Week 3 Story: The Start of the Mexican Revolution

Once upon a time, during the year of 1884, Manuel Gonzalez Flores gathered his counsel for a brief meeting. The reason for this meeting, was to discuss Sara’s (his daughter) coming of age. He knew that the time had come for her to fall in love and marry soon. He acknowledged that since she was the most beautiful girl in the region and daughter to the President of Mexico, men from all over the country would come try to win her heart. So, once he informed his council of his thoughts he told them they had to take an oath and he said, “My dear comrades, the time has come for my girl to choose her husband and I ask of you to respect her decision. If any man tries to steal my lovely daughter from her husband, you shall all do whatever it must take to bring her back to him.”

After a few months passed and numerous men proclaimed their love for Sara, she chose Porfirio Diaz as her husband. Her father passed shortly and Porfirio took command of office. They were enjoying life and happily married until in 1910, when Sara met Francisco Madero at a ball. The two laughed and drank the night away while her husband was busy discussing busy business affairs with high-rank officials.

Surely enough, Madero had convinced her to go back home with him using his elegance and charm. Madero was of the north where the people were beginning to revolt against President Diaz and his government over land disputes and the current system they lived under. They rode for 5 days until they arrived at their new hacienda.

Diaz was outraged over what had taken place. He could not believe that his Sara betrayed him like that and the fact that is was with a Northman made it even more unbearable. He immediately called for a council the next morning and reminded him of the oath they had taken, if such an even would to occur. Among the men in the council was Venustiano Carranza, a man who had previously served for Madera and knew him very well. The Mexican Revolution was about to begin, over the love and betrayal of a woman.

(Francisco Madero with his wife Sara Perez: Latin American Studies)

Authors Note: 

This story retracts much from the story of the Iliad by Homer. Both involve a beautiful woman being the cause of a dispute, in this case Sara. The plot is set in Mexico before the Mexican Revolution and I used different characters such as Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero, and Venustiano Carranza.a In Homer's Iliad, Helen is the woman who marries Menelaus the brother of Agamemnon. They are happily married until Paris from Troy takes her away and causes the brothers to gather their allies and men to fetch her. This is the beginning of the war to come between the Greeks and Trojans. 

Bibliography. "How the War with Troy Began" from The Iliad by Homer. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad, Part B

Iliad: The Rousing of Achilles (cont.)

This story along with The Slaying of Hector were my favorite ones from Reading B, but I feel I could write a few more creative things with this story. I could set the theme just as I explained in my notes for Reading A. I could portray Patroclus as the brother of Achilles (whom I shall change characters as well) and have him go into battle without giving any consent to Achilles. Having always been known as the "little brother" to Achilles his pride and hunger to make a name for himself takes over. He sees the perfect moment to flee his homeland and brother to go protect the Greeks. Plans do not go as planned for the little brother as he is killed in battle, and once Achilles receives the news he is in outrage and immediately flees to Troy. I'd have to think of different characters for my story telling and base them to be from Mexico.

(The Greeks and Trojans Fighting for Patroclus's Body: UN-Texbook)

Bibliography:
A.J. Church's The Iliad, link to part B

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad, Part A

Iliad: How the War with Troy Began

This was the first story of the unit and I suddenly could see myself writing my own story based on the beginning of the Iliad. I could maybe set a different theme like in Mexico whenever the Charros from back then were machos and would always have disputes over women. I could portray Helen as the daughter of a rich hacienda man. Paris and Menelaus could be rival countrymen or even from the Civil War. There are lots of different story plots I could write about from this so I'll try this one out!

(The Gods Intervening During Battle: Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography:
A.J. Church's The Iliad, link to part A

Tech Tip: Blogger Template

I had a hard time trying to find the "Template" option on the sidebar but realized that it was the "Theme" option instead. I then tried out multiple different background themes and for now chose a one under the Simple Blog themes. It was pretty neat viewing the different choices and I'm sure I may be changing the theme throughout the semester.

Tech Tip: Browser Bookmarks

I've been somewhat familiar with bookmarks ever since high school and have bookmarked several pages before. The one strategy that I didn't know about was the folder icon where I can put several different website pages that I've bookmarked, say for this class, in a folder to keep them organized. This saves me a lot of time and confusion by allowing me to know exactly where the bookmark is.

