Session 12: Science Fiction & Fantasy

For session 12 we'll be talking about two of my favorite genres!

• Read "Fantasy and Science Fiction" (chapter 6 in C & G). What relationship do science fiction, fantasy, and folklore have to one another? How are they distinct? What criteria do C & G offer for the genres? How would you evaluate Uglies based on that criteria?
• Read Uglies and prepare for small group discussion. Be sure to mark passages that strike you as interesting, either because of their literary quality or because they would be interesting to discuss!

Jewish Folklore

On Thursday evening, Howard Schwartz spoke at the Union on “Jewish Tales of the Supernatural”. Howard Schwartz is a writer whose focus is on Jewish folklore. I had never heard of Jewish folklore before and I was interested in what this is like. Because I was raised Jewish, I wanted to see if the morals presented in these Folktales are ones that I would like to identify myself with.
At the presentation, there were many picture books lying out with Jewish folklore stories. I had a couple minutes to look through one of the books, and I also stayed to hear the speaker talk about a couple Jewish folktales.
Like other folktales I have read or heard of, there were underlying themes and personification with animals. The themes, however, were different from other folktales. For example, in the book I read, the theme was to keep the Sabbath.
Some of the main themes in the folklore Howard Schwartz shared were ideas I do not necessarily agree with. This led me to reflect on many things, including folklore itself. What significance does folklore play in religion? What is the difference between biblical stories and religious folklore?
If any of you are interested, he is giving another lecture on Saturday, March 29 at Noon, on the topic “Is There a Jewish Mythology?” You can contact Congregation Shaarey Zedek for more information.

Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey

Clever Beatrice is an original folktale written by Margaret Willey and illustrated by Heather Solomon. Set in the late 19th century in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the author uses a third person account to cleanly direct the plot. The story begins with an establishment of characters; Beatrice and her mother have fallen on hard times, however, there is a rich giant over the hill. In the ending the problem is resolved without difficulty; Beatrice outsmarts the giant and wins his riches. Willey’s overall theme is that intelligence will triumph over physical strength.
Solomon uses collage technique with acrylic, oils, and watercolors throughout the illustrations to supply visual contrasts and patterns that convey movement and reality. She produces impressionistic art that effectively combines small morsels of color and texture to create a complete picture. The illustrations are three-dimensional with thin angular lines and geometric shapes. The earth tones used reflect the simplicity of woodland life.
Willey’s accomplishes her intent to entertain and educate. Her story reflects on an economy relying on the lumber industry, “One way [to make money] is to cut down trees with the lumberjacks,” states Beatrice’s mother (p. 3). This ever-present relationship between people and the environment is relatable for all generations. A hidden message Willey includes is that when times are rough one may need to call upon all of their personal strengths to overcome tribulations. This folktale is appropriate for ages 4-8.

Willey, Margaret. Clever Beatrice. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2001.

Click http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/authors/experts/willey.asp for an interview in which Willey comments on her inspiration and techniques used while writing this book.
If you are interested in Upper Peninsula folktales this book: http://www.amazon.com/Bloodstoppers-Bearwalkers-Traditions-Upper-Peninsula/dp/0674076656 offers a compilation of stories collected by a folklorist in the late 1940’s.

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola is a retelling of the Porridge Pot Story but in dePaola's own words. It is a folklore story about Strega Nona(Grandma Witch) who uses her magic to help people with their everyday problems. She hires a young man to help her with her housework, who ends up being overcome with curiosity about a magic pasta pot, and disregards his responsibilities and ends up having to face the consequences of his actions. The young man's curiosity almost destroys the village which enrages the townspeople. Strega Nona comes back to the town and with her wisdom she is able to save the town and the young man, by making him face the consequences, which are fair, but also very grueling.
dePaola is able to capture both the Italian feel of the town of Calabria, and the characters emotions by using watercolor. The use of red for the roof tiles and the beige for the buildings, lets the reader understand the importance of the Italian culture to the author. The white doves, which are near Straga Nona in many of the illustrations, represent how wise she is. The illustrations flow with the text making it very easy for the reader to follow the story. Trough the use of watercolor and well written text, dePaola is able to teach a lesson of responsibility that readers of all ages are able to enjoy.

dePaola, Tomie. Strega Nona. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975.

