American Folk Tales, Upper Intermediate

 

American Folk Tales

American folk tales include myths, legends, and stories based on historical events. They have evolved mostly since the European colonization of the Americas, but also include stories that date back to the pre-colonial era.

Native American Folk Tales

Native American cultures are rich in myths and legends about various themes, especially those that explain natural phenomena and the relationship between humans and the spirit world.

Native American cultures are numerous and diverse. Though some neighboring cultures hold similar beliefs, others can be quite different from one another. Like most indigenous cultures, the most common myths are creation myths, which tell a story to explain how the earth was formed, and where humans and other beings came from. Others may include explanations about the Sun, Moon, constellations, specific animals, seasons, and weather. This is one of the ways that many tribes have kept, and continue to keep, their cultures alive; these stories are told as a way of preserving and transmitting the nation and tribe's particular beliefs, history, customs, spirituality, and traditional way of life. According to Barre Toelken, "Stories not only entertain but also represent Native behavioral and ethical values."

Although individual tribes have their own sacred beliefs and myths, many stories have much in common. Myths about floods are almost universal amongst Plains tribes, like stories of a flooded earth being restored. There are many "hero stories" immortalizing the adventures of heroes with supernatural powers, who right wrongs and defeat evils. Animal tales are common, some explaining how features of certain animals occurred, some using animal characters for narration, and others using animals symbolically. There are also myths where supernatural beings appear in the form of animals, with the bear, elk, eagle, owl, and snake frequently referred to.

Founding Myths

The founding of the United States is often surrounded by national myths, legends, and tall tales. Many stories have developed since the founding long ago to become a part of America's folklore and cultural awareness, and non-Native American folklore especially includes any narrative which has contributed to the shaping of American culture and belief systems. These narratives have varying levels of historical accuracy; the veracity of the stories is not a determining factor.

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus, as a hero and symbol to the then-immigrants, is an important figure in the body of American myth. His status, not unlike most American icons, is representative not of his own accomplishments, but the self-perception of the society which chose him as a hero. After separation from England and its cultural icons, the United States was left without history—or heroes on which to base a shared sense of their social selves. The writer, Washington Irving, was instrumental in popularizing Columbus. His version of Columbus' life, published in 1829, was more a romance than a biography. The book was very popular, and contributed to an image of the discoverer as a solitary individual who challenged the unknown sea, as triumphant Americans contemplated the dangers and promise of their own wilderness frontier. As a consequence of his vision and audacity, there was now a land free from kings, a vast continent for new beginnings. In the years following the Revolution, the poetic device "Columbia" was used as a symbol of both Columbus and America. King's College of New York changed its name in 1792 to Columbia (now Columbia University), and the new capital in Washington was subtitled District of Columbia.

Jamestown and Pocahontas

In May 1607, three ships sailed through Chesapeake Bay and thirty miles up the James River settlers built Jamestown, Virginia, England's first permanent colony. Too late in the season to plant crops, many settlers were not accustomed to manual labor. Within a few months, some settlers died of famine and disease. Only thirty-eight made it through their first year in the New World. Captain John Smith, a pirate turned gentleman, turned the settlers into foragers and successful traders with the Native Americans, who taught the English how to plant corn and other crops. Smith led expeditions to explore the regions surrounding Jamestown, and it was during one of these that the chief of the Powhatan Native Americans captured Smith. According to an account Smith published in 1624, he was going to be put to death until the chief's daughter, Pocahontas, saved him. From this, the legend of Pocahontas sprang forth, becoming part of American folklore, children's books, and movies.

Pilgrims

Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of arrival of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620, and an important symbol in American history. There are no contemporary references to the Pilgrims' landing on a rock at Plymouth. The first written reference to the Pilgrims landing on a rock is found 121 years after they landed. The Rock, or one traditionally identified as it, has long been memorialized on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The holiday of Thanksgiving is said to have begun with the Pilgrims in 1621. They had come to America to escape religious persecution, but then nearly starved to death. Some friendly Native Americans, including Squanto, helped the Pilgrims survive through the first winter. The perseverance of the Pilgrims is celebrated during the annual Thanksgiving festival.

