Hansel and Gretel (and other stories of Cannibalism)

The folk tale of Hansel and Gretel revolves around the contant fear of starvation experienced by peasants at the time of this story's creation.  This story conforms with the social problem of famine and the self-centered attitude of Hansel and Gretel's parents.  Wilhelm Grimm changed the maternal presence to a stepmother because he couldn't bear to pen a story where a biological mother would sacrifice her own children so that she could survive.  Most of the variations allow the father to be rehabilitated, while his maternal counterpart retains her sense of selfishness and cruelty. 

Hansel and Gretel and The Juniper Tree (aka My Mother Slew Me; My Father Ate Me) "give us high melodrama - abandonment, treachery, betrayal, and joyous reunions" Mollie Whuppie and Tom Thumb "offer comic relief in the form of spunky adventurers who use their wits to turn the tables on adversaries with daunting powers." (pg. 183)  I loved the story of Little Thumbling because it allowed the weakest, most sickly child to overcome his disabilities and save the remaining six children.  The main character used his brains to outwit the Ogre, who inadvertently kills HIS daughters rather than the boys.

Now, to the readings that described the various "Posts".  It did clarify "Postmodernism" and made "Postcolonialism" easy to understand, yet I am still confused on "Poststructuralism".  According to "The Bedford Glossary", the goal of poststructuralist theorists "is to understand what controls interpretation and meaning in all possible systems of signification." (pg. 402)  What exactly does that mean?  And how does it differ from Structuralism?

Anyway, I really enjoyed learning about Postcolonialism and how it developed.

My "Has-Been Life" in 1850.

I start this blog saying "has-been", because at my current age (45), I would have already given birth to seven or eight children, losing one or two to disease or accident (the infant mortality rate in 1850 was 22%).  I probably wouldn't even be around, as the average age for a woman in 1850 was 39.5 years of age.  So...if I'm still around, I'm living in a state in its infancy (Texas became a state in 1845), and I'm probably teaching my grandchildren how to sew and preserve food.  I will never have the experience of using a sewing machine, riding a bicycle, or learning the conveniences of plastic, as these were all invented after 1850.  My skirts will continue to widen at the bottom with with invention of the crinoline (just look at prom pics from the 1980s and you'll know what I'm talking about), and I'll fret over my grandchildren migrating to the big cities to work in the new industries being developed thanks to the combustible engine. 


I will have never worked outside the home, nor would I have wanted to.  My children and grandchildren will possess this desire thanks to women role models like Florence Nightengale. 

A Perfect World

Here is my list.  I can't help but think that we should leave the world alone.  God made it this way, and allows the problems to persist for a reason.  Anytime you change things, there are going to be implications.

1. The world would be void of greed and malice. Theft and war would no longer prevail.

2. All environments, both land and sea, would become sustainable, providing enough food for the masses.

3. There would be no such thing as a communicable disease.
 
4. A cure for cancer would become accessible to all.

5. There would be no such thing as pollutants. Every substance manufactured would have a secondary use after the first use is depleted.

Cinderelly Cinderelly

Can you believe these fairy tales?  They're more like B-rated horror movies!  Maybe that's where the twisted authors of those movies got their ideas.  However, it's the German, Indonesian, and Filipino versions that are perverse, while the American version makes Cinderella bend over like a wet noodle.  If children nowadays read these tales, they'd threaten harry-karry at the thought of their fathers remarrying.  For all the versions are driven by the jealousy displayed either by the biological mother or the stepmother.  From
Yeh-hsien's magical fish, to the unorthodox attire in Donkeyskin and Catskin, the underlying message remains the same:  goodness prevails over evil. 

Literary Theory:  Chapter 8
I found the most profound writing in Chapter 8, especially under the subtitle "Theory".  This summation has clarified the purpose of theory, stating:
      Theory, then, offers not a set of solutions but the prospect of further thought.  It calls for
      commitment to the work of reading, of challenging presuppositions, of questioning the
      assumptions on which you proceed.
This goes back to Rule #1 - EVERYTHING IS SUSPECT.

