Essays on Folktales

"I'm glad there's some folks gettin' interested in the old ways. This new generation don't know such things, but when they find the old songs and the tales, they'll delight in them." --Granny in Grandfather Tales (Chase & Williams, 1948) The Southern Appalachian region has a rich heritage of folklore and songs passed down orally from European immigrants settling in the mountain range situated from New York to Georgia (Abramson & Haskell, 2006) from the 18th to the 20th centuries (Hanlon, 2000). Since the middle of the 20th century, variations of the folktales have been compared to publications such as Grandfather ...

Manga and anime are two of the most defining parts of the Japanese culture that are known worldwide. Considered as Japan’s authentic forms of animation, manga and anime play a big role in propelling the Japanese culture further into worldwide recognition. Manga is defined as the Japanese comic animation or the animation that the Japanese produce in print while anime refers to the Japanese digital animation or the animation that the Japanese produce digitally through multimedia. These two distinct forms of Japanese animation have been an integral part of popular culture for years in Japan and have played ...

An analysis of the problems associated with the word "Troll" require a study of the words etymology in relation to its origin and the way in which it has evolved and developed throughout the years. An analysis of the research available on the etymology of the word suggests Scandinavian origins that can be traced deep into the Scandinavian folklores. The word "troll" is, therefore, quite ancient as well as complex and contradictory in nature. The various Scandinavian countries identify trolls as mythological creatures in their literary cultures. However, trolls do differ in their nature from the various countries, meaning ...

Identifying the main problematics of the word "troll requires recalling its etymology, i.e. the very first time when it was used and its transformation over the centuries. An accurate analysis of the specific sources suggests that this word is quite ancient, multi-valued, and most notably, very contradictory. The word has Scandinavian roots and its etymology goes deep into folklore. The word "troll" has a direct relationship with nature because trolls, as mythological creatures, represent nature. On this basis, one can say that trolls from Denmark differ from trolls in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. Despite the fact that the geographical ...

Introduction

The word ‘myth’ is often used to denote something that is false. Most people, for instance, are often caught saying ‘that’s a myth’ when referring to stories that are misleading or untrue. However, such common usage of the word ‘myth’ in the modern context is inconsistent with how the word ‘myth’ was originally used during the ancient times. Just like how Jews, Christians and Muslims believe that the narratives pertaining to their religious beliefs are true, myths are also seen by ancient people as divinely inspired and are, therefore, true. The story of the Greek gods, for instance, ...

The folklore refers to the wisdom, information and the human expression that is passed on anonymously from one generation to the other or circulated and transmitted as the traditional cultural behavior. The Canadian folklore includes the legends, songs, rhymes, songs, proverbs, superstitions, weather lore and the practices like the traditional craft-making and food making To become the folklore, the story, belief or custom must undergo the process of the ‘folklorization’ and meet the criteria approved by the community intended. The item may undergo the process many times to qualify. In Canada, the anonymity with the general recognition, variation and ...

Abstract

Three types of examples from the genres of world literature are integral to the strength of investigating the works of different periods and cultures. Different eras represented sweeping views of war, the sacred, the secular, and expressions of stories that culminated in philosophical lessons or important pieces in historical sagas. This essay develops a critique based upon the prompt which looks at the literary works of: (a) Homer’s “The Iliad”, (b) Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy – Inferno”, and (c) Elphinstone Dayrell’s “Nigerian Folk Stories”. The richly contrasting nuances of the literary comparisons provide a marvelous rubric and background from which ...

Introduction

Folklore comprises of legends, music, oral history, sayings, jokes, mainstream views, children's stories and traditions that are the customs of that society, subculture, or gathering. It is likewise the situated of practices through which those expressive classifications are imparted. The English savant William Thoms in a letter distributed by the London Journal in 1846 initially utilized the expression “old stories”. Old stories can be separated into four zones of the study: antiquity, (for example, voodoo dolls), describable and transmissible substance (oral convention), society, and conduct (customs). These ranges do not remain solitary; on the other hand, as frequently a specific thing ...

Using every context and all available information in their own interest, the tricksters are represented in the African American culture by small animals that make their way through stories by tricking people, getting out of difficult situations by outsmarting their much bigger opponents (Harris, “The Trickster”). In Folktales, tricksters act as fable or legendary figures that tell a story about society, about humans’ characters, personifying people, while portraying a caricatured, but vivid image of social Moravians (Rutledge 64). The tricksters are central figures of the African American literature, exhibiting various characteristics that can be depicted in human behavior, such as ...

Introduction

Wu Cheng’en’s Novel Journey to the West is strongly rooted to the Chinese mythology, Chinese folk religion, the pantheon of Taoist immortals, Buddhist philosophy, as well as, Buddhist bodhisattvas who are still reflective of various Chinese religious attitudes at present. Arguably, the novel is at a comic adventure narration, a spring of spiritual imminence, and an extensively allegory in which an assortment of pilgrims journeys to enlightenment that they can obtain with the help from all the others. This paper analyzes how Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara) reflected in the novel Journey to the west. First, Guanyin is renowned in the entire ...

The story of Cinderella is, perhaps, one of the most well-known stories in the world. Many cultures have traditional folk stories involving the rags-to-riches story arc; becoming massively successful in the face of adversity seems to be one of humanity's driving personality features. Because the story of Cinderella is so ubiquitous, it is not surprising that great storytellers borrow tropes, character arcs, and thematic ideas from the folktale. Tales like the Cinderella story are generally not created merely as a form of entertainment, but also as a way to educate people-- particularly children-- about cultural mores and societal expectations. These tales ...

Introduction

Oral literature in many societies has been a vehicle for preserving culture and memories. Traditionally, from the lips of an adroit narrator to the ears of keen listeners and eventually to their hearts, oral literature has played a major role in the traditional African set-up. Africa has acquired a unique place in world literature due to outstanding use of storytelling technique in their written literature. Africans have valued great storytellers and stories since time immemorial. Most of Africa literature is deeply rooted in oral traditions. Although ancient writings also exist in African literature, storytelling and oral literature takes a special place (Courlander ...

Child development psychologist Bruno Bettelheim once wrote that the true significance of folktales for children lies in their underlying, or “hidden,” meaning. Fairy tales pose “existential dilemmas,” and communicate either a solution or punishment that emphasizes some moral point, the reasoning out of which not only facilitates the expansion of imagination but helps develop rational and critical thinking skills (Zipes, p. 182). As such, “the fairy tale liberates the child’s subconscious so that he or she can work through conflicts and experiences which would otherwise be repressed” (Ibid). Simply put, they provide a means through which a child may begin to ...