Learning by HEART: Read an article about reading- Preserving Deep Reading

A common problem I used to have.
Source: Pinterest

The Case for Preserving the Pleasure of Deep Reading

• The one thing that the article confirmed it that less people are reading deeply. Most people now days read online, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but like the article said, it causes people to become more distracted when reading, which does not fully allow them to immerse themself into the book. One thing I did not know before reading this article was that people who read online are less-likely to be above-average readers. I honestly never thought about this, but it makes sense. More reading online leads to greater potential of becoming distracted. Also, I did not know that people who read online were more likely to not enjoy reading. I found this fact interesting. One thing that I would like to try more is reading in my spare time. I remember in high school and middle school, you would never catch me without a book to read whenever I had time. I remember countless AG and softball trips, were I would read the whole way to our destination. The school librarian knew my name and would practically have books waiting for me when I came in. I would really like to pick this habit back up. What I am going to do is challenge myself to read at least two books a month.

Week 13 EC Reading: The Magic Food-Bowl of the Sun

The Magic Food-Bowl of the Sun:

The Magic Food-Bowl
Source: Farang

• Summary:
• One night, Kauravae tempted his cousin, Yudhishtir, the oldest of the Pandava brothers into a night of gambling. You see, Yudhishtir has a weakness for gambling, so when he was offered the change, he could not resist. Yudhisthir was on a serious losing streak and eventually gambled away everything, including his kingdom. Once it was lost, Yudhisthir and his brothers went away into the woods where the laws and robbers lived. They ate nothing but fruits and roots, and whatever they could hunt. They were starving. Yudhishtir prayed to the sun telling the sun how miserable they were and that they lived on barley nothing to eat. He requested that they get to move into the bounty of the Gods to relieve some of the distress. The son had pity on then and gave them a magic food bowl. This was not just any magic food bowl. This food bowl had the power of producing whatever food was asked for. This is how the Pandavas were able to endure their exile.
• My ideas: 
• I would change the story and put it in Yudhishtir's perspective. I feel like this would make the story more powerful. I want to feel what Yudhishtir felt when he was gambling. I want to know why gambling was worth risking everything that he owned. Had he won a lot previously brining about his addiction to gambling? Or was he just addicted to chance itself? I want the reader to be able to feel how Yudhishtir felt when he lost everything. I want to know if this changed his views on gambling. I also want to know how the Pandava's felt know that their brother was the reason they had to live off nothing in the woods. I wonder if they ever tried to plot against him for revenge? I wonder if the brother's tried to help Yudhishtir out of his gambling addiction.
• Another idea would be to change the story in the perspective of Kauravae. Was this his evil plan all along? To make Yudhistir lose the kingdom? Why would he do this? Did he want the kingdom for himself? Was he the one who got Yudhistir addicted to gambling in the first place?
• I feel like there are a lot of things I could do to this story. For sure, I will add dialogue.
• Bibliography: "The Magic Food-Bowl of the Sun" from Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi. Source.

Week 13 Story: The Confession

A man in handcuffs.
Source: Express

The room was quiet and dimly lit. I could feel the metal cuffs around my wrists. My heart was beating rapidly. I knew what I had done was wrong and I knew that I must pay the price. The guilt I have felt over the last few months is enough to drive any normal person insane, but I am not normal. I am a cold blooded criminal and today is the day I will pay the price for my sins.

I was interrupted out of my deep thought by the sound of footsteps approach the room. This was it. This was the moment I was going to confess everything. I do not know if I am ready, but ready or not, the time was approaching. I questioned myself  daily in the days leading up to my arrest. I knew that I was going to turn myself in eventually, but what I did not know was why? Was it the constant guilt that I felt or was it my conscious returning?

This time I was interrupted by a stern voice saying, "Mr. Robinson, do you know why you are here?"

Of course I knew why I was there, but do I admit it now or do I wait? The decision was tough but I decided to go with my gut or maybe it was my conscious. I replied, "Yes," in the coldest voice I could. The look on the officer's face was priceless. I could not tell if it was a smirk knowing I was about to confess or if he was utterly in shock at my response.

After a few seconds of silence, the officer asked, "Are you confessing?"

Again, in the most evil tone, I replied, "Yes."

The officer asked, "Do you want a lawyer?"

"No. I am going to confess my sins and I will pay my price," I responded hastily.

The officer was in shock and left the room. I knew my moment of freedom were coming to an end, but for some reason this did not bother me. I guess my conscious really was returning. The next thing I knew, the officer returned, but this time, he brought another officer, a pad of paper, and a tape recorder with him.

The new officer said, "I am detective Morgan and I hear you have a confession..."

I interrupted before he could finish his sentence, "Yes, I do."

Let's rewind three months back. I had just lost my job. My boss fired me for getting in a fight with a coworker. The guy was  a real jerk and he had it coming. I begged to keep my job, knowing that someone with no high school diploma would have a difficult job finding a job that paid as much as this one. The boss refused and I was irate. Not knowing what else to do, I headed to the bars and drank the day and most of the night away. I do not know what came over me, but I decided to head to my ex-boss's house. 

