Review

(Making the Leap: Grant Snider)

I though this picture was really relevant to me this week. There is never a perfect time or the best conditions, you just have to get some moxie in you and get it done (excluding sky diving or any kind of fall from a great height i.e. diving.....that just isn't me). For the video, I watched  Yaara | Anthem. I think it was a great music video that stressed the importance of kindness to all. Anti-Discrimination and kindness is something I am really passionate about so I loved the music video. Plus it sounded great! 

Week 5 Story: The Tale of King Rhampsinitus' Son-in-Law

 The Tale of King Rhampsinitus' Son-in-Law

Author's Note: 
This story is based off of The Tale of King Rhampsinitus from Egyptian Myth and Legend Part B (link here). The original story is told in third person as a narrated story. I wanted to experiment with telling the story in a different way, so I decided to tell it as a dialogue. My story takes place three months after The Tale of King Rhampsinitus. In the story the brother, Peter, has escaped his ex wife and moved away. He is trying to find a new job, but is having difficulty being hired because in The Tale of King Rhampsinitus he murders his brother after they rob King Rhampsinitus and get caught. This story is told during an interview between and interviewer and Peter. 

(Interview: picture by Elegant Themes)

Interviewer: Hi, welcome Peter! 

Peter: Hi it is so nice to meet you, thank your for this opportunity! 

Interviewer: Well Peter lets just jump into it okay. Tell me a little about yourself and why you are applying for our company? 

Peter: Well I am originally from Egypt and I have been working for a construction company over there for the past few years. I made the move a few months ago after my wife and I got a divorce. I worked with her father and while he loved me, she would have probably killed me if I stuck around. That is besides the point thought. I have a mother back in Egypt and I had a brother and father who recently passed away. I feel as if this job can be my second chance. 

Interviewer: I am so sorry for your loss, that must have been really hard on you. But since you brought it up, when we ran a background check on you....on file you have been convicted for murder once and have been convicted for robbery numerous times. I don't know how seriously your other job took it, but it is very difficult for us to hire someone with that kind of record. What exactly happened?

Peter: Oh it was not that serious. My father told my brother and I to rob my future boss's cellar as his dying wish. My brother and I robbed him several times, but in all honesty he should have caught us a lot sooner, he wasn't great at defense. Anyways, it was kinda a joke to us until my boss set out some traps in his cellar. They were huge and my brother stepped in one. It literally cut his foot to the bone and he was stuck bleeding out. To keep our identity a secret he asked me to chop his head off. He was kinda dramatic about the whole thing......but ...I cut his head off. Thats why I apparently committed murder. 

Interviewer:...........did your boss never know?

Peter: Oh no he definitely knew, but he didn't want to press charges. It is actually a funny story. He hung my brothers body up in the city to see who would mourn him. Well that part isn't funny, my mom was devastated. So devastated that she told me to go fetch his body in secret. So I did. I got the guards trashed on some of the wine from the cellar and took the body home. My boss was pissed and he sent my ex wife, his daughter, to get me to confess. She was so pretty and I wanted to impress her so I told her everything. When she tried to grab me I slipped away. My boss was so impressed with my cunning abilities that he forgave me and asked me to marry his daughter. 

Interviewer: How long had y'all been together before the split?

Peter: Oh me and my ex wife.......dang.....maybe 3 months. She really hated me for what I did. So much so that she ran away for about two months of that time. She said we could either get a divorce and I move, or she would kill me. 

Interviewer: Okay...oh my gosh....so how did you grow from that experience?

Peter: Um grow? I don't know.....I got great at sneaking around 

Interviewer: Well Peter, due to your history we cannot hire you, but I know a couple of guys who deal with robbery and murder if you want to talk to them?

Peter: That would be great! Who are they?

Interview: They are the police department.

Peter: Thank you, but I could never be a police officer.

Ex Wife: Oh not a police officer...... after that confession I was thinking you would be a great inmate. 


Bibliography: 

Egyptian Myth and Legend Part B by Donald Mackenzie. Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Reading Notes: Egypt Part B

Notes: Egypt Part B....The Tale of King Rhampsinitus

(Hieroglyphics by Wiki Commons)

Plot Stand Outs:

The plot of this story had many twist and turns. One of the major plot twist was in the beginning when one of the two brothers gets trapped within the chamber and the other brother must cut off his head to protect his family's identity. The other big plot twist was at the end when King Rhampsinitus offered the brother his daughter as a wife for his cunning abilities. 

The ending was fairly quick paced so if I was to retell the story I would make it not only clearer, but also extend it slightly to offer a more in-depth explanation. 


Point of View:

The story is written in third person, which is beneficial to get across all the details and switch characters as needed. The author used direct quotes and also explaining character's thoughts. Good examples include when the brother's are talking to one another they use dialogue to convey what they feel and think. The mother does not have dialogue, but the reader is informed how sad she is and that she is grieving. The reader is then informed of the demands of the mother to the son to retrieve the brother's body. 

If I were to retell the story I may utilize first person point of view. It may be fun to tell the story from the mother's perspective or even the daughter of King Rhampsinitus. 


Possible Changes:  

While the story was great (awesome plot, lots of drama, and straight to the point), it seems a little gory to me. While I may keep the gory events, because they do play critical parts in the story, I may just remove emphasis on them.

• Story told from the daughter of King Rhampsinitus: She watches her father get robbed, she asks the brother what horrible thing he has done, she attempts to trap him but he gets away, her father is impressed and she must marry him. She may not be happy to marry him and then runs away. It could be in letter format to her mother or sister. 

Bibliography: 

Egyptian Myth and Legend Part B by Donald Mackenzie. Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Reading Notes: Egypt Part A

Notes: Egypt Part A

(The Goddess Isis: by Wikipedia)

Characters:

• Nu: oldest God, primeval waters

• Khepera: God of the rising sun, Re

• Ra: God of the sun, son of Nu, King of the Gods (the Pharaoh)

• Tum: God of Earth, first living man, father of the twins 

• The Twins: in the constellations in heaven (Gemini?)

• Shu: Wind God

• Tefnut: Goddess of moisture, "who had the head of a lioness and was called "The Spitter" because she sent the rain"

• Seb: Earth God

• Nut: Goddess of the sky, personification of the heavens

• Isis: Goddess of fertility, magic, death, and rebirth. Wife of Osiris, they have a son Horus

• Osiris: reign over dead 

• Horus: sky and war God, "left eye was the sun and the right eye the moon" 

• Hathor: Ra's female counterpart. Depicted with cow features 

• Shu: God of the atmosphere

• Solar: underworld god, "with three human heads, a serpent's body, and mighty wings between which appears his hawk form"

• Set: God of war and chaos 

• Thoth: God of writing and moons

• King Khufu: second pharaoh of fourth dynasty 

(Egyptian Family Tree: by Pinterest)

Unknown words: 

• Byblos: old kingdom of Egypt
• Silvern: old term for silver
• Apep: Egyptian spirit for the great Night serpent an devil
• Handmaidens: personal maid/ female servant 
• Elephantine: resembles characteristics of an elephant
• Lapis lazuli: dark. metamorphic rock
• Heliopolis: major city in ancient Egypt 

Likes:

• Character development 
• The back story to every character and how it played into their personality and interactions
• The use of personification and detail in setting 

Dislikes: 

• Very confusing at first due to all the names being thrown at you at once
• Difficult to follow along because characters are both personifications and human
• Not clear path in story/ no clear story
• Language semi difficult 

Bibliography: 

Egyptian Myth and Legend Part A by Donald Mackenzie. Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook