, AFL1501 ASSIGNMENT 2 SEMESTER 2 ANSWERS AND GUIDELINES
DUE DATE: 30 AUGUST 2026
THE HARE AND THE LION: MY REFLECTION ON AFRICAN STORYTELLING,
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Introduction
For this assessment, I have chosen the African folktale “The Hare and the Lion”
because I believe that it is a good example of how African stories can teach important
lessons about life, behaviour and society. Growing up within an African cultural
environment, I have always understood stories as more than something that is told
simply for entertainment. Stories can teach children how to behave, help people
understand what is right and wrong, and preserve knowledge that has been passed
from one generation to another. This connects with the idea in the study unit that
literature reflects our worldview because the stories we tell often show what we value
and how we understand the world around us (UNISA, 2026).
The story I selected is a traditional African folktale about a hare and a lion. A written
version of the story appears in George Bateman's Zanzibar Tales: Told by Natives of the
East Coast of Africa, which was published in 1901 (Bateman, 1901). The story focuses on
the difference between physical strength and intelligence. The lion is physically powerful
and represents strength and authority, while the hare is small and appears weak but
uses his intelligence to survive. My favourite part of the story is the section where the
hare manages to use his cleverness to escape from the lion rather than trying to fight
him. I find this part meaningful because it shows me that being powerful does not
DUE DATE: 30 AUGUST 2026
THE HARE AND THE LION: MY REFLECTION ON AFRICAN STORYTELLING,
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Introduction
For this assessment, I have chosen the African folktale “The Hare and the Lion”
because I believe that it is a good example of how African stories can teach important
lessons about life, behaviour and society. Growing up within an African cultural
environment, I have always understood stories as more than something that is told
simply for entertainment. Stories can teach children how to behave, help people
understand what is right and wrong, and preserve knowledge that has been passed
from one generation to another. This connects with the idea in the study unit that
literature reflects our worldview because the stories we tell often show what we value
and how we understand the world around us (UNISA, 2026).
The story I selected is a traditional African folktale about a hare and a lion. A written
version of the story appears in George Bateman's Zanzibar Tales: Told by Natives of the
East Coast of Africa, which was published in 1901 (Bateman, 1901). The story focuses on
the difference between physical strength and intelligence. The lion is physically powerful
and represents strength and authority, while the hare is small and appears weak but
uses his intelligence to survive. My favourite part of the story is the section where the
hare manages to use his cleverness to escape from the lion rather than trying to fight
him. I find this part meaningful because it shows me that being powerful does not
