Reading Part A "West African Folk-Tales"

All of these stories about Anansi are quite entertaining and I found myself laughing out loud at many of them. It was interesting how although Anansi is a great trickster, he himself often seems to be getting tricked as well. In one of the stories, he is tricked by a rubber man, which is probably what the tar baby story of Brer Rabbit is based on.
Each of the stories has both a kind of moral as well as an explanation for some natural phenomenon in the world, normally about animals. This explains why termites are so pesky, or why spiders hide in corners, for example.
Also interesting is how Anansi is such a terrible character, he does despicable things and has killed several people already. He is also completely selfish and often takes advantage of other people, lying and cheating them often. Like many tricksters in mythology, he does seem to get outplayed quite often by fellow conspirators.

Story Source: West African Folk-Tales, compiled by W. H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair.

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Hi! My name is Blake Allred and I am majoring in International Relations with a minor in Spanish. I chose this major because I love travelling and meeting new people and learning about their cultures and traditions. One of my favorite things about the classes I take is the chance that I have to meet other people from a very diverse range of backgrounds. If all goes well, I will be graduating this semester, so this part of my college journey is coming to an end. I’m still not sure how I feel about this, it is kind of a mixture between excitement and dread, but overall, I am glad I could have such a wonderful experience here at OU and that I am now able to graduate. This summer we went on a family vacation to visit my grandparents who live in rural Colorado. My grandpa is a retired pilot and owns his own plane and built his retirement home right next to a remote airstrip. When we went there this summer, I was able to go out flying with him and even f...

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Week 4 Storytelling "The Jump"

Photo Source Cold shivers ran the length of Psyche’s spine as she contemplated the crashing waves breaking against the sharp rocks hundreds of feet below her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, aided by the frigid wind and brought on by the terrible sadness in her heart. She glanced back at her family, at her loving parents, at her weeping sisters. This was the last time she would ever see their faces. Her heart stopped as she leapt, every muscle in her body clenched and her vision went black as the rushing air slipped past her small frame. She was acutely aware of her own beating heart, its dull drumbeat strangely isolated from her own screams and those of the wind. Then, everything was black. She opened her eyes, not to the sight of the underworld, but to the rushing ocean. The wind whistled around her and she realized that she was flying through the air, rapidly, propelled by some invisible hand. She started, and nearly fainted a...

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