Analysis of Mexican Pet Legend
Last year, some friends of my dry-cleaner's cousin went down to Mexico City to try to adopt a dog. When they returned home with their beloved pet, it sadly became sick, and they rushed it to the vet. Only to their dismay did their veterinarian bear the terrible news that their Mexican pet was not a dog, but a sewer rat, and that it had rabies. There's a good chance that you've heard this story, or some variation of it. News of the "Mexican pet" has been passed on by thousands of people over the course of many years. It has been relayed by word of mouth, e-mail and even through television and film. But there is absolutely no evidence that any such thing ever occurred, in Mexico or any other foreign country. This fictional story is a quintessential urban legend, which is defined as an incredible tale passed from one person to another as truth. Although this story is completely untrue, there is some importance in the way it is told and analyzed. From one story, many variations are told, each carrying the same motif, but with different spins. I ventured out among my friends and family to determine the variations of this story which have been passed along, and what people really believe to be true. The first person I asked i
What makes these seem so real is the use of detail in each of these stories. Without these details, the story would not have been as believable. Coincidentally, the title of the show was "A Rat's Tale. The story was told to her years ago, and she "swears" that she read it in the paper, which I find hard to believe. You know they're not allowed to bring animals, that's why she did it. To be sure of rabies, they took this new dog to the vet but learned that the new dog wasn't a dog at all. Here, people are warned about the dangers of picking up an animal, or child, for that matter, from another country. The dog thing keeps licking her face while she's cuddling with it. He claimed that he heard the story from a co-worker just last month, but I know I heard the same story from him years ago. The reporter was determined to get to the bottom of this, probably due to the fact that he had heard another version somewhere and was becoming quite skeptical. Urban tales such as this strengthen the idea that there really are boundaries between you and "others. In urban legends, women are seen as the weaker, more incompetent sex. By his tone, anyone could tell that he was joking, but loved telling the story to whoever would listen. Then there's this old guy looking at her weirdly.
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simply urban legend,
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