Freshman A: Legends

After we’ve discovered why we tell myths and folktales, today we looked at legends by reading stories like Rip Van Winkle, John Henry, the vanishing hitchiker and the first Superman comic (which you can read here).

(If the Superman link doesn’t open, you can download it here: Action Comics 1.)

First, we talked about modern day legends. People like Mohammad Ali, Martin Luther King, Jr., Babe Ruth, etc. were all brought up.

We started off listing some legends that we know, discovering that legends follow the events of real people who did real things, even if they’re really exaggerated (like John Henry, Babe Ruth or even Santa Claus).

As we read one of the stories we answered the following questions:

1) Describe the main character of this legend. What makes him/her “legendary”?

2) How is the story told that makes it sound like it’s a true story, or at least based on some truth? Quote a section of the story that reads like it’s telling you a fact about someone or some place.

3) Where does this legend take place? How do you know?

4) How does the story reflect the place, time period and/or characteristics of its setting? Give specific examples.


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