Theory Toolbox:  Chapter 7
Entitled "History," this chapter emphasized the fact that history is an inpretation of past facts.  History is not an unbiased account of an event, as many would like to believe.  It can be said that "history narrates the lives of the victorious and powerful from their prospective, whereas literature tends to side with the vanquished and powerless" (p. 105). 

This has been an interesting week for readings, and look forward to watching the "G" rated version of Cinderella.

J.L. Austin and Judith Butler

Performative Utterances vs. Constative Utterances

J.L. Austin describes performative utterances as utterances that actually perform the action to which they refer. Constative utterances make a statement, describe a state of affairs, and are true or false. Constative utterances also perform actions – actions of stating, affirming, and describing. An example of a performative utterance is “I promise to pay you.” An example of constative utterance is “George promised to come.”


The literary utterance does not refer to a prior state of affairs and is not true or false. The literary utterance:
1. Brings into being characters and their actions, and
2. Bring into being ideas and concepts which they deploy.

Judith Butler’s Performatives

American philosopher Judith Butler spearheaded the emergence of a ‘performative theory of gender and sexuality’ in feminist theory and in gay and lesbian studies.


I found it interesting that the avant-garde have adopted the name ‘Queer Theory’ to represent works in cultural theory that are linked with political movements for gay liberation. This is ironic, since the word ‘queer’ was deemed as such a derogative term that it was almost considered taboo.


Butler proposes that we consider gender as performative, meaning that it is not was one is, but what one does (your gender is created by your acts).
 This chapter in Literary Theory presented many new ideas. I’m still trying to comprehend why feminism, lesbianism, and any other –ism relating to gender and sexual preference can’t be consolidated into one category. It seems that everyone wants to have their little “niche” and none of the experts wants to be associated with the other experts claiming some sort of sexual expertise.

Snow White, Lisa, and Lasair Gheug

“Snow White” has variations ranging from family-oriented (Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) to macabre, Giambattista Basile’s “The Young Slave”. Yet every version shares the same core: origin, jealousy, expulsion, adoption, renewed jealousy, death, exhibition, resuscitation, and resolution.
The overtly common theme is the conflict between (step)mother/daughter. Some have described it as a feminine Oedipus complex. The evil stepmother cannot bear the thought that Snow White is more beautiful than she. Most versions banned Snow White to the forest, yet in “The Young Slave” the Baroness dressed her niece in rags, cut off her hair, and beat her daily. This version also varied in that the niece was not the product of a loving mother and father, but a fatherless child borne from a rose leaf that the mother ingested. The niece’s morbid threats of suicide made her unpleasing to me, and it wasn’t some handsome prince that releases her from slavery. Her uncle overhears her telling the story of life to a doll, and insists that she repeat it. The prince is nonexistent, and a handsome husband is mentioned only once at the end of the story.
The Brothers Grimm version, entitled “Snow White” is where the famous phrase is first used:
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who’s the fairest one of all?”
The evil Queen, who was Snow White’s stepmother, envied Snow White’s beauty so much that one day she ordered a huntsman to take Snow White out into the woods, kill her, and bring back her lungs and liver. The huntsman had pity, let Snow White live, and brought back the lungs and liver from a boar. This rendition is the first to mention the seven dwarfs and their affection for Snow White. In the end, the Queen dies at Snow White’s wedding by being forced to wear red hot iron shoes and dancing. Anne Sexton’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” mirrors the Brothers Grimm story in content, yet Sexton chose to retell the story in poetic form.
“Lasair Gheug, the King of Ireland’s Daughter” is the Scottish Gaelic version, placing manipulation and murder in the hands of the stepmother. Eventually, she feigns illness and tells the King (her husband) that the only way she will recover is if he brings her the heart and liver of his daughter. The King acts as if he is going to follow through, yet hides his daughter and gave his wife the heart and liver of a pig. The King sends his daughter off into the forest, where she meets and marries a Prince. Her stepmother discovers that Snow White is still alive and places a curse on her, thinking that she is dead. Snow white is enshrined in an iron casket, and her widower remarried. The new wife breaks the curse and Snow White comes back to life. Snow White’s father discovers the truth and the evil stepmother is burned to death. Snow White’s father takes the Prince’s second wife as his own. This is by far the most complicated version, and the idea that this was told in 1891 is incredulous.

