The Trickster

In various stories, specifically myths and folktales, there can sometimes be a character who is identified as the 'trickster'. The trickster is usually a clever-minded individual (or animal, whichever suits the condition) who plays tricks on others or causes havoc in the story. The trickster is seen as the one who messes everything up and is only good at causing problems for others or even themselves. In Trickster Tales, the Raven is the trickster. He kicks deq's into the ocean and even fools one who entraps him. He fools a whale into swallowing him (which wasn't very clever if you ask me) and continues to get what he wants throughout the story. This tale was different from others because in stories that involves a trickster, you would expect the trickster to learn their lesson by the end. The Raven, however, did not, and ends up being the winner at the end. This left me extremely unsatisfied and I feel like this is complete injustice. While already feeling this way, I also feel like this story relates to the real world. Sometimes the good guys don't always win. The Raven, in my opinion, is a prime example of that and I feel like the author intended for this message to appeal to their audience.

White Tigers

In this interesting story, there is a tale (told by a Chinese woman) about a young girl (herself) who is separated from her family and finds the home of an old woman and old man. She stays there to be trained and eventually become a woman warrior. My first impression of this story, to be honest, was "Oh, this is a different version of the Disney movie Mulan" but as I kept reading I found out I was wrong. Though they have their similarities, this myth stands out more than Mulan's story does. From encounters with rabbits, to hallucinations and the woman's true reality, "White Tigers" is definitely worth reading. My favorite part in the story is when the girl becomes stronger in physicality and is left abandoned in the woods so she could survive on her own. I feared for her, to be honest, but then stopped myself when I noticed that she was very well capable of taking care of herself. I believe in the empowerment of woman and that we, as special specimens of this world, deserve respect. This does not mean I am a feminist, although the equality of the sexes isn't such a bad thing, but I do not place my species in low standards either. Overall, it was a lovely story to read and I enjoyed it immensely.

Ethnocentrism

Some, or if not, ALL people (like myself), no matter who they are or where they come from, have a bit of ethnocentrism in them. How so? Simple; people have the idealization that their country is better than others or 'right' in terms of social structure. When someone asks a person where they come from or what is their ethnic background, the latter tends to answer with a hint of pride in their voice, no matter if they are mixed or solely from one place. From the customs an individual learns and adapts to, to the religion they believe in, if the person is proud, there is no diminishing it. The question for all of this would be: why does this happen and where does it derive from? My answer: Surroundings. An individual literally living in their culture and surrounded only by their culture will most likely develop ethnocentrism. Being separated from their culture, in some cases, can be detrimental to their pride, but that's not relevant here. If you go to Spain, you will see that the inhabitants of the beautiful country are proud of their home. If you go to NYC, you will see that New Yorkers are excessively proud of their home (cough, cough, ME). No matter what arguments are made about ethnocentrism and whether or not cultures possess, I believe it to be so.

Native American Myths

After reading this excerpt, I must admit that I am intrigued by the Native American culture, more so than the Native American myths. I have discovered that their beliefs and how they perceive the world are all fascinating and fun to learn about. What intrigues me the most is that they give nature spiritual meaning and human-like characteristics. They give life and purpose to things that most people in modern society, such as those who live in urban places, don't appreciate as much or even bother to take a glance at. They give things such as the sun and water value, and they treat them with great respect. They also use animals for story-telling and give them human-like characters so that they are more relate-able to children and even adults. I enjoyed the myths that were shared in the excerpt and my favorite one was "When Grizzlies Walked Upright", which tells a tale explaining why grizzly bears now walk on all fours, assuming that they used to walk on two feet like humans. They humanized the sky, which I found to be cool throughout the story, and also made the sky the creator of all things, which reminded me of God or a God-like title. I feel like these myths were solely meant for entertainment, regarding to the obvious fiction aspect of it, but then again there are laws beyond science that say otherwise; these tales could have taken place in some point of time and we would never really know it.

