The South African Folk tales are a collection of short stories that have a heavy focus on animals from Africa, Many of the stories are about elephants, lions, jackals, or even ostriches. In particular I read the story, The Lion, The Jackal, and The Man. The story title reminded me of the story The Brahman, The Tiger, and The Jackal, from the Indian short stories which is why I immediately chose to read this short story. Like the Indian story, this story has a dominant animal, the Indian one being the tiger and the South African story being a lion. Additionally, both stories eventually lead to the fall or defeat of the lion and tiger. Also notable is how the jackal is common to both stories. My research of jackals led me to find that they are commonly located in India and Africa, so it really is not a surprise that they are in both stories. Moreover, I found out that the jackal is a close relative of the coyote and are often depicted as a clever, witty animal in numerous myths and folks. This is especially seen in Egyptian culture where Anubis, the god of afterlife, is depicted as having a jackal head. In regards to the story, I was surprised to the see the courage of the lion facing the gun shots of the man. I was expecting the lion to be defeated by the gun and not knives. I do wish there was more elaboration on the setting of the story, Despite being a South African folk tale, it is difficult to picture where the plot is being held as my knowledge of the lands of South Africa are limited. For my story retelling, I might include a specific area of South Africa that is known for their lions in order to increase the imagery of the story.
Bibliography: South African Folk-Tales by James Honey (1910).
Bibliography: South African Folk-Tales by James Honey (1910).
Wikimedia: The clever jackal
.jpg){kind=link}
Comments
Post a Comment