Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

The Indian Who Wrestled With a Ghost
Story source: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson (1913)

There was a man who was walking through the woods. Although he was alone, he didn't feel as though he was. He heard an owl, and then as some time passed he also heard a woman yell out. However, he decided to continue on doing what he was doing, and laid down to rest. He covered himself with the blanket, and made a hole in it so he could still check his surroundings. He heard someone or something heading toward him, and so he peeped out only to see an old woman dressed in a luxurious Indian fashion. Apparently, she thought he was dead as he was not moving or reacting  to her when she kept lifting his foot and dropping it. He only suddenly reacted and shot at the old lady when she attempted to cut off his foot. She disappeared into the woods, and he continued to lay down with no sleep. Morning came, and he noticed a burial site. He wondered if the old woman had actually been a ghost. He continued his adventure, and came across another part of the woods where he decided to rest for the night. This time, he heard someone singing. When he called out to the singer, there was no reply. Moments later, the singer came to him asking for food, in which the man lied saying that he had none. This is when we find out that the singer is a ghost, but the man still doesn't know. The ghost tells the man that he knows he has some food, and so the man shares some food and even gave him his tobacco pipe to share. When the ghost went to smoke from the pipe, the man realized that the singer was nothing but bones, watching as the smoke was inhaled and flowing right back out between his ribs. This did not seem to startle the man, however. The ghost then challenged the man to a fight, and if the man were to win he would be able to easily defeat his enemy and claim their horses. The ghost was very strong, but surprisingly when he neared the fire, he became weaker. The man realized this pattern, and would continue to push wood into the fire to keep it flaming brightly. When day came, he finally defeated the ghost. It turns out that the ghost was telling the truth about the man's prize if he were to win, because he was able to easily defeat his enemies and steal their horses.

My thoughts on this are mixed. I mean, it's an interesting read. It grabs your attention. I really like it until the very end. It seriously just ends like "he beat the ghost, the prophecy was spot on, so therefor you should always listen to ghosts." It was pretty cheesy, like the author just gave up and said, "and they lived happily ever after...the end."

Pygmalion and His Lover

Pygmalion

Story source: Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000)

Pygmalion was a single man who was lonely, but did not want to be with a woman because they're crazy. Because of this, he decided to carve the shape of a woman out of ivory. It turned out so beautiful, that he was in awe of this figure he created. He became attached to it, both physically and mentally. He would kiss it, touch it, and decorate it with jewelry. He would dress her, and even lay her in the bed next to him. He would talk to the figure, and imagine the figure talking back to him. He fell in love. He was so in love that he asked the gods, on the day of Venus' Festival, to please grant him a woman much like the one he carved out of ivory. To his surprise, they turned the figure he created into a live woman. They were in love with each other, and she bore a son. The son was named    Paphos, which is where the island got its name.

My initial thoughts on this were that it reminded me of that movie Her with Joaquin Phoenix. Overall though, this was a very interesting read. It even ended satisfyingly, unlike "The Indian Who Fought With a Ghost." If this were a movie, I might just watch it.