Wizard of Oz

(Not the lead blogger this week, but here some quick thoughts...)

I have been enjoying the Wizard of Oz immensely. I find myself becoming extremely engrossed in the reading, more so than with the Alice in Wonderland, or Briar Rose. The writing seems more descriptive and engaging than the other texts. Although the story is fantastic, it is more accessible than Alice, because the characters seem to posess more human-like qualities. I have been amazed by the detailed description of places in the story--especially the Emerald City. This has been my favorite read so far, and I am looking forward to finishing the book.

Alice in Wonderland

I was apprehensive to start reading Alice in Wonderland, because I have an irrational fear of the Disney movie adaptation of the story. Being away from home, and encountering unfriendly strangers was just not my six year-old cup of tea. Reading the story has been much more fun, because I am able to imagine things as I would want them, and add an extra element of fantasy to the story. I have heard rumors that the story is more or less inspired by an acid trip. As I have been reading, it seems that LSD is as good an inspiration for a fantasy story as anything else. In my personal opinion, I would say that fantasy stories are able to be held to a much more lenient standards than fairy tales, which makes them more fun to read and write. Are there rules for the plot of a fantasy, as there are for the Heroic Journey? Are fantasy stories simply fairy tales with fantastic elements thrown in? I am wondering--what makes the elements of a good fantasy story?

Hansel and Gretel

(I'm not the Lead Blogger for the week, but here goes...)

I was glad we discussed the variations of Hansel and Gretel in class, because I was having a difficult time finding connections between a few of the stories, and Hansel and Gretel as I know it.

I think the story of Hansel and Gretel has the most variation, because the underlying concept of the story has a great capacity for evil. Typically in literature intended for a younger audience, children are portrayed as angelic, are doted upon, and considered a precious part of the family. The idea that parents could view children as a burden is not often discussed.

The "contamination" of fairy tales seems almost always to be a dilution. The scary parts are toned down, the heroes are played up, and there is always a happy ending. Hansel and Gretel as I have heard it follows these rules to a 'T.' The fact that the parents were willing to leave their children in the woods is somehow overlooked, and the family continues a life of normalcy.

Although I don't disagree that children should be somewhat sheltered from violence and upsetting issues, I think children should be given some sort of warning about the way the world works, rather than being led to believe everything always works out in the end.

I don't think the lead blogger posted anything yet, so I will go ahead and post a blog. I am going to talk about Briar Rose. At first I wasn't too interested in reading the book, it didn't really catch my interest or attention right away. But once I read on I understood how the book was laid out by switching off talking about the past and the present. I like how the chapters switch off from the past where the grandmother is telling the story to her grandchildren, to the present where Becca is trying to figure out where her grandmother's castle is and any other mysteries about her life. It flows really well and makes you want to keep reading. I didn't want to put the book down since I wanted to figure out the ending, since every chapter is a clue that gets Becca closer to figuring out more about her grandma's life. Before Gemma dies, she says to Becca, " Promise me you will find the castle. Promise me you will find the prince. Promise me you will find the maker of the spells." (16) I wonder if Becca will really find all those. It is interesting Gemma never gave her any clues, but just left behind a box for her to figure it out. So I am excited to read the rest of the book and figure out if Becca does find the castle and see what else she figures out about her grandmother's past.

Zipes pgs. 81-98

Zipes discusses the Americanization of the Grimm fairy tales by Wanda Gag and compares that to Disney. The Americanization of Grimm’s’ fairy tales happened during the great depression. Since fairy tales tend to be Utopian and everyone at the time was looking for hope, this is very logical. Gag wanted to bring something from her childhood to the world. Gag’s style was more American then other people who had rewritten Grimm’s fairy tales. Americanizing the stories however did show how the times and cultures differed. She wrote them in much the style of a storyteller to a child. Zipes states that Disney and Gag cared more about their own concerns in creating their stories then that of the children. Gag’s tales showed Americas concerns and her own personal needs. This makes sense since everyone who tells a story, fairy tale or other have no choice but to tell it in a way that they relate to. If they can not relate to it then they can not pass on the moral or message behind the story. If you don’t understand what you are writing then it’s hard to express the how different the American culture had become and how different the world is.