Thursday, September 4, 2014

Week 3 Essay: Reviewing Jewish Fairy Tales

The Jewish Fairy Tales unit consisted of many different kinds of stories, ranging from Biblical plots to animal legends such as the cat and the dog. I had several favorite stories from this unit, such as The Giant of the Flood and The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog

The cat and the dog.
Image Information: To Agree Like Cat and Dog (1490). Acquired by Henry Walters in 1906. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.

I liked these stories especially because they included a lot of mythical beings, which really appeals to me with the fairy tale genre and keeps me interested. The unicorn and the phoenix are two of my favorite mythological creatures.  There were a few stories that I did not understand, such as The Sleep of One Hundred Years. I think it was just a little too odd for me.

Overall, the unit was good and I enjoyed most of the stories. It was easy to relate to a lot of them because the Biblical stories reminded me of ones I already knew about. The language is easy to understand and each story is a good read. The information provided was good and I feel that it was enough, but tips on storytelling for this unit would be a good idea. I struggled a lot with choosing a story to retell and it proved to be a bit of a challenge. Any advice on storytelling with units that have a lot of detail would be excellent.

I am enjoying sticking to fairy tales, because it is really linking all the units together for me and that is something I want to continue doing for my units. Since this is a mythology class, I think the fairy tale genre makes the most sense in order to read about the magical creatures, gods, and goddess that really encompass the mythological realm.


I would recommend this unit, because the legends about the characters have different twists and it is fun to read about subjects we might already know. It really brings a new depth to the characters because it is so unique. I learned a lot of good information about Jewish legends and storytelling!

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