In The Jade Peony Analysis

What is a legend? Is it a book full of magic and unbelievable imagination that exceeds people’s expectations? Is it a story with many great and impressive heroes that so many dream to become? Or is it a story with a thoughtful meaning? By definition, a legend is just a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.

Creation myths can give lots of information on the values of societies. Qualities of the Iroquois and the Wakaranga are shown in their myths. In “The World on the Turtle's Back” and “Life from the Moon and the Stars”, the Iroquois and the Wakaranga value human life above an animal’s life, however, the Wakaranga give moral divisions of right and wrong, but the Iroquois do not. The differences in their myths allow for readers to identify different characteristics in their societies, like the Iroquois’ justification of supposedly immoral actions, and the treatment of animals in both societies.

It is a custom in the Chinese culture for some families to hang a wind chime in honor of their loved ones on the day that they pass. This is what the fictional character, Sek-Lung’s, father did in the short story, “The Jade Peony” written by Wayson Choy. Choy, being born a Canadian of Chinese descent, highlighted the struggle of living in between two drastically different, and distinguished cultures through Sek-Lung. The seven year old boy narrates his everyday adventures with his Grandmama. She has experienced it all and wishes to pass on her stories and traditions to the next generation.

The first story starts off by following an almighty Monkey King on his quest for immortality and a spot in heaven. The Monkey king is blinded by power as he embarks on his journey, and Tze-Yo-Tzuh, the creator of all things, must humble him; Tze-Yo-Tzuh traps the Monkey King under rocks, telling him he cannot be freed until he embraces his monkey nature. The second story follows the friendship of Jin, an American of Chinese descent, and Wei-Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant, as they try

In Benjamin Hoff’s short story, “The Tao of Pooh,” the author wanted to inform the reader about Taoism; and he also had intentions of persuading the reader to apply the ways of Taoism to their personal life. To do so, Hoff decided to use the childhood characters of Winnie the Pooh to allow the reader to easily make personal connections. Pooh is used as the symbol of Taoism - the calm, relaxed, and simpleminded one. Rabbit is the clever one, Owl is wise, Eeyore is pessimistic and Tigger simply does not know his limits. Once a connection is made between one of the characters, the author proceeds to describe a scenario and explains how each character reacts to a problem that arises.

“Folklore represents a line to a vast, interconnected network of meanings, values, and cognitions. Folklore contains seeds of wisdom, problem solving, and prophecy, through tales of rebellion, triumph, reasoning, moralizing, and satire” (Ogunleye, Tolagbe, African American Folklore: Its Role In Reconstructing African-American History, 1997). Folklore is a medium in which to impart teachings and principles. By using storytelling, folklore becomes an accessible means of relaying cultural guidelines. Contrary to popular perception, tales are not merely told for entertainment purposes.

Two Enemies One Story This paper will identify differences and similarities within the Apache and Cherokee Tribes of North America through their Creation Stories. Creation Stories often share similarities throughout the world. Creation stories are frequently considered sacrosanct explanations which are found in almost all Native American tribes except a select few in South America. These stories all have a scheme of figures who are often divine beings with human features or human like, or a combination of animalistic features and human, who play main roles with in the creation story. Creation Stories help answer question that cannot be answered by general knowledge and are told in a story format.

Before the age of science came into existence, various ancient civilizations scattered around the world had believed in countless myths that tell about the gods, supernatural beings, mortals, god-bestowed heroes, duality, Life and Death, and the afterlife depending on the hearth of their respective culture. The intricate system and interconnection of all of these factors combined forms what is commonly known as mythology. During the bygone period, mythology is the result of their attempt to make sense of the mysteries shrouding the universe and its entirety, and they had passed these myths through words by mouth, written scriptures, and tablets from generations to generations. Because of the world's diverse culture, mythologies across the continents differ from one another; however, there are also some parts of which they overlap as well. The Inca mythology and Norse

For nine years, the people of Chiang Lo County lived in terror of the monstrous Yung serpent whose appetite was only fulfilled by human flesh. (331) Each year county officials would choose a young maiden to be sacrificed, bind her and take her to the mountainside where they had built a temple near the opening of the serpent’s cave and watched as the serpent fed off of the young maiden. In the tenth year Chi Li was determined to volunteer. Living in a patriarchal society she felt that she had no self-worth and her life was

Around the world, there are very different myths and folklore, each suiting a specific culture’s beliefs. Nonetheless, amongst those different narratives, there are certain elements, such as themes, character types, and design, that keep manifesting. These recurrences are labelled as archetypes. One type of archetypes is character archetypes. Prevalent in myths from Sigurd the Volsung to The Epic of Gilgamesh, character archetypes are types of characters that are conventional amidst literature.

In Duong Thu Huong’s Paradise of the Blind, Hang has been placed on a path of self-sacrifice and duty by her family. Her life unfolds in stages- childhood, young adulthood, and her eventual role as an exported worker in Russia. With each of these shifts in her life comes a shift in setting and a shift in her emotional state. Hang’s changing emotional state depicts her “coming of age” and her growth as a character. Setting is important to creation of shift in the novel, and is often described in detail.

In the poem “A Story” by Li- Young Lee, the audience is introduced to the intricate relationship between the father and the son. There is an obvious internal conflict ongoing within the father’s thoughts; the father desperately wants to tell his son a story but cannot come up with one. The author highlights the altering views held by the father and the son through the use of shifting points of view and the intended structure. These two devices adeptly establish the poem’s profundity and intensity of emotions; moreover, it brings light to a common battle that evolving filial relations face against time; as innocence eventuates into maturity, parents inevitably feel helpless and nostalgic.

The story itself is quite unlike any traditional Western tale. However, monkey who encompasses unlikable characteristics is surprisingly the most popular character in china. Deducing from Chinese history and its political satiation being unstable, it can be assumed that Monkey as a character represents the citizens frustration in the government. The popularity of monkey as a character also could

The most important way to think about myths is that they are symbolic stories that attempt to answer difficult human questions about the universe. For instance, where did we and the world come from? And what is the meaning of life?. “We all want to know where we came from, but because our earliest beginnings are lost in the mists of prehistory, we have created myths about our forefathers that are not historical but help to explain current attitudes about our environment, neighbors and customs” (6). Myth functions as a guidance that explains everything that we come into contact with in the universe.

Mythology is the collection of myths that denotes commonly cultural and religious beliefs of ancient human beings. The elements of it were usually the involvement of god, goddess and heroes. In addition, it was based on a man’s desire, beliefs and ideas. It also told the natural occurrence and its main purpose was to teach people moral lessons. One of the example of Greek mythology is the divine hero of ancient Greece his name was Heracles, but people knew him as Hercules.