Week 4 Storytelling: Origin of Camilla

The sea sprayed over the ship's deck, casting a shadow of salty mist on the crew, myself included. We had just evaded the wrath of the cyclops, Polyphemus, only to have our captain, Odysseus, further test the cyclops by rubbing our escape in his face.

When will he learn?

Originally, our crew held fifteen strong, but after our recent encounters, we were down to six. It was a woeful reminder now to come back to the ship and gather around the table to eat. Too much space. Odysseus sat down at the head of the table to discuss our next journey before we went back to Ithaca.

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"Alas, men! We made it out alive! Where to next? The mountains of Grapito perhaps? I hear the light snowfall contrasting the crisp evergreen trees is gorgeous this time of year."

The other crew members gave input, but I kept quiet. I try not to say much, considering I was only able to join the crew disguised as a male named Camith.

"So, Camith, do you agree we should visit the Island of Circe?" Odysseus asked.

"Umph." I shrugged in agreement, trying not to show I had completely lost track of the conversation.

"Good, we should arrive in the next couple of days."

Three days later we made it to the island with little clue of what inhabited the island. Not even Odysseus was sure if there was anything to fear. We all had similar reactions to the scenery of the island. It was truly exquisite. The trees were a thick green color and the various flowers, many of which none of us had seen before, were spread delicately as if placed perfectly in a picture.

As we journeyed to the island's center, the men's attitudes and actions became more and more affected. They were under the slight influence of a spell. Through the brush and trees, I could see a mansion where a woman in all white stood waiting for us to greet her.

"Stand with courage, men. I can handle any foe that marks us as prey," Odysseus reassured us.

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With that, he took off towards the house, with the crew close behind. As I was about to follow, I saw a light out of the corner of my eye, so I went to investigate. The glowing orb hung in mid-air and as I approached, it transformed into a woman's head.

"Camilla, you have a challenge lying ahead of you. Your crew is currently under the influence of Circe's magic, and you must save them," the head explained.

"How do you know my name? How am I supposed to save them?"

(Diana  --  Benjamin Watson)
Source: Flickr

"I am the goddess Diana. Circe's magic only works on men. Use this to your advantage. Break the lust stone on her staff and your friends will be free to escape. You have a great future where you will learn more, but now, you must complete this first task." And with those words she was gone.

I pondered everything she said as I made my way back to the mansion. I guess the only thing I could do at this point was figure out how to break that stone.

I entered the looming front doors and immediately saw my comrades in a zombified state. They never took their gaze off of Circe. Not even the "great" Odysseus. I could see they were looking at the staff in her hand. I wondered why at first, but then realized the bright red stone on the top of the staff must be the lust stone Diana discussed.

"Well, hello there, traveler. Come, sit and eat with us. I'm sure you are famished from your great adventures," Circe coerced.

As to not arouse suspicion, I acted as I had seen my crew members did before, but I feigned eating anything knowing that the food would still work against me.

"How lucky of me to have so many guests on this fine evening. Too bad none of you will understand me now. It is only a matter of time before you are in a trance forever," Circe declared.

One by one she led the crew members out of the dining room into a cellar where she kept what it seemed like about twenty other servants. Why did she need so many? This was my chance to strike.

She guided me into the cellar with a broad steel door. As she went to shut it, I snatched the top of her staff and squared it in between the door and the frame. All it took was a little force and the weight of the door did the rest. The stone shattered into dust and Circe let out a shrill call. Looks of despair and confusion covered her face as she crumpled, as the stone had, into dust. At the same time, my crew members came out of their entranced states, also confused as to how I'd saved their lives. I gestured towards the door, signaling that I'd explain as soon as we were far from this place.

As we arrived back at the ship I turned to the crew and took off my disguise. Their utter disbelief said it all.

"Camith? Who are you?" Odysseus asked.

"Well, up until about midday today, I thought I was a girl who would do anything to go on an adventure. Even sneak into a crew of all men. Now, I'm not sure. I was told I had great things in my future, so it is up to me to figure it out."

No one seemed to know what to say, but I knew what I had to do. I said my farewells to the crew for they could not travel on this adventure with me. I chose a smaller ship on the shore (from the other travelers who had come and stayed at Circe's Island) and sailed out to the open water.

It's time to discover who I truly am.


