Tag Archives: Folk Hero

The Legend of Johnny Appleseed

Text: “I remember hearing stories about Johnny Appleseed when I was a kid, and people always talked about him like he was some kind of folk hero. I think the thing that stands out the most was how he was always described as this kind of wild, free spirit. He was a man on a mission, you know? He didn’t care much for stuff like owning land or having a lot of money—he just wandered around planting apple trees everywhere. They said he wore a pot on his head, too.
The real story, though, was about his apples. He planted apple orchards all across the Oregon trail to near Washington. And he didn’t charge people for the trees or anything. He just gave them away. I always heard he did it because he wanted people to have food and to be able to grow their own.
The way the story goes, though, it’s kind of like a legend. Some people say he could talk to animals, or that the trees he planted grew faster than normal. I don’t know how much of that’s true, but it’s definitely the kind of thing people love to exaggerate about a guy like Johnny.”

Context: This story was shared by the informant, who learned about Johnny Appleseed as a young child in school. The informant was not born in the United States, and hearing these stories was part of their introduction to American culture. As a child, the informant was fascinated by the figure of Johnny Appleseed, who was presented as a heroic figure in the classroom, a symbol of American frontier life. The informant recalls how Johnny Appleseed was portrayed as a wild, free spirit who traveled across the country planting apple trees, embodying selflessness and generosity. These stories, filled with admiration for Johnny Appleseed, shaped the informant’s early understanding of American folklore and culture.

Analysis: This story of Johnny Appleseed fits perfectly into the category of legend, blending real historical elements with exaggerations that elevate the figure to mythic status. The informant highlights the core aspects of the legend—Johnny’s wandering spirit, his selflessness in planting apple trees, and the generous nature of giving away those trees for free. These elements are characteristic of folklore heroes, who often represent ideals like community, altruism, and harmony with nature.

The details that are exaggerated—such as the ability to communicate with animals or the trees growing unnaturally fast—show how legends grow over time. Such embellishments serve to reinforce Johnny Appleseed’s larger-than-life status, making him a figure whose story transcends simple historical fact to become a symbol of something greater, such as the American frontier spirit.

In American folklore, figures like Johnny Appleseed represent the pioneering spirit, an idealized version of self-sufficiency and generosity. His legend embodies the ethos of the early frontier days, where individuals were seen as part of a larger effort to settle and cultivate the land. The informant’s story underscores how these legends are passed down, not just as historical accounts, but as narratives that shape cultural identity and values, focusing on ideals like giving, adventure, and the connection between humanity and the natural world.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: White

Age: 63

Occupation: Talent Acquisition Manager

Residence: Oak Park, CA

Date of Performance: April 1, 2025

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): Hungarian, German

Relationship: Parent

Askeladden som stjal solvendene til trollet

Askelladen who stole the Troll’s Silver ducks

Informant: Askeladden is a folk hero who is the main character of a few different stories in Norwegian culture. This is the most famous story according to my Informant’s time growing up in Norway. The tale goes that there is a Troll with many riches and askeladden is ordered by his king to steal The troll’s silver ducks amongst various other riches. He also tricks the troll’s daughter to give him her knife which he uses to cut of her head. He feeds it to the troll who thinks he is eating askeladden and tricks him.

Context: My informant had the least to say about this story. He said he mostly just knew that askeladden is a hero in many stories this being one of them. He had a hard time remembering all of this story because he said it had been so long since he tried to remember them. I believe there is a chance that since he was growing up there was not a lof of significance at least with this story to himself and that is why he remembers the other stories better.

Analysis: It is hard to give a full analysis of this text using only information from my informant because of the amount of content relating to this story. Again this story is similar to tales we learn as kids in America with the hero tricking the main enemy and defeating him in order to gain riches or because of orders from the king etc… I guess that Askeladden is a hero type that does no wrong and that all Norwegian kids should strive to be more like him.

Paul Bunyan: A folk tale hero

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/31/23
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Text

“I think what’s not talked about a lot is Paul Bunyan.” The informant grew a smile on their face. “Paul Bunyan is an American folk tale. It’s just a guy that’s really big. So it’s this really big guy and he lives in the sort of upper-Midwest of the United States– near Canada, Minnesota. That area. And he has this big blue ox named Babe that he saved from the snow of one cold winter. That’s his pet.”

They looked up in thought for a moment. “There’s not really a single tale, he just is a folk figure. He was born big and then grew up to be even bigger. Once he was an adult he became a lumberjack, so he wore plaid and looked like, you know, the basic lumberjack with an axe made for his size. And by virtue of being big, he was very good at being a lumberjack. “

People don’t think of America having folk tales like that, but we do! And Paul Bunyan is the biggest one.”

Context

RELATIONSHIP –
“I don’t think of Paul Bunyan a lot, and the area he exists in isn’t one I’m particularly used to. I just have an appreciation knowing that he’s a specifically American thing.”

WHERE THEY HEARD IT –
“I don’t remember specifically, but it’s a piece of Americana that you just absorb over time simply by being raised in the United States. Kind of like Uncle Sam and John Henry. It was just cultural osmosis.”

INTERPRETATION –
“He’s very much just representative of the lumberjacking culture. It’s an interesting folk tale because it’s something that was uniquely American. Folk tales are representative of the culture and Paul Bunyan uniquely represents individualism, the rugged American spirit, being self-made, and all ‘I pulled myself up by my boot straps.'”

