My Last Famous Last Words

Well, this is it: with this post, I will be all done with the class, having reached 410 points for an A. When I started this semester, I didn't think I would find enough time to do all the work required for an A, but it turned out to be easier than I expected. Writing the stories and doing the project was just total fun, and that's where most of my points came from. Since I was keeping track of all of this by way of spreadsheets instead of the Canvas Gradebook, I thought I would do some charts to show how it all turned out.

Here are the kinds of assignments I did; this pie chart is pretty cool because it shows how basically half my work for the class was reading, stories, and the project, while other assignments of various kinds filled up the other half. That feels about right when I think about it.

I wonder if I will see a different distribution in the class next semester since there probably are some things I will do differently next time, especially in terms of doing more reading for the India class.

This chart shows points per week:

And this chart shows posts per week; you can see a more marked decline here as I focused more and more on just writing my stories and working on my project each week as opposed to writing other blog posts:

I don't consider this "decline" to be a failure at all; that really is how the class is supposed to work. When you have more time and energy at the start of the semester, you can do lots of work; I know that was true for me. Then, as the semester goes on, it gets harder to find time for everything, but that's okay.

In the end, I really needed the structure provided by weeks/points to keep on going when the time pressure got more intense; it wasn't about getting the grade as a grade but instead about having a goal so that I could keep on going week by week by week and reach that goal.

That semester decline is like this horse picture I saw at the OU Linguistics Club Twitter this week that made me laugh so hard I spewed my coffee:

Anyway, despite all the pressures of time and work and travel and all of that, I was still able to finish up at the end of Week 14, even if my horse was looking less like a horse by the end, ha ha. I sure am glad I do not have finals to prepare for during Dead Week. Instead, I can just focus on finishing up reading all the projects and watching as everyone else finishes the class. I hope everybody had as much fun as I did... and I am so excited that I will be taking Indian Epics in the spring. I'm already pondering how my project will work for that class!

~ ~ ~

Update. I saw something so funny at Twitter today, kind of like that horse, ha ha. Twitter is a great place to commune with others in the hectic end-of-semester. :-)

Wikipedia Trail: From Giuseppe Pitre to the United States of Europe

I wrote a story this week based on an Italian folktale collected by Giuseppe Pitre, so I thought I would do a Wikipedia Trail about him. I even splurged and finally bought the Kindle edition of The Collected Sicilian Folk and Fairy Tales of Giuseppe Pitré. It was almost $50... but it's over 1000 pages of stories and notes, including notes from Jack Zipes, whom I admire so much. I am really excited about exploring this book over the winter break. Anyway, here is my Wikipedia Trail:

Giuseppe Pitre. He was born in 1841 and died in 1916. I didn't realize that he was also a medical doctor in addition to being a folklorist. He became an honorary member of the American Folklore Society in 1890. Thomas Crane was very much involved in AFS in those early years, so I imagine he probably was the driving force behind that. Here is a photograph, undated:

Petri served as a volunteer in Garibaldi's forces, so that is where I clicked next.

Giuseppe Garibaldi. He was instrumental in the unification of Italy, and he was also a staunch foe of the papacy and the church. Later in life, he was affiliated with the Extreme Left party, so I went there next.

Estrema Sinistra Storica. This party was formed in 1877 to advocate for the separation of church and state and for European Union. It brought together Radicals, Republicans, and Socialists. The article used the term "United States of Europe" so I clicked on that (thinking about Brexit!).

United States of Europe. This was a phrase that Napoleon Bonaparte had already used in the 19th century, as had Giuseppe Mazzini, and also Victor Hugo. This was my favorite part of the article, about Victor Hugo's symbolic tree: "Hugo planted a tree in the grounds of his residence on the Island of Guernsey and was noted in saying that when this tree matured the United States of Europe would have come into being. This tree to this day is still growing in the gardens of Maison de Hauteville, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Victor Hugo's residence during his exile from France." I found a picture of it at this website: Maisons Victor Hugo.

Week 14: Growth Mindset

When I was going through my Diigo links yesterday, I found a cat picture that I had bookmarked years ago and totally forgot about, so I decided to use it to make a new growth mindset cat today. Since I'm feeling pretty exhausted at the end of the semester (as I am sure is true of everybody in the world of school), I could definitely relate to a cat who was studying hard, but who needed to take a break.

It was fun to make a new cat; back when I first started the growth mindset cats project, I used to make a new cat every morning. Maybe I can try to get back into that routine next semester! :-)

Take a study break. You earned it.

Week 15 Story: The Cat and Her Husband

Like my story from last week, this story comes from Italy. I decided to retell this story because I saw in Jacob's reading notes for this unit that he thought the story was totally weird, so much so that he wrote about it in his notes as a type of story he would never want to write. He was looking for a message or moral of the story, but it just didn't make sense the way he expected a story to make sense. And that's true: this type of chain tale is all about the form, the formula, the chain that leads from one suitor to another, and then the cumulative chain of mourners in the second part of the story. It's like a dance or like a kaleidoscope; the story is not conveying a message or a moral, but is instead just pure entertainment. And I really do find these types of stories entertaining!

Plus, I know I am not alone because you can find stories like these all over the world. The folklore classification for this story is ATU 2023. Little Ant Marries, plus a related type, ATU 2022 The Death of the Little Hen, which has mourners but does not have the courtship at the beginning. Earlier in the semester, I used the chain-of-mourners formula to do my version of Cupid and Psyche: Psyche Lives! You can find more information about this folktale type in the notes to that story.

