American folklore Essays

  • Folklore In Native American Culture Analysis

    1469 Words  | 3 Pages

    Folklore is a body of expressive culture shared by a group of people and therefore encompasses the morals and ideals of that group. The main objective in folklore is not to express the narrow interests of any one person, but to aid in the understanding of an entity of life all the while entertaining the masses. Since these stories are often impossible to attribute to a sole individual, the tales told tend to deviate on a regional basis in terms of the characters and, to some extent, the plot. However

  • African American Folklore

    2210 Words  | 5 Pages

    African- American folklore is arguably the basis for most African- American literature. In a country where as late as the 1860's there were laws prohibiting the teaching of slaves, it was necessary for the oral tradition to carry the values the group considered significant. Transition by the word of mouth took the place of pamphlets, poems, and novels. Themes such as the quest for freedom, the nature of evil, and the powerful verses the powerless became the themes of African- American literature

  • Native American Folklore As Mythology

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    the creation of Native American myths, “there was much in the way of free-range food, but hunting wasn't as easy as getting up in the morning, taking a stroll and shooting a few passing bison with your bow” (Godchecker). Times were tough, “even Plains societies who lived off the prolific buffalo fell under the threat of starvation at times” (Godchecker). Finally, “when herds were found, the people were grateful and thanked the Gods profusely” (Godchecker). In Native American myths, “animals had powerful

  • The Coyote Stole Fire: The Native American Folklore

    2003 Words  | 5 Pages

    As I was reading and learning about the Native American folklore, I began to see how their culture developed. Each folklore in Native American history plays a role in how we know the native americans to be today. Folklore is a group of stories that have been told from generation to generation, and include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends are a traditional story or a extremely famous person sometimes regarded as historical but unauthenticated. Myths are a traditional story, certainly

  • Folklore Influence On American Culture

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Folklore is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation that include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends are traditional stories that are passed on and have an important meaning Myths are stories that happened and involve supernatural beings that are still known for. Fairy Tales are make-believe/that don’t exist. German Folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Germans heavily concentrated folklore is Fairy Tales because

  • Culture Influence On American Culture

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    Folklores are stories that have been through many time periods. Folklore include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends are traditional tales handed down from earlier times and believed to have a historical basis. Myths are ancient stories dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes. Fairy Tales are fantasy tales with legendary being and creators. American folklores are used to refer to American traditional beliefs and folk knowledge and culture are mostly legends. There are many very

  • Folklore and British Cultural Studies

    3099 Words  | 7 Pages

    Folklore and British Cultural Studies As an American folklorist studying postcolonial literature in a cultural studies centre in England, I felt a bit colonized myself when, upon browsing in Fred Inglis' Cultural Studies, I read about "the large vacant spaces now being staked out by cultural studies" (181). It reminded me of the nineteenth-century maps of Africa, made by Europeans, that depicted the continent as an unfilled void, even though it teemed with people, cultures and boundaries. So

  • La Llorona Essay

    1898 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Mexican culture, La Llorona folklore is the storytelling that has passed on through generations for many years. Even though, folklores changed by new tellers. Every folklore needed to be analyzed and see how it had changed over years depending on the tellers. For instance, my family had been telling the folktale about “La Llorona” but it has been discovered that there were different versions of La Llorona in different places. The purpose of folklore is to scare children to behave, or not to

  • Rip Van Winkle and its Impact on Society

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    from his short story "Rip Van Winkle", drawing the events surrounding him to form a simple story with deep meaning. To bring to a pinpoint, the story shaped the American culture as the American culture shaped the story. Washington should not be able to take full credit for his story. Rip Van Winkle originated from the Dutch folklores. The story was found in the house of Diedrich Knickerbocker. Although there was some speculation on the accuracy of the tale, historians agree that the story is

  • The Salem Witch Trials And The Ugly Duckling

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    Folklore is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation that include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends have some historical facts but are mostly exaggerated. Myths has to do with religion, such as Gods, demi-gods, and supernatural creatures. Fairy Tales have fantastic elements and magic has good vs. evil.American folklore refers to the traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people's found from America. American lore values such consist of freedom, equality

  • Integration of Folklore

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    hearing as a child. Hurston’s love of African American folklore and her work as an anthropologist are reflected in her novels and short stories – where she employs the rich indigenous dialects of her native rural Florida as well as the African tradition of oral story telling. As Hurston’s deep interest in the folkloric practices of the Southern black folk became the basic of her novels, a close reading of Their Eyes Were Watching God reveals that folklore pervades all the main levels of the novel –

  • How Have Folktales Evolved?

