Oral tradition is the basis of many of the different versions of mythical storie

Question

Oral tradition is the basis of many of the different versions of mythical stories we have today. Because these stories have been written down, we can compare them word for word and pinpoint the differences. In the days before writing was common, however, people just accepted that a story told today by a storyteller was the same as the story told last week(or years ago) by the same storyteller. They even accepted that different storytellers were telling the same story if it had the same name and characters. Look for two different variations of a single story in our culture—say, in a movie and its remake, or a TV show and the movie based on it—and discuss their differences and similarities. Consider how much of each version is due to the individual storyteller, the era, or the tradition of the story.

Explanation / Answer

Discussing about a story for example the fairy tale of Snow White and Seven Dwarfs. This has endured hundreds of revisions and retold numerous times throughout several centuries. Even we would have heard a version when young and find a slightly different one when we say the same to our kids. Each version of this story carries with it traces of the author or authors and of the culture that produced that particular version. The meta-narrative must remain somewhat intact for any version to be recognizable as a variation of the Snow White tale. However, the elements that are added or subtracted by each author or authors make each version unique. This work presents a close textual analysis of three popular versions of the Snow White fairy tale. The focus of this work is not to just highlight how versions are different, but rather to isolate the unique variants of each version. Once separated from the meta-narrative, these elements can be examined for the rhetorical choices made by each author or authors. I make the claim that by looking at what changed over time within versions of this one specific tale; one can read aspects of the individual cultures that produced each version. This evolution of the story and characters over time displays unique cultural traces present in each version that can allow rhetorical scholars to examine and understand possible cultural influences as they are manifest in one meta-narrative over time. This study explains how cultural traces can be seen in the variations between versions. There is a danger of a single story is that it prevents people from authentically connecting with people as individuals. On a macro-level, the issue is really about power: almost by definition, there are many stories about the dominant culture so the single-story threatens to create stereotypes that stick to groups that are already disempowered. Single stories can include stereotypes, ideologies and, what sociologists call, cultural hegemony. Stereotypes are overly simplistic generalizations about a subgroup of peoples. Those that “stick” often are constructed by people with power and used to limit opportunities for the stereotypes’ subjects. Ideologies are sets of ideas that shape how people make sense of the world around them. Depending on the social power of those holding and employing these ideologies, they can have significant impact on social structures and the life chances of others. Cultural hegemony is a system beliefs, norms, and values, shaped by the ruling-class that justifies the status-quo as natural or normal, and thus makes it invisible. These discourses shape what is knowable and say-able in any given context.

As the centuries passed, virtue and a sense of morality ebbed and flowed, both in real life and in the tales that accompanied mankind on the journey. Among medieval peasants, folktales passed from those older and more experienced to younger adults and children as moral lessons for life. Many take place during the hero’s or heroine’s passage from childhood to adulthood, often ending in marriage. Along this fantastic path are not only challenges to be overcome but warnings: the perils of being alone in the woods; the potential pitfalls of physical attractiveness; the dangers of being naive. Another comparative example would be the mermaid’s story that has evolved from the earlier version where the mermaid actually kills herself in the end whereas the version retold today shows her happily married with the prince. This one explains all the mentioned points above as how culture influences the story telling. Another story where we see this is Beauty and the Beast where these tales were based on the classic fable of Cupid and Psyche. The common thread, fear of an unknown or brutish groom, struck a chord with the women of France, who were beginning to challenge the traditional balance of power and the common practice of arranged marriages. Though the message is largely lost on today’s audience, thoroughly accustomed to choosing not just one partner but several, the French wonder tale was fighting for social emancipation and change on grounds of urgent personal experience as told by the author. The objects of these stories went beyond weddings and women’s issues. The indiscretions and warmongering of the king and his courtesans were also subtly spoofed in the veiled satires, sometimes resulting in exile for the authors.

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