Dear Diary,
I am getting much older now, and Daddy thinks I should start
looking for a husband. I guess he is right. It’s about that time in my life and
I am ready for a change. I just hope that whomever I marry will bring me good
luck. For years I have had terrible luck, and I am ready for things to finally
go my way for once. Let’s hope for the best, but expect the worst.
Dear Diary,
Today Dad had many suitors come to the house. They were all
interested in marrying me. I couldn’t believe it! There were several attractive
young men, but one man in particular caught my eye. He seemed like a very
average man, but his aura screamed out to me and made me believe that he was the
one. I could tell just by being in his presence that he was a man of good luck.
Turns out after I picked him, though, that he is a beggar. I told my dad that I
didn’t care and would marry him anyways. Dad was so furious that he is thinking
about disowning me.
Dear Diary,
I went against my father’s wishes and married the beggar. I
am hoping that this will bring me good luck. My new husband says that he is
leaving to go in search of a fortune for us. Since my family disowned me, I am
terrified of being alone. I hope that I will have the strength to get through
this.
Dear Diary,
My husband has been gone for some time now. My father won’t
speak to me, but my mother has been sneaking me food and money. If it weren’t
for her, I would have starved long ago. I hope my husband is doing okay, and
that he will be back soon. I also hope that one day my father will take me back and treat me like he used to. I really miss being with my family.
Dear Diary,
Today a man showed up, the famous emperor. He asked me about
my husband and when I told him it had been almost eighteen years since I last saw
him, he asked if I would like a new husband. I told him no, because no matter
what, I would be faithful to my husband. Turns out, the emperor was my husband.
He had finally made his luck, and we were reunited. It was the best day a girl
could ever ask for. We are currently leaving now to go to our palace. He has
already given me new clothes and jewels! What more could a girl ask for! I knew
I made the right decision after all.
Picture Retrieved From FanPop
Picture of what she looked like after her husband clothed her.
Dear Diary,
It has been almost eighteen days since my husband and I were
reunited, and I have loved every minute of it. We celebrate every single day,
and I am so happy that I could explode! I am so glad that for once things are
finally going my way! I have been spending my days loving him, helping others, and feasting like no one's business. Things in our country are peaceful and my father even decided to forgive me. We are all reunited and for the first time in my life, I feel like I am lucky. Can you believe it? Me, a child of luck! Of course, I wouldn't be lucky if it wasn't for my loving husband. The pain I went through for all of those years was truly worth it!
End note: Since she
was and always will be a child of ill luck…..she died the day after writing this. Her husband
lived for many years later though.
Author's Note
This story is based off of the Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck in the Chinese Fairytales section. I stayed pretty close to the actual plot line, but I put this story in the form of a diary so that way it was very relatable and would be from the viewpoint of the child of ill luck. I thought that the diary format would make the character seem more real and would give the reader a better perception of her thoughts. I thought the ending to the story was kind of depressing but even though she dies, I was glad that she was able to enjoy some of her husband's good luck. Although I am not a fan of her dying at the end, I kept the ending the same to show that she will always be the child of ill luck. Her husband lived for many years after because he was the favorite of fortune. Personally, I think the ending makes a statement that we make our own luck, we cannot rely on others, and we are who we are. Overall, I think this was a great story and the diary format complemented the overall plot.
Bibliography: The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).
Author's Note
This story is based off of the Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck in the Chinese Fairytales section. I stayed pretty close to the actual plot line, but I put this story in the form of a diary so that way it was very relatable and would be from the viewpoint of the child of ill luck. I thought that the diary format would make the character seem more real and would give the reader a better perception of her thoughts. I thought the ending to the story was kind of depressing but even though she dies, I was glad that she was able to enjoy some of her husband's good luck. Although I am not a fan of her dying at the end, I kept the ending the same to show that she will always be the child of ill luck. Her husband lived for many years after because he was the favorite of fortune. Personally, I think the ending makes a statement that we make our own luck, we cannot rely on others, and we are who we are. Overall, I think this was a great story and the diary format complemented the overall plot.
Bibliography: The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).
