Essay On Native American Storytelling

Stories have been passed down from generation to generation since the dawn of time. Stories were often passed down for a purpose, whether it was to bring joy or hope to a person, or to teach an important lesson. Folktales date far back and are no exception. Folktales reflect physical, emotional, and social survival, while the characters’ experiences help to teach important life lessons.

The Native American’s way of living was different from the Europeans. They believed that man is ruled by respect and reverence for nature and that nature is an

Myths still endure today, because it sets a moral cod, explains natural phenomenon, and entertains the reader. One reason mythology sill endures is because it sets a moral code for future people to follow. For example in the story Achene, the wise goddess Athena turns Arachne into a arachnid, because Arachne was being very cocky, arrogant, and rude, cause Athena to kick Arachne off her “high horse”. Athena tells Arachne to “live on wicked girl, live on and spin you and your decedents” (Coolidge 51). A second reason mythology is still relevant is because is explains natural phenomenon. For example in the story Pandora, Curiosity truly kills the cat because Pandora opens a “do not open” box, which releases all the terrible things in this world,

Native Americans had a great understanding of courage; they understood that without the courage to take risks, they would not survive. They had life figured out back then; they knew

The Native Americans lived in tribes, and many of them lived a nomadic life. They believed that everything had a spirit, and they told stories that explained why the world is the way it is. The stories were passed down through generations by word of mouth or by performance. When Columbus came to America, he wrote a letter about how friendly the Native Americans were, saying: “they are artless and generous with what they have”. Later, in the exact same letter,

Why would it be cool to learn about Native American myths? “ The First False Face”, The Coyote”, and The Origin of The Buffalo and The corn” are all really interesting Native American myths and legends. They are alike but also different from one another. They tell different things but yet they are sometimes very similar.

Native Americans were the first persons in recorded American history, so naturally we will begin here. It is difficult to say that all Native American tribes believe in exactly the same things but some values tend to be universal. To clarify said values, many Native peoples

When the average person thinks of mythology, they are most likely to think about archaic stories about gods and heroes with fantastic powers and histories. While living in our technologically advanced time period, these myths that we learn about were once common teachings in ancient lands used to explain natural phenomenon and teach moral standards to people. As fantastic as the stories of myth sound like, many people dismiss them and assume these stories of fantasy no longer play a role in out modern-day lives. What most people do not realize, however, is that many aspects of myth are still involved with the

There are many Native American legends. All of the legends we read were very interesting stories. The Native American legends, “How The Beaver Got His Tail,” “The Legend of the Lady Slipper,” and “Star Maiden” all have great themes. The first legend to have a theme about living life was “How the Beaver Got His Tail.”

The purpose of a myth is to act as a traditional story that explains cultural beliefs and values. Whereas a genre is what classifies these stories and puts them into categories. Over time the concept of myths and culture has been carefully interwoven and tastefully used in stories. People have shaped myths using epic conventions which gives greater meaning to the cultural significance. This allows people to appreciate the cultural motive and theme more-so than they would have if the story would have been told without any epic relativity. Stories such as The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey, are great examples of how mythic culture is interwoven.

Folklore has been around for centuries. The purpose of a folklore, tales, or fable is to pass history and life lessons from one generation to another. Many of the stories that are told today are from different backgrounds and countries from China all the way back to the Native Americans. The stories that children hear today are about good and evil, and that life is not always fair but good things will happen in the end. They teach people how to handle the difficult things in life by making good choices in life regardless of the situation. The fairy tale Cinderella tells about death and despair, how to get through bad times, how to treat people, to be grateful for what you have, and that comfort and friendship can

All of these folk tales are still relevant today and have withstood the test of time because

Ah but you see that is where you are wrong, mythology is so much more than a collection of stories. Mythology covers topics passed down through generations that all offer life lessons and morals to live by. Mythology is a way for different cultures and religions across the world to stay connected. While each group might have different practices they are often done for the same reasons- from rites of passage into adult hood to the afterlife, common myths are used in countless different places with their special twist, so to speak, put on them. These stories are vibrant and radiate strong messages which helps us all to incorporate them into our everyday lives.

Classic literature will always be around and retold over the generations through life lessons and morals that we try to live by. These morals are thought to use as children and help shape us through these guiding values and morals we learn from. These lessons are presented to us as fairy tales, and movies or cartoons as a child. We never realize or wonder, where did the moral come from? Or should I say, who was the original creator of this moral I am watching unfold in Disney movies? The correlation between a fable and the other stories is length. A fable is a short-written, witty, and is deeply riddled with messages through, but not limited to, tales of animals. Fables were for adults but through time have been woven into everyone’s childhood. Fables, ghost-less ghost stories, and urban legends are modern day fairytales or fables. Just as The Grasshopper and The Ant and Tortoise and the Hare were spread by oral tradition, urban legends are spread in the same manner thus creating contemporary folklore often with a moral sting in the tail. While yes urban legends are still told while sipping hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows at a campfire while others are spread through classics movies like Walt Disney.

If we were to understand how myth affected the people of the past, maybe we could borrow from the present to