Ch 5 Folklore

Chapter V Folklore

Origins of Traditional Literature
Single origin (monogenesis)
all tales from single ancestral group
Many origins (polygenesis)
plots developed in different parts of world
situations common to all humanity
Two main theories:

Bases for Tales (by psychoanalytic writers and folklorists)
wish fulfillment
dreams or nightmares of storytellers
remnants of nature myths
remnants of other kinds of religious rituals and myths

no identifiable author
oral origins
handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth
Definition of Traditional Folklore

Traditional folklore is both universal and ancient Hodja stories from the Middle East Jataka stories from India Anansi stories from Africa French tales collected by Perrault British tales collected by Joseph Jacobs German tales collected by Grimm Brothers

Tales were primarily collected by: the Grimm Brothers in Germany Perrault in France

Collections of Grimm and Perrault
brought new respect to traditional tales
ensured the availability for all time
influenced collections in other countries

Quality traditional folklore has:
well-rounded, believable characters
believable, forward moving plot
discernable theme
setting consistent with genre
a tale that can be classified easily into traditional categories and genres

Characteristics of Traditional Folklore

Characterization in Traditional Folklore
symbolic and flat
easily identifiable good and evil
simple
often archetypal
common characters - -trolls, talking beasts, little people, witches, giants, ogres, fairies, etc.

Character Types in Folklore
Elder (usually father or a king)
Hero
True Love
Villain
Helper (can be magical person)
Friend
Messenger (brings news)
According to David Bynum, all character types will fit into one of seven types: (every story may not have all types, but all characters will fit into one of these types)

Plot
simple
direct
rapid development
often success stories against overwhelming odds

Theme
universal truth
reflect values of time and societies in which originated
common themes
justice triumphs; unselfish love conquers; intelligence wins over strength

Setting in Folktales
always in the far-distant past;
“ Once upon a time”; “Long ago”; “When all was new”
not necessarily carefully described
time seems to pass quickly

Style
love hero / hate villain
enriched language, often rhymes
repeated patterns or elements, “magical number three appears frequently…” p. 160
magical objects, powers, transformations
common = prince into beast or animal
supernatural adversaries and helpers
extraordinary animals

Types of Traditional Literature
Folktales
Cumulative
Pourquoi
Beast
Noodlehead
Trickster
Realistic
Fairy or wonder
Traditional Folklore
Tall Tales
Fables
Myths
Epics and legends
Religious

Folktales
regarded as fiction
not considered dogma or history
not taken seriously
may or may not have happened
timeless and placeless
good versus evil; reward and
punishment are frequent themes

Cumulative Tales
“ added upon”
story builds
sequentially repeated actions until climax
main character is intelligent and reasons well

Pourquoi Tales
“why” tales; creation tales
explanations for way things are, especially nature

Beast Tales
Animal is principal player
Anthropomorphized

Trickster Tales
wily character outsmarts everyone

Noodlehead, Numbskull, or Fool Tales
goodhearted chuckle at stupid actions
absurd situations
unwise decisions

Realistic Tales
based on people who could have existed
often rooted in actual historical event
contain few elements of fantasy

Fairy or Wonder Tales
Often contain magical objects e.g. swords, mirrors
Very few actually contain fairies

Tall Tales
based either on actual or composite of real people
exist within American culture

Fables
tales in which characters talk and act like humans
usually include a moral lesson
satirize human conduct
poetic, with allegorical significance
usually no more than two to three characters

Myths
intended to explain origin of the world and nature
creation or pourqoi
contain fanciful or supernatural incidents
tell about the gods and demons of early people
often, heroic quests

Greek Myths
perhaps best known in Western world
set in definite time, attitude, and place
how universe was created out of unorganized matter called chaos
Norse
harsh conditions
strong sense of fate
physical and moral courage
loyalty
belief in omens
ironic wit
sense of natural world

Legends
historical truths with enhanced, immortal, noble hero, - originally martyrs and saints; today - folk heroes
often have more historical truth and less reliance upon supernatural
regarded as true

