Reading Notes: Dante (Extra Reading)

For my extra reading this week I choose to read the works of Dante! I actually have read parts of Dante's Inferno for a class before and I liked how this version condensed the three books into one! My favorite story out of this section was the story about Satan. I have to admit that I was very apprehensive about reading this story because I didn't know what to expect, but it actually was very interesting.

One thing that I have noticed about Dante's writing is that he is very detailed in his writing and about who who he puts in Hell. He has a clear reason why each person he meets is in Hell and it helps me see the different things that Dante considers to be bad. One thing I would have loved to see more of in the stories that were shown were stories about Virgil. To me, Virgil is one of the most interesting characters in the Inferno and Purgatorio. I like how he acts as a guide for Dante and helps him on this journey!

Back to the story of Satan, it was interesting that the devil had three heads and had a sinner in his mouth. This was interesting because it wasn't just the sinner being punished it was Satan being punished as well. That is another thing I have noticed throughout his writing is that he is very detailed about the punishments that the people go though.

An interesting story that could be created out of this is an awful game of would you rather. It would be interesting to create a story where character had to pick which punishment they would rather have out of the different levels of Hell! Its a game that no one would like to play!

A quote from Dante Alighieri. Web Source 

Reading Notes: Part B Hunt

For today’s reading I read Part B of the Hunt stories. I was really excited for this collection of stories because they dealt with the story of Snow White and the Evil Queen. As I mentioned in my previous post, I want the villain in my project to be a spin off of the original Evil Queen. The Evil Queen to me is one of the worst villains in Disney because her hatred was so deep and wrongly directed toward Snow White.

In my project, College of the Elite, the students are all there to try to work together and bridge the gap between species. I would like to make my villain someone who resents this merger, for the sole reason that they want to continue to control everyone.

After reading the story I was sad to see that there was no wicked queen in it, rather there were evil dwarfs. To me it is interesting how a particular story can be molded and changed to fit modern times. For example the story of Cinderella has been redone a lot. Either in cartoon versions, live person or some form of Disney movie.

In order to get my wicked queen fix I researched the version of Snow White that was closer to what I was expecting. The one I found is Little Snow White by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. In this story the evil queen is Snow White’s stepmother. This is what I was looking for in my villain. Someone who traditionally shouldn’t be a villain, a stepmother typically is nice and looks after the children. But, from this and several other stories you get the archetype of “step-monster.” I want my villain to embody unexpected villain. It will be someone you never expect because I feel like that is more realistic in terms of what happens in real-life.

Margaret Hunt's Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

The Evil Queen from Snow White at Disney. Web Source 

Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Hunt)

For this week I read Part A of the Hunt section of the Brothers Grimm. My favorite story out of this collection was the Thumbling. This story reminded me of one of my favorite stories as a child, Thumbelina. This is probably the story it was inspired from.

While this story was interesting I chose these stories as a preparation for the final two stories of my project. I need to give the characters in my project a motive to work together. Since the project surrounds a school I thought there could be no better villain than an evil principal, well in this case the dean.

The reason I choose these stories this week is because snow whites stepmother is one of the best villains. She will be the inspiration for the bad guy in my story. One of the best things about the Thumbling Stories is that a common theme through the story was no one could see the Thumbling. It gave the character a mysterious quality about him. That is one thing I want to happen in my story, I want the readers to not see the bad guy coming! I think that makes the best movies when you cant tell whose bad and who is good.

For this weeks writing, I will write a portion of my story for my project. I want to give a backstory on the bad character in my story.

I will also be using the story Hansel and Grethel to influence my story. I knew doing a project with this many character would have its challenges but I have found that finding a way to connect them is the hardest part. I will be using the completely different stories to inspire me to bring my characters together.

My favorite movie as a kid that resembles the story of Thumbling. Web Source 

Margaret Hunt's Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm