Literature Ladder: A Stranger Came Ashore

Literature Ladder

The Legend
In order to best understand the story, it is helpful to understand the legend of the Selkie folk. Please go to the following link:
Selkie Folktales
Make sure you check out all of the “section contents”. Answer the following questions:
1. What purpose did the legendary sea creatures such as the selkie man, mermaid, and the finman serve for the islanders? What legends or folklore do we have in our culture that serve the same purpose?
2. What characteristic was used to prove descent from the selkie folk by one family? What does modern science say about this characteristic ?

The Seals
Check out the following websites about seals.
BBC Wildfacts l
Grey Seals
Animal Diversity
Encarta: Sealsl
Compare and contrast the legends of the selkie folk and real-life seals.
Create a Venn diagram to summarize your information.
Are their any real-life characteristics that could have spurred the superstitions presented in the folktales?
How accurately are seals portrayed in the novel?

Folk Tales: A Part of History?
“ Academic historians can be too dismissive of the role of folk belief in the shaping of society, in its influence on custom and tradition, its moulding of attitudes and its framing of the world vision which individuals of all classes imposed upon the great unknown that lay outside their doors.”
Address how this quote plays out in A Stranger Came Ashore.
Do you think the folklore of the novel affected the town people’s actions?
In what ways were the customs and traditions formatted around the legends?
On the flip side, were there any actions of the villagers that seemed contrary to the superstitions presented?
Quote evidence from the text to support your views.

Folklore as the Root
Please read the article at:
E-Journal: Mollie Hunter
“ Mollie Hunter writes … that all fantasy is rooted in folklore (p. 61). She defines "lore" as derived from an Old English root meaning either the act of teaching or that which is learned. Thus, she goes on to explain, "folklore is what people have learned and passed on through the ages -- in effect, the traditions, beliefs, customs, sayings, stories, superstitions, and prejudices preserved by word of mouth among the common people" (p. 61). And since folklore is "the known, the remembered, and the imagined," fantasy therefore must also be rooted firmly in fact.”
Do you agree or disagree with Ms. Hunter’s argument? Why or why not?

More Shetland Folklore
Please read the articles:
Shetland Today and
Orkney.gov
Which mythological creature seems the most fascinating to you? Why?
Does this interpretation of trow legends match that of Mollie Hunter’s? Justify your position.
Find a mythological creature you would like to learn more about and that you think would be interesting to write a story about.
It does NOT have to be related to the Shetland Islands.
It may be fun to choose something from your heritage’s folklore.
Write a mini Wikipedia-like article describing the creature, its history, and its habits.
The ring stones at Hyltadance in Fetlar is known for it's association with trows.

The Fiddler’s Music
Besides Shetland legends, the fiddler’s music is also at the heart of this story. Please go to the following link:
Shetland Music
Listen to at least three songs on the “jukebox.” Write a paragraph describing the feelings and moods they evoked.
Now listen to your favorite song again, this time with your eyes closed. Envision sitting in the room with Robbie, Old Da, and Finn Learson the night of the storm. Describe what you see, hear, and smell, taste and touch. Don’t refer back to the text for descriptions. Let the music carry you there.
When you are done writing, look back at that chapter. Based on your experience, do you think the author’s descriptions accurately portrayed the mood? Why or why not?

Island Sounds
To hear a true Shetlander speak, go to:
More talk, less music (64K Media Player)
Listen to the talk show host’s voice.
Write a summary about the show you listened to.
What did you learn about the islands?
To hear a grey seal, go to: Grey Seal sounds and click on “grey seal.”
To hear the seal pups, go to: Seal pups and click “listen” for the harbor seal pup.
Finally, go to Ocean Surf and click “play” under ocean serf. Meditate on the sound of the water while starting the next location section.

Location, Location, Location
Go to Satallite Map . Zoom in and check out the coast line, houses, etc.
Now go on a walking tour of the islands via this PDF tourist guide: Walking Tour
Which of the walks remind you most of the setting in A Stranger Came Ashore ?
What key descriptions from the tour guide and the novel made you choose this particular walk?

I Spy…
Now go to these links about the Shetland Islands and view the photos and read the descriptions of some of the tourist attractions:
Shetland Islands
UK - Almara
Visit Shetland
Is the island anything like you expected?
What is similar to your mental image? What is different?
Why do you think you viewed some things differently?

What’s in a Name?
Read the article “What’s in a Shetland Name?” at the following link:
What's in a Shetland Name?
In A Stranger Came Ashore, Black Ness is the name of the town. According to the article, what does the name tell you about the town?
The book also talked about the “voe.” What exactly is a voe? How does it differ from other inlets?
Find 5 names in Ohio that also are used to describe the location and tell what they mean. Include photos of at least 3 to “show” the history of the word.

Food and Drink
Go to: Shetland Heritage and read through the various sections about food and drink.
What foods sound good?
Have you ever had any of these items?
Which would you make?
Bonus question: What item(s) in this section were also specifically mentioned in the book?

Merry Dancers
Like so many things from the islands, the Merry Dancers are also embedded with legend. Visit Astronomy Space: Northern Lights to read brief descriptions on several of them.
Also, click on the titles “Merry Dancers” to see more photos of these lights.
Finally, watch the video at: You Tube Video .
Read the poem to the right. Now write a poem about the Merry dancers based off of one of the images you saw or legends you read about including what you read in A Stranger Came Ashore.
THE MERRY DANCERS.
(AURORA BOREALIS.)
The merry dancers are out to-night, In the northern heavens they skip and go; Manx Jane says they're fairies tripping it light, On their own fantastic fairy toe.
She says, now and then they hold a ball, When the queen takes the lead as she held the first chance; And the half of the sky is their splendid hall, And the moon and bright stars all join in the dance.
Right merry they trip till near to sunrise, When they take themselves off to Mona's fair isle; Where in moimtain and glen they often surprise The early sheep folks, and oft them beguile
To follow them on to here and to there, Till they all lose the way and half daft with fright, Sink down in the Curraghs done up with despair, Till the full light of day sets them again all to right.
When they gather the flocks that were frighten'd away, To lead them to pasture wherever 'tis green; And know by its richness where fairies do stray, For grass grows the greenest where fairies have been.
Thus, north of the Isle you'll find the best land, Where everything grows luxuriant and fine ; The " reason why " is that the fairies' light wand Waves over it a blessing that's almost Divine.

Up Helly Aa
Up Helly Aa was the festival taking place during the closing chapters of the novel. From the following two links, read about the event.
Take notes as if you were doing research on a book for key facts and elements that you would want to incorporate into your story. Include them here, and examine whether you found anything that you think Mollie Hunter should have put into her novel. Is there anything she took creative liberties on based on your research? Why is it important to use more than one source?
Up Helly Aa
Scotsman Heritage

Write Your Own Fantasy
Now its your turn. Throughout this unit you have learned about folklore and fantasy. You have practiced how to research for facts to give credibility to your novel. You have chosen an interesting creature.
Your task is this: Create a rough outline for your novel, modeling the chapter plots from A Stranger Came Ashore. Write the first chapter using your creature and a setting that is accurate to your chosen mythological figure. It is fair to use the novel you read as a template.
If you like how chapter one turns out, this may be used for your end of the year writing piece that you complete for your final project, so keep a copy in your writing folder.

Literature Ladder: A Stranger Came Ashore

by Kellie Demmler

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