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Welcome to English III. This is our blog spot. Here we will share our feelings and ideas about the works we are studying. I encourage you to be honest, but I EXPECT you to be mature and respectful.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Tell me a story

Since the beginning of time, people have said to one another, "Tell me a story."  Many of these stories have been folktales. Most folktales contain common elements, such as subtle humor, stereotypical or stock characters, moral themes, eerie or strange settings, and rumor-based or word-of-mouth information. "The Devil and Tom Walker" is classified as an American folktale. Select any two elements of folktales and explain how the incorporation of these elements added to the story. How did these elements help the story?  (This post closes at midnight on Friday, October 14, 2011.)

7 comments:

kaileyemorton said...

"The Devil and Tom Walker" displayed subtle humor and stereotypical characters. The story described Devil as being black with red eyes and holding an ax. This is the exact image people normally create in their mind when they hear the word "devil". The story showed subtle humor when saying the wife had been beating her husband, Tom. The author did not make the reader laugh out loud, but the humor was their and able to be found. These two characteristics help us recognize "The Devil and Tom Walker" as a folktale.

Kasey.Rito said...

Moral themes and subtle humor are incorporated in the folktale "The Devil and Tom Walker." The subtle humor was shown between the relationship between Tom Walker and his wife. This humor helps the story by making it a folktale instead of a serious story. The moral theme of greed is bad is shown throughout the entire story. Themes help add reason to a story. Folktales for entertainment were probably good, but ones that had a theme, like "The Devil and Tom Walker" had a reason for being written and provided entertainment.

JasmineNecaise said...

In "The Devil and Tom Walker" the use of word-of-mouth information and subtle humor are very important. The word-of-mouth information gives you a type of freedom to see other peoples points of view and how the story came along. It also makes you have the chance to really choose what you think is true. Subtle humor adds to the story because it takes away from some of the crudity of the situation so it is not just this big terrible story about people dying. It makes it funny

MaddieGable said...

The folktale elements of stereotypical characters and Eerie settings were used in ''The Devil and Tom Walker''. Toms wife was domineering and unpleasant. Often wives are described this way in stories and portrayed on television as haughty and naggy. His wife's personality added humor to the story. The woods, however, were not humorous at all. They were described as dark and mysterious. This element was included to foreshadow the evil thing lurking In the woods. Obviously no one would buy that the devil recruits his souls in a flower garden. The funny stereotypes and eerie setting make for a balanced folk tale.

BP-blk 1 said...

In the folktale "The Devil and Tom Walker" the elements subtle humor and moral theme added to the story.When the devil claims Tom's wife's soul is too dark for him it relieves from the eerie setting in the story.Also, the moral theme is that greed is a bad quality. Nothing great comes from greed. The elements helped the story by teaching a lesson and not just a short story.

BMS said...

The folktale "The Devil and Tom Walker" uses the elements moral theme and subtle humor to add to the story. The moral theme of the folktale is that greed is not a quality one needs to possess, which is expressed throughout the folktale. This theme helps the reader better understand what happens to Tom. Subtle humor is also used to add to the story when it is told that Tom's wife beats him, and when it is said that Tom's wife is too evil for the Devil. These elements makes "The Devil and Tom Walker" a folktale and not just a short story.

Faith Crawford said...

The two elements that I believe are mostly important are the moral theme and the stereotypical description created. The moral theme that is created is the sense of greed with Tom Walker. Throughout the book, Tom has changed in his sense of money to where he also loses his sense of self. The stereotypical aspect is created along with the theme. It explains the character of Tom Walker and how it is typical in a marriage to defy husband of wife of your belongings. It's capable of a human being to become a person as Tom Walker, and the author explains this as a typical person in the world would be.