* * *
While I'm reading"Struwwelpeter" by Hoffman, one thought hit my mind. Even though most of tairy fales are for the children, many of those endings are tragedy. I think they are too cruel to read for childred, especially Hoffman's fairy tale. Hvae anyone thought that many of fairy tales are cruel for children?
JooYoung
*
Actually, I thought most of these stories were too gentle, and that what happens to these children in the stories is far more positive than the consequences of reality. Shock-headed Peter for instance. Now, he's obviously a metaphor for a type of person that actually exists, and quite prevelantly, otherwise the story wouldn't sell. I'm sure that at some point in our educational careers, we've all become familiar with "the smelly kid", or the kid who never takes a shower, or the kid with "B.O". Not only does this guy have Hoffman telling him he's naughty and deserves punishment, he's also got the ridicule of everyone at school. Because of his heavy stench, the girls wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole, they plug their noses when they pass him by, and are disgusted by all of his attempts at any sort of romance. If his person should come up in conversation with friends, the girls will try to feign pity, but the truth of their detestation always seeps through the blinds of taught compassion, and together they'll all laugh heartily. The boys, on the other hand foster an emotion stronger than hatred, they are indifferent to his very existence. Therefore, they use him for utilitarian purposes only. If money is needed, they steal. If power is desired they beat him. For self-confidence, they ridicule. And worst of all, for a sense of magnanimity, they help him. And so he manipulated into believing that friendship is possible for him, and because of this, when the inevitable betrayal occurs, he is pummeled to an even darker pit of self-revulsion. The truth of the matter is that those he had thought were his friends will steal more from him and beat him all the more ruthlessly, just for having the gall to imagine that anyone would stoop so low as to associate themselves with such an ugly excuse for a human being. And so they mock him in all his success, and laugh at him in his humiliation. The way this life is ended is dependent upon whether he chooses servitude, revenge, or instant death.
Robert
*
A selfish stepmother who cares only about her vanity, another selfish stepmother who has her husband wiped and only cares about her own survival and seven stupid brothers; these are the blights of our hero and heroines.
All of these stories convey a positive message in the end. They just use a very twisted means to reach this positive message. I do not believe that these stories could be written today and be thought of in the same regard. Our society is far too uptight to accept such a dark fairy tale. The sad reality of it all is that these events happen all the time in our world. Parents are constantly abandoning their children in order to get what they want out of life. Siblings are constantly making sacrifices for benefit of loved ones. I would like to know how the brothers reacted, besides their initial reaction, to what their sister did for them. I have a sinking feeling that they are too dumb to realize what she went through. I am willing to bet that the brothers did not have a true appreciation for what their sister did for them.
The positive message I mentioned earlier may not be that apparent to some people. Children of well-adjusted families may only see these tales a random and sorted turn of events. But for the children of dysfunctional families, these tales may be a ray of light. Hansel and Gretel and Snow Drop show that if one can out wit or endure that presence that is tearing the family apart one can eventually find happiness. The little sister’s journey to save here brothers shows how a ripped apart family can be reunited and happy.
Using the story as a direct example, one can see how a dysfunctional family can eventually function, but if one uses these stories slightly more loosely the stories can apply to anyone’s life. This does bring up a series of questions. Who is your stepmother that does not want you to outshine her? How do you kill her? Who is your stepmother that would throw you out into the woods? How do you kill her? Who are your brothers that need a type of help that only you can provide? What are you willing to lose in the process?
