Tale of the Moonchild

In the myth of the moon flower, a married couple desperately want to have a child but they cannot reproduce. Instead, they want to adopt and orphan as to fulfilling their desire to have a child. Also, the couple believed that having children will grant their ancestors happiness in which eventually grant the couple good luck and fortune. However, due to their financial instability, the mayor of their town will not grant their wishes to adopt an orphan. Then one night, on a full moon, a horse descends and tells the couple that there will be a child that with be born from the seeds of the cherry blossom tree. The horse had one condition before leaving, and it was that the child must not marry an earthling and has to be returned on her 18^th birthday. After acquiring the moonchild, the farm that the couple owned became very prosperous and successful. With this newly acquired wealth, the couple were allowed to adopt multiple orphans as their children. Despite the couple having adopted numerous orphans, they were still saddened when the moon child’s 18^th birthday came along. The horse that left the moon child in the couple’s arms returned, except this time with a man riding on top. This man caught the moonchild’s eye, and the couple knew that this young man would be a perfect fit for their daughter. So even though they had to give up their daughter, they knew that she would be happy and will be safe in that man’s arms.

            Though this story would not be ideal to tell as modern day folktale because no one in this day and age would entrust their daughter into the arms of a man who they had just met. This tale seems to stress on the importance of children because apparently they bring wealth and good luck to the family. However I feel that there is another concept that is more deeply in play here. That is, that a parent’s utmost desire is for their children to find someone that will give them happiness and security. What I take away from this tale is that parents truly do want what is best for their children.

The Woman Warrior

In The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, Kingston talks about the struggles that she has living in America. Kingston also uses the tale of Fa Mulan to explain to her readers what type of life she would rather live. The tale of Fa Mulan tells the story of a young woman who eventually leads her own army and takes down corrupt barons and emperors in ancient China. Having the power to overrule emperors and barons is exactly what Kingston wants to do but cannot in her American life. She has racist bosses that she cannot do anything about because she is a woman during the time period of male superiority. Kingston also goes on about how much responsibility she has and how she basically has to take care of her family and her extended family. In addition, I feel that Kingston tried to adopt the identity of Fa Mulan by writing The Woman Warrior. Similar to how Mulan had to dress as a man because a woman leader would be unacceptable at the time. Kingston writes The Woman Warrior as a means of expressing her ideas and how seriously people should take the female gender.

Trickster Tales by Matt Dembicki

In the Raven the Trickster by John Active, the raven is seemed to be mischievous. First, he kicks the deqs, and when his foot gets caught, he lies to get the deq to release him. This was the first sign that portrayed the raven as a trickster. Not only was the raven mischievous, the raven was also very inquisitive. Normally when a beluga whale opens its mouth, one does not typically dive into it. However, in the raven’s case of curiosity he flies right in and gets eaten by the beluga. When the raven arrives in the stomach of the beluga, he meets a woman with a lamp over her shoulder. The women specifically told the raven not to touch the lamp in her absence. Knowing the curious nature of the raven, he disobeyed and touched it anyway. This had led to the killing of the beluga whale. Not only does the raven get the beluga whale killed, the raven fool the hunters into giving up the beluga meat. This story gave a very direct and clear picture of what a true trickster should look like. Though the story was quite straightforward, I came to realize that the woman inside the belly looked very similar to the hunters that killed the beluga. This begs the question of was it really a coincidental that when the raven touched the lamp, the beluga was killed? The next story of the mink and the wolf was less clarity of who the trickster really was. Simply because both the mink and the wolf had traits of a trickster. First off, the mink who tried to trick the fish into swimming along the edge of the river in order to hunt them. Secondly when the wolf talks the mink to sleep and eats the fish he catches, and tricks the mink into believing that he had ate it when he woke up. I felt that the wolf was the real trickster because not only did the wolf eat the fish, he tricked the mink into believing that he had ate the fish and that he actually satisfied his appetite. 

William Bradley, Graphic Memoirs Come of Age

In William Bradley’s “Graphic Memoirs come of Age”, he focuses on giving his take upon certain graphic novels. In a way, it seems to me that Bradley is more than just sharing his opinions, he is showing his adoration for certain graphic novelists and their work. For example, Bradley focuses a lot on Beschdel’s Fun Home in comparison to another one of her works Are you my Mother? Bradley then discusses the differences between both these works, and ultimately gives us his take on which one is better. Other than graphic novelists such as Beschdel, Bradley also gives us his take on another graphic novelist; Dorkin. Once again, Bradley goes into Evan Dorkin’s AutoBioHazard and how Dorkin chronicled his depression and anxiety into one of the best works of his career. This adds on to how Bradley seem to show adoration for these artists and their works. Bradley gives me conclusion that tells me he is not only an essayist, but also big fan of graphic novels. 

