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fandomhigh2011-05-18 04:02 am
steel-not-glass.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2011-05-18 04:02 am
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Sex And Candy, Wednesday, Second Period
Unlike last week, there was no trip to the Danger Shop, no fairy tale garden, and no forbidden candy awaiting the students. In fact, all that was waiting for them when they arrived in their classroom was a smiling Cindy and several stacks of paper to be handed out to them by her TAs if they were there.
Okay, there were also a few boxes of pastries and a carafe of coffee on the front of Cindy's desk. She might have been waiting to see if anyone went for a cup or a doughnut after last week's class.
The lecture began as soon as the bell rang; they had a lot of ground to cover today. "Today, we'll be talking a lot about what fairy tales are, as well as what distinguishes them from other types of stories. Mankind--and other species presumably--have been telling stories since we discovered language and even possibly before that, so there are a lot of different kinds of stories out there. Understanding what I mean when I say 'fairy tale' will really help you get a handle on the class."
On now began the great passing out of handouts.
"Now, most of these story types fall under the heading of folklore, which include fables, myths, legends, and fairy tales. All of these stories can be looked at to gain further understanding of the societies and cultures they came from, even if these tales are not considered to be historically or factually accurate. These are more properly considered 'folk narratives' because we're studying the stories, as opposed to the behaviors, rituals, or artifacts of a particular culture. Now, while folklore incorporates those different kinds of stories, they are not all synonyms for one another. A legend is not a myth, though they are often conflated, and a fairy tale is not a fable. So, let's look at where one type of story begins and another ends."
"Myths," Cindy continued, "are stories about gods, heroes, and men that are closely linked to and usually endorsed by a specific religion. Myths generally try explain why the world is as it is, how certain rituals or taboos came to be, and answer other questions about the world around us and our lives. Whether we are discussing Ra masturbating into his hand to create other gods or Eve eating the apple in the Garden of Eden, we're talking about myths. Some people might get offended hearing their religion called a myth. Get over it. In scholastic terms, myths are considered to be real stories--as opposed to fables, which are usually considered to be false--that took place in a far-off age. Shorthand? Myths are religious stories that the people of that religion believe to be truthful, if not exact."
"Closely related to myths, however, are legends. Legends are also traditionally considered 'true,' in the same way myths are, but while myths are stories of the ancient past, before the world became as it is now, legends are stories of the 'here and now.'" Cindy gave the class a smile. "This is, of course, relative, as many Greek legends are now thousands of years old. Legends also are generally more concerned with the deeds of men, instead of gods or the supernatural, though the latter may play important parts in the story. A big part of legends, though, involve the idea of realism. Within a legend, only things that are considered to be 'possible' can happen. Now, the idea of what is possible is rather flexible--the legend of Odysseus contains mention of Circe turning men into pigs and a sack that can hold the four winds, as well as any number of gods and monsters. In its time, all of these things were considered true and possible--and, being in Fandom in ancient Egypt, who are we to say they aren't?--so even though the modern world considers these tales to be fantastic, they are still considered to be legends and therefore 'true stories.'"
"Over in stories considered to be false from the time of their creation, we have fables and fairy tales. Fables are stories told to illustrate a particular lesson, usually involving anthropomorphized animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature to get the point across. A well-known fable, for example, is The Ant and the Grasshopper. Fables are not very subtle and many of them have the moral written in at the very end, on the off chance you'd missed it while reading, heaven only knows how. Because they contain the doings of plants and animals, fables can never be mistaken for 'true stories' that is, stories that actually happened. They're also related to parables, in that a parable is the same kind of story, but with human characters instead. These are stories that could conceivably have happened. So, if The Ant and the Grasshopper became The Farmer and the Bard, but remained functionally the same, it would be a parable, not a fable."
"And now we come to fairy tales. These are stories that are not considered to be real or true, unlike legends, and are not explicitly told for the moral therein. Now, while it's easy to find morals and lessons in fairy tails, they don't come with those morals rubber-stamped at the end. Scholars dispute exactly what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale--most of them don't actively involve fairies, even if magic is a common trope, and there are plenty of stories that revolve around talking animals or plants, like a fable does. The Bremen Town Musicians is a story about a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster, but is considered a fairy tale, rather than a fable. The most simple definition is that it's any story that contains elements of folklore--witches, spells, elves, fairies, giants, talking animals and the like--so long as those elements are not considered to be real. The fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, told in a world where people believed in witches and gingerbread cottages, would be considered a legend."
