Reading Notes
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| ("Along came a Spider" by Tekelili) |
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How We Got the Name "Spider Tales"
This short story provided an understanding of what the basis of Anansi is. He is conceited, clever, willful and admirable. By wanting all stories to be about him, he shows how conceited he can be but simultaneously he showcases his willfulness and cunning to actually pull off the three impossible tasks the King gives to him. Thus making the reader admire the skill it took to complete such tasks.
How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race
Being a fan of the Neil Gaiman book "American Gods", I am familiar, to an extent, with the story of Anansi. Reading this story makes me want to go and pick up the "Anansi Boys" book so I can dive even further into this folklore. This story really iterates the almost competing like quality Anansi and Kweku Tsin have to their relationship. I could see this being translated into a son surpassing his father in the corporate world.
Anansi and Nothing
By showcasing the negative side of Anansi's lust for possessions, this story brings out the truth about most trickster gods: they are willful, almost to a fault. This story also has one of my favorite qualities of folktales, the explanation of why we have certain things, phrases, traditions today. Maybe I could switch what the lesson is concerning Nothing?
Thunder and Anansi
I loved this story because although in the previous story we saw how Anansi could get away with hurtful tricks, in this story Anansi was punished for his selfishness. It also took things the reader learned from each of the previous stories as foundation blocks for the twist at the end to have such an impact. This could be a fun play retelling?
Why the Lizard Moves His Head Up and Down
All of the stories thus far have left me with a memory of reading stories about Loki of the Norse folklore. Trickster gods have a fun way of utilizing their cleverness to get what they want but then they get so consumed by their desires that humanity and good faith fall out their line of sight. I am still thinking of a way to retell this story but it is my favorite thus far.
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All reading notes are based off of stories from West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917).
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