Folk Tale Essay

Submitted By bostonredsox333
Words: 1279
Pages: 6
Open Document
TJ Bendell-Scoggins
Mrs. Waugh
Pre-AP English II IBMYP
25 September 2012
1,264 words
Paving a Road
"A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness" (19).

Once upon a time, a young fellow by the name of Cyrus roamed the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cyrus was a typical Caucasian fourteen year old, except for the fact that he had no parents, was homeless, and had no money. To make matters worse, he had not attended a single day of school. The young man was always faced with comments such as, “poor boy” and “what kind of parents would leave their son like this?” This hurt the young boy deeply because of the fact that his parents had died when he was at the age of 10 from a car accident. His parents had never really mentioned relatives. Even if they did, he would have been too young to remember. Cyrus’s worst enemy was the many instances where he was faced with drugs and other struggles he faced often.
Although Cyrus was faced with challenges each day, he overcame them with amazing resilience. His two friends Jacobus and Reginald, who were both African American, knew him as a hard worker who wanted nothing handed to him for free. Despite not being offered an education, Cyrus had a hunger for knowledge. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday he went to the public library to absorb any sort of education he could get; he excelled particularly in Math and English. Even though the young boy was constantly reading textbooks, his biggest source of knowledge was from the older adults who seemed to know everything. Cyrus nodded in agreement to anything these wise people said, took. He was highly respected amongst the elders in this way.
One day, Cyrus met up with his good friends, Jacobus and Reginald, at a local park just next to the all mighty Booker T. Washington high school. When Cyrus came within sight of Jacobus, Jacobus immediately yelled, “What up Cyrus”? Cyrus, without hesitation, said “Not much bro just chillin.” The same thing happened with Reginald. After the boys had discussed their days, Reginald suddenly proposed an idea for his friends. He proposed, “How about we all get jobs?” This thought had never crossed the mind of Cyrus, but he was very intrigued by the idea. Without hesitation, Cyrus responded, “That would be pretty chill, but who would hire us?” Jacobus chimed in, “I think people would hire us. Lets just apply at a couple of places and if it’s not meant to be, then it is not meant to be.” Each boy nodded in agreement.
With this, the boys ventured out all around Tulsa thinking of places to apply. Since the boys were only fifteen years of age, they could only apply at Reasor’s, a car wash, or a new gas station by the name of There and Back. There and Back was a corporation just recently made by many older men wanting to start something for their children to inherit. Nearly a month passed when the boys finally got a response from Reasor’s: None of the three boys had gotten the job. Disappointed but not completely out of hope, Cyrus contested, “We just need to keep our heads up; we will get it.” Next came the response from the car wash, Reginald and Jacobus had gotten the job and would finally start earning an income. Cyrus, on the other hand, was not as fortunate. Reginald sympathized and noted, “If you want, I will refuse this job until we figure out if you got the job at the gas station.” Being extremely selfless, Cyrus remarked, “Please accept the job, it is what you wanted.” Jacobus and Reginald accepted the job.
Cyrus grieved for weeks over the fact that his friends had received a job before him: the most probably cause was the fact that his friends attended school. Little did the employers know, Cyrus had a work ethic that could blow away both Reginald and Jacobus. For weeks on end Cyrus waited, and waited, and waited. He prayed, “Please lord, I need this so bad”. Finally after nearly a month of heartache and pent up stress the, Cyrus received the news that he had gotten the
Show More

Related Documents: Folk Tale Essay

Folk-Tale Formula

April 27, 2013 The Folk-Tale Formula Joseph Campbell once said “myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation” (p.3). Myths have been a part of mankind since the dawn of man. Religion, mythology, and even fairy tales all encompass the idea that there is more to the universe than what we see. Religion uses mythology to help explain the unknown, such as where we came from and where we go when we die. Fairy tales are used to relay…