"So, today, I've brought an assortment of stories along with me. You may work alone or in pairs, going through the stories and deciding what category it belongs to. Also..." she smiled at them, "anyone interested can feel free to have some pastries or coffee, if they'd like."
[OCD up!]
Okay, there were also a few boxes of pastries and a carafe of coffee on the front of Cindy's desk. She might have been waiting to see if anyone went for a cup or a doughnut after last week's class.
The lecture began as soon as the bell rang; they had a lot of ground to cover today. "Today, we'll be talking a lot about what fairy tales are, as well as what distinguishes them from other types of stories. Mankind--and other species presumably--have been telling stories since we discovered language and even possibly before that, so there are a lot of different kinds of stories out there. Understanding what I mean when I say 'fairy tale' will really help you get a handle on the class."
On now began the great passing out of handouts.
"Now, most of these story types fall under the heading of folklore, which include fables, myths, legends, and fairy tales. All of these stories can be looked at to gain further understanding of the societies and cultures they came from, even if these tales are not considered to be historically or factually accurate. These are more properly considered 'folk narratives' because we're studying the stories, as opposed to the behaviors, rituals, or artifacts of a particular culture. Now, while folklore incorporates those different kinds of stories, they are not all synonyms for one another. A legend is not a myth, though they are often conflated, and a fairy tale is not a fable. So, let's look at where one type of story begins and another ends."
"Myths," Cindy continued, "are stories about gods, heroes, and men that are closely linked to and usually endorsed by a specific religion. Myths generally try explain why the world is as it is, how certain rituals or taboos came to be, and answer other questions about the world around us and our lives. Whether we are discussing Ra masturbating into his hand to create other gods or Eve eating the apple in the Garden of Eden, we're talking about myths. Some people might get offended hearing their religion called a myth. Get over it. In scholastic terms, myths are considered to be real stories--as opposed to fables, which are usually considered to be false--that took place in a far-off age. Shorthand? Myths are religious stories that the people of that religion believe to be truthful, if not exact."
"Closely related to myths, however, are legends. Legends are also traditionally considered 'true,' in the same way myths are, but while myths are stories of the ancient past, before the world became as it is now, legends are stories of the 'here and now.'" Cindy gave the class a smile. "This is, of course, relative, as many Greek legends are now thousands of years old. Legends also are generally more concerned with the deeds of men, instead of gods or the supernatural, though the latter may play important parts in the story. A big part of legends, though, involve the idea of realism. Within a legend, only things that are considered to be 'possible' can happen. Now, the idea of what is possible is rather flexible--the legend of Odysseus contains mention of Circe turning men into pigs and a sack that can hold the four winds, as well as any number of gods and monsters. In its time, all of these things were considered true and possible--and, being in Fandom in ancient Egypt, who are we to say they aren't?--so even though the modern world considers these tales to be fantastic, they are still considered to be legends and therefore 'true stories.'"
"Over in stories considered to be false from the time of their creation, we have fables and fairy tales. Fables are stories told to illustrate a particular lesson, usually involving anthropomorphized animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature to get the point across. A well-known fable, for example, is The Ant and the Grasshopper. Fables are not very subtle and many of them have the moral written in at the very end, on the off chance you'd missed it while reading, heaven only knows how. Because they contain the doings of plants and animals, fables can never be mistaken for 'true stories' that is, stories that actually happened. They're also related to parables, in that a parable is the same kind of story, but with human characters instead. These are stories that could conceivably have happened. So, if The Ant and the Grasshopper became The Farmer and the Bard, but remained functionally the same, it would be a parable, not a fable."
"And now we come to fairy tales. These are stories that are not considered to be real or true, unlike legends, and are not explicitly told for the moral therein. Now, while it's easy to find morals and lessons in fairy tails, they don't come with those morals rubber-stamped at the end. Scholars dispute exactly what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale--most of them don't actively involve fairies, even if magic is a common trope, and there are plenty of stories that revolve around talking animals or plants, like a fable does. The Bremen Town Musicians is a story about a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster, but is considered a fairy tale, rather than a fable. The most simple definition is that it's any story that contains elements of folklore--witches, spells, elves, fairies, giants, talking animals and the like--so long as those elements are not considered to be real. The fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, told in a world where people believed in witches and gingerbread cottages, would be considered a legend."
"So, today, I've brought an assortment of stories along with me. You may work alone or in pairs, going through the stories and deciding what category it belongs to. Also..." she smiled at them, "anyone interested can feel free to have some pastries or coffee, if they'd like."
[OCD up!]