Stone Soup by Jon Muth

In Jon Muth’s third person retelling of Stone Soup three monks travel in hopes of finding the key to happiness and stumble upon a weathered village where each villager isolates themselves from another. In the making of stone soup, a little girl’s curiosity brings the community out to lend a helping hand in the process. Upon the monk’s departure the villagers are once again united and discover happiness comes from sharing. This trickery folklore blends Buddhism with an Eastern culture, illustrated by the choosing of three monks versus soldiers of previous retellings and each represent particular Chinese deities. Muth’s version stresses the importance of generosity whereas other tellings have travelers seeking personal gain.

Muth portrays the Chinese culture through the use of watercolor. Vibrant yellow dresses the little girl with importance and strategic placement on each page symbolizing the significance of her role in unification. The illustrations strongly follow the community’s development of unity; in the beginning each character is in individual pictures, the middle a few villagers are illustrated together and in closing artwork the entire village gathers to say farewell. The color of gray symbolizes a sense of balance and calamity. The monks dressed in all gray are seen as at peace along side the stacking of stones that are the basis for the village’s feast. Stone Soup blends design and passage to effectively communicate the value of community and kindness.

Muth, Jon. Stone Soup. New York: Scholastic Press, 2003.

The Hare and the Tortoise

Wildsmith, Brian. The Hare and the Tortoise. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1966.
The Genre of this book is Fantasy because animals can not talk in real life. This book is about a slow tortoise that challenges a quick hare to race. The hare is very arrogant and thinks he will win for sure, only to find that by being arrogant he will loose to the less appealing opponent. This story takes place in a field outside and is told by an omniscient narrative. The theme is that you should never give up and that looks can be very deceiving.
The media of this book includes watercolor for some of the illustrations and acrylic for many. The style of art is cartoon because the shapes are all very simplified and many of the characters are distorted. The placement on the page varies but generally takes up most of the space sometimes even extending over onto the next page. The author uses straight lines, to form different objects and also blends colors to give it a watercolor effect. The colors used are very bright and catch the reader's eye.

The author put the drawings and text together very well to create the story. The words were simple to encourage young readers and the pictures also helped. This book allows kids to know that they can do whatever they put their minds to. It was made for children from 4-8 years in age, the perfect time to begin teaching them life lessons.

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble

Goble, Paul. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses. New York, 1978.

This story is a good example of folklore for children. It is a Native American story that has been passed down orally from generation to generation. The story is set in the Great Plains before they were civilized. It’s a story of a young girl who loved wild horses so much that she played with them everyday. One day a storm comes and she rides away with the horses. She lives with them for two years until she’s found by her tribe. Although, she loves her family she decides to be happy she must live with the horses where she can roam wild and free.

Goble introduces Native American culture to children who might not otherwise get exposed to this culture. It is a culture that is becoming more and more forgotten in American society. The story and illustrations were incredibly effective in teaching about the culture. The story itself taught about Native values such as love, compassion, family, and their relationship with the earth and nature. The illustrations displayed concrete characteristics of the culture such as, clothing and the Native art style. The illustrations were a key part of the story because they helped children visualize unfamiliar Native concepts. They were done using a style typical to Native culture. The people were less emphasized then the animals and scenery. In fact, like Native culture they had no boundaries or edges, they covered the pages.

Christensen reading: "Unlearning the myths..."

We didn't have time in class to do justice to the question of what is gained and lost when one reads traditional folklore vs innovations ("fakelore").

In particular, I'm curious to hear people's responses to the Christensen article. What do people think? Does mass media create and maintain stereotypes? If so, what should be our response? What questions or dilemmas does the article raise for you?

Session 6: Folklore and Poetry

Don't forget that the facilitator and artistic response people from Where the Wild Things Are need to submit their second papers to the appropriate dropbox before session 6!

There's a lot of reading for next session because we'll be exploring two different genres: Folklore and Poetry.

Here are some questions to help you focus your reading:

• Folklore: C & G, Ch 5 and Christensen (on Angel)
• How is the genre defined? What makes folklore, folklore?
  
• What are the differences between folklore and "fakelore"? What might those differences matter?
• What sub-categories can we use to describe types of folklore?

• Poetry: C & G, Ch 4 and Apol/Harris (on Angel)

• How is the genre defined? How is it meant to be experienced? (Is this what we see in schools?)
• How might we evaluate poetry? How might conventional understandings of form, etc. help us? (Scare us? Excite us? We'll spend some time unpacking our own histories with poetry!!!)
  

• Why pair folklore and poetry? How are they similar? Different?
  

I've said this to each of the sections, but I want to reiterate: The quality of conversation in the class depends largely on you! Please come prepared, with copies of the readings! Preparing for class is part of your full participation in class!