The Use of Animal Figures in Oral Narratives
The Use of Animal Figures in Oral Narratives
Animals can be personified in a way that will convey messages to others through the use of stories or narratives. During one’s childhood, parents share stories that include animals to teach us different lessons. The Tortoise and the Hare is a common and popular story that most children often hear. The main plot of the story is centered on a race between the Tortoise and the Hare. Once the race begins, the Hare pulls far ahead of the Tortoise. He becomes so far ahead of the Tortoise that he stops to take a nap during the race. At the end of the story, the Hare wakes up to realize that he has lost to the Tortoise. The Hare does not give his all during the race because he knows that he is much faster than the Tortoise. The message within the story teaches children about certain beliefs called morals. This particular narrative teaches us that we should not to be lazy or become complacent in all things. There will always be someone trying to get to the same place at the same time, while there is only room for one. Many, if not all of us, have been exposed to this type of storytelling where animals take on human capabilities. African, oral traditions also use the animal to display human characteristics and capabilities. The use of animals in this light is called anthropomorphism. To analyze the type of literature that personifies animals, we will draw from narratives that demonstrate this method and consider its purpose.
Oral narration is used within many cultures. Oral narration is defined as a spoken account of connected events or story. It is a tradition deeply embedded within the African culture. Before the colonial period, oral narration was Africa’s educational system. The children learned through a repeat of a theme, song or the important part of a plot (Kalu). In the African culture, there is a person who is held accountable for telling the stories. This person is called a griot, who is a keeper of traditions of
Animals can be personified in a way that will convey messages to others through the use of stories or narratives. During one’s childhood, parents share stories that include animals to teach us different lessons. The Tortoise and the Hare is a common and popular story that most children often hear. The main plot of the story is centered on a race between the Tortoise and the Hare. Once the race begins, the Hare pulls far ahead of the Tortoise. He becomes so far ahead of the Tortoise that he stops to take a nap during the race. At the end of the story, the Hare wakes up to realize that he has lost to the Tortoise. The Hare does not give his all during the race because he knows that he is much faster than the Tortoise. The message within the story teaches children about certain beliefs called morals. This particular narrative teaches us that we should not to be lazy or become complacent in all things. There will always be someone trying to get to the same place at the same time, while there is only room for one. Many, if not all of us, have been exposed to this type of storytelling where animals take on human capabilities. African, oral traditions also use the animal to display human characteristics and capabilities. The use of animals in this light is called anthropomorphism. To analyze the type of literature that personifies animals, we will draw from narratives that demonstrate this method and consider its purpose.
Oral narration is used within many cultures. Oral narration is defined as a spoken account of connected events or story. It is a tradition deeply embedded within the African culture. Before the colonial period, oral narration was Africa’s educational system. The children learned through a repeat of a theme, song or the important part of a plot (Kalu). In the African culture, there is a person who is held accountable for telling the stories. This person is called a griot, who is a keeper of traditions of
Bibliography: Burke, Carolyn and Copenhaver, Joby. Animals as People in Children’s LiteraTure, Language Arts, Vol. 81. No.3, Jan 2004. Finnegan, Ruth. Oral LiteraTure in Africa, World Oral LiteraTure Series: Volume 1, United Kingdom copyright 2012 Vansina, Jan. Once Upon a Time: Oral Traditions as History in Africa. Daedalus. Vol. 100 No. 2, Spring, 1971 Vanisna, J and Leydesdorff S et al. Oral Tradition: A Study in historical methodology. Transaction publishers, New Brunswick Copyright 2009