Analyze a Folk Story

It is observed that throughout history, common people have created stories that have been passed down for generations through history. Stories are told around the world, regardless of the place or culture, with different settings and ideologies, but they all serve a common purpose: Somewhere along the story they will introduce a event that explains a natural occurrence that is perceived by the people.

In the traditional folk tale of "Coyote Kills a Giant," an explanation is given for a natural phenomenon that is observed in the world. At the end of the story, when the people trapped inside the giant's stomach escape, a wood tick almost does not make it is crushed in its attempts to escape the mouth of the giant. Confronting the slightly upset tick, Coyote tells him not to complain and to be thankful that he is alive. This event supposedly explains the question of why wood ticks (minuscule, parasitic arachnids with a mottled gray colored backsides) are flat to this day.

Compare and Contrast

John (from the story "By the Waters of Babylon") and Coyote (from "Coyote Kills a Giant") have similar purposes for embarking on their journeys. They both are motivated by a calling. John wishes to learn about the world and seeks to visit place of the gods, and Coyote decides to seek the giant. Both in a way are searching for truth (John searching truth about the gods; Coyote about the giant) and both journey to places they have not witnessed before.

There are similarities and differences between the settings of the two stories. The obvious differences would be the exact locations of the stories. "Coyote Kills a Giant" takes place in the southwestern United States (as it is a Navajo folk tale) and "By the Waters of Babylon" is situated somewhere in the Northeast near present day New York City. There also aren't any giants that John encounters, and Coyote doesn't stumble upon great rivers or deserted cities. There are similarities however; both stories exist in an uncivilized world, and nature plays a major role in the story. In addition, the unfamiliar environments of the Giant's insides are similar to the winding roads and wondrous remains of the destroyed New York City. Both characters journey through these environments to seek what they are looking for. These are the similarities and differences of the settings between the two short stories.

Conflicts - Internal and External

In the short story "By The Waters of Babylon" the main character John experiences conflicts that are both internal and external. Internal conflicts are those that arise within a character's mind, as in a mental or emotional struggle. An external conflict deals with a force acting against the protagonist. John faces internal conflict throughout the story. The arching internal conflict is attempting to understand what happened to the gods that destroyed their civilization, and its application to his current state. Another smaller example of an internal conflict is when he decides whether to obey his father and avoid the sacred places, or to go with his feelings. The external conflict is the battle against the physical forces around him that hinder his progress (character vs. nature), as he treks rivers, scales mountains, and wanders through the deserted remains of what was known as New York City. Specific examples of external conflict in the story is when John is chased by the dogs, or when he rafts across the "Ou-dis-son" river (obviously the Hudson River).
These are a the external and internal conflicts presented in this post-apocalyptic short story.

Unfamiliar Place

It would mark the first time I transferred schools, and it would not be the last; but the transition from Hsinchu to Taipei was, up to now, one of the most life-changing moments of my life. Stepping into the unfamiliar environment of Bethany, sensing all the new sights and sensual stimuli around me triggered a new sensation that I had not felt for a while; the anxiety, the hope of a new place. However after years of schooling in Taipei, I am now so used to it that I have trouble adjusting back to Hsinchu, and cannot wait to go back to the city.

The car pulled up in front of the school, a rather plain, brown tiled building. As I stepped out of the car and into the frontiers of Taipei city, I inhaled deeply and the overwhelming smell of diesel fuel and gasoline was enough to make me stagger. Grabbing my bookbag and waving a quick goodbye to my dad, I strode up the steps towards the school, so anxious that I was oblivious to the deafening roar of Taipei traffic. From the outside, the tainted doors and windows prevented me from seeing much inside, but as the door opened I blinked rapidly at blinding bright light ablaze in the lobby. Mobs of people swarmed beside me, calling to fellow classmates; announcements blazed through the school intercom system; cries of delight were heard from the playground door across the room. I stood there, slightly dumbfounded, and people pushed past me to get through. I inhaled onc again, and the air contained a sort of freshness. I glanced around the walls to find brightly clad posters proclaiming school events, school facilites, and artworks. My anxiety was not suppressed, though, and I felt a sudden wave of fear as I realized I did not know what to do next. I then spotted an acquaintance from the new student orientations a couple of days before. He was tall, and stood in a corner towering over other children. and hurried towards him.