Little Red Riding Hood

In The Classic Fairy Tales edited by Maria Tatar the variations of the popular story, “Little Red Riding Hood” are astounding. They ranged from “G” rated to almost “Adult Only” content, changing the whole purpose of the story.
The most shocking variation was told by Louis and François Briffault in 1885. Titled “The Story of Grandmother”, the wolf mercilessly kills the grandmother, placing some of her flesh in the pantry and a bottle of her blood on the shelf. When the girl arrives, she eats the meat and drinks the “wine” at the wolf’s urging. A cat in the room says, “You’re a slut if you eat the flesh and drink the blood of granny.” The wolf then orders the girl to undress and climb into bed with him. After realizing the true identity of the wolf, the girl convinces him to let her go outside to urinate. He ties a rope around leg, which she ties to a plum tree once outside. The wolf begins to question the girl about her bodily functions, then realizes that the girl escaped. This story would be horrifying to a young child of modern times.
Charles Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood” ends with both the grandmother and girl eaten by the wolf, however the story outlines moral objectives:
     1) Little girls should not listen to just anyone.
     2) Don’t talk to wolves, even the nice ones, because they are the most dangerous.

The Brothers Grimm tell the story of “Little Red Cap” which chronicles the origin of the girl’s red cap and provides an alternate ending to the story. The first piece has the girl become preoccupied with the wildflowers, allowing the wolf to beat her to grandmother’s. The wolf eats both of them, then falls asleep. A hunter hears the loud snoring and enters to investigate. He cuts the wolf’s stomach open, saving the grandmother and girl. The second story has the girl going directly to grandmother’s, telling her of the wolf, then locking the door behind them. The wolf tries to get in, but ends up drowning in the trough filled with sausage water.
The most comical rendition was James Thurber’s “The Little Girl and the Wolf”. The girl immediately realizes that the figure in bed is not her grandmother, “for even in a nightcap a wolf does not look any more like your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn lion looks like Calvin Coolidge.” The girl shoots the wolf.
I enjoyed all the variations, but especially enjoyed the story as told by the Brothers Grimm. It provided back story into the hood, and gave two happy endings.

Fall Semester and Intro. to Literary Theory

Leave it to Professor Williams to make Literary Theory something to get excited about!  Studying great folk tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast will be awesome!  And I don't know how I managed to do this, but I have NEVER seen or read Beauty and the Beast!  My daughter, Sara,  must have already been past the Disney stage when it came out.  We've read some preliminary information regarding what literary theory is, and I'm hoping that it will be clarified in class tomorrow. 

Missing English and Samuel Clemens

Spring semester ended a month ago, and I'm REALLY going stir crazy. The stimulation created while discussing books with like-minded individuals is a high that cannot be matched! I've had to take a break from English classes this summer - BEGINNING SPANISH! Can't wait until fall semester, when I reconnect with two great professors, Dan Williams and Alex Lemon. I've already purchased my book's for Prof. Lemon's course - all nonfiction. I can't wait until this summer is over. Any suggestions on how to learn two semesters of Spanish in eight weeks?

My Final Blog (for now)

I saved this last blog to reflect over the past semester and what I have learned. In the beginning, I honestly thought that the learning would contain facts, dates, and concrete information. Why not? This was a course designed to study Mark Twain’s life and works. Was I ever wrong!

Probably the most important thing I’ve learned is that our class was filled with such intelligent, caring, and free-spirited individuals that provided my brain with more stimulation than it’s had in YEARS! It was a privilege to engage in controversial discussions led by Dr. Williams, who never seemed surprised over where the topics led.

If you would have asked me six months ago about Mark Twain’s writing style, I would only be able to rely on Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn for reference material. It is unbelievable that I could learn so much about Mark Twain’s morals and values just by reading his works. But I did. It was as if you could trace his life through his works, and I was concerned that he was going to die a cynical man. But in my heart I think he was at peace with the world, content to join his family in heaven.

