Beloved
One of the most interesting topics in literature is "folklore." Folklore is a subject that rides between reality and myth. One author, Toni Morrison, uses folklore to entrap her readers and leave them wondering, "is this real?" Through the use of folklore Morrison is able to construct a novel, Beloved, complete with plot, complex characters and theme, which has extra depth. As she incorporates elements of folklore, she adds dimension to the characters and the stories they tell. Narration of her novel becomes based on story telling, a primary element in folklore. Songs, ghosts, peculiar behavior of animals, haunted houses, even nature reflect the activity of 124. The use of folklore adds depth and life to any literary work. Folklore is the traditional beliefs, legends, and practices of people passed down orally. Bascom gives a more intelligent definition of folklore. According to Bascom, In addition to its role in transmitting culture from one generation to another, and to providing ready rationalization when beliefs or attitudes are called into question, folklore is used in some societies to apply social pressure to those who would deviate from accepted norms. Moreover, even the function o
By jumping ahead to the ending of the book, one can see that "It was a story not to pass on. The sign that there is a being in 124 is, "Paul D tied his shoes together, hung them over his shoulder and followed her through the door straight into a pool of red and undulating light that locked him where he stood"(8). It is "important to realize that any one item of folklore may have several different functions. They were not just sung to pass the time at work. "Lay my head on the railroad line, Train come along and pacify my mind. Folklore is a popular trend in many societies. As Morrison shows, "Shivering, Denver approached the house, regarding it, as she always did as a person rather than a structure. As stated in Beloved, the blacks viewed the whites as dragons, and the whites viewed blacks as a jungle. Denver remembers this story and later passes it on to Beloved. The stories that Paul D tell are definitely folktales, but because they are folktales they are the more interesting than most other stories. And I know how hard it is to listen, and what's engaged when you listen"(Caldwell, 243). Leaving them to the storytellers is where some of our greatest folklore derives from.
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Acceptance Essays