The first year I never got a chance to really go around Taipei, and still was not used to the bustling city streets. However, by the second and third year, I had gotten used to my way around. The smell of motor oil and the sonorous rumbles of scooter engines no longer bothered me as much, and I understood the methods of transportation around Taipei, to an extent of course, considering I do not live there. And as the years went by, Bethany also became a second home. But, homes change; and now I am getting used to the unfamiliar enviroment of PAS back in Hsinchu.

Quick Write - By The Waters of Babylon

Of most good stories, whether told through oral tradition, movies, or written records, there is always a main character who undergoes a change, a transformation that brings an enlightenment of knowledge or wisdom.


One such a novel I want to talk about is one of my personal favorites and is also a classic American Gothic novel: To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee. The story starts out with Scout, the main character, still a little girl. She is naive to the complex, discriminative, and cruel world around her and stays true to her innocence. However as the story progresses, characters and events are introduced where she witnesses the true cruelties of American southern culture of the time, as she encounters cases of rape, racial injustice, and separation of class. As these events unfold around her, she realizes the world is not as it seems and slowly learns about the harshness  of life and reality. Conflicts dealing with injustice, courage, and compassion are introduced in her life as she learns the true personalities behind the "outcasts" of society and sees the world as it really is. From the encounter with Boo Radley to Miss Dubose, from Tom's biased trial to Bob Ewell's attack on Halloween, Scout slowly gains wisdom and understanding, making a transition from innocence to experience, learning morals and lessons such as compassion and true courage (which, as Atticus explains, is not holding a gun, but standing up for something that you know you will lose, but see through it no matter what). These lessons were so deep that the adults within the story had yet to learn them.


This is an example of such a story where the main character undergoes a change and learns lessons of life.

Making Time Move Slowly

Even though the events of the story are told in chronological order, Tom and the reader are both shocked to discover on page 29 that only eight minutes have passed. How does Finney make time seem to move more slowly?


Every technique Finney uses to slow time down is related to the use of the factors of suspense. Since this is a suspense story, the factors of suspense are incorporated into this short story. These elements include foreshadowing and flashback; setting, mood, diction; sentence structure. Sentence structure is probably the most important element that causes the time lag. Finney incorporates long sentences combining dashes, commas, and long descriptive details that compose of the story. This causes the story to essentially feel - and look - a lot longer. The use of setting also allows a time lag; a man, quaking on a ledge high above the city, holding for dear life as the wind rushes past him - this causes the reader to "freeze" in suspense, whether it be in real life or in writing. The use of flashback also causes time to move sluggishly - Tom has flashbacks of what has happened, which takes up time as the flashback unfolds in writing. As you can see, Finney uses methods from factors of suspense to slow down time in his short story "Contents of a Dead Man's Pocket."

Values

What values do you think are the most important in people’s lives? In your life? List them in order from most important to least important.


I do not think that the values of other people can be summarized in a simple list; I believe that different people around the world possess different values based on their culture. Around the world, people live their lives in different ways that are fit to their environment or are fit to their traditional ways of life. The way they live determines the list of values they treasure. For example, traditional Chinese households value their respect towards their families above all else; next on the list would probably be proper morals, health, food, and work. Religion also plays a part in determining one's values; Christians value the teachings of Jesus above all else (which includes ideals such forgiveness, unconditional love, and worship), Buddhists value balance of life, and Taliban Muslims value their service to Allah above life. In modern days, fame, family, and fortune are the three values that most young people strive to accomplish. All this to say that different people have different values due to their different ways of living.

My current list of values would include the following:

• Faith to Jesus
•  Moral values
• Health
• Family, close friends
• Work (impacting our world positively) and education
• Wealth

Picture Description

Look at the picture on p. 7 of your text (from the film House of Flying Daggers). Describe the setting in terms of time and place, then explain how the colors, shapes, lighting, and other elements of composition create a particular mood.

The scene seems to be set in oldern China. I can determine this from the character's dress robe and the incorporation of martial arts in the photo, which is not commonly seen in modern times. Due to the large amount of bamboo, it can be agreed upon that the place is somewhere in China.
Specifically the photo takes place in a bamboo forest.

