Normally in folktales likes this, you have one character that does not recognize the value of something and another who does. In this story both men recognized value but one was honest in trying to gain it. 


The Turtle Who Could n't Stop Talking
 - I feel like this story was one that parents with talkative kids used to talk as a warning. The main message is to not talk when you are told not to talk. 


The Ox Who Won the Forfeit
 - I like the theme of the animals being able to communicate with humans in these stories, rather than just with other animals. 
 - The message of treating those who serve you with kindness is super prominent here. 


The Sandy Road
 - I feel like this whole story could have been avoided if they had just been intelligent and waiting till they actually reached the city to throw away their extra supplies. 



The Quarrel of the Quails
 - I liked the message that working together the quails were able to outwit the fowler but as soon as they started quarreling he won. 
 - I thought it was interesting that the fowler understood that he just needed to wait for the quail to start arguing. 


The Measure of Rice
 - I think the position of Valuer is a really interesting one. Its easy to see how something like that could get corrupted and how that corruption could cause major problems. 


The Foolish, Timid Rabbit

Wise Lion
wikipedia.org

  - I liked this story both times I read it. The idea that one person (or animal) could cause so much disruption and that one individual could also fix it is very interesting. 


Bibliography

• Babbitt. Jataka Tales. Reading Guide A

Tech Tip - Blogger template

I actually did this tech tip weeks ago but never wrote up a blog post about it! I played around with different themes for my bog for almost an hour until finally deciding on the Ethereal theme in pink. While I don't normally like pink background for anything, I liked the birds on the side and thought that it gave my blog a whimsical feel, which I thought was appropriate for the subject matter! I also widened the page slightly and increased the font size. Overall I really like how the layout turned out!

Week 8 Progress

Cat Motivation
growthmindsetmemes.blogspot.com

So I'm a few weeks behind where I want to be points wise and I have been rather disappointed with my performance in this class.  I am planning on making sure to do every assignment and every extra credit assignment for the next few weeks to catch back up. I started to fall behind when I got sick earlier this semester and them have struggled to catch back up due to poor time management.  I think part of my problem is that I am taking 17 hours this semester and because I've done study abroad in the summers and came into college with hours I have never taken more than 14 hours a semester. On top of that this is the first online class I have taken so I find myself subconsciously forgetting it sometimes because my other classes feel like a normal full load. I am confident that I can catch back up though. This week I will have to try to do all lot of the assignments Saturday night and Sunday. However in the coming three weeks my goal is to take the 50 points allowed per week (including extra credit) and try and get about 10 points per day Monday through Friday.

Week 8 Feedback and Comments

Feedback in: I actually haven't receive any feedback on my comment wall. I have blog comments but nothing shows up on the actual wall.

Feedback out: While I haven't done every feedback assignment I think that the feedback I give is generally good. I try to both point out the things I liked about the story or introduction and give tangible corrections or ideas to expand.

Blog Comments: I like reading through the other blogs. Some give me a very clear idea of what the author is like while others are more obscure. I think my introduction post gives a good idea of my personality and interests, and I have really enjoyed people's comments on my blog posts.

Looking Forward: I think just have some real feedback rather than blog comments would be great. While I like the comments, feedback is much more helpful.

Feedback Cat
growthmindsetmemes.blogspot.com

Week 8 Reading and Writing

I think over the course of the semester so far my reading notes have transitioned from me planning out my future stories using my reading notes to me just commenting on the stories. While I genuinely enjoy commenting on the stories and think they are fascinating, I will probably try to move back towards using my reading notes as an opportunity to pull out elements of the stories that I want to further explore in my story book.

Vishnu and Lakshmi
commons.wikimedia.org

I loved this image of Vishnu and Lakshmi ( the divine incarnations of Rama and Sita). It show them standing as equals in a throne room which in my stories highlights the juxtaposition between Vishnu and Lakshmi's relationship and how Rama ultimately treats Sita.  

Out of the two stories I have done so far I definetely like my second one the most. I think I really created the correct balance of snarky and serious for my character that I did not quite capture on the first try. Moving forward I want to be more diligent about actually doing the story assignments each week. I have been relying to much on the fact that I can use extra credit to make up missed points.

Reading Notes Narayan's Mahabharata Part C

- I liked this plot twist where the Pandavas end up rescuing Duryodhana. I think it is safe to say that the original storyteller did not need to include the Pandavas rescuing Duryodhana for them to be likable characters. I'm curious reading forward how this rescue will affect Duryodhana's attitude toward the Pandavas?

- I feel like, in any situation, if a strange mystical voice says that you need to answer a question before drinking the water or you will die... you should probably answer the questions so, ya know, you don't think. I don't understand why some authors make their central characters idiots who don't think rationally sometimes. ( I am glad the one smart brother is the one who gets to chill with the king in their 13th year of exile while all the dumb brothers have jobs)

- I enjoy that as the story has progressed each of the brothers has started to be highlighted separately a little more. For a little while, at least as I was reading, the brothers felt a little indistinctive. Now that they have a little separation in their storylines it is easily to remember who they are. I don't know if that separation was an intentional move on the authors part or not, but I do think it works well.

Krishna. AKA the unfortunate plot hole
ouocblog.blogspot.com

 - Having Krishna appear in this story does create some narrative problems for my storybook. I don't know how to get around the fact that Kamadeva was incarnated as Krishna's son when I have him commentating on the Pandavas since I have his diaries set after his reincarnation.

- It amazes me that the Pandavas saving Duryodhana appears to have had no impact on his character. He really needs to gain some perspective before going to war. Also Dhritarashtra needs to realize his offspring is insane and just back the Pandavas. AKA he needs to stop being a coward.

Bibliography

Narayan's Mahabharata,Link to Reading Guide C .