It doesn't matter what
you call them--chin music, tall tales, whoppers, yarns, fish stories, big
ones--everybody loves them and nobody believes them. And yet, whoppers aren't lies, for lies are
told with the intent to deceive, and whoppers, or "tall tales," are
told with the purpose of making the listeners laugh.
All folk or hero tales
started in fun "away back when" and it was their purpose to make
people laugh and forget their troubles.
Tall tales are really folks laughing at themselves, and folks who
can laugh at their troubles eventually solve or overcome
them. Many of our best American tall
tales have grown up in times of drought and trouble, told by some old
leather-faced spinner of yarns who had to laugh so his troubles couldn't make
him cry.
Tall tales are stories
which use exaggeration as their main vehicle.
The story follows the steps in a good story such as having a beginning,
setting, characters, plot (or problem),development, and climax.
The Essentials of a tall tale are:
1. An all-powerful hero
2.
Exaggeration
3. Comparisons
(using exaggeration)
4. Use of
exaggeration to solve problems
5. Unusual
names for the minor characters
6. Folksy
language ("Didja do it?"
"Watsa matter?" etc.)
Some suggester modern-day characters for a tall tale:
1. Wipeout
Wally
2. Amazing
Willy
3. Snorkel
Snodgrass
4. Dr.
Knowitall
5. Sally Ann
Sillybun
6. Speedarm
Koufax
7. Astronaut
Alfred
Your job for today is
to write a tall tale which makes use of all the essentials of a tall tale as
listed above. It must be a page or more
in length. You may be required to read
it aloud to the class so do your very best!
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