Marcus Garvey once said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Cultural aspects and beliefs of a nation’s people are often shown through stories of that specific people. This is displayed heavily in stories such as Bloody Mary, How the World Was Made, Coyote and the Origin of Death, Jack and the Varmints, and the tale of Devil’s Tramping Ground. From these stories, pieces of the American culture is illustrated through value of beauty/youth, desire for a sense of community, the way some Americans speak, and interests in mystery.
In an excerpt from Spooky Pennsylvania, S.E. Schlosser’s version of Bloody Mary demonstrates value placed on beauty and youth. In the selection it says, “She looked younger, more attractive. The neighbors were suspicious, but they could find no proof that the witch had taken their young ones,” (Schlosser). This quote hints at the possibility of the witch abducting young girls to become more attractive. The story also reads that, “if anyone mentioned her name aloud before a mirror, she would send her spirit upon them,” (Schlosser). On account of the use of a mirror when calling the name ‘Mary’, it puts further
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In the Devil’s Tramping Ground, it says, “in this age of science, there are fewer and fewer mysteries to challenge man.” (Roberts). Due to the near obsolete occurences of mysteries and myths in the culture, they are often appreciated when they do arise. In the story of the Devil’s Tramping Ground, experiments concluded that, even with the completely sterile soil, no growth of any kind is encouraged. There are no explanations for the circle’s perfect shape. (Roberts). However, today the Devil’s Tramping Ground is a popular tourist attraction open 24 hours a day. The rarity of mysteries and the fact that people are genuinely interested in the unexplained shows that mysteries are valued in America’s
The structure of stories, on which Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and Booker’s Seven Basic Plots elaborated, is actually only a portion of the field of study it is under. Comparative mythology not only studies the structure of hero stories, but also origins, themes, and characteristics of myths from various religions and cultures. They study the language, psychology, history, and anthropology in order to identify a common theme or beginning point. Even without delving into religion, many common elements have come to light. For instance, many cultures have tales of people with strange supernatural abilities, others speak of similar creatures that reside in water, air or land, while still others extol the importance of talisman and religious symbols. Despite cultures existing on different ends of the earth and having little contact for much of their existence, they share these common
In Sherman Alexie’s “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” and “Dead Men’s Path”, the reader is given a glimpse into two different stories but share many similar characteristics of traditions. Tradition is the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information and cultures within a group of people from generation to generation. However, these two stories will reveal that the protagonists in these stories, Michael from “Dead Men’s Path” and Victor from “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” will ignore their own traditions that they face throughout the story. In other words, the protagonists are westernized and have forgotten their own culture, which reflects the theory of the melting pot. The ignorance of ancestry and traditions brings the worst fates into the lives of the protagonists in each story.
Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Children's Literature Caution should be used when selecting books including Native Americans, due to the lasting images that books and pictures provide to children. This paper will examine the portrayal of Native Americans in children's literature. I will discuss specific stereotypes that are present and should be avoided, as well as positive examples. I will also highlight evaluative criteria that will be useful in selecting appropriate materials for children and provide examples of good and bad books. Children will read many books as they grow up.
In the story “Listening to Ghosts” Malea Powell talks about the native Americans on challenges and educational practices. The story is about the native American living in America before the British came to ruin their lives. This effect caused the Native Americans to disappear for good and became shadows. Afterwards there were different theories about the beliefs such as white guy philosopher's theory and western culture theory.The white guy’s philosopher's theory states that the stories were special and central civilized.Western culture, people thought that they were “savages” and “civilized”.
Donald Kagan argues for the requisiteness of Western History by describing older cultures, and then explaining how these older cultures became a key influence in what our society has become today. He examines the ancient Greek, Christian, and English culture influences that helped form our country. Throughout his essay, his depth of historical research is quite evident. He uses historical research of past cultures to imply the necessity of knowing where we, as Americans, came from. This approach helps establish the author’s credibility, and makes his presentation more plausible.
In Thomas King's short story "Borders," a Blackfoot mother struggles with maintaining her cultural heritage under the pressure of two dominating nations. Storytelling is important, both for the mother and for the dominant White society. Stories are used to maintain and pass on cultural information and customs from one generation to another. Furthermore, stories can be used both positively and negatively. They can trap individuals into certain ways of thinking, but they can also act as catalysts that drive social change within society.
