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Tall Tales. Larger Than Life Stories. What is a Tall Tale?. A larger than life main character doing a particular job. (superhero) A problem that is solved in a funny way. Exaggerated details that make the stories greater than they really are. A stretching of the truth.
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Tall Tales Larger Than Life Stories
What is a Tall Tale? • A larger than life main character doing a particular job. (superhero) • A problem that is solved in a funny way. • Exaggerated details that make the stories greater than they really are. A stretching of the truth.
How did Tall Tales get started? • Settlers who made their homes in the American wilderness led hard lives. • Huge forests, bad weather, and ferocious animals made pioneer life dangerous. • After a hard day’s work, settlers would sit around and tell each other funny stories.
How did they choose their hero? • Loggers • Railroad Workers • Cowboys • Steel Workers Each group of workers had their own superhero. Having a superhero with the same job somehow made their lives easier. Perhaps it gave them strength and courage to do their difficult and dangerous work.
Tall Tale Heroes • Paul Bunyan • John Henry • Pecos Bill • Johnny Appleseed
Figurative Language • Simile • Metaphor • Hyperbole Tall Tales contain lots of exaggerations. To do that, figurative language is used.
Similes A comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as.” Examples include: http://www3.telus.net/teachwell/simpage.htm
Metaphor • Her hair is silk. • He is a volcano ready to erupt. States that one thing is something else. It is a comparison, but it does NOT use like or as to make the comparison. Examples include:
Hyperbole An exaggeration. It is frequently used in humorous writing. Examples are: • I think of you a million times a day! • Ms. Smith is so old she taught cavemen to start a fire!