Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
9th International KTUDELL Conference: Language, Literature and Translation, Trabzon, Türkiye, 25 - 26 Eylül 2023, ss.83
Folktales reflect the cultural,
historical, and psycho-social heritage of nations. Besides their long and oral historical
background, folktales are the oldest witnesses of the transition of ancient narratives
to modern stories. These tales, whose authors are often unknown, are a literary genre that
is generally short in length and contains advice, told to educate and inform
the listeners. The other features that distinguish folktales from other
literary genres are that they contain the elements of attention, memorability,
and entertainment that are necessary for them to be passed on from generation
to generation, maintain cultural memory, and bear witness to history. Traditionally, they also
have some common features such as a simple linear plot, a setting, a certain
characterization, and a conflict or problem to solve. Additionally, the protagonist
needs to decide to be good or bad and take the consequences of the decision. In
the end, folktales underline the values of the culture described. A Russian folklorist
Vladimir Propp uses a structural analysis containing thirty-one elements to clarify
the fixed and varied actions and identify folktales' texture. In this study, the
aim is to analyze the selected folktales in American Negro Folktales with
Proppian morphological method.