Epics
Iliad
Odyssey
Beowulf
Robin Hood
King Arthur
Paradise Lost
long narrative poems

Universal Nature of Traditional Folklore

Allusions to traditional literature appear in contemporary written and oral speech
Metaphor for human experience
Words from ancient myths have been absorbed into language
Provides rich sense of culture
Gives us heroes

Values of Traditional Literature
mother of all literature
represent world as good versus bad
simplifies all situations
feeds soul and mind
defines consequences of certain behaviors
happy and satisfying conclusions
appeal is timeless
“ realism walks where fantasy dances…” Alexander (1968)

How Tales Increase World Understanding
help us understand nonscientific cultural traditions of early humanity
show interrelatedness of content, themes, motifs
explain dispersion of different versions
appreciate cultures of different countries

provide factual information about a country
provide familiarization with other languages
stimulate creative activities
realize people throughout the world have inherent goodness, mercy, courage and industry

Cultural Origins
British Isles
fast plots
uncompromising heroes
stress foolishness, consequences of greed
Irish
fairies, leprechauns, colorful language
Three Little Pigs
Jack and the Beanstalk

French Folktales
splendid royal castles
enchantment
remarkable beasts
unselfish girls
Cinderella
Beauty and the Beast

German Folktales
wolf is often villain
poor peasants and penniless soldiers are common heroes
princesses who sleep
breaking enchantment
good-hearted youngest child
Hansel and Gretel
Dear Mili

Norwegian Folktales
sense of wonder
loyalty
sense of humor
extreme climate and natures plays strong part in
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Man Who Kept House

Russian folktales
may be royalty or peasants
settings are winter, dark forests
beauty and kindness appreciated
females strong and resourceful
Devils Who Learned to Be Good
Prince and the Swan

Jewish Folktales
sincere
unselfish wisdom
may have bunglers
ironic humor and human foibles
show wit and humor
It Could Always Be Worse
While Standing on One Foot
Chelm

Asian Folktales
common people
lives of well-to-do and poor
moral values
superstitions
social customs
humor
Boy Who Drew Cats
Lon Po Po
Jade Stone
Cambodian Cinderella

African Folktales
repetitive language
interaction with storyteller
why tales
Anasi the Spider

North American Folktales
1. North American reflect African and European themes
2. African American how slaves adapted rabbit is trickster
3. Variants of Europe a tales

Objections to the Use of Traditional Folklore

1. Psychological Fantasy
Argument against
leads kids to be out of touch with reality
Arguments for:
research supports there is actually less risk for fantasy readers
allows vicarious venting of frustrations
provides sense of hope for success

2. Violence
Arguments against
violence will breed violence
Arguments for
“ children with rich fantasy lives responded to aggressive films with a significant decrease in aggressive behavior…” (Bilbow, 1973)

3. Risk to Young Children
Argument against
will frighten children
Argument for
tales that are “far removed in both time and place from the lives of children,…prove less frightening than realistic stories of danger focusing on real-life fears” (Smith, 1989)
softening versions of fairy and folktales may actually have opposite effect, causing children to be more distressed (Trousdale) 1989

4. Waste of Time
Argument against
questions authority
immoral
racist
portrays stereotypes
White man rescues
Sexist
evil stepmothers
politically incorrect
Argument for
fosters creativity
one book or one story, can not carry an entire ethnic group experience

Involving Children in Traditional Literature
Bettleheim cautions:
explaining the story destroys the enchantment
never read the story, tell it
illustrations rob the child of forming his/her own images
keep story in original form
never present them in a didactic manner

Some Suggested Activities
storytelling
felt boards
comparing different versions
pantomime
creative drama
rewrite from different viewpoint

Discussion Questions
Rather than a discussion question, you are to complete the following activity:
1. Choose one of these fairy tales:Beauty and the Beast ; Little Red Riding Hood; Rapunzel
or Snow White
2. Find at least 3 copies by different authors and/or illustrators.
3. Download the grid for the appropriate fairy tale and make the comparisons between the different versions.

http://www.connectingstudents.com/themes/folktale.htm

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Ch 5 Folklore

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