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The African Storyteller Qwebethe Introduction |
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The successful storyteller knows how to pattern images effectively. The action of the story moves in linear fashion from a conflict to a resolution. This action is composed of scores of images--images are the activities of the tales' characters, evoked by the storyteller's performance. As the story moves towards its resolution, the images are shaped into patterns: they are repeated. At the center of the pattern is a special image, often called a motif, which is often fantastic, usually very old. The storyteller fashions the pattern around that motif. In the Xhosa story that follows, identify the motif and the pattern. What is the conflict of the tale -- that is, what motivates the action, moves the characters into activity? And how is that conflict resolved?
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