Thursday, October 20, 2016
Question to Consider: Hansel and Gretel
Recently, we have been exploring the double-function of storytelling to teach and entertain. What do you think "Hansel and Gretel" is trying to teach us? Write an analytical paragraph in which you explore this question. As always, be sure that you support your ideas with evidence from the text. Also, continue to practice varying your sentence structure (i.e. including dependent and independent clauses).
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The story of Hansel and Gretel is a timeless classic. It has been told and retold many times throughout the ages. Each time its theme or message being reinterpreted. I think the lesson this story is trying to teach us is that selfishness is often the fatal flaw or the undoing of a character. We see this in the case of the step-mother. She sacrificed the children so her and her husband can have more to eat. Although the story did not elaborate on how she had died, it could be argued that her selfishness led to her end. That even though she tried to save her own life by giving up her children, she still ended up dead. A more prominent example of the message or theme was in the case of the Wicked Witch. If the witch had just eaten the children immediately they would not have gotten away. However, because of her desire to have more to eat, and to fatten up Hansel she was eventually killed. Some could argue that in the case of the step-mother and the witch it was their gluttony that led to they death. Another theory that has been adopted, as stated on page 85, is that there may be an identity connection between the witch and the step-mother. They both died because of their desire to benefit themselves. They both met their end because they wanted more than they had and made certain sacrifices to ensure that was given to them. This however, resulted in their death and thus shows the recurring them that selfishness can be the fatal flaw of anybody.
ReplyDeleteThe Brothers Grimm story Hansel and Gretel is an entertaining yet morbid story. Hansel and Gretel is not used only to entertain but also to teach children important life lessons. While one of the major life lessons in this story seems rather outdated, it isn't. The life lesson that I am referring to is never lose faith in God. In current times, this can be interpreted as never losing hope. In the beginning of the story, Hansel and Gretel eavesdrop on a conversation that their parents are having. It turns out that their step mother wants to abandon them in the forest for her and her husbands own wellbeing. Gretel doesn't take the news so well but Hansel stays optimistic and comforts his sister. When abandoned in the forest, Hansel constantly reminds Gretel that "The Good Lord" will take care of them. Hansel's faith helps keep his sister positive. On page 83, after the Wicked Witch declares to Gretel that she is finally ready to cook and eat Hansel, Gretel pleads to God as a last resort. This shows that she still has a hope left. After this, everything seems to go well. Gretel kills the witch, Hansel and Gretel find a whole bunch of valuables, they go home to their father, and their evil step mother is dead. The Brothers Grimm used a deus ex machina ending in order to show that if faith is not lost good things will happen.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Hansel and Gretel is a children’s story. Being a children’s story it still has a lot of darkness. This shows how the story’s intention is to teach children about the evil in the world. Usually children’s stories tell tales that are more comforting and happy, but this story tells the opposite. It exposes children to the imperfections of our world. For example, the parents neglect their children Hansel and Gretel and try to get rid of them. This does happen in our world, but children who are sheltered by their parents often don’t have any exposure to that idea. There’s also the witch who initially appears very nice and welcoming, but she ended up being a wicked witch who wanted to eat the children. This would be an example of lies, and how people must be cautious of whom they trust in the world. The majority of parents do not want their children to experience any of this evil. This leads to parents sheltering their children which often leads to them hiding all bad things and ideas from them. The story of Hansel and Gretel is a great way to teach children that the world is not all good.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that the story teaches is that people should help one another. In the story Hansel, the brother, is continuously comforting Gretel. When she is scared about being lost he assures her that they will find their way back home through the moonlight. And from calming her they both get home safely. Later in the story, when Hansel is trapped by the witch, Gretel helps her brother get out. From helping each other they both ended up getting home safely. Through these things they also had to overcome their obstacles. When Hansel was trapped by the witch, Gretel knew she had to stop the witch somehow. She killed her in the oven, for if she had not done that both her and her brother would have ended up dead. Another example would be when Hansel and Gretel were stuck on the other side of the lake. Gretel noticed a duck. They used the duck to help them get to the other side. The result of them resolving the problem was getting to go home. This demonstrates the importance of problem solving.
