PRINCEss Mouseskin

       Once upon a time, there lived a King and his 3 sons- David, Israel, and Arthur. King Linus was an old wise man who was ready to give up the throne to one of his beloved sons. One day, the King summoned his sons into his room. "Boys, as you can see, I'm getting too old to run this country on my own. Soon I will die, and I don't want to leave this country without a responsible and wise ruler. One of you will have my blessing to run this country, but first, I must find out who amongst you three will be able to handle this country. As a test, I will give each of you a seed to plant. Whoever grows the greatest, most beautiful plant will be able to sit on my thrown and declare the country theirs." The King gave David, Israel, and Arthur a seed, a bag of soil, and a pot. "You boys have a month to grow your seed and by the end of the month, I will choose the new ruler."
       David and Israel were arguing over who would be a better king and one thing is for sure: Arthur would never be king. Arthur was the youngest son and he was also everyone's favorite. When the royal family would take walks through the village, all the girls liked Arthur for his kind heart. David and Israel would boast about themselves and their riches every time they went out and the village didn't really like them or their egos. David and Israel were known for picking on Arthur and they would do anything to ensure that Arthur won't be king.
       The three boys could agree that these seeds were not working. David and Israel decided to go to the flower store. "Give me the most beautiful and greatest plant you have" declared David. Unfortunately, David didn't have money to pay for the plant, but David continued to tell the employee that he will be king and when he is, he will pay the store back for the plant that helped him become king. Israel had the same exact experience, but he decided to go elsewhere for his plant. Israel also didn't have money, but told the employee that when he becomes king, he'll pay the store back the money he owes. Arthur, however, was honest and had a pure heart. "Father told me to plant this seed so that is what I must do. It's been 3 weeks and nothing has been growing, but I will continue to wait," thought Arthur.
  The time finally came for King Linus to judge the plants. David stepped up and showed off his great plant rich with green leaves. Israel pushed him so that his plant would get the attention since it was taller and greater than David's. As they began to argue, King Linus asked Arthur to show him his plant. Arthur stepped up to show everyone his empty pot. "FATHER! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! YOU SHOULD BE OFFENDED!" yelled David as Arthur showed him his empty flower pot. "I did what you told me to do, father. I took the soil and pot you gave me and I planted the seed. I watered it every day and I made sure it had plenty of sunlight. I don't understand why it didn't grow. I'm sorry if I offended you or disappointed you. I tried my best." The king, with tears in his eyes, declared Arthur as the new king. "My dear boy, I am certain that you will be a great king. You see, the seeds I gave you and your brothers were boiled, so there was no way that those seeds would have had the chance to grow. You took responsibility in taking care of a seed that wouldn't grow and you were honest to stay true to the seed. Those are good qualities to have as a king."
  Israel and David were furious telling the king that they owe money to the flower shops. "If you need money, you must refer to King Arthur." Arthur, because he was so humble, decided to give money to his brothers despite the way they treated him throughout the years. He knew that everyone deserves forgiveness and a second chance.

Cards of Darknenss

During the first month, my group decided to show compassion toward the natives. When weather got tough, we decided to use force. This worked because all the bad weather was done in the beginning. After that, we continued to use force and that's what got us our resources. Luckily, the natives continued to show compassion toward us. During the 12 months, we received a surplus of +4. We could've had more, however, because of probability, we wouldn't get so much. In order to establish dominance, we added hostility cards to the relations deck to get faster results because if we were to begin peacefully, we would have to sacrifice a resource and still have to earn the natives' trust. To gain more resources, sometimes we pressed for resources but when things started getting bad, we decided to do nothing. Nothing could change environmental conditions-it could either be good or bad. Whenever we got harsh conditions, we decided to think that the natives were happy with us and we did nothing instead of adding more hostility because if we add more hostility, there's a greater chance that the natives will turn against us. This method worked for us fairly well and that's what got us our surplus.

