Reflecting Culture Through Folk Tales

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO CULTURE

We have done this table regarding to these criterias according to Iben Jensen's text.

Similarities

(Point out what people have the common = good to remember)

Give insights to common problems and issues that young people have.

• Structure
• Animals and certain virtues
• Moral issues (how to behave)
• Explain in a fantasy language
• Explanations on why the world looks like it does

-        The nature

-        (The society) = we put parenthesis because it can change from one culture to another

-        Existential questions (e.g. why is the evil or why is there death?)

Differences

(A window into another culture)

• Different culture has different costume
• Different institutions
• Physical appearance looks different

 

              Keleoğlan                               Nasreddin Hodja                           Lazarillo de Tormes

	Turkish Folk Tales "Keloğlan and Nasreddin Hodja"		Spanish Folk Tale “Lazarillo de Tormes”
Main characters	Keloğlan and Nasreddin Hodja		Lázaro González Pérez
Similarities	§  Both are poor. §  Happy endings §  Stories end with a marriage. §  Reflect the poverty in more or less the same time ( sixteen- seventeen century)
Differences	§  Both are poor, although Lazarillo was a child and Keloğlan was a teenager. §  Keloğlan was more innocent than Lazarillo, because in the first story someone tries to cheat him, and in the second case, the child is who cheats people to eat something. §  In the Turkish story, Keloğlan wants a lot of money because he would like that his mum lives in better conditions. But, in the Spanish tale, Lázaro steals and cheats people in order to himself surviving. §  The first tale is more suitable for children than the second one, because the second it is a novel that talks about many aspects, but there is some version for children. § Children will find motivating and funny the first tale because the story talks about a treasure. On the other hand, the second tale children could find motivating and to be curious about the story, because the main character is a child.
Values/ Moral issues	§  Children can learn the family values in Turkey, and the relation between  mother and son. §  Also, it is reflected respect among old and young people.	§  They can learn that the happiness should be inside you, not because of money. §  They can know aspects about the culture in Spain in the sixteen century ( routine life, different jobs, several towns and cities).
Personal comments ( what we think about the tale)	I think it is good that the story talks about a treasure, because some way it develops children imagination; but in other side,  maybe the story should have more real aspects. Moreover, children can also discover some hidden issues such as innocence, helpfulness, respectfulness etc.	It is fascinating because children can read many adventures that Lázaro lives in the several cities , with different masters, and how his life is changing.  But there is a drawback, because children could find hard to read or even understand what is going on in the story. Also, this story is more suitable for older children than the Turkish tale.