Week 2 Storytelling: The Magical Mouse

There once was a mouse named Timothy. Timothy was not the biggest mouse, nor was he the strongest mouse; he was just an average-sized grey mouse, with large round ears, thin whiskers, a pink nose, and a nice long tail. But he was not just a regular mouse; he was a magical mouse. While he appeared to be a regular, plain mouse, he was actually filled with magic. He was the greatest mouse ever to have been seen.

A Brave Mouse

Timothy was on a grand magical journey. He had been traveling the woodlands, amongst all the grass and trees, for many weeks in the heat of the summer with his six buddies – other creatures called them his bros – when Timothy decided that they were dwindling under the scorching heat. So he turned to his bros and said, “Come with me and rest a while.” So the seven mice scurried away to an unoccupied shaded area just outside of the crowded fields and towns.

Now many of the forest creatures saw these mice heading toward the secluded shade and recognized them, for Timothy and his bros had been going from town to town, in which forest creatures would reside, revealing Timothy’s magical gift - by healing the sick, turning mud into drinkable water, and other such magical talents - all across the woodland territory for many to see and hear about. The forest creatures began to run and scurry from all the towns in that region to the unfrequented covering the seven mice were gradually walking towards, arriving there before them. It was a shaded, grassy area that was green and cool and covered by large tree branches and leaves, deserted and away from civilization. 

 As he approached them, Timothy looked around realizing that the mass of bodies consisting of chipmunks, snake, bugs, squirrels, bunnies, birds, and more, all hot, tired, and hungry, had come to see him, and he had empathy for them because he knew that their spirits were wounded from within, all wishing to somehow be healed by his magical abilities. They needed a hero, someone to look up to, someone to give them hope, and that someone was Timothy. So he began to tell them of his journey, of his abilities and those he had lent aid to, and he demonstrated his compassion for all of them.

When it grew late, Timothy’s bros come to him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is growing late. Send the creatures away to the surrounding fields and towns to find themselves something to eat.” 

But Timothy answered, “You give them something to eat.” His bros replied, “Do you want us to go and scavenge enough bread to feed all of these creatures?” And he said to them, “How many loaves of bread do we have? Go and count.” 

Once they counted, his bros returned to him and said, “Five, and two blackberries.” 

Then Timothy instructed all of the animals to sit down in groups on the grassy area underneath the shade, so the forest creatures did so and sat down with whatever creatures were next to them, like and different, in groups of hundreds and fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two blackberries Timothy used his magical powers and broke the loaves and gave them to his bros to set down before the forest creatures. And Timothy separated the two blackberries and divided them among all the animals, and they all ate and were content. Then the bros picked up twelve large sacks still full of broken pieces of bread and of blackberries. And they realized that those who ate the loaves of bread were five thousand animals.

 

Black Butte Berry

Authors Note. The Gospel of Mark from the Bible is made up of a series of stories accounting the life of Jesus. It was difficult to choose just one story since Mark, as a whole, is so powerful. I decided to choose Mark 6:30-44 – the miracle of the loaves and the fish - one of Jesus’ more famous miracles where he fed five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. It demonstrates that anything is possible through Christ if you believe. I chose to represent Jesus through a tiny mouse because Jesus was not especially big or powerful-looking, but he was certainly an extremely powerful being. By representing Jesus through a mouse, we are able to see that he came from humble beginnings. Jesus could have been born to a king, he could have been born in a bed/hospital, he could have been born to a married couple, but no. Jesus was born in a barn to a couple who were not of great status or wealth but were carpenters, and they had to travel not by horse but by donkey before they had him. It was his humble beginnings that make Jesus so powerful, and that is why I chose a simple mouse that would not have been especially exceptional by birth but was exceptional by the grace of God. The blackberries I substituted for the fish in the original story. Blackberries, like fish, are difficult to separate to feed so many people, but blackberries seemed to fit a woodlands setting better than fish. I was able to mesh the original Bible story with my retelling by keeping the loaves of bread but altering fish to blackberries. The location I had them gather would be very much like a secluded area off in the distance that is generally deserted. It was a place I would imagine someone would go to be alone to meditate or pray, somewhere cool and calming and green.

 The original story was in the third-person style and it is only fitting that it should be written this way even when the story is converted into somewhat of a child’s story. I really enjoyed this writing style because it gives the reader a lot of information without confusing him or her with an excess of details and continuously long sentences. However, I feel as though the flow came more naturally with this Biblical style than with others. I did use verbal echoes from the Bible in this retelling; the majority of it was in the last two sentences of the retelling. I felt as though using echoes allowed the reader to recognize that it was from the Bible.  Being able to tell one of the stories of Jesus, without making it overtly Christian, was the idea that I was going for. A type of blend between an animal fable and the Bible, so to speak.  

Bibliography: King James Bible (1611), Mark 6:30-44

Week 2 Famous Last Words

I have found myself struggling with motivation issues this week. Sometimes it seems impossible to keep up with everything going on, and get a head, and sleep, and eat, and have a social life. But it will come. It’s all about telling yourself that you can do it – and possibly having your roommates cook you dinner – and then you will be able to be successful. The goal is to increase my creativity and to expand ideas. There are endless possibilities and ideas when creating a story, you just have to tap in and unlock the secret to your mind. Right now I am still fiddling with the key.