And now... here is the sad story of the cat and her husband. I have kept the characters and sequence of events the same as in the original, but with little changes here and there to focus on the formulaic style of the story. That means my story is longer than the original, but I think it is actually easier to read. Enjoy!

THE CAT AND HER HUSBAND

The cat wanted to get married, but she didn't have a husband. So she started to cry.

The dog walked by and said, "What's wrong, Cat? Why are you crying?"

"I want to marry," she said, "but I can't find a husband."

"I can be your husband!" said the dog.

The cat replied, "Sing me your song."

So the dog went, "Bow-wow! Bow-wow!"

"Ugh," said the cat. "I do not like that song; you cannot be my husband."


Next came the pig, who said, "What's wrong, Cat? Why are you crying?"

"I want to marry," she said, "but I can't find a husband."

"I can be your husband!" said the pig.

The cat replied, "Sing me your song."

So the pig went, "Oink! Oink!"

"Ugh," said the cat. "I do not like that song; you cannot be my husband."


Next came the calf, who said, "What's wrong, Cat? Why are you crying?"

"I want to marry," she said, "but I can't find a husband."

"I can be your husband!" said the calf.

The cat replied, "Sing me your song."

So the calf went, "Moo! Moo!"

"Ugh," said the cat. "I do not like that song; you cannot be my husband."


Next came the mouse, who said, "What's wrong, Cat? Why are you crying?"

"I want to marry," she said, "but I can't find a husband."

"I can be your husband!" said the mouse.

The cat replied, "Sing me your song."

So the mouse went, "Squeeeeeeak! Squeeeeeeak!"

"Oh," said the cat, "I like your song. Let's get married!"

So, they were married.


One day the cat went out shopping. "Don't touch the beans on the stove!" she said to the mouse. "I am cooking them for our dinner."

But the mouse didn't listen. He ran to the kitchen, scurried up the stove,  climbed into the pot, and began to nibble the beans. So the mouse got boiled with the beans.

When the cat came home, she called to the mouse, but he did not answer. She went to the kitchen and ladled out the beans; still no answer. She put the bowls on the table; still no answer. Then, when she went to eat the beans, she found her husband in the bowl.

"Oh!" cried the cat, and she began to tear our her fur.

"What wrong, Cat?" said the door. "Why are your tearing out your fur?"

The cat explained, "My mouse is dead, so I am tearing out my fur."

Then the door said, "So I will slam."


There was a window in the door, and it said, "What's wrong, Door? Why are you slamming?"

The door explained, "The cat's mouse is dead, so she is tearing out her fur, and I am slamming."

Then the window said, "So I will open and shut."


Outside the window was a tree, and it said, "What's wrong, Window? Why are you opening and shutting?"

The window explained, "The cat's mouse is dead, so she is tearing out her fur, the door is slamming, and I am opening and shutting."

Then the tree said, "So I will fall down."


In the tree was a dove, and it said, "What's wrong, Tree? Why are you falling down?"

The tree explained, "The cat's mouse is dead, so she is tearing out her fur, the door is slamming, the window is opening and shutting, and I am falling down."

Then the dove said, "So I will pull out my feathers."


The dove then flew to the fountain, and it said, "What's wrong, Dove? Why are you pulling out your feathers?"

The dove explained, "The cat's mouse is dead, so she is tearing out her fur, the door is slamming, the window is opening and shutting, the tree is falling down, and I am pulling out my feathers."

Then the fountain said, "So I will dry up."


The cuckoo was sitting by the fountain, and it said, "What's wrong, Fountain? Why are you drying up?"

The fountain explained, "The cat's mouse is dead, so she is tearing out her fur, the door is slamming, the window is opening and shutting, the tree is falling down, the dove is pulling out its feathers, and I am drying up."

Then the cuckoo said, "So I will put my tail in the fire."


A monk was passing by and he said, "What's wrong, Cuckoo? Why do you have your tail in the fire?"

The cuckoo explained, "The cat's mouse is dead, so she is tearing out her fur, the door is slamming, the window is opening and shutting, the tree is falling down, the dove is pulling out its feathers, the fountain is drying up, and I am putting my tail in the fire."

Then the monk said, "So I will say mass without my robes."


The queen went to mass and she said, "What's wrong, Monk? Why are you saying mass without your robes?"

The monk explained, "The cat's mouse is dead, so she is tearing out her fur, the door is slamming, the window is opening and shutting, the tree is falling down, the dove is pulling out its feathers, the fountain is drying up, the cuckoo is putting its tail in the fire, and I am saying mass without my robes."

Then the queen said, "So I will go and work in the kitchen."


The king came into the kitchen and he said, "What's wrong, Queen? Why are you working in the kitchen?"

The queen explained, "The cat's mouse is dead, so she is tearing out her fur, the door is slamming, the window is opening and shutting, the tree is falling down, the dove is pulling out its feathers, the fountain is drying up, the cuckoo is putting its tail in the fire, the monk is saying mass without his robes, and I am working here in the kitchen."

The king said, "Well, I am the king, so I am going to drink my coffee."

And that is the end of the story.

Bibliography.

"The Cat and the Mouse" in Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane (1885). Crane's source is Sicilian: Pitrè, No. 134, La Gatta e lu Surci.

Image sources.

Sadness: Sad Cat.
Cafe Macchiato.