Revolutionary War figures

George Washington

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799), the country's first president, is the most preeminent of American historical and folkloric figures, as he holds the place of the father of the country. Legends about Washington's childhood include a claim that he skipped a silver dollar across the Rappahannock River at Ferry Farm. Another tale claims that as a young child, Washington chopped down his father's cherry tree. His angry father confronted the young Washington, who proclaimed "I cannot tell a lie" and admitted to the act, thus illuminating his honesty.

Benjamin Franklin

(January 17, 1706– April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a leading writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Among the most influential intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence; and the first postmaster general.

Some famous American maxims come from Franklin’s Almanac, which he called Poor Richard’s Almanac. He began it when he was 26 and continued to publish it yearly for 25 years, building up a very large circulation. Some of the most famous maxims include the following:

God helps them that help themselves.

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

There are no gains without pains.

One today is worth two tomorrows.

Little strokes fell great oaks.

 He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.

 Look before, or you’ll find yourself behind.

Don’t throw stones at your neighbors, if your own windows are glass.

 When you’re good to others, you’re best to yourself.

 Haste makes Waste.

 Wish not so much to live long as to live well.

Patrick Henry

Henry was an attorney, planter and politician who became known as an orator during the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. Patrick Henry is best known for the speech he made in the House of Burgesses in 1775, in Richmond, Virginia. With the House undecided on whether to mobilize for military action against the approaching British military force, Henry argued in favor of mobilization. Forty-two years later, Henry's first biographer, William Wirt, tried to reconstruct what Henry said. According to Wirt, Henry ended his speech with words that have since become immortalized: "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" The crowd, by Wirt's account, jumped up and shouted "To Arms! To Arms!"

Betsy Ross

Betsy Ross is widely credited with making the first American flag. There is, however, no credible historical evidence that the story is true. Research conducted by the National Museum of American History notes that the story of Betsy Ross making the first American flag for General George Washington entered into American consciousness about the time of the 1876 centennial celebrations. In the 2008 book The Star-Spangled Banner: The Making of an American Icon, experts point out that accounts of the event appealed to Americans eager for stories about the revolution and its heroes. Betsy Ross was promoted as a patriotic role model for young girls and a symbol of women's contributions to American history.

Benedict Arnold

Arnold was an American-born military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort to British forces, but the plot was discovered, and he fled to the British lines. His name became synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.

Paul Revere

Revere was an American silversmith, military officer and industrialist who played a major role during the opening months of the American Revolutionary War in Massachusetts, engaging in a midnight ride in 1775 to alert nearby minutemen of the approach of British troops prior to the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Tall Tales

The tall tale is a main element of American folk literature. The tall tale's origins are in the bragging contests that often occurred when men of the American frontier gathered. A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, told as if it were true and factual. Some such stories are exaggerations of actual events; others are completely fictional tales set in a familiar setting, such as the American Old West, or the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. They are usually humorous or good-natured. The line between myth and tall tale is distinguished primarily by age; many myths exaggerate the adventures of their heroes, but in tall tales, the exaggeration appears large, to the extent of becoming the main part of the story.

Based on historical figures

John Chapman (1774 – 1845), known as Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer farmer who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, and the symbolic importance he gave to apples.

Daniel Boone (1734-1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose achievements made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of the Thirteen Colonies. In 1775, Boone created the Wilderness Road through into Kentucky, in the face of resistance from American Indians, for whom the area was a traditional hunting area. He founded one of the first English-speaking settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains. By the end of the 18th century, more than 200,000 people had entered Kentucky by following the route marked by Boone.

Davy Crockett (1786 – 1836) was a 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture as, "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the Battle of the Alamo.

John Brown (1800 – 1859) was a prominent leader in the American abolitionist movement in the decades before the Civil War. First reaching national fame in the 1850s for his radical abolitionism and fighting in Kansas, Brown was captured and executed in Virginia for attacking the town of Harpers Ferry in 1859 in order to encourage a slave uprising.

Sitting Bull was leader of the Hunkpapa Lakota Indian Nation who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him at a time when authorities feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement.

Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw many soldiers, "as thick as grasshoppers", falling upside down into the Lakota camp, which his people took as a foreshadowing of a major victory in which many soldiers would be killed. About three weeks later, a confederation of Indian tribes defeated the U.S. Cavalry under General Custer in 1876, annihilating Custer's battalion and seeming to fulfill Sitting Bull's prophetic vision. Sitting Bull's leadership inspired his people to a major victory. In response, the U.S. government sent thousands more soldiers to the area, forcing many of the Lakota to surrender over the next year. Sitting Bull refused to surrender, and in May 1877, he led his band north to Wood Mountain, North-West Territories (now Saskatchewan). He remained there until 1881, when he and most of his band returned to U.S. territory and surrendered to U.S. forces.

After working as a performer with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, (one of the most famous ‘Wild West shows’, which romanticized cowboys, Indians, and the Wild West) Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency in South Dakota. Because of fears that Sitting Bull would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement, (a growing spiritual movement, which prophesied an end to American expansion and a return to peace and prosperity for Indian nations) an Indian Service ordered his arrest. During an ensuing struggle between Sitting Bull's followers and the agency police, Sitting Bull was killed.

Martha Jane Canary (1852 – 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, and professional scout best known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok (a famous frontiersman). She is said to have also exhibited kindness and compassion, especially to the sick and needy.

John Henry was an African-American railroad worker who is said to have worked as a "steel-driving man"—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock away in constructing a railroad tunnel. According to legend, John Henry's prowess as a steel-driver was measured in a race against a steam-powered hammer, which he won, only to die in victory with his hammer in his hand and his heart giving out from stress. The "Ballad of John Henry" is a musical rendition of his story.

Based on Fictional Characters

Paul Bunyan is a lumberjack figure in North American folklore and tradition. One of the most famous and popular North American folklore heroes, he is usually described as a giant as well as a lumberjack of unusual skill, and is often accompanied in stories by his animal companion, Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in folktales circulated among lumberjacks in the Northeastern United States and eastern Canada, first appearing in print in a story published by Northern Michigan journalist James MacGillivray in 1906.

The Lone Ranger is a masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto.

Pecos Bill is an American cowboy, whose adventures and deeds are immortalized in numerous tall tales of the Old West during the American westward expansion into the Texas and the Southwest.

When Pecos Bill is an infant, his family travels west in a covered wagon, and he falls out unnoticed by the rest of his family near the Pecos River (thus his nickname). He is taken in and raised by a pack of coyotes. Years later he is found by his real brother, who manages to convince him he is not a coyote.

Bill uses a rattlesnake named Shake as a lasso and another snake as a little whip. Dynamite is said to be his favorite food. It is also said Bill sometimes rides a cougar instead of a horse. According to legend, Pecos Bill is responsible for creating many landmarks. One landmark he is said to have created is the Gulf of Mexico. Apparently, a drought in Texas was so horrible, that Pecos rushed to California and used his lasso to catch tornado and bring it to Texas. It rained so much that the Gulf of Mexico was created. Another story explains how he created the Rio Grande River.

Uncle Sam (who has the same initials as United States) is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of the U.S. government in American culture and a manifestation of patriotic emotion.

Legendary Creatures

Bigfoot, also known as "Sasquatch", is the name given to an ape-like creature that some believe inhabit  forests in the Pacific Northwest region, or throughout the entirety of, North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid, although descriptions vary depending on location. The height range is about 6 to 10 feet tall with black, dark brown, or dark reddish hair. There are several famous accounts of people seeing Bigfoot, and sightings are still reported. Among these reporters are often campers, hikers, explorers, hunters, and more. There are even several websites, podcasts and organizations related to Bigfoot.

Punxsutawney Phil is a semi-mythical groundhog central to the most well-known Groundhog Day ceremony, a Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that claims to predict the arrival of spring. According to tradition, the same groundhog has made predictions ever since the 1800s.