Analysis

I believe Paul Bunyan is very much representative of an average man with potential that’s larger than life. I think that a very important aspect of his character is the fact that, despite being so large and strong, his choice of work is very humble and is a huge part of his identity, marking its importance. It’s this aspect of him that makes him strangely relatable and human. Personally, I’m aware of Paul Bunyan’s tale being a result of fakelore– as it was created by lumberjacking companies, but the fact that my informant wasn’t aware of this, makes me think about the effectiveness of the tale. Maybe, since Paul Bunyan is representative of the American spirit, there’s something to say about the commercial value behind him.

Lady Triệu

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 19
Occupation: Stage Manager
Residence: Portland
Performance Date: 4/27/2020
Primary Language: English
Language: Vietnamese

Background: My informant is a Vietnamese college student. Their parents immigrated to the United States from Vietnam when their parents were around 20, for religious and other reasons. My informant’s identity and worldview is largely shaped by their Vietnamese culture and immigrant upbringing. One of my informant’s main life goals is to one day move back to Vietnam and be in their homeland. My informant is interested in studying decolonization and has done so in college. Thus, this story about Vietnamese decolonization is especially important to them, although they did express that they are not certain about how this history of Vietnam being colonized affects their identity.

Context: Context: This conversation was recorded on a zoom meeting that we had on a Monday evening. My informant is a friend of mine, and the conversation occurred in both of our rooms. The purpose of the call was specifically so that I could gather folklore from my informant, and they were aware about that as well. After our call, some other people joined the zoom call and the atmosphere was generally friendly.

Main Piece:

For most of our existence as a country(Vietnam), we’ve been colonized, and mostly by China. So we have a lot of like … we have stories about warrior people who fight and like try to rebel against China, meaning that and a lot of these stories are usually women. Because apparently Vietnam used to be a matriarchy or something so a lot of our stories usually involve women fighting against China. 

Here’s this woman. Her name is Lady Triệu. Orphan woman. But she lives with her brother and his family. And her sister in law was kind of horrible to her. And so she killed her sister in law and runs away to the mountains and like starts mountain training. And her brother tries to convince her to come down and that sort of thing but she doesn’t because because she wants to train and so she enlists in the army. 

So sometime between like the mountains and her listing she gets married has baby or at least one baby.

And like in all the depictions of her. It’s like she’s a fierce woman with long boobs. And when she goes into battle she throws her boobs over her shoulders.

Me: So like, just for, like, so I can categorize this. Like do people actually think this happened?

Think of it more like like the story of Hercules where it may happen, but a lot of the stuff is exaggerated, all the time.

Thoughts: Thoughts: This was interesting to me because I was previously unaware of Vietnam being colonized by China. The first time I heard of this story was in friendly conversation and we made light of the fact that the woman is primarily characterized as having long boobs. This was obviously sexualized in our discussion and I wonder if that feature had the same context when it was told throughout history. Lady Triệu also plays into the tendency of warrior leaders in uprising who tend to become historical legends or folk heroes.

The Legend of Ned Kelly

Nationality: Australian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Australia
Performance Date: 4/26/2016
Primary Language: English

“Ned Kelly came from a very poor family. There are many stories about him and his exploits. The main story is that the police always gave him a hard time. One day, a police officer called Fitzpatrick turned up and was having a go at Ned Kelly’s sister. He tried to defend his sister. It ended in a fight the policeman, which meant that Kelly and his brother had to run away and become outlaws. This forced them to turn to a life of crime to sustain themselves. They started always robbing from the rich people. They would then go back to their community and share the money they stole. Eventually, two others joined him, and they became the Kelly gang. The police hired special trackers to find hunt them down. The gang soon got cornered in this town called Glenrowan. They knew they would get cornered, so they build armor for Ned to wear to protect him from the police’s gunfire. All the gang members were shot and killed except for Ned, who was captured. He was tried and hung for robbery and murder since he had killed some cops. He died very young. Allegedly, his last words were “such is life”.”

The legend of Ned Kelly is one that is often retold all over Australia. During the late 19th century, Ned was a real criminal and outlaw who rebelled against the British forces that had been ruling over Australia by stealing from them and distributing their money to the lower classes. There are many stories that Australians enjoy telling about him, but probably the most famous concerns the suit of armor that he wore to protect himself. The original suit still exists today and is held in a museum in Australia.

The informant, Angus Guthrie, is a 20-year-old student who was born and raised in Australia. Because he and his family have been in the country for a very long time, he believes that he is quite familiar with Australian folklore and traditions. Angus read story of the Kelly gang as a child in an Australian folklore book that had been written for children. He feels that people enjoy the legend because it is a truly fun story that is an integral part of Australia’s cultural history. Many, including Angus, see Ned as a national hero because he is a symbol of the fight against the tyrannical British government.

The story of Ned Kelly perfectly exemplifies the reason why some outlaws can become local legends and heroes. Although Ned Kelly and his gang did kill innocent people and steal property that did not belong to them, their battle against the British forces was interpreted as a futile but courageous stand against their oppressive government. His stoic death only cemented his position as a cultural icon. Because the Australian people had been suffering so much at the time, it is likely that they were seeking a source of strength and hope to make their days easier. Clearly, they found their source in Ned.

For more research on Robin Hood characters (including Ned Kelly), see Seal, Graham. “The Robin Hood principle: Folklore, history, and the social bandit.” Journal of Folklore Research 46.1 (2009): 67-89.