The American Folk Tradition

Unit 10Part 1

Objectives

To read, comprehend, and interpret Folk Literature.

To apply a variety of reading strategies particularly strategies for reading folk literature.

To recognize literary elements used in these selections.

To increase vocabulary.

Strategies for Reading Folk Literature

Understand the Cultural Context- You will better understand the action and the characters of a story if you know the culture from which it comes.

Recognize the storyteller’s purpose- Folk literature often amuses the reader at the same time that it teaches a lesson or conveys a message.

Predict- Folk literature is predictable. Good characters and deeds are rewarded. Bad characters are either banished or reformed.

Oral TraditionJohnny Appleseed

The oral tradition is the passing of stories, beliefs, and customs from generation to generation by word of mouth. Many folk stories and tales were originally sung as ballads. Only years of being heard, remembered, and loved were they written down.

Modern writers often return to the powerful and engaging stories kept alive by the vibrant oral tradition.

Meet the Author

Rosemary Carr Benet (1898-1962) Many of her poems were inspired by historical events and legends. She often wrote poems with her husband. Their close friends called them “the last of the romantics” because of their close bond and love of poetry.

Build VocabularyJohnny Appleseed

Gnarled- knotty and twisted

Ruddy- having a healthy red color

Encumber- weigh down

Tendril- thin shoot from a plant

Stalking-secretly approaching

Lair– den of a wild animal

MythsCoyote Steals the Sun and Moon

The Spirit Chief Names the Animal People

A myth is an ancient tale having its roots in the beliefs of a particular group or nation. Just as science and history teach and explain about the world, mythology develops certain themes, such as creation, the origin of the universe, the meaning of existence and death, and natural occurrences. Myths often tell about the adventures of great heroes who possess special powers.

Meet the Authors

Richard Erdoes & Alfonso Ortiz collected many stories over a period of twenty-five years. Some of the stories in the book, American Indian Myths and Legends, were jotted down at powwows, around campfires, even inside a moving car.

Mourning Dove is the pen name of Christine Quintasket. While earning her living as a migrant worker, Quintasket became a writer and a political activist. Always interested in the stories she heard all her life from relatives and visitors, she collected and recorded the folklore of her people to preserve it for posterity. This story is form her collection, Coyote Stories, published in 1933.

Build VocabularyCoyote Steals the Sun and Moon and

The Spirit Chief Names the Animal People

Shriveled- dried up

Pursuit- following in order to overtake

Arouse- awaken, as from sleep

Purify- to rid of impurities

Folk TalesChicoria, Brer Possum’s Dilemma, Why the Waves Have Whitecaps

Folk tales were composed orally and passed by word of mouth from generation to generation.

Many folk tales have been collected and written down for all to enjoy.

These stories often express a belief or a custom of the culture that creates them.

Folk tales usually entertain, explain something in nature, or teach a lesson.

Storyteller’s Purpose

Recognizing the storyteller’s purpose is a reading strategy.

It is the storyteller who carries on the oral tradition.

Storytellers want to entertain their audiences, but of course, they have an additional purpose.

They must communicate the message of the story they are telling. For example, they may instruct listeners about how to behave or about why things are as they are.

Meet the Authors

Jose Griego and Rudolfo Anaya- Both live in New Mexico and are interested in the Folk Tales of New Mexico. Rudolfo translated the Folk Tales from Jose into English.

Jackie Torrence-Widely known as the “Story Lady”, she has written several collections of Folk Tales and stories for children. A popular and entertaining reader, Torrence has recorded many of her stories on compact disks.

Zora Neale Hurston- Was the first American to collect and publish African American folklore. She re-created and interpreted the folk tales that she had heard when she was growing up in Florida and used the local dialect in her tales. She also wrote short stories, novels, and magazine articles.

Build VocabularyChicoria, Brer Possum’s Dilemma & Why the

Waves Have Whitecaps

Cordially- warm and friendly

Haughty- proud of oneself and scornful of others

Commenced- started, began

Pitiful- deserving compassion or sympathy

American HerosPart 2-Unit 10

Objectives

To read, comprehend, and interpret four tall tales about Folk Heroes.

To relate these works to personal experience.

To predict and analyze tall tales.

To build vocabulary in context and use forms of skeptic.

Reading Strategies

Predict

Tall tales like other folk tales, develop in predictable patterns. You can predict that the characters will perform exaggerated or even impossible feats. Once you learn the character’s traits, you can predict the kinds of events that will occur. For example, John Henry is known for his strength, so you can predict that he will perform some amazing feats of strength.

Literary Elements

Tall Tale

A tall tale is a humorous story that recounts exaggerated events in a matter-of-fact way, using the everyday speech of the common people. Tall tales are often associated with life on the American frontier. They are considered to be part of the oral tradition because they have been handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.

Vocabulary

Hefted

Granite

Commotion

Usurped

Invincible

Futile

Inexplicable

Skeptics

Meet the Authors Adrien Stoutenburg- (1916-1982) was a poet, biographer, and writer and wrote

close to 40 books.In addition to writing, she worked as a librarian, and a political reporter. “Hammerman” was taken from her book, American Tall Tales.

Carl Sandburg (1878-1976) was best known for his poetry, but he was also a journalist, an author of children’s books, and historian. Sandburg received a Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Abraham Lincoln and one for his Complete Poems.

Harold W. Felton (1902- ) worked for the Internal Revenue Service and practiced law, yet he was increasingly interested in the legends and folk tales of the United States. He has published stories about folk heroes and the cowboys of the West.

Davy Crockett (1786- 1836) was a celebrated frontiersman, soldier in the United States Army, and Tennessee congressman. His tall tales strongly influenced the comic tradition and legendary history of the western frontier. He fought at the Alamo for Texan independence and was killed there by Mexican troops.

Tall Tales

Hammerman

Paul Bunyan of the North Woods

Pecos Bill: The Cyclone

Davy Crockett’s Dream

Assignment