The Genre of Folktales

Introduction:

Folktales are stories told from generation to generation. They are usually fiction stories. Each story focuses on traditions of a culture or group. A folktale is part of an oral tradition. It’s a tale or legend that originates around a certain group. The original story of Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) is a folktale I’ve heard before. A folktale can be made up by anyone, like the one about “Bloody Mary.” If you say “Bloody Mary” multiple times facing a mirror in pitch-blackness, an evil biblical character will come out of the mirror and kill you.

I’m writing this paper because stories impact our lives everyday. Stories give us life advice and tell us morals. We tell stories everyday to tell others about our lives. Stories aren’t just in writing, but also in out words. They are passed down through generations either for a message or for our entertainment. Stories have impacted me by telling me more about my grandmother. I never got to meet her, but through the stories my dad or grandfather tell me, she lives on. Stories are the way you become immortal. Once a story is created, it can be told many more times. In this way, someone can live forever.

The Search:

If I could go back to the day where our class chose our genres, I would have chosen another one without a doubt. Finding information about folktales was definitely a harder task than finding info about fairytales or fables. On the first day of researching in our media center, I used an online encyclopedia to find out the basic structures behind a folktale. As easy as that sounds, it took me a while to finally find an article with useful information. When it came time to read a few folktales I was ecstatic. But once I started reading some, I realized I didn’t unders...

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...e stories. In society, folktales are used to explain natural phenomenons, and other unknowns of the world.

Works Cited

• “folk literature.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online School Edition. 12 Nov. 2009 .

• "Famous American Folktales & Stories from A to Z." Famous American Folktales & Stories from A to Z. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. .

• Hammond, Peter. “Folklore.” Dictionary of American History. Ed Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed. Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003. 393-397. Student Resources in Context, Web. 20 Dec. 2013.

• Nielsen, Paul, Sr. Personal interview. 2 Jan. 2014.

• Bettelheim, Bruno. "The Child's Need For Magic." The Uses of Enchantment n.d.: n. pag. Print.

• "Blackbeard’s Ghost” YouTube. YouTube, 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.