Fall 2020

Centures ago, in China, lived a vain Emperor named Chiuai. Emperor Chiuai was conceited and stagnant thinking that he deserved to rule forever without lifting a finger. The Emperor also was not greatful for the beautiful Empress he was given. For this woman was like none other in all the land. She was beautiful, a warrior, fearless, and reveered by all the people in the land. However, the Emperor could never see this and treated her like she was nothing.  Suddenly, one day, the Sun Goddess appeared to the couple and instucted them to travel to the Land of Morning Calm to retrieve the Crystal of Heart's Desire. The twist was that the Empress was to lead the expidition which made the Emperor very angry. He could not understand why the Goddess would command this and threw a fit as if he was a child. This enraged the Sun Goddess and she executed him immediately. This somewhat frightened the Empress when she saw the anger the Goddess possesed. However, she knew that this was her chance ...

West African Folktales I chose to read these stories because I had the opportunity to travel to Ghana, Africa last summer and therefore thought that these would be super interesting. This region of Africa is full of so many different cultures that it contains a plethora of different literature to be explored.  In these short tales, I enjoyed the way they all contained a deeper meaning. When looking at deeper meanings it forces the reader to actually read and comprehend as opposed to just skimming or they risk missing the main point of the story. These tales also contain imagry that I would not typically think of on my own. Such as using a pot to contain all of the knowledge in the world. Clearly this is not actually a possibility yet the writer makes you feel like it is. The tales were also clever naming the wealthy man 'Nothing', it is quite ironic because those who are extremely wealthy often have anything they want and not nothing. The tales also carry a common character fro...