Local Tennessee Legend
Washington Irving wrote the famous legends, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ” and “Rip Van Winkle.” Both of these legends are set in the Upper New York state area. Irving had visited the hamlet of Sleepy Hollow in his youth and his estate, Sunnyside, was once owned by the Van Tassel family. Therefore, Irving incorporated this setting and this family into the framework of Germanic legends to write “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.” Also, Irving created the old gentleman, Diedrich Knickerbocker, as the source of these tales.
For Paper I, conduct research on local legends in Tennessee. You may not use the Bell Witch legend. To find a local legend to use in your paper, begin your research on the World Wide Web. You might try typing in key word like “Tennessee legends” or “Tennessee ghost stories.” If you can not find a Tennessee legend that you wish to use on the Web, you may have to go to your local library. Many local libraries have Tennessee Rooms where books on Tennessee are kept. Other libraries will not have Tennessee Rooms, and you will need to use the electronic catalog to locate possible sources. Newspaper and magazine articles might also be excellent sources of legends. Be sure to check newspaper and magazine databases. After you have found a legend that you wish to use in your paper, photocopy or print it. You must turn in a copy of the original legend with your paper. (Do not just send the URL for the legend.)
Now retell the story in your own words, embellishing it much like Irving did his tales. Feel free to add details to make the story longer and more interesting. Because legends are a part of the oral tradition, the original stories have already been altered greatly over the years.
The minimum length of the paper is two typed pages. Be sure to turn in your original source with your paper. Be careful not to plagiarize your original source. Your paper must be in MLA style and include a Works Cited page. You will lose points for incorrect documentation.
