The story “The King of Sharks” is an old Hawaiian folklore that tells the story of the son of the King of Sharks. The setting takes place on a small beachside village. The Kind of Sharks marries a beautiful village girl and together they have a son named Nanave. As he grows older, each day Nanave asks the fishermen where they have decided to fish. When the fishermen begin to catch fewer and fewer fish and the people begin to starve, the Chief declares that a bad God is among them preventing the fishermen from catching their fish. Throughout the passage, a very dramatic/intense tone is kept. Unlike “Pele’s Revenge” or “I’m All Right”, one significant problem in the story is starvation. When the village begins to starve due to lack of fish, the Chief decided to search for the bad god causing the problem. Knowing that Nanave is the son of a god, Nanave’s mother becomes frightened for the safety of her son. Just like “I’m All Right”, the mother is worried about her only son.
Another Hawaiian folklore, “Pele’s Revenge”, tells the story of the everlasting love between Ohi’a and Lehua. Like “The King of Sharks”, the setting takes place in a small village. When Ohi’a and Lehua first saw each other at a village dance they knew that there was no one better for them and were soon happily married. A few months later, the Goddess Pele noticed Ohi’a working near his home and was smitten by him. She was determined to make him hers, but was soon disheartened when she recognized the look Ohi’a gave Lehua that told he would never love anyone else. Overwhelmed by jealousy, Pele transformed Ohi’a into an old twisted tree so the couple could never be together. Love and jealousy are the tones of the passage, unlike “The King of Sharks” and “I’m All Right”. Similar to “The King of Sharks”, the story is dealing with two people falling in love at first sight. The involvement of Gods and Goddesses is another similarity between the two folklores.The folklore from California, “I’m All Right”, is a story about the love of a mother for her son, Johnny, in the military. The setting takes place in present day California while Johnny is in the Middle East. As a child, Johnny was always fascinated by the military and decided to join the marine’s right out of High School. Although his mother was proud, she was constantly worried about him. One day, Johnny emailed his mother and told her he would not make it home for Hanukkah. The news upset his mother, but she stayed strong. Later that night, she awoke from her sleep to see Johnny standing beside her bed. He asked her to take care of his wife and daughter told her he loved her and they would be together again soon. After he was gone, she realized what his visit had meant and that Johnny was dead. Different from either of the other folklores, “I’m All Right” has a tone of worry and is told in first person viewpoint by the mother. Told in this viewpoint the mother’s apprehension is clearly shown just like the mother from “The King of Sharks.” No matter the variety of problems throughout each of the three stories, the ending was always a peaceful one.
Folklores from all over the world are important aspects to each and every culture. The similarities and differences in folklore can indicate many of the similarities and differences of the cultural group that they are created from. They have told stories for generations and will continue to do so for several generations to come.
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