During our journey, we also got to learn about our company. We learned about teamwork and how well we can compromise. Not only come up with a decision, but we had to compromise with the natives because they were the ones providing us with resources. There were times when our group didn't know how to approach the situation. When it got to a tough decision, we all talked about future outcomes and decided on which one would benefit us the most. When it came to ourselves, we were able to know the kind of people that we are. Are we selfish? Hateful? Peacemakers? We can never know because life tends to throw everything in our path and it's how we deal with it that makes us who we are. Most of the time, we were aggressive because we had to do whatever it took to get what we needed, even if that meant being hostile to the natives, the generous people who were providing for us.

Not all groups did the same things we did. Some groups were more demanding, and some were more lenient. Something that stood out in our group were how well we worked together and how we were able to think alike. We all were able to quickly come to a consensus because we all thought alike. When there was a disagreement, there was discussion and debate. Teams are more efficient when all ideas are heard. Another thing: we didn't have a leader. We all talked as if we were all leaders. We weren't afraid to speak up because my group had a comfortable and accepting environment. When there was debate, we didn't put the other person down, but we did let them know that if we do something, something worse can occur and that wouldn't help us. The company itself was able to attain a profit because there were hardly any disputes occurring. Thanks to that, we gained more resources than the amount of resources we began with.

School Isn't School

William Ralph Inge wrote an interesting quote that states: "The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values." I feel like Mr. William makes a valid point: the aim of education is knowledge of value, or at least it should be in my opinion. However, even if I agree that the aim of education should be value, I disagree that it actually happens because in schools today, it's set up in a way that students can't think for themselves. The school system tries so hard to make everything fair with grades and facts that must be learned in order to get a good grade. Schools get us to learn the type of math that we end up not using in our everyday lives and that to me is like wasted time. I agree, calculus gets your brain going and expands the way you think which is good, but does that really let people know the type of person that you are, for example? Schools want us to have at least a little understanding of everything. However, when you're in the real world and you're stuck with adult problems like not having good credit, biology isn't going to help you.Why do we have to cram a bunch of facts of court cases and definitions? I believe that we should challenge our brain, but also challenge others to really understand the value of  our value. In my opinion, things of value are how to file taxes, maintain good credit, the house mortgage, etc. and it could be taught at schools to really prepare us for life.

There are different definitions of value. Adult things that I mentioned above are valuable to our lives. They're essential to maintaining a steady life. High school is a place where you get a little bit of everything to understand what you like so you can have a focus on that specific subject in college. College teaches you more about your focus and then you get a job. However, the problem with that is that doesn't really teach you VALUE. To me, I feel so caught up with grades and homework that I forget who I am. Education is the art of learning something you didn't know before. Someone can't teach you value because that comes within yourself. Whatever your morals and beliefs are, that is what you value most. Something I find interesting is, for example, the people who are running for president. Each candidate is explaining what they value most and what they have to offer the country. Some citizens may agree with one candidate while the others may agree with the other candidate. People will fight for what they believe in, even if it creates tension between a friendship. No one can change one's values and I feel like that should be taught at school. I think that's what William Ralph Inge meant by the aim trying to be more on value. Schools should teach us how to stand up for ourselves and speak up to defend what we believe in, not debating whether when the Spanish-American war was. Facts will be around forever, but I feel like there should be time taken out of the school day to remember what you believe in and maybe even challenge it.

