The analysis of Japanese fairy tales using propp’s structural-typological narratives by Japanese language learners

Fairy tales reflect the great social values of certain cultures. Individual genres and works of fairy tales represent projections of the worldview of people in the respective society. However, reading and understanding fairy tales from other countries are not enough to identify structural and typological differences between tales of the same genre that differ in origin. In literature classes, students often focus on the narrative while missing the structural features of fairy tales. In this study, the structural-typological functions of narrative proposed by Propp (1986) were used as a methodological approach to draw students’ attention to the distinctive cultural features of some Japanese fairy tales. The results show that students classified Japanese tales as differing greatly in structural and typological variation compared to European tales. Students realized that in Japanese fairy tales, the ending does not always lead the hero to the typical victory of good over evil, but sometimes leaves a certain bitterness of reality where the ending is guessed by the reader, which gives the tale a debatable narrative character that is unique. This methodological approach helps students analyse fairy tales in greater depth, identify the uniqueness of the narratives, and delve into the essence of structural and functional analysis, which gives students a deep understanding of the tales and its culture. The findings of this study can be applied to the identification of the functions and roles of the characters in fairy tales, and the analysis of structured storylines

CHARACTER ANALYSIS IN THE MOVIE ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS BASED ON PROPP’S THEORY

Abstract:This research analyzed characters in the movie Alice Through The Looking Glass by using Vladimir Propp’s theory especially in seven spheres of action and thirty-one narrative functions. To conduct this research, the researcher used descriptive method. To analyze the data, the researcher classified the characters into seven spheres of action and classified the sequence into thirty-one narrative functions. The results of this research showed that there were six spheres of action that the researcher found there were villain, donor, helper, princess, dispatcher, and hero and seventeen narrative functions which appeared in the movie Alice Through The Looking Glass which were absentation, mediation, interdiction, beginning counteraction, departure, violation, reconnaissance, provision of magical agent, guidance, unrecognized arrival, transfiguration, villainy, victory, punishment liquidation of lack, return, and wedding

Transformations: A Folkloric Exploration of the Musical Comedy Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the use of folktales in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine\u27s 1987 award-winning musical Into the Woods. In doing so, I hope to accomplish several directives. First, to enrich understanding of the musical for all audience members, especially those with a folklore or theater background. I feel that understanding the underlying goals and standards that Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine used in creating the musical will provide a much deeper understanding of the genius of their work. I also aim clearly elucidate the merger of folk narrative and popular musical theater form in this innovative musical. My hope is that analyses such as this will encourage a greater exploration of the strong reciprocal relationship between folklore and theater. Into the Woods is based upon four traditional folktales: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and the Beanstalk. A very brief synopsis of the plot runs as follows: Cinderella, Jack, and Little Red all wish for something, and must go into the woods to get it. Rapunzel, heroine of the fourth tale, already lives in the woods with the Witch, though she wishes to see the world. Added to these tales is the central tale created by Lapine, based on the first section of Rapunzel\u27s tale—the Baker turns out to be Rapunzel\u27s older brother, whom their parents had before the Witch acquired Rapunzel. The Baker and his Wife wish to have a child; only when the Witch visits them do they learn that they have not been able to have a child because when the Witch came to collect Rapunzel, she also curse the Baker\u27s family. When the Witch appears she explains to the Baker how to reverse the curse. The Baker must collect: 1) the cow as white as milk; 2) the cape as red as blood; 3) the hair as yellow as corn; 4) the slipper as pure as gold, all of which belong to one of the traditional folktale characters, before the end of the third midnight. Act One is comprised of the Baker and his wife searching for these items as the other four tales play themselves out according to Grimms\u27 version they are based upon. Act Two begins after Happily Ever After and attempts to bring the characters back into real life. Rapunzel has psychological problems; the Princes\u27 eyes stray elsewhere; Jack is bored; and Little Red Riding Hood has become violent. By the end of Act Two, almost every character besides Jack, Little Red, Cinderella, and the Baker have died, due to the fact that the wife of Jack\u27s Giant has come to seek revenge for her husband\u27s death. In Act Two, these four main characters learn to take responsibility for the selfish actions they committed while pursuing their wish in Act One. In the process, they mature psychologically and become part of a cohesive group, learning to work together for a common cause and realizing that everything everyone does effects everyone else in some way. No one is alone. My thesis begins with a chapter on the history of folktale scholarship. Chapter Two gives biographies of Sondheim and Lapine, and discusses the history of the American musical comedy in order to put them and this musical into a theater context as well. Chapter Three summarizes the plot in detail and compares the Broadway and London productions of the show, including reviews of the musical soon after it came out. Chapter Four analyzes Into The Woods in terms of the theories of Vladimir Propp, and compares Sondheim and Lapine\u27s versions of the stories to the Grimms versions (using Jack Zipes\u27 translation) and Joseph Jacobs, from whom they drew their version of Jack and the Beanstalk. Chapter Five does the same thing using the scholarship of Axel Olrik and Max Luthi. Chapter Six explores Sondheim and Lapine\u27s intentions behind the themes in the musical, focusing on the works of Bruno Bettelheim and Erich Fromm. In researching fairy tales for their musical, Sondheim and Lapine read several analyses by folklorists and psychologists. They drew mainly from non-folkloristic sources in creating their interpretations. They critiqued Bettelheim\u27s as well as the Jungians\u27 interpretations of the tales. As Lapine states, Once we decided on choosing the stories, then the obvious thing was to have a point of view about them (1991:3). They also drew from the works of Erich Fromm, a Neo-Freudian who primarily focused on the relationship between society and the individual and between individuals