I am not quite sure if I have found my definitive writing style yet, nor am I certain that I ever will. I consider myself to be a writing chameleon, so to speak. But I have found some styles of writing that I find to be a bit more comfortable than others. I’m hoping to become a bit more familiar with different styles, both by reading stories from the UnTextbook and from my peers in this class. 

 Speaking of chameleon's...rather than a picture, I decided to include a cool video of a chameleon changing colors. So here is Super Chameleon. Enjoy! 

I actually found this week to be a bit easier than last week, probably because we are getting a little bit more into the groove of things. I seem to always favor the familiar, which tends to show in my choices of writing topics. There is nothing wrong with the familiar; you can watch a movie or read a book a hundred times and still get something different from it.

Literally anything can be an inspiration to a story – pick-up lines, a friend crying, weather, a music video, football game, a movie, 2+2 – it just depends on how you spin it. Speaking of football, I hope everyone enjoyed the first game of the season. Nothing like game day in Oklahoma to get you fired up. Boomer Sooner.

Essay Week 2: Mark All-Knowing

I absolutely loved reading the Gospel of Mark. Virtually everyone knows about the story of Jesus, one way or another, and it was refreshing to read about it. I am not quiet sure what exactly it is that I am interested in as far as over arching themes.  It might be possible that I am interesting in tormented people or the flaw in mankind. I have always enjoyed reading stories about man’s imperfections, and Mark really reflects that concept (from time to time).

I found it humorous when the disciples doubted Jesus even after they watched him perform miracle after miracle. Their continuous questioning of him (and ultimate ear slaughter and betrayal) further demonstrated how flawed man is. One of my favorites was when Jesus told Peter “before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” Well of course Peter said that it would never happen and it inevitably did.  Man’s inhumanity to man and the imperfection of mankind are probably the two themes that probably grab my attention and interest the most.

There was also the part when Jesus is on the hill praying before his crucifixion. Something about how he fell down and asked for the hour to pass so he would not have to be crucified, really grabbed my attention. It is the torment that we, as people, have to endure from within ourselves that grabs my attention. It is not the physical torment that go through, but the mental and emotional one that appeals to my senses. The fact that people are wanting to escape the hell that they are forced to endure, and how their hell preys upon them and against them. But it is through our hell that we learn who we are.   Let's call it a morbid curiosity.

Lights at the End
Wikipedia Commons

It is worth noting that the King James version is the most difficult version of the Bible to read. Since it is in old English, many of the words were difficult to decipher, and some adverbs and proper nouns (i.e., the) were not present from time to time. As much as I doth loveth ye olde style of speaking, I think I would much rather read stories that are not so Shakespearian. 

Week 2 Reading Diary: Gospel of Mark

For this week I have chosen the Gospel of Mark to read.

The Gospel of Mark has so many different stories but focuses on the life of Jesus. It follows the life of Jesus as the Messiah, as well as his miracles and his twelve disciples.

Jesus performed many miracles healing the sick, the blind, the injured, and expelling demons from tormented people. He fed many using very little, performed miracles in every chapter, and was then betrayed and hung on a cross to die.

John the Baptist was also a character in this gospel. Many people believe that Jesus was the resurrection  of John the Baptist, who had previously been killed. John the Baptist was actually Jesus' cousin and was also the one who baptized Jesus.

John the Baptist
Stained Glass Window 

Betrayal and doubt were both common themes. Jesus continuously mentioned that he was going to be betrayed by someone he knew, by one of his disciples. Doubt was present even after people watch him perform miracles. It continued to reoccur, they would doubt him and then he would question why they doubted him.

I heard the majority of these stories growing up, but the one that I had never hear, and that stood out to me, was the story of the pigs, or swine. It was such a random story of a demon possessing someone and then Jesus casting them into a large group of pigs, just to have the pigs commit suicide in the nearby body of water. I assume that it is demonstrating the power of Jesus Christ and how the demons were so terrified of him that the only way they could cope was to die.



What I found interesting was this concept of misery. Even Jesus, who knew he was sent to Earth by his father to be crucified for all of man kind, appeared to be miserable. The continuous doubt appeared to wear on him, and as I read his eyes began to sadden more and more in my mind. Even near the end he is pleading to God to not make him suffer. The pain of being an "angel" forced to live upon Earth was pain enough for him. While Jesus is the son of God and perfect, I can only imagine that it would have been frustrating to have people throw themselves at you just because the could heal you, and to never believe you or listen to you even after they have seen what you are capable of with their own eyes. To be the only perfect person in an imperfect world must have been frustrating.

The parables in the Gospel of Mark are worth mentioning. Jesus uses these parables as an attempt to teach us. Mark his two parables, the most famous of which is the parable of the sower. It is a parable that teaches us that we must grow Gods word in good soil. Jesus gives the example of three different types of soil and ends with the "good soil," saying that you will produce the most if Gods word is produced in good soil. The soil is a metaphor for ones faith in God.
Here is another link to all of the parables in Mark.

Seed Sower
University of Oklahoma College of Medicine

One of the things I love about Biblical stories is that they are all about flawed people, just like the people now. History is always repeating itself and this is a perfect example of how we, as people, are continuously flawed.