Kinds of Stories
Take a pretest...you know a lot already. Then take a look at the text below the quiz.
1. Which one of the following is NOT an Aesop’s fable? The Fox and the Stork The Greedy Dog and His Bone The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey Hansel and Gretel The Tortoise and the Hare
2. Which one of the following can NOT be found among the fairy tales collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm? Rapunzel Paul Bunyan Little Red Cap The Bremen Town Musicians Rumpelstiltskin
3. Which one of the following would NOT be found in a book of tall tales? John Henry and His Hammer Gib Morgan Pecos Bill Thumbelina Mike Fink
4. Which one of the following is NOT by Hans Christian Andersen? The Emperor’s Clothes The Little Match Girl Zorro The Little Mermaid The Ugly Duckling
5. About which one of the following are legends NOT told? Snow White El Cid Johnny Appleseed King Arthur Dracula
6. Which one of the following is NOT drawn from the mythology of its culture? Isis Persephone Thor Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Huitzilopochtli
Score = Correct answers:
“Stories” is the generic term, including all kinds of narratives which have any semblance of plot. But types overlap. A personal story may also be a historical story. Hans Christian Andersen wrote literary stories which were also fairy tales. The story of the Alamo can be history or legend. Some stories are hard to categorize…still, it is valuable to know about the kinds of stories told throughout the world.
Here are a few:
LEGENDS:
Legends are specific to a culture or region. They are set in a certain time in a specific named location and tell about people or events which have some basis in history, though the facts may be remembered selectively and swollen or fictionalized to improve the standing and capabilities of the protagonist. Legends feed the spirit of patriotism and build cultural identity and pride. Examples: Robin Hood, Pocahontas, Johnny Appleseed, Dr. Faustus, and Walker, Texas Ranger. http://www.legends.dm.net/
MYTHS:
Myths are narratives that embody in story form the religious or philosophical values of a particular culture. Told as ancient knowledge passed down, myths are set in the region of the culture which tells them; they often identify specific geographic features such as Mount Olympus or Popocateptl, but they are said to occur in an unspecified time before the present world order. They offer each new generation the tradition’s ancient context for the great religious questions “Where did we come from?” “What is the nature of this place?” “What is the purpose of life?” and “What happens after death?” Examples: Creation myths, star stories, stories of the gods and goddesses, their demigod kinfolk, and the ancient heroes they played with. Because innumerable stories intertwine, myths are usually studied collectively by culture, such as Greek, Celtic, Nordic, Chinese, Hebrew, Maya, Aboriginal, etc. http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/areas/
FOLKTALES:
A folktale is an obvious stretching of the truth, often set in the present or near past and peopled with character types known to the audience. A folktale can be nearly any story transmitted orally. Firmly rooted in a particular earthbound society, they yield special insights into the nature of the human condition, its life goals, and its manners and mores. Examples include stories of droll characters (the wise men of Gotham or of Chelm), formula tales (“The Old Woman and Her Pig”), tall tales, stories held in esteem by a particular religious tradition, porquois tales about natural phenomena or animal behavior, jokes, and many other types of oral narrative. They are often collected and published by country, region, or language group as in the Grimm’s German collections, Charles Perrault’s in France, Asbjornsen and Moe in Norway, A.N. Afanasief in Russia, Warren S. and Barbara K. Walker in Turkey. The Flowering Tree http://www-ucpress.berkeley.edu:3030/dynaweb/public/books/south_asia/ramanujan
A folktale is an obvious stretching of the truth, often set in the present or near past and peopled with character types known to the audience. A folktale can be nearly any story transmitted orally. Firmly rooted in a particular earthbound society, they yield special insights into the nature of the human condition, its life goals, and its manners and mores. Examples include stories of droll characters (the wise men of Gotham or of Chelm), formula tales (“The Old Woman and Her Pig”), tall tales, stories held in esteem by a particular religious tradition, porquois tales about natural phenomena or animal behavior, jokes, and many other types of oral narrative. They are often collected and published by country, region, or language group as in the Grimm’s German collections, Charles Perrault’s in France, Asbjornsen and Moe in Norway, A.N. Afanasief in Russia, Warren S. and Barbara K. Walker in Turkey. The Flowering Tree
http://www-ucpress.berkeley.edu:3030/dynaweb/public/books/south_asia/ramanujan
FABLES and PARABLES:
These terms are somewhat interchangeable and are used to mean a short tale specifically designed to communicate a small truth about life or human behavior. Usually, fable refers to a piece of practical wisdom, often played out in the antics of animals; parable is used when the wisdom imparted is more serious or religious. Perhaps best known are the fables of Aesop, the parables of Jesus, and the Jataka Tales of Buddha. Modern writers such as James Thurber and Ambrose Bierce have composed fables as well, and columns or collections such as Chicken Soup for the Soul rely on a parable format to make a point. http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/aesop1.html
