Reading Notes: Santal Part A

Each of these readings were very short which I really liked (around 300-700 words each). They had fun endings and lots of dialogue between characters. Most of these characters were animals I noticed. I think I get caught up in thinking that characters in stories have to be human which is definitely not true. My favorite story from these short stories has to be Ramai and the Animals. This story reminded me of some of the stories I heard when I was younger although I cannot remember the specific title. The sentences were structured using lots of semicolons which I really liked. I also noticed that these stories are broken up into small paragraphs. I think I should do more of this style in my portfolio so that it adds some structure to my stories. 

Some of the stories were left on cliff hangers which I think just leaves the reading wanting more. As much as some readers don't like cliff hangers, I really like writing them. Most of these stories also started with the typical "once upon a time" which is okay but not my favorite. One trend that I noticed in these India and Middle East stories was that the leopard was a very popular animal to use. Although, the leopard changed based upon the tone and the plot of the storyline, but it seems to be a very popular theme throughout most of these readings. 

Overall I really enjoyed these readings and I think I want to incorporate their structure to some of my personal stories. I also really liked the animal characters from these short stories! I can definitely see myself altering my stories to be a little more Indian/Middle Eastern (especially in my portfolio project which is a spin off of Beauty and the Beast!). 

Bibliography: This story is part of the Santal Folklore unit. Story source: Folklore of the Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas (1909).


Photo by The New Leam found at this link 

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