American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erodoes and Alfonso Ortiz

I must say, that I had become a fan of Native American myths and legends after reading these pieces selected by Erodoes and Ortiz. What had made me a fan was that the myths and legends was of great humor to me. Not only was it quite humorous to me as a reader, it also came to me as very absurd and eccentric stories. However, I believe those were the traits that made these myths and legends such an interesting and compelling read.

Both Ortiz and Erdoes display true passion for Native American folklore in the opening pages. However, it was clear to see that Ortiz and Erdoes were very disappointed in modern Native American culture. They claim that it has been “white-manized”, and that it is extremely difficult to obtain knowledge of ancient Native American tales in the modern day.

Not only was Ortiz and Erdoes passionate about Native American folklore, they were very much trying to inspire readers to preserve it. For example, they would continue to reiterate how important language is and how vital these myths and legends truly are to the survival of Native American culture. Ortiz and Erdoes considered these myths and legends to be emblems that represented the Native American as people. In addition, they claimed that these tales are the only things that connect the modern day Native American people to their ancestors’ centuries in the past. This commitment and passion displayed by Erodoes and Ortiz really did sway me as a reader and a person that will appreciate Native American literature. 

"The Three Wishes" By Ricardo E. Alegria& "Juan Bobo: A Folkloric Information System" By Sarai Lastra

“The Three Wishes” by Ricardo E. Alegria was a very enjoyable read. It was really straightforward in telling the folktales of Juan Bobo, The Ant, and The Witch. Of the three folktales that were told, I favored “The Ant in Search of Her Leg” the most. I preferred this one the most because unlike the other three, it felt as if this one tried to give a message. That message would be that “God is the strongest of them all”. Juan Bobo and The Witch seemed to not have much of a message to give to readers. They were very direct and explicit in simply telling a story to for readers.

            Sarai Lastra’s “Juan Bobo: A Folkloric Information System”, was a very strenuous piece of writing. This article is definitely way more informative than it sounds, was also clearly a piece that deserved more than a glance. As a reader I really fancied the way Lastra introduces her topics and supports them with the use of Puerto Rican culture. In addition, I truly admired Lastra emphasis so much about the folklore collection, which her entire piece almost completely revolves around that one idea. For example, Lastra uses quotes from numerous influential Puerto Ricans and multiple tables to cite the claims that she was making. The tone that I received from Lastra’s writing is a tone of passion an eagerness to thoroughly explain her case. More importantly, the way Lastra had finished her essay had left me in a bit of awe. It is incredible that after all that informative text that Lastra is capable of concluding her piece in such a dignifying way. “Bearing in mind that in any language our stories define who we are”. This had really caught me as a reader of what exquisite writing truly is.

Martha Sims "Living Folklore"

Martha Sims’s “Living Folklore” gives us multiple perspectives on the term “folklore” and the different ways that it can be interpreted. “Living Folklore” was a very helpful piece of writing simply because Sims put explaining “Folklore” in a much unsophisticated method. Sims also gives us examples to distinguish folktales from non-folktales. Sims gives examples and directly gives back up to her claims. For example, she would give background information from famous folklorists, such as Richard Dorson, Alan Dundes, and Mary Hufford. This gave off the feeling of reliability and credibility for readers to truly believe what Martha Sims was talking about. It truly felt that the way she was writing allowed readers to understand what she was expressing with ease. However, it was very unusual that Sims’s writing was giving off a tone in which felt like she had something to prove. This feeling of the need for validation truly manifested Sims’s ideas upon the reader.

One of the more interesting texts in “Living Folklore” was when Sims’s had said:

“The discipline of folklore has evolved into a way of thinking about how people learn, share knowledge, and form their identity. Studying Folklore is a way of learning about people, of thinking about how we communicate and make meaning.”

This was one of the more interesting texts that I had picked up as a reader because it ultimately shows how folklore isn’t always real but tends to live in our everyday lives. In addition to giving readers a clear point of view of what folklore is, Sims also gives readers the origin behind folklore. Not only does she explain how folklore derives form tradition, Sims also gives readers multiple definitions of tradition and how it correlates to folklore. Though “Living Folklore” was a bit too extensive for me as a reader, it ultimately was very successful in being an informational piece of writing.