Words 3266 - Pages 14

A Knight's Tale Archetypal Folk Tales

What make a hero? A hero is a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In the movie, “A Knight’s Tale”, the main character William follows the archetypal hero quest pattern to win the heart of Jocelyn and to be a champion jouster. We all know with heroes comes their sidekicks, in this case we have Roland, Geoffrey, Jocelyn, Kate, Wat, and Prince Edward help William in his quest. In the movie we learn that William was the son of a peasant however he wanted…

Words 570 - Pages 3

Abuelito Who Poem Analysis

in the poem “Abuelito Who?” and the folk tale “The Old Grandfather and the Little Grandson” is to love your grandparents. If you respect your grandparents, they will respect you. The are many similarities and differences between the folk tale and the poem such as mood, change in characters, and message expressed by theme. In Abuelito Who and The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson, there are differences in each story about change in character. In the folk tale The Old Grandfather and His Little…

Words 504 - Pages 3

Great Cat Massacre Essay

n the first chapter, Darnton explores the folk tale with the argument that a full exploration of such tales gives insight into the social construction of reality and thought in previous generations and eras and we can thus explore better the vast differences between modern thought and thought from the Middle Ages. Darnton ridicules the psychoanalytic interpretations of folk tales offered by Bettelheim and Fromm. However he just glosses over the archtypal interpretations of Jung or the structural…

Words 1456 - Pages 6

Bahamian Oral Tradition Essay

Bahamian oral tradition through folk music and storytelling What determines a true Bahamian? Our oral tradition by way of folk music and storytelling helps us to find our identity; it helps us create a link with the next generation in an attempt to keep our native culture alive. Moreover, oral tradition is more than history, because it creates bonds with the past. Oral tradition is simple, but, it is very rich because of the information it contains. Its roots lie in the oral traditions of the…

Words 959 - Pages 4

Essay on Hungarian servant leader

as the country's golden years. After his death there were many myths and folk tales created about his reign and life. These demonstrate his good deeds when he mingles among the people in a disguise. Plenty of them are available on Youtube, but unfortunately just in Hungarian. The stories are about his deeds, how he rewards the good, and punishes the bad. He is often mentioned as Matthias, the Just. However, folk tales cannot be trusted always. Recent studies revealed that he was not popular…

Words 354 - Pages 2

John Henry

students. The lesson was a folk tale lesson about John Henry and what part of his folk tale could have been fact and which part of his folk tale was more than likely fiction. I read the John Henry: An American Legend book to my students after reviewing with them about what folk tales are. There was a worksheet handed out to students after we discussed what fact and fiction were and went over some examples of fact and fiction. The worksheet was a shorten version of the John Henry tale that I had read to…

Words 563 - Pages 3

Art Of The Folk: The Harlem Renaissance

The Art of the Folk: Jazz, Blues, Folktales, Dance: The Harlem Renaissance During the nineteenth- mid-twentieth century, folk became very popular and widely known within the nation. Folk is considered the ordinary citizens of a public or district considered as the agents of a conventional lifestyle and particularly as the originators or bearers of the traditions, convictions, and expressions that make up an unmistakable culture. When people started to realize, their potential and become open to…

Words 1699 - Pages 7

How Stories Came To Earth Analysis

spread fire to everyone, and anansi, the spider, sets on a quest to spread stories to the world. The other put different elements of folk tale into this story like anthropomorphism, god like entities, goals, and outcomes. These two stories are have more similarities than they are differences. First of all, the two stories have many similarities in the elements of folk tales. The first similarity is both stories provide anthropomorphism. In “How Stories Came To Earth”, Anansi was a spider who showed…

Words 607 - Pages 3

great experiences Essay examples

used to record new information. We have numerous varieties of books so we are never limited when it comes to learning. Folk tales or moral stories are a very popular form of children’s writing. If you didn’t know those crazy myths actually have a lesson in them but sadly, most people who think of folk tales can only remember Paul bunion’s giant blue ox. Yet with folk tales come life lessons. Lessons or teachings on life can also be found in the bible it goes without debate that the one thing everyone…

Words 547 - Pages 3