Reading and Analysis of Cultural Texts Literature & Language Essay (Essay Sample)

Reading and Analysis of Cultural Texts
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Reading and Analysis of Cultural Texts
Introduction
Folktales were some of the stories we heard when we were children. The tales are passed down from one generation to another. For instance, “My Lord Bag of Rice” by Yei Theodora Ozaki is a Japanese folktale that shows the story of a dragon. The folktale has been passed from one generation to another. Moreover, the Chinese folktale “The Butterfly Lovers” has been told to many generations in China. Today, folktales are told to children and have become part of literature classes in the curriculum of various education systems. The folktales from certain geographical areas provide insights into the values, customs, attires, and color symbolism of the people who narrated the tales and forwarded them to the next generation. Folktales appreciate the uniqueness of the people in metaphorical and symbolic manners the world over. While some of these folktales show similarities between the various cultural practices and traditions of geographical regions, others demonstrate differences between the representation of gender, culture, time, and color symbolism of some countries. This essay will discuss the similarities and differences between Chinese folktales and Japanese folktales while looking at how gender, culture, and color symbolism have been presented in these stories.
Both Japan and China have cultures based on magical beliefs, food, harmonious living, festivals, religion, and art. Both have folktales that indicate the presence of magic powers in societies. For example, A Magic Paint Brush - The Story of Ma Liang is a Chinese folktale about how Ma Liang, a poor servant, used magic power to help society’s poor. The story shows the good use of magic power in Chinese society. Magic power has been used in the story to create wealth for the poor and not to bring destruction.