Folktales

Why do people all around the world tell folktales?? Why are they made?? For what purposes???

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated!!

I took a course on German Fairytales (Märchen) while I was in college......Sounds like an easy class but I assure you it was not....

At their very root, they are stories that have been told from generation to generation....In most cases there is not a single author, but rather it's a living tale that grows as it spreads.....Now compiled into books and websites, they've lost much of their oral history....But they're still very much alive...

They usually center around an underlying moral that is "dressed in wolves clothes" so to speak....Or often the theme is right out in the open....

You can see the "evolution" of these tales by looking at the Grimm's revised versions of their compellations....Or by checking out the cultural differences between the very same fairytales transcribed in different languages....Not to mention the removal of quite a few nasty bits from the original German....

Then take these great legends, myths, and fairy tales of yesteryear and apply them to our world today - We still use their wisdom and wit....

A great example would be Gunter Grass' use of the fairy tale "The Fisherman's Wife" in his novel "The Flounder"

Here's a few interesting links for you to check out:
The DNA of Fairy Tales: Their Origin and Meaning
Cultural Connections
Stories, Folklore, and Fairy Tales

[edit on 5/24/2005 by EnronOutrunHomerun]

Thank you very much for the info and links EnronOutrunHomerun!

I have decided to write about the variants related to Gingerbread Man in other cultures. I have to try to identify its elements that make the tales variants of a single story.

Would anybody know any variants of The Gingerbread Man from different cultures?

Thanks