Folklore - February 9, 2015

This reading was enlightening. I was one of the many people under the misconception that folklore referred to only things such as old wives' tales and superstitions which were untrue. It is interesting to see what an overarching theme folklore actually is and it is also somewhat confusing. There are many similarities and subtle distinctions between folklore, pop culture, and traditions. the differences between pop culture and folklore were easier for me to grasp than those between folklore and tradition. Ultimately, the easiest way for me to distinguish between pop culture and folklore is that folklore is usually something which carries the interest of a certain group and, although folklore can come out of pop culture, pop culture is usually produced or taken in by large groups.

Aesop's Fables and Clayton Essay

I enjoyed reading the fables more than I expected to. Although they were only a few sentences each, I realize that I kept trying to predict how the stories would end but the endings always surprised me and I actually found them to be great ways to get each of their intended lessons across. I also liked that each of the lessons were actually interesting lessons that were really relatable.

Regarding Clayton's essay, I initially felt surprised to learn how clear the authors of the fables made their messages to their intended audience. For the majority of the time I was reading this essay, I had interpreted the takeaway of the fables to be that people in positions of less power should refrain from "acting out" and survive by remaining as complacent as possible for their own good. I was surprised that the authors didn't try to make their messages a little more subtle and I found the messages to be a little depressing which actually made me think about how my experiences as an American in 2015 probably have something to do with me reacting in such a way. In ancient Greece, focus was more on the city and the success of the city while American stories are more apt to appeal towards the side of the "underdog" and the person who is not complacent and would "fight for a what's right." However, that's not to say that Greeks didn't care about standing up for what's right and, actually, towards the end of the essay Clayton writes that the fables were often used to highlight the contrast between the ability of humans to reason and the lack of ability in other animals to do so which would serve as incentive to prevent scenes like the happenings of the fables from happening in the citizens' lives. This hopefully meant that the messages may have actually not been for the people in positions of less power to stay silent but rather for the people who did hold more power to strive for justice and to use democracy in such a way that would be ideal for justice.