The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens, a wilderness in the southern part of the State of New Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many different variations, including a creature with the face of a horse, the head of a dog, bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, and red eyes. It has been reported to move quickly, as to avoid human contact, and often is described as emitting a loud scream. The legend goes as such: a woman named Mother Leeds gives birth to her 13th child on a dark, stormy night. Mother Leed is said to be a witch, and for her 13th child, she gives birth to a devil. It soon grows wings and hooves, kills the midwife, and takes off into the night.

The White Lady is a type of female ghost reportedly seen in rural areas and associated with some local legend of tragedy. Common to many of them is the theme of losing or being betrayed by a husband or fiancé. They are often associated with an individual family line or said to be an omen of death.

The Mothman is a mythical creature from the State of West Virginia, often described as a large humanoid with glowing red eyes on its face and large bird-like wings with fur covering its body.

Fearsome Critters were tall tales about strange animals or creatures, like Big Foot or the Jersey Devil, jokingly said to inhabit the wilderness in or around logging camps, especially in the Great Lakes region. The character of the fearsome critters themselves was usually more comical than frightful.

Literature

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, or simply "Santa", is a figure with legendary, mythical, historical and folkloric origins. The modern figure of Santa Claus has it’s origins in Christian and European gift-giver folklore. This includes representations of the gift-giver from Christian Church history and folklore, especially St Nicholas, merged with the English character Father Christmas to create the mythical character known to the rest of the English-speaking world as "Santa Claus" (a derivation of "Sinterklaas", Saint Nicholas, in Dutch).

"A Visit from St. Nicholas", also known as "The Night Before Christmas" is a poem first published anonymously in 1823 and generally attributed to Clement Clarke Moore. The poem, which has been called arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American, is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, as well as the tradition that he brings toys to children. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus from the United States to the rest of the English-speaking world and beyond.

The Headless Horseman is an archetype of a mythical figure that has appeared in folklore around Europe since the Middle Ages. The figures are traditionally depicted as riders upon horseback who are missing their heads.

In American folklore, The Headless Horseman is a character most known from the short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by American author Washington Irving. In this story, the ghost of a soldier from the Revolutionary war, decapitated by a cannonball, is supposedly buried in a churchyard in Sleepy Hollow (a real town in the state of New York). At night he rises from his grave to search for his missing head, but is supernaturally barred from crossing a wooden bridge over a nearby stream.

"Rip Van Winkle" is another short story by Washington Irving, published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, drinks their liquor and falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains of New York. He awakes 20 years later to a very changed world, having missed the American Revolution.

Modern American Folklore

American folklore is still occurring and evolving. Some of the topics are older stories, in which people still believe, such as sightings of Big Foot. Many modern stories are related to aliens and UFO abductions. Tales of the Men in Black, secret government agents who dress in black suits and cover up UFO sightings, are an example of this. The Area 51 legend is another example of this. Area 51 is a real military base in state of Nevada. According to UFO folklore, the base holds either alien spaceships or aliens themselves, or both.

The internet has also helped create and disseminate new folklore stories like Creepyposta and the Slenderman, horror-related legends. Characters and stories from movies like Star Wars also could be consider modern folklore.

 

Adapted from Wikipedia and other sources:

Folk tales: Traditional stories passed down from generation to generation, often involving imaginary creatures or events and reflecting the culture of the people who tell them.

Phenomena: something that exists or happens, usually something unusual: (e.g. Natural phenomena like lightning storms).

Diverse: Containing or featuring a variety of different elements or people. (e.g. A diverse group of students from all over the world).

Indigenous: Originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native. (e.g. Indigenous plants or people of the Amazon rainforest).

Tribe: A group of people living together in a primitive social unit, typically having a common language and culture. (e.g. The indigenous tribes of the Pacific Islands)

Tall tales: Humorous or exaggerated stories that are not meant to be taken literally.

Veracity: Truthfulness; the quality of being truthful.

Audacity: Bold or reckless behavior.

Polymath: A person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning. (e.g. Leonardo da Vinci was a true polymath, excelling in art, science, and engineering).

Synonymous: Having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. (e.g. "Happy" and "joyful" are synonymous).