Though the photo is taken horizontally, the expanse of bamboo and the people who are falling down vertically allows the photo to have a vertical feeling. The main character though, is standing stoutly, grasping a horizontal piece of bamboo. This is in contrast to the background and the contrast allows it to be the focal point of the photo and provides a base for everything else.

The photo is almost entirely green. Green lushness can be a symbol of life, yet also confusion, decay and death. It contributes to the mysterious feel of the photograph and the obvious contrasts in the photo, which I will go more into depth on.
There is light shining onto the ground through the bamboo above. However, the background is completely shroud with a thick mist, obscuring any vision and canceling out the light. This contrast of light and darkness allows the photo to have a feel of a battle; the contrast between the dark taking over or the ligth shining through the unknown.

There are figures falling in vertical motion down with the bamboo. However, their identities are completely covered and unknown, unlike the main character, who's face is plain for all to see. They wear dark suits in contrast to the gren around them, and their odd position also contributes to the mysterious feel of the photo, and the suspense of an oncoming event.

In conclusion, the contrasts in color, lighting, and shape create a mood of mystery, of suspense, and of a world where dark and light is clashed.

Collection 1- Human Stories

Common topics of stories

• coming of age
• innocence to experience
• Hero's quest
• Heroes with supernatural strength, canny skill
• spiritual journeys; those that bring a revelation, knowledge
• journeys of redemption
• quest to gain treasures
• Jesus Christ

"There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before." -Willa Cather


What are these three repeated human stories?

In my freshman year, my English I teacher spent a large part of class educating us about common literary patterns in modern literature. These literary patterns can be traced back to ancient Greek myths and of the story of Jesus, which is what I believe the three repeated human stories. are based on.
The earliest recorded dramas were written by the Greeks, and these dramas were written about heroes. Classical Greek myths portrays a hero, a man or god with canny skills. The plot then developes in a typical Quest pattern, with a calling to a journey, the events of the journey, the helpers and guides, the Others, the treasure, and the transformation. The hero usually embarks on a journey to gain or regain treasures or knowledge. Take the example of Orpheus, who begins his journey to the underworld to find his wife, who died after being bit by a snake. Then take the story of Oedipus, who sets on his spiritual journey to find his purpose and his background. When we examine literature, we see this pattern repeated many times. Stories of the modern and contemporary time periods that describe the adventures of a hero almost always followed this format. Many authors, such as Shakespeare, also allude to these myths in his writings. Therefore, the first one of the stories that Cather speaks of are the hero stories.

The second type of story also relates to the ancient Greek myths - a transformation. In these myths, the main character usually undergoes a spiritual awakening; an event that leads them to gain experience and insight on life. The result of the revelation on the character is known as the "Transformation" stage of the Quest pattern. This idea of a transition from an innocent perspective to an experienced one has intrigued writers to conduct entire books based on this theme. It is a universal theme for a plethora of well known novels, now in a genre called bildungsroman, or "formation novels." We see this theme in almost every novel that is school required. Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Great Expectations are some modern examples of bildungsroman. They are stories of a child's growth and realization of the world around them. Thus, the second type of repeated stories are the stories of a character's maturation from innocence to experience

The third type of story I want to talk about may be considered either myth or truth - the story of Jesus in the Bible. We probably all have heard the story of the Bible before, some more than others. In a quick relay, the Israelites were led out of Egypt by God to a promised land - Israel. However, the Israelites plagued their history with sin. They were constantly caught in what my English teacher called the "Cycle of Repentence." Sin pulls you down, then guilt pulls you down even further. Forgiveness and repentence pulls you back up, only for you to be pulled down again by sin. Jesus, according to Biblical belief, is the one who pulls you back up.
The story of Jesus is the third story of humanity. It is the story of a savior, of light, and of hope in despair. These stories may even include references to the Cycle of Repentence. This theme has found its way into Greek myths and many modern forms of literature. Characters in such stories who can be compared to Jesus Christ are known as Christ-figures, and they are found in examples such as Aslan from Narnia and Gandalf from The Lord of The Rings. Narnia and The Lord of the Rings are also allusions to the story of the Bible. In conclusion, as by my knowledge, the third story of humanity that is retold in history is the story of Christ.