Urban Legend

Lavender Town Syndrome was an urban legend that said in the Japanese version of the game Pokemon Red, a certain song on the soundtrack had special high pitched frequencies. These frequencies affected kids who played, causing confusion, dizziness, and supposedly driving some to suicide. Technically, it was only relevant when the games came out in the later 90's, but it does stand as a reminder of how limited information on the internet was back then- some people, mainly kids, (including me) genuinely believed such a thing had happened. It was easy to spread rumors if you sounded believable.

I don't think the tale was trying to warn anyone about anything, considering it's now confirmed to be false. I remember being terrified of it as a kid, and I would turn the game volume down whenever I reached the place that had that song.

Names

I could not find Ashoke's exact name in the given website. However, Ashima relates to "charge, duty, or function". It is also the feminine form of Asim, which means, "boundless, limitless". I think this relates to Ashima in the sense that she is almost the opposite- she is more forced into the duty of trying to hold to her Bengali culture in America, and does not feel that America is "limitless".

Nikhil means "whole, entire". This could relate to how Nikhil feels split and incomplete about his identity, and does not feel wholly American or Bengali. He follows in Ashima's example where he is the opposite of his name. This theme also coincides with the moment he introduces him self as Nikhil for the first time. At a party, he uses it when introducing himself to a girl, and for the first time creates his split identity between Gogal and Nikhil.

Sonali is a variant of Sonal, which means "gold, good color". I am not sure how this correlates to her character yet, as we haven't seen her beyond her toddler years.

My own name is a derivative of Zacariah, a biblical name. However, I am not Christian at all. I think Zach/Zachary tends to be a "cool" name nowadays, like a stereotypical 90s kid on a skateboard kind of cool.

Origins

Truthfully, I do not think I can give a full answer to this prompt. The only knowledge I have of my family's history in coming to the United States is that one of my great great grandmothers was Scot-Irish, and came over on a boat. I do not know my extended family well, beyond a few aunts and cousins. I do not think I can recall any family lore relating to my older extended family. On the other hand, maybe it is a new kind of culture of some to not find out or care about their extended family’s past. I remember many people in the class said they did not know anything about how their families came to America (those who were born in America, at least). This is only speculation.

I am not sure if any of our traditions are carried over from our past generations, either. I remember some old Christmas ornaments that were presumably owned by my grandparents, but I think they have been lost to time. We still have our own traditions- my mom makes a flan, we decorate the tree together, etc.- but none are really linked to our immigrant ancestors. It is a strange disconnect from other cultures that seem to put more emphasis on family and family history, ensuring its continued importance in later generations.

To be honest, though, I don’t think I would want to meet the rest of my family; the ones who died before or soon after I was born. According to my brother they’re absolute lunatics with a side of alcoholism. So maybe it is better that I didn’t meet or get to meet the rest of my relatives.

Metaphor

Hatred is a Giant Cane Toad, because it is invasive to Australia, much like how hatred can invade a mind and grow bigger and stronger. Just as hate breeds more hate, Giant Cane Toad females can produce up to about thousands and thousands of eggs in one sitting. They are also volatile like hatred, with the ability to produce an agitating liquid from glands behind their shoulders. This liquid can range from irritating the skin to causing death from the multiple toxins. Hatred, too, can range from simple annoyance to the motivation for causing the death of one to many people's lives. It can be damaging to things around you- be it people, items, animals, much like how the Giant Cane Toad, being an invasive species to Australia, has done more harm than good to its surrounding environment. Hatred can appear fine at first, but can easily grow out of control, just as the Cane Toad did in Australia when it was initially sent to deal with agricultural pest beetles, but quickly became an invasive species and forced other native species's populations to decline.

Sleeping Beauty

I do not agree with anything Jordan Peterson says because literally have you seen the other things that man says. Terrible. Incredibly transphobic. Anyway, I don't think Sleeping Beauty is meant to be anything relating to feminism- it feels more like a simple story to tell to kids instead of having large symbolism behind the character. Sleeping Beauty has no autonomy, and seems to simply "go with the flow" of the story. Every decision is made for her, as if she weren't a person, but a catalyst for the story.

Fairytales

I don't really know if there's an exact definition for a fairy tale, but I feel like I could easily recognize one. Often it's in a "far far away" place, in a land not in our own dimension, and with mythical creatures like unicorns or dragons. There is often a hero or heroine who foils the evil plot of a villain, and lives "happily ever after" in the end. But they don’t always have these elements and range as much as any kind of story.

I remember having a book of old fairy tales as a kid- I remember the Mouse and the Lion, about a mouse helping a lion and proving the strength of such a small creature. There was one where a girl was turned into a swan and had seven brothers. My favorites were often tales that included animals, and especially people turning into ones. I always wanted to turn into some cool fantasy creature with supernatural powers as a kid.

If I was in a fairy tale I would love to be a dragon. Often they accompany a villain, but I feel like they are simply doing their job and are not the villain theirself. I don’t know what specific fairy tale I would be a part of but I would prefer to live in the end. Maybe I could even fall and love with the knight that comes to slay me after we have a long battle laced with homosexual subtext. Perhaps afterward we could defeat a corrupt king and rule over the land together.

The Origin of Ants

I'm always a fan of older, almost silly folktales like these, so I did enjoy The Origin of Ants. The ending was surprising and almost came out of nowhere, mostly because I forgot the story was even about where ants came from. I believe the moral is to not lie, as then you need to keep making bigger lies to cover up the first one. Each situation is more extreme than the last, until the man straight up gets turned to dust (and then ants) in the end. Later I looked up how well ants could smell, and it turns out the farthest they could smell food from was about three meters. But I guess for something as small as an ant, that's pretty impressive.