For the rest of the class, I am jealous of the wonderful future you have ahead of you. I never experienced this great adventure called a “college experience”, but you have made me feel welcome, and somehow I was able to grow as a person because of your vast intelligence and compassion. I will never forget any of you, and wish all of you the very best.

And as for Dr. Williams, I will see you in the fall learning theory. This will be the third class instructed by you, and for the record I’d take another three!

Pudd'nhead Wilson

Well, once again there's proof that the book is always better than the movie. Pudd'nhead Wilson was much more enjoyable to read than to watch. Movies frequently cut whole sections of a novel/novella in an attempt to keep the movie short. This does not work with Pudd'nhead Wilson because whole subplots were omitted, leaving a shallow and predictable storyline.

The movie failed to acknowledge Ton Driskoll's use of costumes to commit his thefts. Also, the book indicated that Tom and Roxy worked as a team to commit the thefts, as the movie merely hinted of the crime spree that Tom planned and executed, and played down Roxy's role.

Dave Wilson (aka Pudd'nhead Wilson) was presented as a veritable Sherlock Holmes in the movie, and the origin of his nickname was never even addressed. Wilson had respect throughout the movie, but in the book he is portrayed as a bumbling fool that earns the town's respect at the end.

There was no duel in the movie, and Judge Driskoll's murder was only briefly addressed in the movie. The book gives details of the planning and execution of the robbery/murder committed by Tom. Tom's persona in the movie was one of a spoiled adult/child who fell on hard times. The book shows Tom's sinister side, and how calculated he could be when breaking the law.

The movie was an insult to an educated person's intelligence. It accomplished only one thing: enjoyment with no thought required.

However, the book was fascinating in the way it paid such close attention to detail and kept the reader's mind racing.

My Debut as a Literary Person

Last week we read three essays from The Complete Essays of Mark Twain. Of the three, I thoroughly enjoyed “My Début as a Literary Person”. In the introduction, Mark Twain stated that he did not consider himself published until his work had appeared in a magazine. Humorously, after being published in a magazine, his name had been misspelled so technically he was still not published.
The article that was quasi-published pertained to the burning of the clipper-ship “Hornet” in 1866. Mark Twain had the opportunity to interview the survivors when they reached the Sandwich Islands on June 15, 1866. I found the transcripts fascinating, and was amazed how almost half the ship’s occupants survived forty-three days in a mere dingy.

The essay spared no gruesome details, and provided excellent visual description throughout. I could almost feel myself getting hungry as they described the meager food portions, and how as time passed the portions shrunk.

Mark Twain was lucky enough to travel from the Sandwich Islands to San Francisco with survivors, who shared their diaries with Mark Twain. Upon writing this essay, some thirty-three years later, Mark Twain still possesses, and cherishes, the copies that he was allowed to make of the seamen’s most intimate, and vulnerable moments.