The story of Bloody Mary is a very extensive urban legend. Bloody Mary is one of many names that can be chanted to summon this ghost. Snopes.com lists that “Bloody Mary, Bloody Bones, Hell Mary, Mary Worth, Mary Worthington, Mary Whales, Mary Johnson, Mary Lou, Mary Jane, Sally, Kathy, Agnes, Black Agnes, Aggie, Svarte Madame” are all names that have been used in the retelling of this story. With an increased number of retellings comes an increase in the variation between individual stories. The version of the story told to me did not include Bloody Mary punishing the one that summoned her. Versions in which the summoner is punished describe a wide variety of fates.. Snopes.com lists that Bloody Mary “May strike her summoner dead, drive her mad, or fiercely scratch her face. She may merely peer malevolently out through the mirror, or she may drag one of the girls back through it to live with her.” This legend has several other deviations; such as the number of times you have to say the name of the spirit, and the room in which you perform the ritual.
Native American literature from the Southeastern United States is deeply rooted in the oral traditions of the various tribes that have historically called that region home. While the tribes most integrally associated with the Southeastern U.S. in the American popular mind--the FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole)--were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) from their ancestral territories in the American South, descendents of those tribes have created compelling literary works that have kept alive their tribal identities and histories by incorporating traditional themes and narrative elements. While reflecting profound awareness of the value of the Native American past, these literary works have also revealed knowing perspectives on the meaning of the modern world in the lives of contemporary Native Americans.
American folklores are used to refer to American traditional beliefs and folk knowledge and culture are mostly legends. There are many very famous/ well known stories that many children are familiar with. American values are reflected in the culture’s folklore by including myths, legends, and fairy tales that use the “American Dream” as a reference in the stories.
12 Nov 2013. <http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/queenmary.ht,>. "Ghost Myth: Bloody Mary." seeksghosts.blogspot. N.p., 08 Jun 2011.
This urban legend was told by a nineteen year old woman at the University of Maryland who is originally from West Point, New York. She is currently a sophomore majoring in architecture. On the night of March 30, 2007, a group of friends and I got together in the 4th floor lounge of LaPlata. In the midst of discussion, the topic of scary stories came up, and at about midnight, the storyteller started telling her version of “Bloody Mary.” She paused for a moment and started talking about the origins of the urban legend. She said that “Bloody Mary” is a reference to Mary Queen of Scots, a Scottish monarch. Apparently, Mary Queen of Scots would bathe in the blood of virgins in order to look young and vibrant. The storyteller said that virgins were viewed as being pure, so exposure to their blood would make an individual look beautiful. The storyteller paused and said, “Now it’s time to get to the good part.” She said that an individual needs a candle, a lighter, a dark room, and a mirror. An individual would take the unlit candle and put it in front of the mirror with the lighter in his or her hand. The individual would spin around while chanting “Bloody Mary” seven times. As soon as he or she finished, the individual would immediately turn to the mirror and light the candle. After the candle is lit, a figure with a bloody face would appear in the mirror and kill the individual! As we all looked in awe, I asked her if she ever tried it, and she said that she was never able to do it because she was too frightened. Even though many of her friends did it and came out alive, the storyteller said that she could never have the courage to do it because it was too scary for her.
There is one more image of a witch portrayed in history. This image is from the other end of the spectrum. Instead of being a hag or ugly, she is beautiful and a seductive woman. Sally destroys the image of both of the stereotypes of what a witch looks like.
Marcus Gravey stated that, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” With that being stated, are the people of the United States, Canada, and Mexico trees without roots? At a young age students learn that Christopher Columbus “sailed the ocean blue in 1492”, a simple song used to assist children remember that America was discovered in 1492. In addition, Thackeray and Findling describe how Columbus’s discovery presented an unimaginable amount of opportunity for Europeans, and therefore, Spanish, French, and later British explores and settlers began to flock to this new world.
Women are viewed as very naïve and impressionable because they are influenced much easier and therefore they are more likely to become involved with the devil. Women were “more credulous, and since the chief aim of the devil is to corrupt faith, therefore he rather attacks them”(120). Women being credulous and naïve makes it easier for the devil to entice them into witchery. They were also much more impressionable making them prime targets for “disembodied spirits” to influence them and cause wickedness (120). The spirits referred to are those of evil and without faith, and since women were more vulnerable they would be more likely to abandon faith and be inclined to follow the devil. Sprenger and Kramer state that a “wicked woman is by her nature quicker to waver in her faith, and consequently quicker to abjure the faith, which is the root of witchcraft” (121). This further shows how much more likely it would be for women to become witches since the naivety and impressionability of women is what would cause the quickness to waver and abjure faith.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...