Traditional LiteratureCUR 513, Fall 2014, Professor J. Sapp

Presentation by: Andrea T., Chris P., Ja’hnae J.

Traditional LiteratureCUR 513, Fall 2014, Professor J. Sapp

Presentation by: Andrea T., Chris P., Ja’hnae J.

Traditional Literature

● How many of us can remember the stories that we were told during our childhood? Start naming some of these tales.

Most of us can recall stories such as “Little Red Riding Hood” “Jack and the Beanstalk” “Cinderella” “Beauty and the Beast”, etc. Well most of the stories are not indigenous to North America. They come from all around the world.

Trad’l lit. continued

● Firstly, What is traditional literature?o “Traditional literature is the body of stories

and poems that have come to us from teller to hearer, and from hearer to teller…” ( C. Temple, M. Martinez, J. Yokota 209) Passed down from generation to

generation which is also known as oral tradition

Trad’l lit. consists of: folktales● folktales- fairy tales, popular tales, household tales.

What makes trad’l lit. so endearing?● simple stories with ambiguous characters and strong plots● didactic in nature: most of these stories serve as moral lessons,

learning tools● international & universal; almost every culture represented in the

world have tales that they have passed down and there are certain archetypes present in every culture which can translate over into any texto Walt Disney was known for “borrowing” many different tales

from around the world for his stories which generated millions, if not billions, of dollars.

Value of traditional literature

● trad’l lit. has the ability to teach historical and cultural lessonso most cultural stories are infused with actual

historical occurrences and they also do a good job at synthesizing the intricacies of diff. cultural phenomena

● free talk therapy: gives children an avenue for revealing and addressing their own fears and urges that they may not be able to tackle on their own

Elements of trad’l literature● Setting: certain motifs are present in the setting of folk

tales. Most take place in:o a cottage or hoval e.g. Snow White, Hansel & Gretelo castle e.g Rapunzel, Cinderellao forest e.g Little Red Riding Hood, Robin Hood, The

Crane Wife● Characters: characters in folktales are usually ambiguously

described giving the narrator/ orator, more wiggle room to expand or reduce according to the plot. In folktales, the character is assigned a role according to the plot not the character is given a clear identity and is involved in the plot

Elements of trad’l lit

● Characters cont.: four main characters in folktaleso The Hero: their needs and desires drive the

story e.g Jack in the Beanstalko The Rival: this person stands in between the

hero and his or her goal e.g. The Giant in Jack in the Beanstalk

o The Helper: the person or force who helps the hero towards his goal

Elements cont.

● Contrasts in Folktales● Charles Levi-Strauss (1957) stated that

contrasts are not accidental in folktales.o “Humans learn about the truths of the

world by first paying attention to those things that are starkly opposite to each other” (213) e.g hero v. villan, home sweet home v.

lands of adventure, good v. bad

What makes trad’l lit endearing?● It’s human nature; “the instinct to make stories is

one of our defining features as human beings” (209)

● engaging for many audiences, both young and old

● a rich source of multicultural material● unification: can unite different cultures due to the

similarities in characters, plots, etc.● source material is part of the “public domain”

o no authors= no copyrights

Examples of various cultural folklore: English Folklore

Due to density, this tale (epic poem) is recommended for grades 6-12 but can be read to all ages

- has all sort of “goodies,” dragons, a grendel (malformed human boy), a serpent/Medusa woman, a heroic almost superhuman protagonist, a round table, 14th century castle

- good v. evil, strenght and skill, violence, religion

French Folklore- Beauty and the Beast

“Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast…”

Themes:inner beauty v. outward beauty,perception, judgment, societal pressure, society. v the individual

Native American Tales- Coyote, A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest

Brief synopsis: Wherever Coyote goes you can be sure he’ll find trouble. Now he wants to sing, dance, and fly like the crows, so he begs them to teach him how. The crows agree but soon tire of Coyote’s bragging and boasting. They decide to teach the great trickster a lesson. This time, Coyote has found real trouble!

African American Folktales- The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Advntures of Brer Rabbit

Generations of children have been captivated by the hair-raising adventures and misadventures of Brer Rabbit. Come along as he sneaks into Mr. Man's garden, persuades Brer Wolf to be burned in a hollow log, and kicks Brer Fox's Tar Baby. Jerry Pinkney's lively and humorous illustrations are a perfect match for Julius Lester's contemporary approach, which expertly introduces a modern sense of humor to these forty-eight tales while paying homage to their roots as traditional American folklore.