Elan
*
Response to The Snow Queen:
To take any of Anderson's fairytales at face value is a grave mistake. Anderson writes symbolically, metaphorically, and philosophically. To get right down to it these seven stories make up a life journey and it's afterlife. Throughout all of Anderson's tales he writes specifically to embody core truths in the world and of human nature. If ask to supply proof for such a lofty statement, I would certainly bring up his story of the Princess and the Pea. In the last sentance of this fairytale he writes: "Now this is a true story." Either Anderson was insane and believed a princess would feel a pea under 20 feather beds or else he was getting at a somewhat different and philosophical point. Here he suggests the idea of range of truth. That truth does not have to be soley factual. The truth Anderson is getting at is the idea of the truth of essance. His stories are not factual yet they enboody the essance and the nature of the world and how it works. A real princess would not feel a pea, yet she would be as much of ungrateful guest as the character is in the story. ((And so on))
Having said this: there are many points that could be made about the symbolizm through stories one through six. Such worldly truths of the deceiving old woman, and the tricky robbers are rich with meaning in the tale. However i want to discuss the more metaphoric ideas presented in story seven. Kay being frozen in the world of the snow queen is reminiscent of Dante's The Divine Comedy. Obvious connections can be made of the hell like state being not in fire but in ice. Kay being found only in the seventh story mimics the coldest and worst circle of hell being the seventh level. If this connection is made then Gerda acts as a kind of Beatrice for Kay. she is the embodiment of Christ and warmth which is needed to navigate through Heaven. In turn, it is Gerda who is the only one who brings Kay back to warmth and christ.
Something more to think about here is the notion of eternity. Kay himself cannot find the word eternity in his icy hellish state. Yet with Gerda they instantly find eternity. Here it obviously states that only with warmth and religion that one can seek an eternal state of happiness.
April
*
Hoffman's Struwwelpeter: Merry Stories and Funny Pictures are morality tales for children. They all a cautionary tale of listen to your parents or behave yourself otherwise some peril will befall you. The rhyming makes them especially suited to children because it makes the poems easier to remember. Hoffman's stories are comparable to horror films. Most horror films are morality tales for teenagers that show teenagers if they have sex or do drugs they will die. Both make the consequences of rebellious actions memorable or shocking, so that children and teenagers will will think before they disobey conservative societal rules or parents. The stories often reveal the anxieties or fears of society.
Brenda
* * *
7 comments:
While I'm reading"Struwwelpeter" by Hoffman, one thought hit my mind. Even though most of tairy fales are for the children, many of those endings are tragedy. I think they are too cruel to read for childred, especially Hoffman's fairy tale. Hvae anyone thought that many of fairy tales are cruel for children?
-JooYoung-
Actually, I thought most of these stories were too gentle, and that what happens to these children in the stories is far more positive than the consequences of reality. Shock-headed Peter for instance. Now, he's obviously a metaphor for a type of person that actually exists, and quite prevelantly, otherwise the story wouldn't sell. I'm sure that at some point in our educational careers, we've all become familiar with "the smelly kid", or the kid who never takes a shower, or the kid with "B.O". Not only does this guy have Hoffman telling him he's naughty and deserves punishment, he's also got the ridicule of everyone at school. Because of his heavy stench, the girls wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole, they plug their noses when they pass him by, and are disgusted by all of his attempts at any sort of romance. If his person should come up in conversation with friends, the girls will try to feign pity, but the truth of their detestation always seeps through the blinds of taught compassion, and together they'll all laugh heartily. The boys, on the other hand foster an emotion stronger than hatred, they are indifferent to his very existence. Therefore, they use him for utilitarian purposes only. If money is needed, they steal. If power is desired they beat him. For self-confidence, they ridicule. And worst of all, for a sense of magnanimity, they help him. And so he manipulated into believing that friendship is possible for him, and because of this, when the inevitable betrayal occurs, he is pummeled to an even darker pit of self-revulsion. The truth of the matter is that those he had thought were his friends will steal more from him and beat him all the more ruthlessly, just for having the gall to imagine that anyone would stoop so low as to associate themselves with such an ugly excuse for a human being. And so they mock him in all his success, and laugh at him in his humiliation. The way this life is ended is dependent upon whether he chooses servitude, revenge, or instant death.
mine ^
A selfish stepmother who cares only about her vanity, another selfish stepmother who has her husband wiped and only cares about her own survival and seven stupid brothers; these are the blights of our hero and heroines.