You're Unoriginal

I didn't realize that literature has a lot in common with music. The title says "One Story" and they mean it. As more years go by, stories become less unique because you've heard it before somewhere. The reason I say literature is the same as music is because the example that Foster uses at the end of the chapter makes so much sense. We borrow from others without even knowing because it's been around for so long we've become familiar with it. Foster was right when he says that familiar literature never leaves us and it becomes a part of us. He uses someone playing the guitar as an example and he just plays what he's heard throughout his life. Of course the non musician is amazed because he doesn't understand music. However, the musician says it's no big deal because he's playing what he's heard. In fact, a famous musician would look at him as unoriginal based on his playing of familiar tunes and nothing else. They're not new compositions nor are they his. This could be an advantage because not everyone is familiar with literature. However, the person who is can immediately tell the resemblance from other texts and where they're from. Whatever story we try to create, it's going to sound like something that has already been written no matter what. Sometimes authors borrow from each other but they do it in a nice way. The author can create a sentence just how the other author would, mimicking the language and structure for example, and then credit them for being better at it than they are. Or for new authors that are rookie writers for the first time can write something and believe it's original because it's theirs and they wrote it. It doesn't mean it's actually original because it could've been used before. 

Not only does it happen with texts, but with ideas as well. Now a days, it's hard to create something unique. If you want to write a story about a man getting abnormal animal or insect powers, that's already been taken by Spider-Man. Something as crazy as putting all the fairy tales together, that's not unique anymore because they made a move out of that. Something that doesn't involve people but cars: Fast and Furious. Cars turning into people sounds like transformers. We may borrow from others as freely as we'd like because ideas in literature are out there on our fingertips. Additionally, it's also difficult to find the originals of something new when it was first created because even if you did find it, it's not going to sound like what you just read. Especially if it's from so long ago. Things change over time. Sometimes they even create the same thing on purpose. For example, the movie Karate Kid. It was made a long time ago and then a new one was made with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. The movie titles are also the same, just the fact that they're different eras, they reflect the views and beliefs of that era. I just think it's cook how literature shares a lot of other texts to create something new. Some authors even use allusions in their texts. The point is that Foster is right: everything is one story because everything is shared.

Life-Part Two (Rebirth)

Automatically while reading this chapter, I thought of Forrest Gump. When Foster brings up the idea of rebirth, it reminded me of Forrest saving Lt. Dan. Foster includes the story of two brothers and surprisingly, the stronger one dies. The weak brother is then  upset and wants to commit suicide because he feels that it should've been him that had to die, not his brother. But at that moment, when he comes up from the water, it appears he has been baptized. Conrad, the weaker brother, takes on life with a new perspective because the near death experience allowed him to be born again. He can't really understand his new position in life, but he slowly accepts it. When he talks with a professional therapist, it becomes clear to Conrad that he has always been strong because he had the strength to hold on to the boat while his brother didn't have the strength. In Forrest Gump, Forrest is sent to the Vietnam war as a soldier. One day in combat, he sees Lt. Dan near his death so Forrest decides to save him since he knows it's the right thing to do. Lt. Dan gets so mad at him because he was supposed to die in the battlefield with honor like the rest of his family had. He had his whole life planned out: he goes to war, fights in combat, and dies with honor. Forrest saves him and that wasn't in the script. Lt. Dan later finds Forrest after a couple of years since the incident. He thanked Forrest for saving him since he never did and Forrest didn't recognize him since he was in a wheelchair without any legs. During the middle of the movie, I feel like Lt. Dan was reborn because Lt.Dan swims away to make peace with God and later goes to Forrest's wedding with a new pair of legs and a fiancee. It makes sense because in the movie, he specifically states he's making peace with God while swimming in WATER. The symbolic scene of him swimming away to be with God was when he was getting baptized which is why he comes back a new man with a new life.