African folklore- Anansi the Spider

Ghana

Anansi the spider knew there was something missing from the earth, and that thing was stories. He was a very clever trickster but getting the stories from the Sky God would not be easy. There would be a high price to pay and Anansi would need all his trickery if he was to succeed.

Traditional Literature

The Oral Tradition

The Rise of the Written Folktale

Giovanni Francisco Straporola (1550)

❧ First collection of written stories for children.

Giambattista Basile

❧ The Tale of Tales/Entertainment for Little Ones

❧ Adult themes

Charles Perrault (1628-1703)

❧ French Tales

❧ Extravagant

❧ During Louis XIV

❧ Mother Goose

❧ People and culture of Germany resides in old tales and legends

❧ Collected stories from around the country

❧ Nursery and Household Tales

The Brothers Grimm

Joseph Jacobs (1854-1916)

❧ Father of English folklore

❧ English response to invasion of French tales

❧ Most tales came from secondary sources

❧ Put well known tales into circulation

Hans Christian Anderson (1805-1875)

❧ Mother introduced him to folktales

❧ Retold traditional tales with his own twist

❧ But most tales original

❧ Hans Christian Anderson Award

Folklore and Folktales in America

❧ Stories from slaves

❧ Native American Stories

❧ Tall Tales

❧ Cowboy Songs

Types of Folk Literature❧ Cumulative tales

❧ Animal tales

❧ Trickster tales

❧ Humorous tales

❧ Tall tales

❧ Ghost stories

Types of Folk Literature❧ Fairy tales

❧ Realistic tales

❧ Legends

❧ Epics

❧ Ballards

❧ Fables

• Myths

• Religious stories

• Literary tales

Cumulative talesThe House that Jack

Built❧ The House That Jack Built❧ This is the house that Jack built❧ This is the Malt❧ That lay in the house that Jack built.❧ This is rat❧ That ate the malt❧ That lay in the house that Jack built…

Animal TalesThe Three Little Pigs Chicken Little

Animal Tales

❧ Have been around for 1000’s of years

❧ Native Americans

❧ European folktales are rich with animal characters

❧ The Three Little Pigs

❧ The Three Bears

❧ Henry Penny

Trickster tales

❧ Trickster tales feature a clever, devious animal or character whose pranks usually cause trouble for another character. In most instances, the trickster goes away gloating and unpunished, though in some tales there is a turnabout, and the trickster falls prey to the mischief he started.

❧ The trickster figure is found all over the world. Sometimes this figure is either creative or subversive. They are mischievous, cunning and humorous and usually have the ability to switch between animal and human form.

Trickster Tales

Humorous Tales

❧ Numbskull tales

❧ Hans Clodhopper

❧ Hans Christian Andersen

Tell Tales

❧ Pippi Longstocking

❧ Pecos Bill

❧ John Henry

Ghost Stories

❧ Northrop Fry- Literature shows us the heaven we seek and the hell we wish to avoid…

❧ And

❧ Bloody Mary Ritual

Fairy Tales

❧ Generally involve:

❧ Magic

❧ Royalty

❧ Commonly associated with apprenticeship tales or hero tales.

Realistic Tales❧ The Eggs

❧ Sea Captain and the

❧ Ripple effect of not paying

❧ For his meal

❧ Story remains in the realm of

❧ Possibility.

Legends

❧ Stories about saints or other heroes who might actually have lived.

❧ King Arthur

❧ Robin Hood

Epics and Ballads

❧ Ballads are narratives in song, and mostly built of four-line stanzas.

❧ Popular in England from the 14th century on.

❧ Epics are extended accounts of the exploits of national heroes.

❧ Beowulf: a Scandinavian hero from the 16 century.

Myths

❧ Myths

❧ One method in which stories try to explain the mysteries of he universe to society.

Myths

❧ Classical Myths from Greece and Rome:

❧ Our planets:

❧ The Tale of Icarus Daedalus- A boy and his father

Moral of the story

Aim for the middle course and avoid extremes. In other words, be balanced.

Religious Stories

Considered to be SPECIAL because they are sacred to one group of people or another.

Stories range from: The Life of Jesus by Katherine Paterson

Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland (inspired by Saint Valentine) – Robert Sabuda

My Jewish Holidays (Peter Catalanatto)

Budda and Muhammed - A picture book by Demi