All of these stories convey a positive message in the end. They just use a very twisted means to reach this positive message. I do not believe that these stories could be written today and be thought of in the same regard. Our society is far too uptight to accept such a dark fairy tale. The sad reality of it all is that these events happen all the time in our world. Parents are constantly abandoning their children in order to get what they want out of life. Siblings are constantly making sacrifices for benefit of loved ones. I would like to know how the brothers reacted, besides their initial reaction, to what their sister did for them. I have a sinking feeling that they are too dumb to realize what she went through. I am willing to bet that the brothers did not have a true appreciation for what their sister did for them.
The positive message I mentioned earlier may not be that apparent to some people. Children of well-adjusted families may only see these tales a random and sorted turn of events. But for the children of dysfunctional families, these tales may be a ray of light. Hansel and Gretel and Snow Drop show that if one can out wit or endure that presence that is tearing the family apart one can eventually find happiness. The little sister’s journey to save here brothers shows how a ripped apart family can be reunited and happy.
Using the story as a direct example, one can see how a dysfunctional family can eventually function, but if one uses these stories slightly more loosely the stories can apply to anyone’s life. This does bring up a series of questions. Who is your stepmother that does not want you to outshine her? How do you kill her? Who is your stepmother that would throw you out into the woods? How do you kill her? Who are your brothers that need a type of help that only you can provide? What are you willing to lose in the process?
Response to The Snow Queen:
((April Noga))
To take any of Anderson's fairytales at face value is a grave mistake. Anderson writes symbolically, metaphorically, and philosophically. To get right down to it these seven stories make up a life journey and it's afterlife. Throughout all of Anderson's tales he writes specifically to embody core truths in the world and of human nature. If ask to supply proof for such a lofty statement, I would certainly bring up his story of the Princess and the Pea. In the last sentance of this fairytale he writes: "Now this is a true story." Either Anderson was insane and believed a princess would feel a pea under 20 feather beds or else he was getting at a somewhat different and philosophical point. Here he suggests the idea of range of truth. That truth does not have to be soley factual. The truth Anderson is getting at is the idea of the truth of essance. His stories are not factual yet they enboody the essance and the nature of the world and how it works. A real princess would not feel a pea, yet she would be as much of ungrateful guest as the character is in the story. ((And so on))
Having said this: there are many points that could be made about the symbolizm through stories one through six. Such worldly truths of the deceiving old woman, and the tricky robbers are rich with meaning in the tale. However i want to discuss the more metaphoric ideas presented in story seven. Kay being frozen in the world of the snow queen is reminiscent of Dante's The Divine Comedy. Obvious connections can be made of the hell like state being not in fire but in ice. Kay being found only in the seventh story mimics the coldest and worst circle of hell being the seventh level. If this connection is made then Gerda acts as a kind of Beatrice for Kay. she is the embodiment of Christ and warmth which is needed to navigate through Heaven. In turn, it is Gerda who is the only one who brings Kay back to warmth and christ.
Something more to think about here is the notion of eternity. Kay himself cannot find the word eternity in his icy hellish state. Yet with Gerda they instantly find eternity. Here it obviously states that only with warmth and religion that one can seek an eternal state of happiness.
Hoffman's Struwwelpeter: Merry Stories and Funny Pictures are morality tales for children. They all a cautionary tale of listen to your parents or behave yourself otherwise some peril will befall you. The rhyming makes them especially suited to children because it makes the poems easier to remember. Hoffman's stories are comparable to horror films. Most horror films are morality tales for teenagers that show teenagers if they have sex or do drugs they will die. Both make the consequences of rebellious actions memorable or shocking, so that children and teenagers will will think before they disobey conservative societal rules or parents. The stories often reveal the anxieties or fears of society.
Post a Comment