To Believe or Not to Believe, Modern Urban Legends Essay

To Believe or Not To Believe Modern Urban Legends nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Many people have heard the tale of the dotty grandmother who tried to dry off her damp poodle by placing it in the microwave oven. The dog exploded, sad to say the least , and Grandma has never been quite the same since. The story is not true; it is an urban legend, circulating by word of mouth since the 1970s (Brunvand, 108). Urban legends are popular stories alleged to be true and transmitted from person to person by oral or written communication. Legends tend to arise spontaneously and are rarely traceable to a single point of origin. They spread primarily from individual to individual through various communication, and only in atypical cases through mass†¦show more content†¦The baby alligator gets sucked through the piping of the building and eventually ends up in the sewer where it survives on eating rats and other garbage (Brown, 127). A person is more likely to believe the tale if the storyteller gives them juicy details of a child they know getting chased by one while playing in the disgusting muck, rather than saying they heard it in a coffee shop down the street. In the case of a non-cautionary legend, someone may believe the story just because it is humorous, and they are completely amazed that such a thing has occurred. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The details of a good urban legend will keep the listener on the edge of his or her seat. quot;It is human nature to want to spread this feeling to others, and be the one whos got everyone wanting to hear how the story turns outquot; (Harris, 3). Even if it is a made-up joke, they may want to personalize it by claiming it happened to a friend. Another reason urban legends are so convincing is the thought that the horrendous tale happened to a quot;friend of a friend.quot; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The life of an urban legend does rely mostly on the details contained within it to give the story the interest it needs in order to be passed along to someone else, but there is something else that lies underneath the success of the legend. Anyone can brush off a story from aShow MoreRelatedTo Believe or Not to Believe, Modern Urban Legends1509 Words   |  7 PagesTo Believe or Not To Believe Modern Urban Legends Many people have heard the tale of the dotty grandmother who tried to dry off her damp poodle by placing it in the microwave oven. The dog exploded, sad to say the least , and Grandma has never been quite the same since. The story is not true; it is an urban legend, circulating by word of mouth since the 1970s (Brunvand, 108). 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