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    Work Hard and You Shall Be Rewarded: Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire
    Work Hard and You Shall Be Rewarded: Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire
    Work Hard and You Shall Be Rewarded: Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire
    Ebook356 pages2 hours

    Work Hard and You Shall Be Rewarded: Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire

    By Alan Dundes and Carl R. Pagter

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    Anyone who has ever filled in a form in triplicate, taken an aptitude test, or been rebuffed by a form letter will appreciate the urban folklore found in this collection. Urban people as a folk are bound together by their unhappy experiences in battling "the system," whether that system is the machinery of government or the office where one works. The wonderfully expressive materials in this book—chain letters, memoranda, notices, and cartoons—touch upon every major controversy of urban America: racism, sex, politics, automation, alienation, welfare, the women's movement, military mentality, and office bureaucracy. The humor of the materials pinpoints the ills and frustrations of modern society and becomes, in turn, an escape from them.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWayne State University Press
    Release dateDec 1, 1992
    ISBN9780814337417
    Work Hard and You Shall Be Rewarded: Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire

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      Work Hard and You Shall Be Rewarded - Alan Dundes

      Rewarded

      Traditional Letters

      For centuries, one of the most important forms of human communication has been the letter. Letters have been so influential that often those of a famous person or the collected correspondence between two famous people are published in book form. Fictional works, including novels, have been cast in the form of a series of letters. It should come as no surprise to learn that there exists a large number of traditional letters. By traditional letters we mean letters that are relatively fixed in both form and content. As with all folklore, there is always the possibility, or rather probability, of variation occurring. We have numerous variants of the traditional letters presented here, but, in the interest of economy, we shall as a general rule provide only one representative text. Nevertheless, since multiple versions—usually with variations—constitute one of the best criteria to be used in determining whether a given text is folkloristic, we shall occasionally depart from this procedure by giving two or more versions of the same letter in order to demonstrate conclusively its traditionality.

      One of the most common types of the traditional letter is the so-called chain letter.¹ The true chain letter is an attempt to form a human chain of communication that increases in a geometric progression as each individual recopies the single chain letter he has received and sends the five to twenty copies on to individuals he knows. Often there is an incentive, such as money, liquor, or good luck, to encourage the receiver of the letter to continue the chain. If one were to attempt to delineate the underlying structure of chain letters, one might distinguish a four-part one. First, a statement indicates that the letter is in fact a chain letter. This statement is analogous to the opening formula in fairy tales or games, for instance, Once upon a time or Ready or not here I come. The second structural element is an injunction, usually directing the reader to send a certain number of copies on to friends, often stipulating a fixed period of time for compliance. The third feature consists of a description of the reward: so many recipes or blue-chip stamps or dollars will be received. Sometimes a case history of a previous winner is cited. The fourth and final element is a warning informing the reader what might happen if he fails to follow the instructions, thereby breaking the chain. Frequently a negative case history is presented in which a foolish individual is depicted as disregarding the injunction and losing a fortune.

      In a way, one could argue that the chain letter tradition reflects one of the major patterns of achieving success in American culture. Do what you’re told, conform, and there will be a payoff for you. The chain-letter instructions suggest that one must do what one is told by an external force. If one obeys, one is rewarded. If one bucks the system, one will not be rewarded and may be punished. In the case of a financial incentive, one is asked to invest a modest amount in the hope of multiplying one’s investment, surely the guiding principle of capitalism. Further, one is asked to sell the scheme to friends for one’s own immediate gain. Getting rich quick is an important part of American

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