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Celtic Fairy Tales unit is full of magic! It starts off with disappearing women who claim to be from a land where no one grows old but instead live forever. Then horned witches take over a woman's home, but a spell can keep then from coming back. Leprechauns make beer and are taken advantage of by humans. Finally, a poison is used to kill a princess, but it actually only puts her to sleep for awhile. This is the first unit that I've read that focuses this much on magic. It offers a wide variety of mystical beings and how they operate in the land of humans. My favorite story was probably the one about a leprechaun. It described the little guy in wonderful detail. I listened to the audio as I followed along with this unit. The narrator of this particular story had a wonderful voice distinction between the human and the leprechaun. It made it seem more real.
Connla and the Fairy Maiden was the story I chose to model for my storytelling assignment. I loved how this mystery woman came out of nowhere and expressed her love for a man whom she had never met before. She gave him an apple before she left that sustained him for an entire month! Ever time he ate from it, it would grow back to the size it was before. In the end, the man made a quick decision to leave his country and people and go with this woman whom he knew nothing about. I wish this happened more in reality. My favorite moments in life are those in which I have a big choice to make. I usually always choose the most outrageous one. That's why I'm moving to Cleveland and then joining the Navy. I related with this man who chose magic and adventure over security and loyalty.
Skye,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how you've found meaning in this reading unit. I think this is one of the first essays regarding the readings that has balanced both personal pursuits and literary analysis very well.
Also, you focus nicely on the details of each story, but don't get caught up in them. You seem to extract the themes efficiently and then juxtapose their explanation with an anecdote from your own life.