Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

     This week I really enjoyed reading all of the stories, though some stuck out more than others.  In the end, I was able to narrow it down to three stories that stood out as my favorites.  A common theme in all of the stories that I enjoyed was deception.  It seemed like in all of the stories, someone was generally trying to trick someone else.  I noticed that in some stories, there was a moment when the protagonist had a light-bulb moment and they understood that they were being tricked.  One of the stories I picked was The Cunning Crane and the Crab by W.H.D. Rouse .  This story is one of those which had the aspect of deception.  In fact, that was one of the main parts of the plot--the crane tricks all these fish into thinking they will be going to a wonderful lake, when in fact they are really just going to be food for the crane.  The most important part in this story's plot was when the crab and the crane first interact.  The crab immediately knows not to trust the crane, and this already separates the crab from the fish.  I must say that I was pretty surprised when the crab decided to cut the head off of the crane when he made it to the lake.  But I can't feel too sorry for the crane seeing as he tricked countless fish prior to his interaction with the crab--perhaps he had it coming.  I like this element of deceiving the deceiver.  I think that may be something I would like to use in my story.  The most interesting character to me was the crane.  Though he was wicked and manipulative, as the story progresses you see that he truly is a clever animal.  I was impressed that he was able to convince a whole pond of fish to get into his mouth.  I think the crane's greatest strength was his cunning nature.  He knew just what to say to get what he desired.  The next story I picked was The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart by W.H.D. Rouse.  This story had the same thing of deception, though with different characters and a different setting.  The most important part of the story had to have come from the monkey.  The monkey was drowning in the water, literally waiting to be eaten up by the crocodile's wife when he saved himself with his quick thinking.  It also helped that the crocodile seemed to be pretty dull.  The monkey exclaimed that his heart, the prize for the crocodiles, was actually in the trees rather than inside of him.  The crocodile must have been convinced by the conviction and quick thinking of the monkey, as he didn't think to doubt him for a second.  That move ultimately saved the monkey's life and completely changed the direction of the plot.  As soon as the monkey fell into the water I thought he was done for.  After reading through these stories, I realized that the authors are not afraid to make a point of the fate of a foolish character.  I certainly thought that this would spell the end for the foolish monkey, but he used his wits and instead made a fool of the crocodile.  I like that the characters don't have to be clever; this can be used to help an author.  The monkey came off to me as the most interesting.  He was trusting, too trusting, but he was still clever enough to get himself out of a sticky situation.  The last story I picked was Goblin City by W.H.D. Rouse.  This story was distinct from the others on the list.  While all of the other stories used animals for the characters, this one instead used goblins and humans.  I like the element of fantasy the goblins add.  The fact that they can create shape shifts as well leads to a lot more creativity and possibilities.  I got really good ideas from taking notes on this week's readings, I'm hoping thinking on these stories a little more will help give me an idea of what I would like to write about for my own story. 

This image depicts a crocodile interacting with a monkey.  It was created by artist Howard Roger Garis in 1917.

Source: Commons

Bibliography

Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart, W.H.D. Rouse

The Cunning Crane and the Crab, W.H.D. Rouse

Goblin City, W.H.D. Rouse