Week 4 Story: The Crazy Neighbors, Brutus, and the Roaring Rapids
Excited to start his new job, John left his house pushing his new-to-him hot dog cart with a skip in his step. High school was rough, and a little extra money never hurt as he wanted to start saving for a new car. John was looking forward to his first day on the job and making some money for himself. However, his first day would not come to pass without turmoil.
Pushing his cart through a suburban neighborhood, he sold hot dogs to children and parents who were all outside basking in the summer sun. All was well, and he was making money. Then, he happened upon a house that was crowded with people on the front lawn. John saw the opportunity for sales and started to approach the house. As he came within earshot of the neighbors, he overheard parts of one of the couple's conversation.
"Why don't you just leave then, Martha?! Why do you even need me?"
"Maybe I will, Marcus! I'll just be whisked off my feet by that passing hot dog seller!"
Fearing the fate and drama that might befall him if he approached any closer, poor John started whistling, pretending to have lost his hearing, and continued his journey past the house and lawn of the arguing couple. He had escaped a certainly treacherous situation only to succumb to another.
As John passed the neighboring house, he decided to make his way back home through the nearby park. Only as soon as he came near the scenic river did the heavens open up and let down a torrential downpour. Fearing the worst, John whisked his hot dog cart along the beaten path and took shelter underneath an overhanging tree.
Suddenly, the river that was once peaceful turned up a huge wake toward the nearby shore, pounding upon the jagged rocks. The roaring rapids frightened John, and he cowered under the tree seeking shelter from the cold water around him. Yet, he was to be frightened more as he heard the faint sound of growling sneaking up behind him.
John turns his soaking head around, only to be met with the sight of fangs and two beady eyes. Taken aback, John lets out a cry of fear. The creature then leaps up at John, knocking him down from his feet. John only manages to catch a glimpse of the collar wrapped around the creature's neck, which read a mighty fierce name: Brutus. Before John could even gather his senses, Brutus, with his muscular legs and mighty teeth, had scavenged several hot dogs from the rickety cart. John looks on solemnly as Brutus returns to his nearby shelter with his newly found dinner, knowing that he had lost so much that he held dearly.
Author's Note: I decided to retell the story of the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis from Homer's Odyssey as an adaptation to how it can be told it occurred in a suburban neighborhood. In my rendition of the story, the crazy neighbors replaced the Sirens with their alluring song. The roaring rapids replaced Charybdis, the catastrophic sea whirlpool. Scylla, the frightening sea monster with several heads was replaced with Brutus, an athletic neighborhood dog. John takes the place of Odysseus and the men from the Odyssey are replaced with hot dogs. I liked this rendition of the original story because it develops into a storyline that most people could find to be true or realistic. A dog stealing hot dogs is not an entirely foreign concept, and a torrential downpour soaking bystanders is unfortunate yet plausible. I think the story from the Odyssey is adapted well to typical suburban life, and this story captures what might happen quite well.
Bibliography: The Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis from Homer's Odyssey, translated into English by Tony Kline (2004)
Pushing his cart through a suburban neighborhood, he sold hot dogs to children and parents who were all outside basking in the summer sun. All was well, and he was making money. Then, he happened upon a house that was crowded with people on the front lawn. John saw the opportunity for sales and started to approach the house. As he came within earshot of the neighbors, he overheard parts of one of the couple's conversation.
"Why don't you just leave then, Martha?! Why do you even need me?"
"Maybe I will, Marcus! I'll just be whisked off my feet by that passing hot dog seller!"
Fearing the fate and drama that might befall him if he approached any closer, poor John started whistling, pretending to have lost his hearing, and continued his journey past the house and lawn of the arguing couple. He had escaped a certainly treacherous situation only to succumb to another.
As John passed the neighboring house, he decided to make his way back home through the nearby park. Only as soon as he came near the scenic river did the heavens open up and let down a torrential downpour. Fearing the worst, John whisked his hot dog cart along the beaten path and took shelter underneath an overhanging tree.
Suddenly, the river that was once peaceful turned up a huge wake toward the nearby shore, pounding upon the jagged rocks. The roaring rapids frightened John, and he cowered under the tree seeking shelter from the cold water around him. Yet, he was to be frightened more as he heard the faint sound of growling sneaking up behind him.
John turns his soaking head around, only to be met with the sight of fangs and two beady eyes. Taken aback, John lets out a cry of fear. The creature then leaps up at John, knocking him down from his feet. John only manages to catch a glimpse of the collar wrapped around the creature's neck, which read a mighty fierce name: Brutus. Before John could even gather his senses, Brutus, with his muscular legs and mighty teeth, had scavenged several hot dogs from the rickety cart. John looks on solemnly as Brutus returns to his nearby shelter with his newly found dinner, knowing that he had lost so much that he held dearly.
Dog Eating Hot Dog - Courtesy of DogTagArt
Author's Note: I decided to retell the story of the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis from Homer's Odyssey as an adaptation to how it can be told it occurred in a suburban neighborhood. In my rendition of the story, the crazy neighbors replaced the Sirens with their alluring song. The roaring rapids replaced Charybdis, the catastrophic sea whirlpool. Scylla, the frightening sea monster with several heads was replaced with Brutus, an athletic neighborhood dog. John takes the place of Odysseus and the men from the Odyssey are replaced with hot dogs. I liked this rendition of the original story because it develops into a storyline that most people could find to be true or realistic. A dog stealing hot dogs is not an entirely foreign concept, and a torrential downpour soaking bystanders is unfortunate yet plausible. I think the story from the Odyssey is adapted well to typical suburban life, and this story captures what might happen quite well.
Bibliography: The Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis from Homer's Odyssey, translated into English by Tony Kline (2004)
Hi Jackie!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this story! But I especially enjoyed the image you shared! That dog with the hot dog is extremely cute! I also appreciated your description of the storm/rain. "...the heavens open up and let down a torrential downpour." This description helped me feel how John probably felt in that moment - frustrated that everything was going wrong.
I am curious, what fate would befall John if he had neared closer to the arguing couple? Was John really going to whisk Martha away from Marcus? Probably not, but I guess I can understand why he would avoid it. Just found it an interesting/unique comparison to the Sirens.
What if John and his hot dog cart had fallen into the roaring rapids? But his cart was used as a floatation device and he traveled miles and miles down the river, like a shipwrecked sailer. Then when he was finally able to drag himself and his hot dog cart out of the river he would be met by Brutus. I don't know this was just a thought I had to make this story slightly more dramatic. But honestly I thought it was great as is!
Hey Jackie!
ReplyDeleteGreat retelling of this story! Your re-imagining of this classic was really creative! Turning the Sirens into arguing neighbors, Charybdis into a churning river, and Scylla into a hungry dog was a really creative way to bring this story into the 21st century. A couple of grammatical errors didn't take away from this story at all! If you continued with this story, what part of Odysseus's story would would you have him tackle next? In any case, great work!