Here's something you should try...often

Many of you will have opinions about the consequences of kids reading the works we adults are reading in this class. Put the opinions on hold for a moment and actually read these works kids! Yes, real, live kids.

Talk to the kids about what they've read. Then you will know (at least in a very limited way) how at least one child really responds to the readings.

And resist the urge to tell the child what they should think. It's hard!

This is one of those spots in the class (there will be several) where a number of students will be tempted to shriek in horror, that's not how I remember these stories! They're horrible!"

Resist the temptation.

Also resist assuming that these stories will have disastrous effects on children. They just don't (unless the child listener/reader is very unusual). Actually, most of you, most of your parents, most of your grandparents were exposed to these stories, and they did not turn you all into sociopaths or psychopaths. So quell your fears for a moment, and look at what the stories have to say about the time/place in which they were told.

Consider "Jack and the Beanstalk," for example. This kid is a thief; he's violent; he's party to manslaughter, but he is at the heart of the story, the hero of the story. Holy Hannah! Jacobs included the story because it was immensely popular with his audience. Rather than think, "What rotten people those Olde Englishe folkes were," think about why the tale would have been popular; what does it imply about the conditions in which those people were living?

Answer one of the following questions.

  1. Discuss any one (or more) of the fairy tales looking at what surprising or questionable values or situations it presemts (for example, om "Hansel and Gretel" and other tales, father's are generally either stupid, powerless, or just plain absent. Don't worry about this being "right" or "wrong"; instead, consider what it suggests about the time/place in which the story was told and enjoyed (most of these are still enjoyed, of course). Although single fathers and shared parenting are relatively common in the 21st century, they weren't in Germany in before the 20th century. Why would stepmothers favor their biological children or be jealous of their new husband's children?

    You are not trying to accuse or preach here; you are trying to show you understand other cultures. In several of Jacobs's tales trickery is prized, often life-saving. How might this reflect the class struggle of his generation (where peasants had to use their wits to survive while the aristocracy had all of the goodies and power)? Be sure to cite specific details from the folk tale(s) you select (quoting actual passages would be great). You may expand this to include several of the tales in our anthology by one writer (for example, you could discuss Hans Christian Anderson's obsession with death). What do these patterns suggest about the time/place/culture that embraced them?

  2. This topic is very much like #1 above, but it's a bit more focussed. What sorts of stereotypes do folk and fairy tales promote or rely on? There is, of course, the wicked stepmother in such stories at "Cinderella" and "Hansel and Gretel" (which must have made Julia Roberts work just a bit harder in the movie Stepmom), but don't stop there! Examine at least one other stereotype (beauty, passivity in women, machismo, ineffectualness and/or cruelty of the aristocracy, emasculation of fathers, there are many others). Be sure to cite specific details from some of the stories. If you'd like, you can expand on this by citing an example that is contrary to one of these stereotypes in one of the stories (for example, Molly Whuppie is NOT passive). Again, what do these stereotypes suggest about the time/place/culture that embraced them? Be sure to quote passages from the readings that show these stereotypes.

    Now, here's the fun part, are some of these stereotypes you've noted still widely held? Watch a television show or movie; read a book or magazine article; look at print or billboard advertisements. Share (describe and/or quote from) the modern work and explain how it compares to the folk/fairy tale stereotype(s). For example, you might note that Snow White's only redeeming quality is that she is pretty ("the fairest in the land"); she is just a sex object, really. Walk through the check-out line your local supermarket and look at the magazine covers that face you. What's on the front of the latest Marie Claire or Vogue? An image that screams desirable women=sex and beauty. Is this RIGHT? Maybe, maybe not, but there it is on the cover of the dozen magazines you will see. Please don't everyone just copy this example, or the discussion will bog down pretty quickly; there are loads of stereotypes to explore and plenty of contemporary examples in popular media.

To earn full marks, you should always provide examples (quoted and documented) from the readings. Drawing on actual real-world experiences is also always going to earn you more points.

At the heart of literary analysis is your looking directly at the texts--stories, poems, novels--themselves. You need to quote from the stories to back up your claims. As always, these are not right/wrong or should/shouldn't questions. They ask you to think objectively (that is, without personal bias) about different ideas, about what the writers are suggesting.