Feedback Thoughts

Feedback is something that I consider an obstacle to overcome. Obviously if it's positive feedback then everything stays golden. On the other hand, if it's negative feedback it can really get to you and affect your current work or thoughts. I've received feedback mainly on tests or classroom assignments, as well as a finished job. There was a time when I was younger and beginning to work, that I would get very discouraged by even the slightest comment contradicting my work. I then took it upon myself to use that feedback as motivation to seek greater results and it's been helpful. I've realized that as the years go by, the feedback I get is more and more positive and I hope it carries on into the future.

The first article I chose to read was 5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ by Megan Bruneau. The first 2 tips that she gives are the ones I relate to the most. I used to try and change the subject or try to think about something else whenever I would feel uncomfortable about a certain situation, but then realized that by doing that I wouldn't benefit from anything. I couldn't agree more when she says "feeling uncomfortable is a normal and necessary part of life". It's something that we have to challenge and overcome and then as we find a solution to a certain situation, the next time won't be as challenging.

The next article I read was Eight Things Students Should Do When They Make a Mistake. This article caught my attention more than the others because the word "mistake" was in the title. If there is anyone who has committed mistakes over and over again in the past, it is I. I agree with all the tips that the author gives in this article and especially the last one. "Proceed with kindness" is an important one to me because when he started to ask about how we tend to criticize or give advise to a friend's problem, I began thinking of how I usually give advise to a friend and it's usually in a nice tone. If we could all give advice to our own selves without completely being harsh or shaming ourselves, than we could actually find an enlightened or reasonable solution to our own problems.

(Too Busy to Improve: Flickr)

Topic Brainstorm

The Horse Wishing To Be Revenged On The Stag by Elizur Wright -

I chose the European category because I am somewhat familiar with Greek or Roman stories and I ran upon The Fables of La Fontaine. Once I seen the different subjects in this category, I realized this may be one that I will find interest in. I believe I could come up with similar ideas as this story because I live on the farm. I would like to learn a little bit more about poetry as well but if I could do it in story format I think it would help. This story explained how the horse was once a free animal and needed help from man so he asked for the favor. Once the favor was over the man realized how much use he could get from the horse so he never let him go.

The Buffalo and the Grizzly Bear by Katharine Berry Judson -

I have been noticing that I am into the stories with animals or wildlife. This story was under the Native American unit. I clicked on this unit because I have taken an online class over Native American music and it was a course that I enjoyed learning about. Some of their stories are pretty fascinating and the fact that they were known to be the first on these lands also leads me to some of their stories. This story was about an aggressive Grizzly Bear who seemed to be looking for trouble by picking on Buffalo. He misjudged Buffalo by his looks noticing that he stooped and thought he was maybe weak. The Buffalo ends up tossing him around after getting bullied by Grizzly Bear a few times and getting aggravated. This story seems to be comparable to the ones we were taught in school about never judging a book by its cover and bullying.

Legend of the Corn by Katharine Berry Judson -

At first the title of this story reminded me of the movie with I believe has the same name. I was eager to click on the link and read it to see if this is where the story originated but it was a story of how the Omaha discovered corn. It was about a hunter that saw a buffalo in the distance between two rivers and he was waiting to get a good shot of the buffalo once it neared. After 3 days and nights the buffalo would not get closer, or even move, as he would only be turned a different direction when the hunter would wake up and see him. The next day the buffalo was gone so the hunter was wondering why the buffalo had not moved and he came upon a plant and tracks around it but no trail as to where the buffalo might have left. He went for his chiefs and villagers to tell them of the strange story and they came to a conclusion that Wahkoda had given this plant for the villagers to eat. They watched the plant carefully but would not dare touch it until a brave young man who said that he had nothing to worry about since he had done bad things, touched the corn and ate it. Nothing happened to him and the tribe began planting and feeding the corn.

The Elves by D.L. Ashliman -

This was a story that actually brought a smile to my face. It is once that I enjoyed reading and have never been familiar with before. It was about a poor shoemaker who had nothing but a piece of leather to make one pair of shoes. He cut out the pieces and fell asleep and once he woke up the shoes were already made. He ended up selling this shoes for above normal price and bought leather for two pair of shoes. He cut them out and the next morning they were made as well, and this continued on. Then he and his wife decided to stay awake to find out who was making the shoes and they saw two elves, with no clothes on, come into the house and started making the shoes. To show them gratitude the wife decided to make them outfits and the shoemaker made them a pair of shoes to surprise them with. They came back the next night but with no shoes to make, just the clothes and shoes made to them by the shoemaker and his wife. They delightedly put them on and never came back but the shoemaker was successful from that day forward. This story reminds me of what my parents have been instilling in us since we were little. Always give back to those who are in need and never forget how you got to where you are.

(The Shoemaker and Wife spying on the Elves: Pinterest)