Author's Note: In the original story, Odysseus' first person viewpoint is used and he is the star. He ends up escaping from Polyphemus, which is where I began my story, and then defeats Circe on her island after she has turned the crew into animals (she does not die). My original plan was to include Polyphemus into my story, but I didn't want to take away from Camilla's character. I changed the original by letting a minor crew member character take the lead in the end to save the day. In the original, Odysseus was always the hero, with little talk of the crew's actions , so I wanted to change that. The only good that came from the crew members in the original was from them being first to die instead of Odysseus.I chose to write an origin story for Camilla who finds out by Diana what her destiny is. Camilla replaces Odysseus job in the original, by defeating Circe. It seemed unrealistic to me in the original to have him be able to defeat her, so I thought using a female would be the perfect fix. I have the backstory to Camilla in the bibliography if you want to check that out. I ended it with her leaving the crew with the possibility to write another story about her next adventure to find out who she is.

Bibliography:  Homer's Odyssey, Tony Kline; Britannica (Camilla background)

Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sindbad, Part B

Sindbad is truly never content with what he is given. After 4 voyages with countless shares of wealth and gifts, he still yearns to go back to Bagdad (which he will no doubt leave in search of a new place with more spoils). I think a great, just ending to the story would be with his greed finally catching up to him. I wouldn't like to end a story on a negative note, but I think it doing so with Sinbad, it would give the entire story a good moral. Sinbad's patience is definitely his savior in a lot of situations. It hasn't said much about his appearance, but from pictures and images put into the reading, I've put together a rough sketch in my mind. Brownish black hair, a think peaked beard, and a tan skin tone. Roughly 5'10'', average weight, and for some reason I feel as though he is sarcastic (not an appearance trait though). With the ways he gets out of situations, I think it would be funny to have him be a jolly, plump guy. A lot of luck has been involved with him getting out of situations, so I think that look would suit him well.  This story contains less dialogue than most of the ones I've read up to now. I'm not sure which I like more. I think it's a good thing not to get carried away with pointless dialogue. I need to make sure the dialogue in my story always adds to the overall point/plot.

Can we believe this is actually his 7th and "final" voyage? I'm a little skeptical…

Sindbad ended on a positive note. I wasn't sure if his luck would run out eventually. It was a good resolution to the story, which added to his character (him devoting his life to his family there at the end). His family must have been quite patient with him going on so many voyages. I don't think it mentioned exactly when he met his wife. He may have settled down with her after his last voyage.

Bibliography: The Voyages of Sindbad, by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sindbad, Part A

(Moby Dick  --  C. H. Simmonds Co)
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The first person narrative storytelling style is interesting to read. I haven't written one with this style yet, but it is similar to an idea I had about our class project. I may try this style if I use my fox stories from the fables. The beginning reminds me of Moby Dick's plot. His first voyage was quite lucky. After losing his ship and almost drowning, it seems improbable that he would have reclaimed his things. Also, for a story about a hero, Sinbad didn't have to do many heroic things. Maybe this was written this way to differ from usual heroic ballads.

Sindbad is a curious, unsatisfied man it seems. After his trials and tribulations with his first voyage, I wouldn't think he would have the audacity to travel to sea again. Especially with the wealth he gained earlier. The plan by merchants to retrieve diamonds in the valley was quite creative. I think its neat that the creatures on the island and in the valley are giant. It makes Sindbad have a tougher time with familiar animals. It would also be cool if there were foreign animals introduced from the island. Maybe a cross between the "rocs" and the snakes. The eagles coming to pick up the meat reminds me of Lord of the Rings when the eagles come to pick up Frodo and Sam. He is also a generous man (shared wealth with the poor).

The fact that he chooses to go on even more voyages after telling himself that he shouldn't have makes him seem somewhat ignorant. The story may be better if the voyages were combined somehow. The part with the giant is definitely similar to Odysseus' encounter with Polyphemus. This reading seems to include many illusions to other famous stories. I think it would be a fun way to be creative, trying to mix and match segments from more than just one story.

I would like to see Sindbad with a sidekick. Maybe the both of them could be brothers going on the voyages together? That may give more reason as to why he would go on so many voyages. Sindbad's situational awareness definitely saved him with the cannibals. Not so ignorant after all.