Bragging: Boasting about oneself or one's achievements in a loud or annoying way. (e.g. The athlete's constant bragging turned off his teammates)

Factual: Based on facts or reality. (e.g. A factual news report).

Exaggeration: An act or statement of representing something as being bigger, better, or worse than it really is. (e.g. The movie was an exaggeration of real events).

 Fictional: Invented or imagined; not real or true. (e.g. Harry Potter is a fictional character).

Good-natured: Kind and pleasant. (e.g. The good-natured giant helped the lost children find their way home).

Settlement: An act of settling or being settled. (e.g. The pilgrims' settlement at Plymouth Rock)

Resistance: The act of opposing something with force or argument. (e.g. The French Resistance fought against Nazi occupation during World War II).

Abolitionist: A person who favors the abolition of slavery. (e.g. Harriet Tubman was a famous American abolitionist who helped slaves escape to freedom).

 Uprising: A violent rebellion against authority or control. (e.g. The Haitian Uprising overthrew French rule in the late 18th century).

Indian Reservation: An area of land in the U.S. that is kept separate as a place for Native Americans to live.

Grasshopper: Jumping insects with long hind legs. They are related to crickets and locusts.

Foreshadowing: A literary device where the author give a suggestion at what will happen later in the story.

Confederation: A group of states or organizations that agree to work together for a common purpose. The United States of America is a confederation of 50 states.

Annihilating: To destroy something completely. Annihilation can refer to the destruction of a physical object, a group of people, or an idea.

Battalion: A military unit typically made up of several hundred soldiers.

Prophetic: Able to predict the future, especially in a way that is inspired by a higher power.

Surrender: To give up in a fight or contest. When someone surrenders, they admit defeat and agree to the demands of the victor.

Frontier: The outer limits of a settled or known area. The American frontier was the region in the western United States that was not yet settled by Europeans.

Scout: A person who goes ahead of a group to find out information, especially about enemies or danger. Scouts are often used in the military or for exploration.

Prowess: Great skill or ability. Prowess can be used in relation to physical skills, mental skills, or social skills.

Rendition: a performance of something.

Lumberjack: A person who cuts down trees and prepares them for transport. Lumberjacks typically work in forests.

Outlaw: A person who breaks the law and avoids capture by the authorities. Outlaws are often depicted in cowboys and gangster movies.

Deed: something that is done: an act or action.

Lasso: A rope with a loop at one end that is used to catch animals. Lassoing is a skill that is often associated with cowboys.

Personification: The practice of representing a thing or idea as a person in art, literature, etc.

Entirety: The whole thing or amount. If you consider something in its entirety, you are considering all of its parts or aspects.

Bipedal: An animal that walks on two legs. Humans are bipedal creatures. (Compare to "quadrupedal" which means walking on four legs).

Humanoid: Resembling a human in shape. Humanoid robots are often featured in science fiction stories.

Groundhog: A small, furry North American animal that lives in the ground also known as a woodchuck.

Superstition: A belief that is not based on reason or science. Many people have superstitions about things like bringing bad luck.

Hooves: The hard, horny coverings on the feet of some animals, such as horses, cows, and sheep. Hooves help these animals to walk on rough terrain.

Emitting: To send or releasing something, such as light, heat, or sound. For example, the sun emits light.

Midwife: A trained person who assists a woman during childbirth. Midwives can deliver babies at home or in hospitals.

Betrayed: to hurt (someone who trusts you, such as a friend or relative) by not giving help or by doing something morally wrong. If someone betrays you, they have broken your trust.

Omen: A sign that is believed to be a prediction of the future. Omens can be positive or negative.

Critter: An informal word for a small animal. This is a casual way to refer to any small creature.

Merged: Combined to form a single thing. For example, two companies might merge to create a larger company.

Attributed: Given credit for something. An achievement can be attributed to a person's hard work.

Reindeer: A large deer with large horns that is native to Arctic regions. Reindeer are also known as caribou.

Decapitated: To cut off the head of someone (a person or animal).

Supernatural: Relating to things that are believed to be beyond the normal laws of nature. Ghosts, magic and spirits are often considered to be supernatural.