Porto Rican Folkore (It's Puerto, by the way)

I must say that the excerpts from Three Wishes and Hamilton's article "Porto Rican Folklore" has been the best assigned readings thus far. What makes Three Wishes intriguing is the three folktales that it contains, all fun to read. What makes "Porto Rican Folklore" intriguing is how informative it is about the Puerto Rican culture, revolving around folktales and their superstitions/beliefs  in the 1920's and how you can compare and contrast it to modern Puerto Rican culture.

"The Witch's Skin" was my favorite folktale to read and it managed to stir up an engaging discussion in class. When we talked about the symbolism, which was the removal of the witch's beautiful skin and how that showed that looks can be deceiving, it immediately reminded me of another folktale called "The Yellow Ribbon". The folktale is about a girl who, since a young age, wore a yellow ribbon around her neck. A boy who turns out to be her future husband later on in the story, asks her this from time to time: "Why do you wear that ribbon around your neck?". He asks her this while they are friends, in a relationship, married, then finally, on her death bed. As she is dying, the girl lets her husband find out the secret behind the ribbon and tells him to untie it. In for a rude twist, the boy does what he is told and the girls head falls off. This reminded me of "The Witch's Skin" because it proves that you might think you know someone well or perceive them a certain way, until the ugly truth is revealed. I really enjoyed reading this folktale, as well as the other two from the excerpt.

Living Folklore

After reading the very intriguing excerpt from Living Folklore, my perception of myths and folktales has changed immensely. My definition of folklore has been altered and I now view it in a much broader sense. Before reading this excerpt, I had the mentality of myths and folktales solely being untrue and made-up stories from different countries and states all over the world. I now know that folklore can be anything and everything, from celebrating a birthday, to playing a traditional card game. I feel like myths and folktales are much more than just stories you share around a campfire. I feel like they are meant to impact us, to warn us, to entertain us, but most importantly, to teach us. Through symbolism and engaging characters, myths and folktales deliver messages to their audiences, whether they acknowledge it or not. They are meant to impact our knowledge, our minds, and the way we generally think. Myths and folktales can teach us that there is consequence, or bad karma that follow our wrong doings. The relevance of myths and folktales are a high 10 on my scale, and I'm not just saying that because I am an English major and I enjoy all of this stuff (I promise).

Now let's talk a bit about what I find most fascinating in myths and folktales; symbolism. Symbolism in Myths and Folktales, in my opinion, is the most important part of these stories. A fox can symbolize an individuals characteristics- sneaky, clever. A lion can symbolize strength, or the immensely feared villain. A white flower that is growing on an infertile lawn can symbolize hope. Symbolism can pose as a hidden message (at first) to some, or stand out right away. Either way, symbolism is used frequently in myths and folktales, old and modern, so make sure to pay close attention while hearing or reading.

Myths, Folktales, and Fables, Oh my!

I'm not very good at introductions so this will have to do.

As my title states, I will be discussing my fascination with what happens to be the theme of this English 1012 class; Myths and Folktales. As a kid, this specific genre revolved around my family immensely. Bedtime story? A myth that teaches the morals of good behavior. Camp fire story? A folktale about what happens to children when they get lost in the woods (usually had to deal with a cannibalistic family). These stories have managed to stay with me and my interest in them have grown since then. As a child, it was natural for me to believe in stories like this, but as an eighteen-year old college student, I want nothing more than to get closer to the truth:

Has things like this ever happened?

Surely, some of the myths and folktales we hear about sound heinous, unusual, and impossible, but what if these tales in someway actually happened? I just can't help but question it. We have learned many lessons from these odd stories, some that have taught us valuable things.

They say that all stories have some kind of truth to them, that they in someway took place. From our last reading in class, "Aesop, Aristotle, and Animals: The Role of Fables in Human Life" and the intriguing discussion we had about it, I'm beginning to believe that is true.