A Comparative Study of the Similarities Between The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and the Traditional Folk Tales

A Comparative Study of the Similarities Between The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and the Traditional Folk Tales The Nightingale as a mistaken folktale. The Nightingale has many similarities to a traditional folktale story but it also differs in many ways. The similarities and differences are commonly found in the beginning, middle and ending of the story. Some of the similarities are the introduction to the story, the use of three repetitions, helper figures, and the resolution of conflict at the end of the story. It is evident that there are more similarities than differences and The Nightingale could easily be mistaken for a folktale. First of all, the story of The Nightingale starts off by creating a distant setting that happened long ago and makes it known that its an old story. Folktales, that are also known to be old stories, are characterized by the way the author introduces the story such as â€Å"once upon a time, in a far away kingdom†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Another common characteristic of a folktale that The Nightingale has is the plot and the beginning, middle, and end. In The Nightingale the beginning of the story focuses on creating an imaginary landscape, one that is a world of magic and beauty. This story creates an obstacle right from the start where the chamberlain is in search of the nightingale at the emperor’s request. In this part of the story, the conflict fell into the repetition of three’s, which is another characteristic of a folktale. Here, the chamberlain hears the cow mooing and thinks it is the bird, next he hears the frogs croaking and also thinks it is the bird, finally, he hear s the real nightingale bird. Another similarity between the traditional folktale and this story is that the story includes helper figures. The Nightingale has three—the chamberlain who helps find the nightingale bird for the emperor, the kitchen helper who takes the chamberlain to the forest to find the bird, and the nightingale bird itself, as it sings for the emperor to bring him back to good health. In the middle of the story, there wasn’t a main conflict like a traditional folktale would have. The conflict in the story also followed the sequence of three’s—the search for the bird, the bird that has escaped, and the sick emperor. The action in the story comes quickly such as the time when the emperor became ill. After the climax of the story, the end of the story approaches quickly much like the plot that happens in a folktale. A well-known characteristic of a folktale is that they have heroes who usually resolve the conflict/obstacle near the end of the story, which creates the usual happy ending. In The Nightingale the nightingale bird is recognized as the hero since he is the one who saves the emperor’s life. The bird resolves the conflict in the empire entirely because it suggests informing the emperor in the future about all of the things he did not know, such as who is rich and happy, who is hurt and poor etc. and the bird also volunteers itself to forever be there for the emperor, to sing to him, to keep him happy and in good health. Once the agreement is made between the emperor and the bird, the villain is defeated and the hero is rewarded. This creates the happy ending in the story, which is another characteristic in a folktale. It is evident that The Nightingale has many similarities with the traditional folktale. There are more similarities than differences and The Nightingale can easily be mistaken for a folktale. It has many of the characteristics identified in a folktale such as a villain, a hero, the sequence of three’s, a beginning that creates an imaginary landscape, a middle that has three different conflicts, and a happy ending where there is a resolution.