A cognitive model of fiction writing.

Models of the writing process are used to design software tools for writers who work with computers. This thesis is concerned with the construction of a model of fiction writing. The first stage in this construction is to review existing models of writing. Models of writing used in software design and writing research include behavioural, cognitive and linguistic varieties. The arguments of this thesis are, firstly, that current models do not provide an adequate basis for designing software tools for fiction writers. Secondly, research into writing is often based on questionable assumptions concerning language and linguistics, the interpretation of empirical research, and the development of cognitive models. It is argued that Saussure's linguistics provides an alternative basis for developing a model of fiction writing, and that Barthes' method of textual analysis provides insight into the ways in which readers and writers create meanings. The result of reviewing current models of writing is a basic model of writing, consisting of a cycle of three activities - thinking, writing, and reading. The next stage is to develop this basic model into a model of fiction writing by using narratology, textual analysis, and cognitive psychology to identify the kinds of thinking processes that create fictional texts. Remembering and imagining events and scenes are identified as basic processes in fiction writing; in cognitive terms, events are verbal representations, while scenes are visual representations. Syntax is identified as another distinct object of thought, to which the processes of remembering and imagining also apply. Genette's notion of focus in his analysis of text types is used to describe the role of characters in the writer's imagination: focusing the imagination is a process in which a writer imagines she is someone else, and it is shown how this process applies to events, scenes, and syntax. It is argued that a writer's story memory, influences his remembering and imagining; Todorov's work on symbolism is used to argue that interpretation plays the role in fiction writing of binding together these two processes. The role of naming in reading and its relation to problem solving is compared with its role in writing, and names or signifiers are added to the objects of thought in fiction writing. It is argued that problem solving in fiction writing is sometimes concerned with creating problems or mysteries for the reader, and it is shown how this process applies to events, scenes, signifiers and syntax. All these findings are presented in the form of a cognitive model of fiction writing. The question of testing is discussed, and the use of the model in designing software tools is illustrated by the description of a hypertextual aid for fiction writers

From Shanhai Jing to Liaozhai Zhiyi: towards a morphology of classical Chinese supernatural fiction

The present research is an attempt at a morphological analysis of classical Chinese supernatural fiction known as zhiguai under the theoretical framework designed by Vladimir Propp and later developed by Alan Dundes. As to the study of Chinese zhiguai tales, mountains of work bas been done, but research is usually confined either to exploration into the geographical-historical sources of these tales or to the recognition and reconstruction of society in ancient China. It is therefore believed that a systematic study of zhiguai literature from a linguistics-oriented structuralfunctional perspective will shed light on the rules governing the textual organisation of classical Chinese fiction of the supernatural and strange.This thesis will be divided into two parts with the first one atmmg at a diachronic survey of zhiguai literature. In this section, the origins of this genre and its development through dynasties in traditional China will be explored with attention focused on an evidential and thematic study of zhiguai works most influential and representative of the time and of the author as well.Part Two, which will start with a review of Propp's morphological method and model, is devoted to a synclironic study of Chinese zhiguai fi ction from a Proppian perspective. For each tale text selected for morphological analysis, functions will be identified, and a linear functional scheme presented, and described in terms of the sequence of functions and the distribution of functions among dramatis personae. All the structural and functional traits will be tabulated, discussed and, where possible and necessary, compared. Finally, based on a data analysis, a conclusion will be made on morphological features and structural patterns of classical Chinese fiction of the supernatural and strange.Fifty zhiguai tales will be selected for analysis from ancient zhushu (commentaries), leishu (categorised books), congshu (collectanea), or authoritative modem editions of works of supernatural fiction in classical Chinese. In the course of selection, priority has been given to those about other/supernatural beings or mortals with supernatural power as classified by Aame as "Tales of magic" m conformity with Propp's corpus of Russian fairy tales in Morphology of the Folktale

Malaysian folktale classification system and digitization

Folktale as one of Malaysia’s intangible cultural heritage is gradually forgotten. Therefore, actions toward its preservation are necessary. Before the preservation effort can be implemented, UNESCO clearly underlined two early actions which are identification and conservation. One of the identification actions is the development of a systematic classification system and for the conservation, a storage and archive that keeps the cultural heritage in a centralized and accessible form. Both of these efforts ensure the preservation is employed systematically. However, in the context of Malaysia, both of these actions are still not implemented in the systematic preservation effort of the folktales. Based on the research gap, the research questions of this study query whether the conceptual model can be constructed to guide the classification system development, the Malaysian Folktale Classification System (MFCS) can be developed based on the integration of three important folktale units (function, motif, and type), and the Malaysian folktales can be archived digitally according to the MFCS developed. From the gap and the research questions, this study aims to systematically preserve the Malaysian folktales through the identification and the conservation efforts. As an effort to answer the research questions, the study’s objectives are to construct the conceptual model to guide the development of the MFCS, to collect and classify the literary Malaysian folktales (identification effort), to design and develop the Malaysian Folktale Digital Inventory (MFDI) prototype based on the MFCS (conservation effort), and to validate the MFDI prototype from the expert users’ judgment. The respective methods to achieve each of the research objectives are the pictorial representation, the simulation, the structural-semantic analysis, the database design, and the expert judgment. As for the findings of the study, the conceptual model is constructed and positively verified to represent the classification process visually. Guided by the conceptual model, the MFCS is successfully developed for the Malaysian folktales through the integration of the function, motif, and type units. The MFDI prototype is successfully designed and developed based on the MFCS. As for the validation of the MFDI prototype, the expert users’ perceptions and feedbacks are obtained, and they are positive at large, commenting the need of the MFDI prototype and also the MFCS for the country and the culture. Regarding the contributions of the study, the MFCS and the structural-semantic analysis method are the knowledge contributions, and the MFDI prototype is the practical contribution. The MFCS of the study is one-half of the systematic preservation effort of Malaysian folktales. The structural-semantic analysis method ensures the classification is conducted on the structure and the content of the folktales which makes the classification robust and holistic. The MFDI prototype is the other half of the systematic preservation effort, and it stores digitized folktales systematically. With the achievement of all the findings, the systematic preservation effort of the Malaysian folktale via classification and digitization is achieved

The Structural Analysis of Sesotho Folktales: Propp’s Approach

Published ArticleThis study attempts to show that Vlamidir Propp‟s Morphological Analysis of Russian Folktales has an influence in the way Sesotho folktales are being analysed. Fifteen Sesotho folktales were analysed (but in this paper only two are used as examples) adopting his method and it was observed that both folktales display some of Propp‟s 31 functions. Although some of these folktales display as much as 16–20 functions, the average of seven functions is observed throughout the analysis in all folktales. This study recommends that the seven average functions that were observed in the analyses should be regarded as basic model in analysing Sesotho folktales, and that every Sesotho folktale should display seven or more functions as stipulated in Propp‟s analysis. The study concludes by affirming that Propp was influential in the analysis of Sesotho folktales