Week 8 Progress

So far in this class my progress has been okay. I missed a couple too many assignments at the beginning but over the past few weeks I have really gotten into a groove on my course work. Looking forward I am going to need to do some extra credit assignments to get my grade to where I'd like it but that won't be too hard. I have really improved my schedule for this class recently and I think I am going to be able to stick to it and finish the second half of the semester strong.

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Week 8 Comments and Feedback

The feedback that I have been receiving over the semester has been great. I wasn't very comfortable with sharing my writing with the whole class because I am not great at creative writing but everything that I have received has been helpful and encouraging. It is all very constructive criticism and has really given me some ideas on how to improve my writing. I have tried to do the same thing in the feedback I give. I don't have any great expertise in writing as i mentioned but I did my best to help with revisions and content. I think my feedback was helpful. The blog comments has been one of my favorite assignments we have done. I really enjoyed reading peoples introductions and there are some very interesting people that I have read about! I also enjoyed writing my own introduction an giving people a bit of an insight into my life. Looking forward I would like to use what I have learned from the comments other people have left me to write better comments for others.

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I chose this image because this is how I look at feedback. I want all of my assignments to be perfect so the feedback that recommends I change something is what I really listen to and it makes me try harder on the next assignment.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

I have enjoyed the reading and writing in this class more than I thought would. The readings have been very entertaining for the most part and I'm glad that I have read them and added a little more culture to my life. I have never been a fan of creative writing, so I though I was going to hate that part of this class. In reality, this class has made me hate it a little less. Halfway through the class has really flown by, I'm excited to see what else that class does for me.

Dice Game (Source)

I chose this picture because the dice game was my favorite parts of either epic that we have read. I really enjoyed reading about it and then I included a similar dice game in one of my stories and enjoyed writing about it as well.

Comment Wall

Let me know what you think of my Portfolio!

Link to Portfolio

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Week 7 Story: A Game of Chance

(Link to Portfolio)

Four men sit around a table gambling on a dice game and drinking their fill. These men have been inseparable for years, best friends since high school. Three of the men are brothers by the names of Yudi, Bhima, and Sahad Pandava. These three brothers are very skilled mountain climbers and are planning a trip to climb Mt. Everest in the Himalayas. The fourth man, Draup, has never been as interested in mountaineering, to the disappointment of his three best friends. On this particular night, already drunk and gambling, Bhima proposes a wager to Draup: they both roll the dice, if Bhima rolls a higher score, Draup must accompany them on their Everest adventure. With his judgement clouded by the booze, Draup agrees to the bet.

[6 months later]

Draup straps on his pack at the Everest basecamp, all the while kicking himself for accepting that stupid bet 6 months ago. He exits his tent wondering if he can still back out, but remembers how many times the Pandava brothers reiterated that "a bet is a bet" over the last few months as they trained. The four men set off on the adventure of a lifetime.

After days of trekking up the mountain, they can almost see the peak. On the final day, the all four men awaken ready to summit Everest. Just a few hours from the top, they come across a horse standing in there path. Immediately they all know that this is no normal animal. Nothing can survive the conditions at the highest peak on Earth. Their shock intensifies when the horse begins to speak. He tells them that he is the gatekeeper to the peak of Everest and they must earn his permission to continue moving forward. Wondering what they could do to be allowed to pass, Draup reaches into his pocket and pulls out a set of dice. The same dice that got him to this point. He proposes they gamble for the horse's permission and he agrees.

Yudi goes first, he rolls a 9. Confident in his roll he smirks and hands the dice to the horse. The horse flips the dice and rolls a 12. Yudi hands the dice to Bhima and disappointedly begins his journey down. Bhima rolls an 11 and thinks to himself there is no way he loses. Another 12. Bhima begins his way down. Sahad nervously picks up the dice and rolls a 2, snake eyes. He begins his journey down before the horse even rolls. Finally, Draup picks up the dice and rolls; 3. The horse rolls for the last time; 2. The horse tells Draup that the dice decided he was the only one worthy of passing through to the peak. He presses on and reaches the summit.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (Link)

Mt. Everest (Source)

Authors Notes: For this story I combined elements from many parts of the Mahabharata that we have read over the past two weeks. I started with the setting in the Himalayas like in the Part C reading. i found this setting interesting when Draupadi and the four Pandava brothers journey into the mountains. On thing made a point to change were the names. The original names were too long and confused me so I shortened them to make it and easier read. I also included the horse from Part D. I really liked the story of the horse disappearing and wanted to incorporate it a little bit. The main part of the story came from the dice game we read about in Part B. I really liked that story and found it to be a good starting point for my plot.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part D

The part of this story about the sacrifice of the horse really stuck out to me. It was very intense when Bhima chopped off the horses head and and it immediately disappeared in front of everyone. I think this may be something I can incorporate into my story. Maybe as the characters are journeying through the Himalayas they come across a horse and have to do something or maybe the horse is a disguise that their enemies are using (like a trojan horse) and then a battle ensues. I have a couple of ideas for this and will need to brainstorm more to come up with my story.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (Link)

Trojan Horse (Source)

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part C

This story was very interesting in the beginning and seems to be getting even more interesting. I enjoyed the part of the story where Draupadi and the four Pandava brothers venture into the Himalayas. I think this is a great setting for a story and I am excited to finish reading and see what happens. I think I may use a mountain range setting for my story this week. I can think of dozens of ways to take a story like that and there are a ton of possibilities for things that could happen. Anything from a realistic issue like an avalanche or injury to a more far fetched situation. Since the Mahabharata has been more realistic than the Ramayana was, I think I'll probably stay in a more realistic plot line for my story.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (Link)

Himalayas (Source)