Bibliography: The Voyages of Sindbad, by Andrew Lang

Review: Diversity

While looking at the last seven day's announcements I came across this video, "Android: Friends Forever". I highly recommend you watch it if you are reading this! It absolutely made my day. The overall message of the video is about diversity. Android is trying to exhibit that they make phones/products, which people can use together, without being the exact same. I think this is a great life lesson everyone can learn from. Too many people (I've been guilty of this) try to fit in at times. They want to have the same things, such as clothes, shoes, cars, hairstyles, phones, etc. The video portrays the different animals getting along which would be analogous of humans getting along with different stuff. It isn't a dog playing with another dog, or monkey with monkey. They take different animals that you may not think go together and show how they can get along so well. Hopefully this video will brighten up your day as it did mine!

Reading Notes (Extra): English Fairy Tales, Part A

Tom Tit Tot

• The dialogue is semi hard to follow because the english is a different style that I'm used to. I would probably avoid a similar style in my stories. I like how it was a spin off of the "Rumplestilskin" story, so maybe I can use a childhood story as inspiration for one of mine.

The Rose Tree

• I was surprised at the darkness of this reading. It was definitely the darkest story that I've read so far in this class. Although justice was "served" in the end, I will most likely avoid doing something so dark. I don't think my writing style would fit that well.

The Old Woman and Her Pig

• Unique story line based on a sequence of events there and back again. I was wondering where the story would end up after following through half of it, but to have everything finally work the way it did was satisfying. I would like to incorporate a style similar to this with the plot created from another story. I may try it with my week 4 story.

Binnorie

• This story is similar with the eeriness and overall darkness to "The Rose Tree". I definitely prefer a lighter, more upbeat mood with my storytelling, but this gives me insight as to the other side of my wiring preference.

Cap o' Rushes

• This story seemed to have to plots involved. The situation with her dad started and ended the story, and the middle included the Cinderella like love story. I wonder what happened to the other daughters. Splitting the plot like this made me lose the point of the story for a little while, but brought it back at the end. Choosing from the three daughters was an interesting start. I could use this in my story for Odysseus for the warriors he chooses. Ultimately choosing the female protagonist who saves the day.

(Three Little Pigs of Apple Hill  --  Joe Parks)
Source: Flickr

The Story of the Three Little Pigs

• An add on to the classic story about the three little pigs. Writing an addition to a classic story (either before the timing of the story or after) would be pretty fun if I could do it correctly.

Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Famous Last Words: Shimmers of Hope

I read Homer's Odyssey this week and I'd like to say that the first part of the reading is the best assigned reading I've been exposed to up to this point in the course. I felt genuinely invested in the story as Odysseus' adventures unfolded, which also helped my note taking. In particular, my note taking, seems to have improved slightly from the first week we did so. As for the 2nd part of the reading, I wasn't able to dive quite as deep into the plot, so my note taking degraded in quality. Some of the information just seemed extraneous, so I zoned out slightly at times. Having a great story as your base really helps the story planning process. I wouldn't consider creativity to be one of my greatest qualities, but I felt "the creative juices flowing" this week. I really enjoyed trying to come up with a new story. Hopefully the planning and thinking I've done for next week's story will pay off. Maybe I can actually create a story people would want to read more of, wouldn't that be CRAZY!

(Miracle-Gro  --  Mike Mozart)
Source: Flickr

The content of my other classes (all math based) don't really crossover with the material in this class, but I would say that the Growth Mindset and H.E.A.R.T. challenges are helping me beyond this course. Talking to my roommate and trying new reading techniques (this week's extra credit) exposed me to the topics even further. I've been able to incorporate the reading aloud technique in my other classes this semester, and it has actually helped. Taking the time to read the material out loud allows me to slow down and be accountable for what I say. When not reading aloud, I am definitely guilty of partially zoning out and skimming words, sentences, maybe even paragraphs… Oops. I'm excited to see what challenges lie ahead and how I can improve all around!

Growth Mindset: Conversation

(I am Tiger Woods  --  Marc Levin)
Source: Flickr

This week for the Growth Mindset challenge, I decided to talk to my roommate about the concept of having a growth mindset. At first, when I asked if he had heard of it, he looked completely caught off guard. He figured I was just making something up, but then I explained it to him. We started to talk about the reality of people growing up in today's society. He believes that a lot of kids, including some of us really do look for instant results. He admitted that as a golfer, he looks for improvement seemingly overnight when trying to get better. Although he knows that isn't how it works, he said that is just how he views some things from how he grew up. Hopefully talking about this with him will help his patience with golf. If he can realize he has potential to improve his golf game overtime, he won't be frustrated with lack of results right away.