FAIRY TALES (wonder tales):
Although most “fairy tales” do not have fairies in them, the term is used to describe stories which contain enchantment or magical objects and helpers. Often, they begin with a departure or abrupt change in the home (such as loss of a parent), the following of a command or the breaking of a prohibition, and tasks which must be accomplished to reinstate a character to his/her original wholeness. Set in an unspecified “once upon a time in a land far away,” they actually play themselves out on a psychological landscape and affirm that personal happiness can be achieved. They migrate easily and translate universally. Fairy tales can be folktales or literary tales such as those by Hans Christian Andersen. Examples include “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Firebird,” “Rapunzel,” found grouped as fairy tales in Andrew Lang’s The Red Fairy Book, The Green Fairy Book, The Violet Fairy Book, etc. http://members.aol.com/surlalune/frytales/index.htm
LITERARY STORIES (composed or authored Stories):
Rudyard Kipling, Carl Sandburg, Edgar Allen Poe, O. Henry, Bret Harte, Washington Irving, and other writers have composed original stories which are very “tellable” and often follow the patterns of folktales, fairy tales, legends, or other kinds of traditional stories. Some living authors do and some do not like to have their tales told by others, and it is courteous (and prudent!) to consult with a copyright holder before telling such a story in a commercial setting. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~maria/irving/eng.htm
PERSONAL STORIES:
A wise or funny family member, a war experience or crisis, a flood or other disaster, an everyday insightful happening or a genuine transformative experience that has happened to the storyteller or someone she/he knows is a story and can be crafted into a meaningful one for others. Such a story can be told tit for tat as it happened or composed slightly differently from the facts in order to allow the listener to fully experience the meaning and the emotions, or it may be exaggerated into a big lie! Bubbe’s Back Porch http://www.bubbe.com/
HISTORICAL STORIES :
Biography, historical anecdotes, and a refreshing viewpoint on real events can bring greater understanding and insight to the study and enjoyment of history. Often, a storyteller isolates an event or character within a historical period and puts a human face on the courage or strength of character which brought about some change. A story of “Custer’s Last Stand” can offer rich details and isolate a moment in history while bringing home a lesson about vanity or foolish decisions. A story about Rosa Parks might show how political movements look for opportune moments, or it might illustrate how everyday people make a difference, depending upon how a storyteller chooses to interpret it. http://www.1900storm.com/
GHOST STORIES:
This category includes stories of actual and fanciful ghosts and often other supernatural beings (vampires, lechuzas, loup garous, swamp creatures…) or events, frightening fairy tales, as well as tales of terror from history or legend, or straight from the headlines. Although adults often hesitate to tell frightening tales to children, such stories are often quite comforting to a child, who knows that the world can be scary and needs to know that adults know that, too, and have survived anyway. “Jump stories,” for example, tease out fear in children (and other listeners), then bring them beyond fright to laughter or relief. (What better way to build the necessary courage to overcome real threats and challenges?) The “chill” of ghost stories is real; while Americans associate ghost stories with the fall and Halloween, people in Asian countries tell ghost stories to beat the summer heat! The Moonlit Road http://www.themoonlitroad.com/welcome001.html
URBAN LEGENDS:
Urban legends are set in contemporary times or the very recent past. They present humorous or horrible consequences, usually related as having occurred to a “friend of a friend” beyond the reach of easy verification, such as “my cousin’s roommate had a friend in high school who….” They reinforce conventional wisdom with stories in which doubters are punished or the uppity are outsmarted. Told as true, though most are not, urban legends make their way quickly through an area, spread at slumber parties, scout meetings, office memos and, now, by email. The titles of folklorist/collector Jan Harold Brunvand’s books are taken from some of the best known urban legends: “The Baby Train,” “The Choking Doberman,” “The Vanishing Hitchhiker.” http://www.snopes.com Copyright 2001 The University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio
Urban legends are set in contemporary times or the very recent past. They present humorous or horrible consequences, usually related as having occurred to a “friend of a friend” beyond the reach of easy verification, such as “my cousin’s roommate had a friend in high school who….” They reinforce conventional wisdom with stories in which doubters are punished or the uppity are outsmarted. Told as true, though most are not, urban legends make their way quickly through an area, spread at slumber parties, scout meetings, office memos and, now, by email. The titles of folklorist/collector Jan Harold Brunvand’s books are taken from some of the best known urban legends: “The Baby Train,” “The Choking Doberman,” “The Vanishing Hitchhiker.” http://www.snopes.com
Copyright 2001 The University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio