Professor: Hi class. Good morning. Everyone ready? OK. For today's lecture we're going to talk about some common characteristics of the folktale. Most of us know some very old folktales. People shared these stories orally for years before writing them down. Since people told stories instead of writing them, the stories changed in between places and with each storyteller. Each new storyteller made changes the stories based on his own traditions and culture. For example, many cultures have stories like the raven tale about how people got light. In these tales, though, the main character is another type of animal. So, to sum up, folktales began in the oral tradition, and as a result they have changed over time. Next, the characters in folktales are similar. They are usually ordinary characters who do extraordinary things. They usually have only one or two strong characteristics For instance, the chief in the Raven story is selfish and not very smart. But Raven is very generous he wants to help people. And he's very clever as he finds a way to get the light. In addition, often the characters in folktales are not people but animals with human qualities. They talk, make plans, and have strong emotions. Small animals such as the popular spider and turtle play this role in West African stories. In summary, the characters of folktales are simple but often clever in achieving their goals Finally, the plot, or what happens in the folktale, is usually exciting. Most folktales begin with an expression like a long time ago" and then move very quiekly into the story, which starts with a problem. For instance, a strong, bad character often gives a weaker character a task and promises something if he completes the task. The weaker character often uses ciever tricks, special skills, or magic to complete the task. In the end of a folktale, the good characters usually win and the bad characters lose. In conclusion, the plot of a folktale is interesting So, in summary, we know that the tradition of folktales is very are told all over the world, but they several of the same features they began in the oral tradition and changed through the years, they also have the same types of characters and a strong plot.