“Hansel and Gretel” analytical paragraph
ReplyDelete“Hansel and Gretel” is one of the many double-function stories we have read. Hansel and Gretel’s story can be learned from and teaches us a lesson. This story is trying to teach us many things. One lesson would be to take care of one another. In this fairy tale Hansel and Gretel watch out for each other. Hansel thinks of ways to help him and his sister get back to their house safely. Even though his second plan does not go as it should he is always watching out for his sister. Gretel, who also watches out for her brother, saves Hansel from being eaten by the witch. Gretel never gives up. She tricks the witch into getting in the oven and saves her brother. Another lesson that can be learned from this story is that even the best of plans can go astray. The mother and father of Hansel and Gretel plan to leave their children in the forest, but the children hear them and plan a way to get home. The mother and father then have to try again to lose the children in the forest. Hansel’s second attempt to save him and his sister from being left behind in the forest backfires. Birds eat the bread crumbs and the children get lost. Also, the witch’s plan to eat Hansel is stopped by Gretel. Gretel ends up pushing the witch into the oven in which she was going to cook Hansel and locks it. The story of Hansel and Gretel teaches the reader these important lessons while functioning as a suspenseful and entertaining story that keeps the reader’s attention.
The story of "Hansel and Gretel" is a story that has been around for ages, dating back to the 1800s. Throughout the ages, this story has taken many forms and has changed dramatically. Even though this is usually known as a nonsensical fairy tale, I think “Hansel and Gretel” has a deeper meaning. The moral that I took out of this story is not to be too trusting. Like the phrases not talking to strangers or stranger danger, I think that the story of “Hansel and Gretel” is not talking or trusting strangers. One example of this that I found in the text was on page 81. The text states, “She took them by the hand and led them into her house. A fine meal of milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts, was set before them. A little later, two beautiful little beds were made up from them with white sheets. Hansel and Gretel lay down in them and felt as if they were in heaven. The old women had only pretended to be kind. She was really a wicked witch, who waylaid little children,” (Grimm 81) Even though both of the children were scared in the beginning, they immediately trusted the witch and when into their house. Trusting the witch ended up being their downfall and the hardship the two had to overcome. The story of “Hansel and Gretel’s” in my mind has four distinct phases. The first phase is the introduction where we learn about the family and the setting of the story. The second phase is the when they go into the forest with their family and are left behind. The third phase of the story is when they find the house and are tricked into staying there. Finally the last phase is tricking the witch to go into the oven and getting home to their father. In my mind, the children finding the house and getting tricked into going in (phase 3) is the most important phase because it acts as the problem the characters has to overcome. Because of this, I think that since Hansel and Gretel trusted the witch caused phase 3 this is the most important moral in the story. For these reasons, I think that trusting the witch (how they got stuck in the house) is the most important message in the story.
ReplyDelete“Hansel and Gretel” is a story that incorporates both elements of education and entertainment throughout the story, but I believe that it is focused a bit more on entertainment. Since the Brothers Grimm recorded stories and altered them a bit, I think “Hansel and Gretel", recorded by the Brothers Grimm, was originally intended to be a form of entertainment. Although that may be the original intent of the story, I could understand why others would believe it to be a story to teach / instruct. Something I picked up and that the text highlights through footnotes was the relationship between the stepmother and the witch. This story highlights the evil of the stepmother figure and archetype in fairytales, showing the darker side of motherhood. Throughout the tale, the stepmother is portrayed as very selfish and deceiving. When the stepmother’s husband disagrees with her plan to leave Hansel and Gretel in the woods, she says, ‘“You fool,’ his wife replied. ‘Then all four of us can starve to death. You might as well start sanding the boards for our coffins.’” (Grimm, 74) This selfishness and trickery the stepmother has are both traits the witch obtains. “The old woman had only pretended to be kind. She was really a wicked witch, who waylaid little children and had built the house of bread just to get them inside. As soon as a child fell into her hands, she killed it, cooked it, and ate it.” (81) Not only do both characters share the same traits, but the end of the story, along with the footnotes, hint at their shared identity. When the children return to their father, the text says “His wife had died.” (85), not offering any further elaboration as a typical story would, fitting oddly with the rest of the paragraph.
ReplyDeleteHansel and Gretel is a dark tale about two children who are abandoned by their parents and are then left to fend for themselves in the woods. I found this story to be a mix of something that’s meant to entertain and something that’s meant to teach a lesson. The story is entertaining but It also evokes a feeling of sadness for the father in the story and especially for the children. There’s a quote in the story that made me pause my reading and think about the actions of all the characters in the book, it was when Hansel said “God won’t abandon us”. When Hansel said that it made me think of the actions of the Father’s wife and how what she did may seem like abandonment to the children, yet to her it may seem like what she needed to do to survive. The story taught me that it’s important to understand where other people may be coming from, and how one person’s evil is another person’s just thing to do.
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