Maria Tatar's Presentation

The stars were beginning to sparkle as the sun set revealing the ravishing colors of the autumn season. It was the perfect beginning to a wonderful night.

As my classmates and I gathered in one of the sitting rooms in the president's house, we entertained each other with stories of what we could expect the night to be like. When Maria Tatar entered the room full of people her face lit up. She wasn't nervous the least bit, in fact, it was the complete opposite! Her face lit up in appreciation of all the people from the college gathering in her favor.

We started out with a wonderful meal and a fabulous dessert at the president's house while enjoying each other's company in anticipation for Tatar's lecture. I was certain that she would cover interesting concepts but what I wasn't sure of was whether I would agree on her points of view or not. After reading one of her books all semester I knew there would be topics that I would disagree on but, would I enjoy her lecture overall? I would just have to wait and see.

I entered the lecture hall which reminded me of an over-sized dining room equipped with chandeliers and a faux fireplace. This room added a homey gesture to the lecture allowing it to seem more of a one-on-one conversation rather than a long boring lecture that both the students and the professors are all too use to. She added a touch of humor and down-to-earth personality to start off her lecture.

She began talking about her new book with the assistance of a picturesque slide show. It was convenient how she began discussing her views on Bluebeard when we had just covered the multiple stories in class. Her presentation all together seemed convincing but did not have an ending that brought anything together to prove a point. Her points seemed valid but it seemed her presentation abruptly ended without giving a real grand finale to blow our minds and really impress the audience. At some points during the lecture, I was impressed when she discussed aspects of light and color to display themes. That was a real turning point for me but, she couldn't bring her enlightening points home and make a big bang impression on the audience.

All in all, I was not super impressed by Maria Tatar's presentation but I was glad that I attended it. She left a new outlook on fairy tales than my class had covered in the past months and I am proud to say that I have witnessed the speech a legend of my time.

The Distinct Qualities of the Jewish Religion in Folk and Fairy Tales

I woke up to go to class thinking about my normal routines: taking notes, listening, asking questions. When I showed up to class, I was surprised to see an older man sitting where my teacher normally would sit. Why was he in my classroom? I glanced down at the syllabus and it read “Guest Speaker: Dr. Mani Goldman, “Jewish Folk and Fairy Tales”.” I love intellectual surprises that happen in class and having a guest speaker come to talk about the Jewish religion was definitely an intellectual surprise.

Overall, this unit was different in the aspect that a single religion could actually have a culture to it. The stories and examples Dr. Mani Goldman talked about as well as the stories we read have common motifs special to the Jewish religion.

Dr. Mani Goldman was unlike any doctor I had ever seen. He did not have any professor aspect to him. He talked softly, while seated, in a very calm matter. His conversations were engaging like a friend talking to another friend. Dr. Goldman made sure that everyone knew and understood his references to the Torah and the stories he told. His tactics to engage the class in his discussion were successful. The majority of the facts Goldman talked about were ideas that most of the students in the class had learned previously in life but the stories he told about his experiences with the Jewish religion, teaching Sunday school and working with younger children, helped us, as a class, to think of these facts in a new light.

One of the aspects Dr. Mani talked about was the Enlightenment. Most of the class at least recognized the name and knew it was related to religion but Dr. Goldman asked the class why the ideas of the Enlightenment had anything to do with stories. I jogged my memory and analyzed the question looking for the perfect answer. I was not alone in this process; no hands were raised. Then all of a sudden from the back our peer mentor Lauren raised her hand. You could feel the tension in the room cease. She said “you need stories to lighten up your life.” All of a sudden the Enlightenment was clear. The new ideas that were written for the newer branches of religion allowed people to have more light in their lives and to interpret the stories of the Torah in a new way.

Out of the stories we have covered in the Jewish Folk and Fairytale unit, my favorite story was It Could Always Be Worse. This ironically sound story captured my attention because of how witty the Rabbi was. The Rabbi is the one person that every character goes to for advice in the Jewish tales. In this tale, the reader knows that the Rabbi is the intelligent one and trusts his advice but still questions how the tale will end. The poor Jew in this fairy tale listens to the advice of the Rabbi and is rewarded in the end when he realizes that the life he has can always become worse and you should just be thankful for what you have.