Something I didn't really pay attention to was how many times something specific can happen. Foster uses an example from "Song of Solomon" and points out how Milkman got wet three times. Three is a holy number in baptism because it signifies the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In his last swim, he's more happy with himself. He is reborn. This chapter has shown me that I have to pay attention to things like water, clean or dirty, similar actions to being born, if there's a change in behavior, and maybe the number of times it happens. When I said clean or dirty water, I was referring back to the example that Foster used from "The Horse Dealer's Daughter." A young woman nearly drowns herself and a doctor saves her. She's covered in slimy and smelly fluid, but is later cleaned up and wrapped in a blanket. The scene itself is birth. However in this case, it's rebirth. Everything is described similar to a birth and the fact that the young woman nearly drowns portrays that she would've actually died if it wasn't for the doctor being nearby to save her. The young woman's life sounds like she was lost because before she was going to kill herself, she cleaned her mother's grave wanting to be with her again. A mother being taken away is just as unfortunate as the feeling afterwards. After being reborn thanks to the doctor, hopefully she has the strength to continue and find a new and better life. I don't really know how the story ends because I haven't read the book, but that's my guess. I understand the title of the chapter because if the character doesn't come up, obviously the character dies. But if the character does come up, there's a chance they'll be reborn and have a new beginning to their life with a different perspective.

Who Put The Glad in Gladiator?

Foster addresses Shakespearean, biblical, and folk/fairy tale wisdom. What I got interested in was the myth chapter. In order to understand literature, you can't have limitations holding you back. Religion shouldn't be something that holds you back from understanding literature at a different viewpoint and that was able to open not only my eyes, but it made me realize how important it is to always keep an open mind if you really want to get the clear picture in literature. Myth is something that can't be explained and that's why I find this chapter so interesting. We get to explain ourselves to ourselves and no one else will be able to figure it out. Not even the smartest of people. Myths are important because they tell stories that really matter because they can be a learning experience with a great theme.

Myths give lessons that we use everyday without us even knowing. The story of Icarus was included in this chapter about him not listening to his father because he was a daredevil. They both made wax wings to fly to the Mainland and the father made it safely. However, Icarus did not make it because he didn't listen to his father and he flew too close to the sun. The connection I can make is with the movie "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas." Icarus was a daredevil and didn't listen to his father which resulted in his death. He chose to fly too close to the sun and he chose to disobey his father. This story is told to many disobedient children to scare them. "If you don't listen to your parents, you're sure to turn out like Icarus." However, in "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," Bruno, the main character, also does not listen to his parents. They tell Bruno to not go into the backyard and to play in the front. However, no one can take away the passion for adventure from a little boy. Bruno finds Shmuel on the other side of the fence which holds a concentration camp. The two boys become best friends but unfortunately for the both of them, they wound up in a gas chamber because Shmuel was looking for his father. Although Icarus lost his life from not listening to his father, he did it because that was just the type of person that he was. However, Bruno disobeyed his parents as well, but he did it with purpose. He had no friends and so he found Shmuel. He wanted to help Shmuel find his father so he changed into the "striped pajamas." Bruno also lost his life, but his story is more about bravery and he showed many people what the definition of a real friendship truly is. So why isn't his story told as much as the story of Icarus? He sacrificed a life for a friend and that's something we should be praising and educating children about heros who don't have to be adults. Adult wisdom and adolescent recklessness is something that keeps society in balance. But adolescent recklessness is how the adults acquire their wisdom.

Another thing I really enjoyed from this chapter was the inclusion of the story of Achilles. It's interesting to know that Achilles was angry because Agamenmnon, his leader, steals the war prize which is a woman. Something that wasn't mentioned, however, was the fact that Achilles had a weakness, which was his ankle. Which is weird to think about a hero who has fought off many other monsters. Achilles was big on dignity and after the ankle incident, it wasn't too pretty. Another comparison I can make is between Hercules and Achilles. The story ended better for Hercules, though, because he was reunited with his father, Zeus, but decided to stay on Earth with Meg. Hercules went the distance and had no weaknesses. He learned many things throughout his journey because his goal was to be reunited with Zeus but decided he wanted to stay with Meg. This tale also has a moral: heroes don't have to be war heroes to be heroes because a hero isn't measured by the by the size of his strength, but by the size of their heart. (That's why I thought of Bruno and Hercules and loved this chapter!)

I can't wait to finish this book because it really has opened up my eyes to a lot of windows and I feel like I am really understanding literature. I'm glad this book is expanding my views and actually helping me find deeper meanings of text on my own.