African Folk Tales (Andrew Lang) Week 8: African Traditions - Assignments - Reading - Resources - Images

Reflections Essay

Choose one of the essay topics for this week. You will find the topics listed down at the bottom of this page; scroll down to find them. If you want to write on a different topic, contact the instructor first (make sure you do that at least one day before the deadline so that you can receive an answer back in time).

Links to stories. You need to provide a link back to each of the specific stories that you discuss in your essay.

Image. You are required to include at least one image with the story, along with a link to the webpage where you found the image, plus information about the image. You are free to re-use the images you find at the course website, or you can choose some other image to use that you find on the internet. Remember: even if you are re-using an image from the course website, you need to provide image information about it.

Title. You need to include the words "Essay for Week ___" in the title you give to the post, along with a title for your actual story (for example, "Essay for Week 2: Dangerous Magic in Egyptian Legends")

Length. Your Storytelling post needs to be a minimum of 300 words long (maximum 1000 words). Make sure you do a spellcheck and a word count, and that you proofread your post by reading it out loud.

When you are done, complete the Gradebook Declaration.

Assess. Think back to your Starting Assumptions this week and your Starting Assumptions for the course in general. Did anything you read or studied this week make a big change in your starting assumptions? What surprised you the most? What story made the most vivid impression on you? Was there a story that didn't grab you at all or that you didn't understand? Did this unit fit into your expectations for a course in Mythology and Folklore? If you were going to continue with this topic, what kind of research and reading would you want to do? What questions would you want to find answers to? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

The "Bad Guys." Most stories contain a "bad guy," an enemy who has to be defeated or an antagonist who has to be overcome. Who were the "bad guys" in this week's stories? What did these antagonists have in common? What made them act the way that they did? Were you ever sympathetic to the "bad guys"? What happened to the "bad guys" at the end of each story? How were the heroes/heroines able to escape from or defeat their opponents? Do any of the "bad guys" learn their lesson or turn out not to be so bad in the end? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Crime and Justice. Was the motif of "crime" an important element in any of this week's stories? Who was the criminal and what kind of crime(s) were committed? Do the stories promote the idea of justice? Or do the stories promote the idea that life is unfair and that there is no justice, or that crime can be something glamorous? Who were the agents of justice in these stories? Who were the criminals? Was revenge also a motif in the stories? How do the motifs of crime and justice in this week's stories compare to the other stories you have read this semester? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Heroes. The word "hero" has a wide range of meanings in English. In the most neutral terms, a hero is someone who is able to successfully accomplish a difficult task. But many people expect more from a hero: they often assume a hero should be a positive role model, or that a hero should make great sacrifices for the benefit of other people. For other people, the test of a hero is the incredible obstacles that he has to overcome (that's what superheroes do!). What is your definition of a hero? Did you find any examples of a hero in this week's readings? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Magic and the Supernatural. Magic and supernatural elements are important for many mythological and folktale traditions. What examples of magic and supernatural elements did you see in this week's stories? What kinds of characters used magic? What did they use magic for? Were there supernatural characters or events in this week's stories? What role did these supernatural characters or events play in the plot of the stories? Would you say that magic and supernatural motifs were dominant elements in this week's readings? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Inspiration? Guidance? Model? Were there any characters in the stories of this unit who provided you with a kind of model to follow - either a positive model to imitate, or a negative model to avoid? Are there some incidents in the stories that give you insight into something that has happened in your own life or in the life of someone close to you? Are there values or qualities that you see in the characters that are values or qualities you would like to have more of in your own life? What valuable message or meaning did you find in this week's stories? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Tragedy and Pathos. Were any of the stories in this week's readings "tragic" stories? Did sad things happen in any of the stories? Give an example of a scene that you thought was tragic or sad. What were the specific elements in the story that made you respond to this sad scene in an emotional way? Which characters did you relate to most? Why do you think people enjoy reading stories that are sad? Why are we interested in stories that are tragic or stories that have unhappy endings? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Tricksters and Fools. One of the most popular figures in folklore and mythology around the world is the "trickster" character. The "fool" is a related character. Who are some of the tricksters and fools you saw in this week's readings? Are there characters who combine "trickster" and "fool" into a single character? What kinds of adventures do the tricksters and fools have? How do the other characters in the story interact with the tricksters and fools? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.