Reading Notes: Goblins: The Old Hermit, Part B
This story is part of the Twenty-Two Goblins unit. Story source: Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).
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From the second set of stories, I found the story of the old hermit very interesting. Firstly, I was intrigued by the names of the people and places. For example, naming the location of the setting as "Beautiful" immediately sets the tone of the story. It invokes thoughts of a spotless city where everything is gorgeous and nothing is out of place. Secondly, the son of the king was named "Sacrifice". This got me thinking that someone was going to be sacrificed for this person or the other way around. The use of these very specific names is an interesting tool for description as well as foreshadowing. With regards to the stylistic aspect of the writing, I really enjoyed the vivid details and descriptions One such example was "He was very thin because of his age and his hard life. His veins stuck out like cords to bind him, as if afraid that he would break in pieces. His hair was tawny like the lightning". A simple intention of explaining the hermit was old was written in such a way to paint a vivid image of what this hermit looked like.
These stories each start and end with the King and the goblin. At the conclusion of this story, however, the goblin asked a question that was actually on my mind. The king goes on to answer this question for the goblin. This strategy is interesting as it is a way to tie up loose ends of a story. If I were to retell this story, I would try to elaborate more on the hermit, so his motivation for using his magic was clearer to the reader.
Source
From the second set of stories, I found the story of the old hermit very interesting. Firstly, I was intrigued by the names of the people and places. For example, naming the location of the setting as "Beautiful" immediately sets the tone of the story. It invokes thoughts of a spotless city where everything is gorgeous and nothing is out of place. Secondly, the son of the king was named "Sacrifice". This got me thinking that someone was going to be sacrificed for this person or the other way around. The use of these very specific names is an interesting tool for description as well as foreshadowing. With regards to the stylistic aspect of the writing, I really enjoyed the vivid details and descriptions One such example was "He was very thin because of his age and his hard life. His veins stuck out like cords to bind him, as if afraid that he would break in pieces. His hair was tawny like the lightning". A simple intention of explaining the hermit was old was written in such a way to paint a vivid image of what this hermit looked like.
These stories each start and end with the King and the goblin. At the conclusion of this story, however, the goblin asked a question that was actually on my mind. The king goes on to answer this question for the goblin. This strategy is interesting as it is a way to tie up loose ends of a story. If I were to retell this story, I would try to elaborate more on the hermit, so his motivation for using his magic was clearer to the reader.
Photo of funeral pyre by Pixabay
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