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    folk". (Folktale). By that definition, written (literary) stories are not classifiable as folktales. I would that you do not presume a definition to be the final word in what makes a folktale; for it can be seen that most of all stories classified as folklore have one or more of several key characteristics. They prominently feature a strong moral value, or a recurring motif. Folktales usually involve some key factors such as trickery, magic, monsters, or becoming rich. They also usually have some key

  • Essay On American Lore

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    American Lore is just like any other lore it has myths, legends, and fairy tales but American lore shows the history of America and how we live today, with a twist to the story.Legends are based on historical facts Myths are based on religion and gods and goddesses. Fairy Tales are make believe not real, includes special creatures. Tall tales and legends are more based in American lore and is heavily based on history and the many traditional stories that are spread from generation to generation

  • Folklore In Russian Culture Essay

    1855 Words  | 4 Pages

    Folklore is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation that include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends are stories about people or events which have been written in history. The stories can be made up, but the events may be loosely based on facts. Myths are stories that contain little to no historical facts, and are so far fetched that it is easy to distinguish. Fairy Tales are stories that can contain fantastic elements, and/or supernatural events or mythical characters

  • Trickster As A Culture Hero

    1779 Words  | 4 Pages

    In folklore is Trickster Rabbit a hero or a villain? Throughout many cultures Rabbit is portrayed as the trickster, a smaller creature who usually outwits creatures larger than himself to obtain food or some other treasure he wants. In the tale “Looking for Trouble” by Priscilla Jaquith, Alligator tells Rabbit that he never saw trouble in his entire life. When Rabbit offers to show Alligator trouble he agrees. This story demonstrates how Rabbit was able to trick the much larger Alligator into exposing

  • Puss In Boots: The Role Of Archetype In Literature

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    work. An example of an archetype as a character is a mother figure. This character can be represented as a Fairy Godmother, seen in “Cinderella,” who guides and directs a child. The trickster is a recurrent figure or archetype in world mythologies, folklore, and literature. A trickster is seen to be a mysterious or roguish figure that makes up for physical weakness with cunning and subversive humor. Some examples of tricksters are, Ditto from the Pokemon anime, Bugs Bunny found on TV shows, and Puss

  • Folktales: A Lady In White Rock Lake

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Drip, Drip, Drip. Is what was left of the spirit that had left the vehicle! Folklore has been around longer than the discovery of America. Folklore consist of a tale told by word of mouth rather than in writing and has been passed down from generation to generation. Just like the tale from Dallas Texas, the lady who has been haunting White Rock Lake since the early 1900’s. Folktales also have their boundaries as to which makes them different from ghost and fiction stories. In Folktale what distinguishes

  • Comparison Between Ovid's Baucis And Philemon

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history folklore mythology has been used to explain the unknown things that occur in the world. One of the most common myths found throughout different cultures is the flood myth. A flood myth is a story which a great flood usually sent by the gods destroys humanity and often this is an act of divine retribution. Ovid’s “Baucis and Philemon” is just one example of a flood myth found across many cultures. Even though culture and religion vary greatly around the world, the flood myth is

  • Exploring African Folklore: Tales, Traditions and Childhood

    2412 Words  | 5 Pages

    Folklore is traditional stories within cultures that are passed down through generations some of which are myths, legends, and, fairy tales. Legends are stories based on historical facts that have been exaggerated or changed up over time. Myths are stories of gods demigods and other supernatural characters. Fairy tales involve creatures that are completely out of the ordinary. These stories are hard to believe because most of it is nonexistent. African folklore is heavily concentrated on fairy tales

  • Satan In The Exorcist

    1145 Words  | 3 Pages

    As American culture began to change, folktales passed down from generation to generation began to fade from popular memory. Instead of gathering around fireplaces to hear stories of the Devil and his ilk, Americans turned on their televisions or went to the theater to get their entertainment. Despite the decline in popularity of folktales, the Devil did not disappear from the consciousness of the American public, but rather found a new home in the modern age. As pop culture became the modern version