I did not read this unit and so I was interested to see how you changed it from the original. As you mentioned in your Author's Note, you kept the plot similar and changed the writing style. I like the style of writing by using a Diary. I think it worked well for this story because since the man was gone for so many years and really did not play a significant role, it makes the most sense it would be in her point of view. The diary adds in her personal thoughts and feelings. I especially like it in the beginning when she is talking about her suitors because it seems like a princess fairy tale story. I also agree that I do not like the ending in the fairy tale stories when they die at the end! That does not seem like a fairy tale to me. Overall, good job!
ReplyDeleteKatelynn, I really liked your choice of diary entries as a means of telling your story! I think it definitely helps you connect to the character on a more personal level. It's definitely too bad that she dies at the end, but you're right that we can be glad she had at least a little bit of time to be happy. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteKatelynn,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to be back on your blog. I loved your writing in previous weeks so I am excited to be in the same group again this week. I read this story too a few weeks ago, so I am so glad that I am able to read your take on it.
To begin, I loved that you set this story up as a diary. I can't imagine how sad it must be to be a girl of ill fate and she must need someone to vent to. The diary set up provides a perfect space for the character to vent. The diary followed the story but gave a new twist on it with the perspective of the girl. I loved hearing the story from her point of view, as I think it makes the story more meaningful.
I liked that you ended the story with the line about what happens next. It is so unfortunate and of ill luck that the girl dies in the end after waiting for her husband, so adding that in to describe why the diary so abruptly ended was definitely beneficial for the reader.
Your writing was great and I loved that you were able to capture all the details of the original story in the diary posts. Overall, I think you did a really great job and I loved your retelling of this Chinese fairy tale.
Hi Katelynn,
ReplyDeleteI have always liked the diary style. It gives the reader a more personal and intimate view to the mind of the narrator. I like how you appropriately gapped each diary entry to where you don’t dwell on unimportant stuff and just state the major developments. For instance where you had the diary entry about his departure. Then you stated that he had been gone for eighteen years. It definitely gives a good perspective to how your main character is feeling. The ending fit nicely, I love happy endings. I was expecting you to end it at them being reunited. But I like how you added a few more diary entries about how their lives were after being reunited.
I think it was a good idea to keep the general plot but give it a diary feel. You definitely accomplished what you were going for by doing that. I like the picture you chose mainly because Princess Diaries is one of my favorites. Overall I think your story was very simple and short, but very fitting for what you were going for. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading the rest of you portfolio.
I really enjoyed how you wrote this as a diary. I didn't read this unit but I liked how you told this story! I agree that the diary entry style does help to relate to the characters more, and I liked being able to see everything for the girl's perspective. I also love how you used the Princess Diaries picture! I was definitely thinking of the part in the movie where she is flying to Genovia for the first time and writing in her diary! It was the perfect place in your story to put it too! Another thing, I really appreciate how you kept the death at the end of the story even though you didn't like it. It makes the death seem that much more important. It also drives home the point that you cant run from fate, no matter what. She was born a child of ill luck and that couldn't be changed. She could have a few good days with her husband, but she could not escape her true fate in the end. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Katelynn!
ReplyDeleteThe diary set-up was a very good choice and made the story right from the beginning. Diary readings always make a story more personal and gives the reader a deeper connection to the main character. However, I was a little confused because there is no mention of how old the girl is. I know that it’s a Chinese folktale and that throughout history girls have married very young, but her calling her father “Daddy” just made her seem really young to me so I was a little confused at first as to why she was getting married. The diaries are also very short, hitting the high points without truly going into your main character’s thoughts and feelings. I would have liked to hear more about her years along, what she’s done to survive, her thoughts on her husband being gone so long, etc. You touch on them but diaries are so personal that you can go much deeper with it than normal storytelling.
The end note is very sad, but it does resonate with the story. Considering you never say the main girl is a child of ill luck until then it’s a little strange, but the title fills in that little gap alright. One thing you might consider about it is perhaps making the end note another entry instead, this time given by her husband. It could be a little love letter in honor of her memory on some long-time anniversary of her death or whatever. The end note is fine as is, but considering the rest of the story is told in diary format it’s a little abrupt and impersonal. Just an idea, feel free to use or disregard as you see fit.
I really enjoyed the story overall, hope I get to read more of your works soon!