"Three Wishes" and "Porto Rican Folklore" Response (3)

Upon completion of these two pieces of writing, I can definitely say that I have learned a great deal about the folklore scene present in Porto Rico. Beginning with the Three Wishes compilation, it becomes glaringly obvious after readng the three enclosed folktales that Porto Rican Folklore is nothing short of straight forward. Take the tale of nearly comedic Juan Bobo, for instance. The story quickly yet effectively establishes its protagonist, lays the groundwork for the plot, and then simply drives right on through, ultimately culminating in the mural at the end of the road. This setup provides the reader with easy access to the tale, which in my opinion is great for its society, as nearly all citizens then can enjoy it. Another key quality to these fables lies in the lesson learned, a prime example being Juan Bobo's story once again. After doing what he felt was right, Bobo was not presented with a reward but instead a whipping at the hands of his mother. This proves that while we may feel that we have the best intentions, perhaps at times it is better to stick to the norm and to what others tell us, as our action(s) could very well cause more harm than good. Moving on to the essay regarding Porto Rican folklore, I felt that the author did a solid job of breaking the paper up into categories such as language and children's games to help in clearly presenting the history of Myths in the region to the reader. Additionally, I found the section describing animals in relation to the culture to be very interesting. I was actually surprised to learn that nature is a huge part in society, and as a result is almost as prevalent in their respective folklore as that of the Greek (Aesop's Fables). All in all, I enjoyed the two pieces, particullarly the fables, and I certainly learned more about Porto Rican Folklore.