... Moreover, many of the same themes and morals transcend both European and Native American oral traditions. Some prevalent themes in both cultures are cautionary tales, trickster tales and encouragement tales about heroes. For the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico the oral tradition of storytelling is an intricate ... is a central theme in Native American storytelling and animals are usually main characters that teach morals and lessons to the younger generation. For example, cautionary tales warn the listener of being untruthful, vain, greedy, or too proud. In the Wichita Indian story "Coyote...

• Word Count: 2543
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... a window to her life" (233). For him a text will reveal the physical world existing outside the writing, while for her a narrative reveals as much about the teller/reader as the tale. In this, she is paralleled closely with Hana, who seeks signs of herself both within the texts of the library and in the anonymous tabula rasa to whose deathwatch she ... function of narrative is most apparent. The sacrifice of the hero within the story is redeemed by the immortality provided by the concomitant epic narrative-Icarus may die but his cautionary tale affords him some measure of consolation. H...

• Word Count: 6215
• Approx Pages: 25
• Grade Level: High School

... the University of Michigan. His published books include America Needs Human Rights (Food First Books, 1999), World Hunger: 12 Myths, Second Edition (Grove Press, 1998), Agroecology (McGraw-Hill, 1990), and A Cautionary Tale: Failed US Development Policy in Central America (Lynne Rienner, 1996). His work has been published in many academic journals as well as in The New York Times, The International Herald ... ...

• Word Count: 3582
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: High School

... the lessons that they learn and teach, reveals a great deal about the author's purpose for writing the story. It is very rare that a children's or adolescent's book is simply a sweet tale; in fact, quite often, there is some pervasive commentary that author is striving to convey. These lessons range from an ideal set of morals in Aesop's Fables, to a comment on ... have remained just as prevalent in today's society as they were over 2,000 years ago. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a fable is "a usually short narrative making an edifying or cautionary point and often emplo...

• Word Count: 2949
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School