Extra Reading Diary: Jewish Fairy Tales

The Giant and the Flood

  

At first I thought this story was boring, but then once I kept reading I saw the message it was sending. I believe the over all message is over-drinking can make you silly and can make you forget things you must do. It can harm you and those around you.

The Beggar King

  

I enjoyed this tale and its message. The king was too proud and thought he knew all and his pride lead him to disrespecting God and God punished him by making him a beggar. Only when he became humble did he regain this throne. The message of this story is do not disrespect God or he will punish you.

The Quarrel of the Cat and the Dog

I enjoyed the moral of this story. I believe it is that one must not let petty arguments get in the way of helping someone who you used to be close with. I thought this story was a little more confusing than the rest but I liked it. I see what the author was trying to get across.

 

Etching by Hendrik Hondius. Click here to learn more.  

The Water Babe

  

I enjoy this story and how it imagines what Moses childhood was like. I think it shows how Pharaoh was not always the most understanding man and how Moses became to be who he is.

From Shepard-Boy to King

This story is about David when he was young. I’m confused by the depiction of the lion as harmful because in many other books and stories Jesus is often seen as a lion but that might just be in Christianity not Judaism.

The Magic Place

  

This story was harder to follow but I did enjoy it and the message it held. The imagery the author used really help understand the story and The Magic Place.

Jewish Fairy Tales

Ready Diary B: The Iliad

The Rousing of Achilles  

“Did not Sarpēdon fall fighting for you, and yet you left him to be a prey to the dogs?” I enjoy the simplicity of this quote and the metaphor the author used. I really enjoy all the metaphors in this reading.

For the Greeks said to themselves: "It were better that the earth should open her mouth and swallow us up alive than that we let the Trojans carry off the body of Patroclus." This quote shows how far the Greeks will go to protect Patroclus. They rather the Earth break open and their existence fade. I love the disparity of this quote. 

The Slaying of Hector

So he spoke, and drew his great sword, and rushed upon Achilles as an eagle rushes down from the clouds upon its prey. Another great simile the author uses to display imagery.

The Ransoming of Hector

Hector’s body dragged at the chariot of Achilles. Illustration taken
 from The Iliad for Boys and Girls by John Alfred Church.

Hector’s body dragged at the chariot of Achilles. Illustration taken from The Iliad for Boys and Girls by John Alfred Church.

"I have heard the voice of the messenger of Zeus, and I will go. And if I die, what do I care? Let Achilles slay me, so that I hold the body of my son once more in my arms." Great quote from Priam describing how much he loves his son in a less obvious way.

I am confused why Achilles cried when the King asked for pity but was yet so offended by his actions. You could think he would feel pity and understand what it’s like to lose someone. I overall enjoyed these stories but found myself confused a lot as well. I remember being confused in high school too.

Reading Diary A: Iliad

This week for Reading Diary A I decided to read from the Iliad in the Classical section of the Untextbook. This reading is divided into sections so I am going to divide my favorite parts by each section.

How the War with Troy Began

I enjoy how many of the stories from this time start with a romantic quarrel. I find it hard to believe that they tried to break down the wall for 9 years but I know its fiction.

The Quarrel

I really liked the story element when the priest asks Apollo for help and he backs him up. I really enjoy when the “little” guy as they say has help from a stronger power.

I really enjoyed this quote: "Drunkard with the eyes of a dog and the heart of a deer, hear what I tell you now. See this sceptre that I have in my hand. Once it was the branch of a tree; now a king carries it in his hand. As surely as it will never more shoot forth in leaves, so surely will the Greeks one day miss Achilles. And you, when you see your people falling by the swords of the Trojans, will be sorry that you have done this wrong to the bravest man in your army." I liked the metaphors the author used to describe the men.

What Thetis Did for Her Son

I enjoy how the author wrote Hera. She makes her strong and able to speak up for herself, which is nice because women especially in this time period aren’t always written that way.

Hector and Andromache

This section is hard for me to follow. The flow of the story is harder to follow and the quotes are a little confusing. Another quote I like from Hector, "Dear wife, leave these things to me; I will look after them. One thing I cannot bear, that any son or daughter of Troy should see me skulking from battle. I hate the very thought of it; I must always be in front. Alas! I know that Priam and the people of Priam and this holy city of Troy will perish. But it is not for Troy, or for the people of Troy, nor even for my father and my mother, that I care so much; it is for you, when I think how some Greek will carry you away captive, and you be set to spin or to carry water from the spring in a distant land. And someone will say: 'see that slave woman there! She was the wife of Hector, who was the bravest of the Trojans.' " I love the way the author writes the emotion when Hector leaves. It shows he cares about his family but also fighting for his country.

Athena Repressing the Fury of Achillies
 taken from the Un-textbook website. 

The Embassy of Achilles

I love the quote “the god who shakes the earth”; its so simple but shows the power of god. I enjoy the plot element of reaching out to someone from Achilles past to convince him to fight in the war. I think people enjoy when people from the past come back to stories it connect them to the character like they knew them when they were young.

The Deeds and Death of Patroclus

I like the character Sarpedon; he is what I think they mimicked Hercules after. I enjoy the story line of god and mortal women. People like stories where one person is on a lower level than the other like Cinderella. People love a good story of rising up. There are so many stories where a stone kills or hurts someone; this is so unbelievable to me.