How does cat in the rain use and deviate from the traditional codes, functions, roles and structure of folk tale morphology?

Authors Avatar

Alaina Bull

12W2

How does ‘cat in the rain’ use and deviate from the traditional codes, functions, roles and structure of folk tale morphology?

Morphology means the study of forms, their component parts and their relationship to each other and the whole in 1928 Vladimir Propp wrote ‘morphology of the folk tale’. This involved Propp studying a group of fairy tales and then breaking them down into functions, a function can be described by “function is understood as an act of a character, defined from the point of view of its significance for the course of the action” Propp then came up with seven characters these are:

  • Villain: harms the hero
  • Donor: provides hero with magical agent
  • Helper: aids hero in solving difficult tasks
  • Princess and Father: sought for person, assigns difficult tasks
  • Dispatcher: sends hero on his mission
  • Hero: searches for something/fights villain
  • False Hero: claims to be hero but is unmasked

In Propp’s functions it starts with an ‘initial situation’ this means the members of the family or hero are introduced. This happens at the start of ‘cat in the rain’. “There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel”. The readers are now introduced to the family or a potential hero. When it says “only two” this could mean they are hiding and alone.

Join now!

The story begins with a description of the surroundings. At first the text begins to seem positive, “there were big palms and green benches in the public garden”. This could mean that this is the description in summer or spring; this could also mean that it is a nice place to be and a romantic get-away.

Then it carries on describing the surroundings in the rain. This creates an atmosphere that is sad, cold and unfriendly. This is proven by Hemmingway using words like “empty” and “the motorcars were gone”. A war monument is also mentioned, this could mean ...

This is a preview of the whole essay