I was livid and I wanted the boss to feel what I felt. I wanted him to have something good taken right from his hands for no apparent reason. I wanted him to lose something. I wanted him to hurt. Perhaps it was my drunken state combined with my rage, but what I did next will cost me the rest of my life. I marched into his house not knowing what I was going to do. When I wondered in, I saw his two kids playing in the living room and I took them. I kidnapped his kids. No one saw me, no one would have ever expected this from me but this night is the night that changed my life for the worse. It was the night I became a kidnapper. 

I knew I would eventually get caught and I knew it was just a matter of time before I spent the rest of my life behind bars.

I was brought back into reality by the officer saying, "We are ready for your confession."

I uttered the last words I spoke as a free man, " I did it. I kidnapped Mr. Buchanan's kids."

Author's Note: The original story was about two sparrow that had just had kids. The happy father sparrow flew away from the nest to go and get food for his family. Upon returning home, found his wife flying around frantically crying. He asked her what happened and she told him that while he was gone an evil snake crawled into their nest and devoured their children. The two sparrows were devastated and determined to get revenge, but the snake told them that they were mere sparrows, so what could they do to a big snake like him. The sparrow began pondering a plan and one night, the man who lived in a house below their tree came home with a lantern and he just so happened to set the lantern in an open window. The sparrow's then saw a way to avenge the death of their children. The father sparrow went and got the lantern and set the nest on fire. While the snake was escaping the nest, the man who lived in the house had climbed the tree to try and poke the nest out of the tree before the whole tree caught on fire. When poking the nest, he stabbed the snake and he died. The moral of this story was karma in my opinion, so I wanted to carry this idea to the retelling of my story. From the moment I read this story, I knew I wanted to add it to my portfolio, so I decided to change the characters to humans, so it would fit the theme of my story. I then decided to put the story in the villain's perspective, which in my opinion made the story more intense. 

Bibliography: "The Sparrows and the Snake" from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton. Source.

Week 13 Reading B: The Rustic and the Nightingale

The Rustic and the Nightingale:

A Nightingale in a rose tree. This image is used for a fairy tales by Oscar Wilde titled,
"The Nightingale and the Rose." I thought it was fitting for this story.
Source: Memoria Press

• Summary:
• There once was a rustic who had a beautiful garden that was filled with beautiful plants, but the rustic's prized plant was his rose tree that grew the most beautiful and fragrant blossoms in the garden. This was his pride and joy. Every morning the rustic would walk among his flowers and bring the tree water. In the winter, he would even cover the ground beneath the tree with straw to protect its roots. One morning when the rustic was bringing the tree water, he noticed a nightingale playing with a bloom on his rose tree. He became angry and ran the bird off. The next morning, the nightingale was back in the tree, but this time the rustic noticed petal on the ground. He was livid and ran the bird off, but this time, he decided to set a snare to catch the bird and prevent further damage to his beloved tree. The next morning, he saw the nightingale was caught. She was flying around the cage frantically. The rustic carried the nightingale to his home. When they arrived, the nightingales asked why he had captured her. He told her it was because she was plucking petals from his roses. She told him that it was foolish to lock her up for life when she was thoughtlessly picking petals. She told that if he did not let her go, she would die of a broken heart. The rustic's heart was touched and he let the nightingale go. To show her thanks, she told the rustic where a pot of gold was so he could use it for his garden.
• My ideas:
• I really liked this story. I liked how an animal was incorporated and that dialogue was involved. I also liked how the rustic showed mercy on the poor nightingale. I feel like a lot of the stories that I have read this semester, a person that shows mercy is usually rewarded, and this story continued to follow the pattern. I think it would have been cool if the nightingale was a god and she would have made the rustic god of roses or something cool like that. I think I will change the perspective of the story and have the nightingale tell it in her perspective. Maybe she will be a god. There are a lot of options with this story.
• Bibliography:  "The Rustic and the Nightingale" from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton. Source.

Reading Notes Week 13: The Sparrows and the Snake

The Sparrows and the Snake:

The mother sparrow flying around frantically.
Source: The Baldwin Project

• In this story, two sparrows have a nest in a tree next to a man's house. Soon after building their nest, the mother sparrow laid eggs. When the babies hatched, the happy father flew away to find food for his new family. On his way back home, he ran into the mother sparrow who was flying around frantically. He asked what was wrong and she told him that why he was gone a snake had crawled into their nest and devoured their babies. I told him that you would come for him and pluck his eyes out, but he said what is a tiny sparrow to do to me. The father sparrow was livid and after comforting his wife, began devising a plan. One night, he saw the good man who lived in the house returning with a lamp. He just so happened to leave his window open and the father sparrow went and got the lamp and decided to burn the nest down. When he lit the nest on fire, the snake had awoken from his sleep to the sound of crackling twigs from the fire and when he went to flee the nest, the good man came out and he stabbed the snake while trying to put the fire out and keep his house safe. 
• My ideas:
• I want to use this story for my portfolio, but currently, I do not have any animals in my project. I want to keep the stories consistent, so I want to change this story and make the characters human. I would keep the same story line, but make the character humans and add dialogue. The story is sad and powerful as it is, but I feel putting it in human perspective will make the story more intense. For ethical purposes, instead of killing the bad person, I will simply make him go to jail. Maybe I could even make a remorseful ending. 
• Another thing I could do is to make the characters human, but I could also make the story in a villains stand point. This would be a very intense story.
• Bibliography: 
• "The Sparrows and the Snake" from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton. Source.