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

Last week I was the lead respondent for Mark Twain’s short story entitled, “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”. This story, published in 1899, was about a town that is supposedly incorruptible. A stranger had visited the town and was “wronged” by the townspeople. The stranger devised a plan to corrupt Hadleyburg and show the residents that they were not infallible to greed.
One night the stranger dropped off a sack of gold coins at the residence of Edward and Mary Richards. The stranger explained that he had visited the town previously in a state of poverty, and that a resident had given him $20.00 and some good advice. He wished to repay the kind citizen with the sack, which allegedly contained $40.00.
The result is a fiasco of sorts when the nineteen most upstanding citizens show a personality that was nonexistent prior to the stranger’s visit – GREED! Each citizen rationalized in their mind why they should get the money. In the end, the bag contained lead coins plated in gold. All the citizens learned that the town WAS corruptible, and vowed to learn from this charade.
Some of the themes portrayed in this work are hypocrisy, morality, individual versus society, and the Eden Myth and the “fortunate fall”. Many scholars compare this story to the temptation in Eden, and the lesson learned after eating the forbidden fruit. One of the biggest questions is whether this story is a story of revenge or redemption. The stranger’s intent was to seek revenge on the town of Hadleyburg, but he inadvertently redeemed the town by opening their eyes to their shortcomings and making them aware of them in future conflicts.
I enjoyed the story, and wish Mark Twain had written more “fable-like” pieces.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Well, I’ve just finished reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and I didn’t find it as interesting as Tom Sawyer. It lacked complex relationships and did not keep my interest through some of the chapters. It is not that I had trouble with the dialects, because I enjoyed deciphering the words.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn consisted of two main characters, Huck and Jim. Their relationship kept my attention, mimicking a father/son bond while travelling down the river. It was the added characters, especially the King and Duke, that I found were unnecessary to the storyline, and the numerous chapters dedicated to them could have been condensed into something that would keep the reader’s attention.
I also became bored with the saga of preparing for Jim’s escape. I understand that Tom Sawyer loves his adventures, but this part read like an epic novel. Clarifying the use of the spoons, candlestick, pie tins, rats, snakes, and rope ladder was unnecessary filler that just made me beg for Jim’s inevitable release.
I actually enjoyed the portion set aside for the Grangerford family – the description of the house and family was long enough to leave me informed, but did not bog me down with useless details.
If I had to choose between the two books, I would definitely recommend Tom Sawyer over Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to anyone who asked.

Some Learned Fables for Good Old Boys and Girls

Today in class we discussed two short stories and one fable. I wish we could have spent more time on the fable, entitled “Some Learned Fables for Good Old Boys and Girls”, because IT WAS FANTASTIC!!! Mark Twain was brilliant when he selected this topic, then wrote it in the perspective of animals after man’s extinction. The fable was extremely entertaining, yet profound.

His selection of animals and their assigned tasks showed the amount of thought he placed in the character analysis. He selected turtles for transport, glow-worms and fireflies for illumination, and tumble-bugs and ants for excavation. It reminded me of the movie Ants that either Disney or Pixar put out a few years back.

Trying to describe a known object as if seeing it for the first time is a difficult task. It was fun figuring out what the animals were describing.

I loved the way Mark Twain made fun of the professors and the educational system in the book. It rang so true to the contemporary world. Professors were believed no matter how absurd their analysis was, and the “uneducated” were immediately discounted even after providing valid points.

Bring us some more of this genre, I can’t get enough!

Mark Twain - Part II

Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer is a complex story of relationships that Tom has with his close friends, girl classmates, and adults. The commonality among these groups is the compassion that Tom tries to mask in an attempt to preserve his brash and selfish image. However, Tom lets his maturity peek through on several occasions throughout the story.
When Tom first sees Becky Thatcher, she tosses a pansy over the fence just before entering her house. Tom placed the pansy inside his jacket, next to his heart, and waited outside for her to return until after nightfall (24).
Tom didn’t let the rules of social class interfere with his relationship with Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn was a homeless, uneducated boy that enjoyed mischief just as much, if not more, than Tom. Tom never passed up a chance to play or at least talk to Huck, which was against Aunt Polly’s rules (45). At no time during the story does Tom belittle Huck for his misfortune.
After Tom, Joe, and Huck become pirates on Jackson Island, they realize that the townspeople thing they’ve drowned after witnessing the ferry boat searching the waters. Tom sneaks back home and covertly listens to Aunt Polly, Mrs. Harper, and Mary talk about missing the boys. Tom begins to feel guilty, and while Aunt Polly sleeps, he slips into her room and kisses her. He intended to leave a note allaying her fears, but impulsively kept the sycamore bark telling her that they were alive (102).
Another hint of Tom’s maturity happened when Becky ripped the page in the schoolmaster’s anatomy book. Tom, knowing that Becky would not be able to deceive the schoolmaster, took blame for the damage and unselfishly received the whipping on Becky’s behalf (131).
Tom’s conscience regarding the murder of Dr. Robinson finally catches up to him and he feels obligated to break the oath of silence with Huck and reveal the real murderer. Tom, knowing that this came forward because it wasn’t morally right to allow Muff Potter to die believing that he had committed murder in a drunken stupor (146).
Tom’s coddling of Becky while they were lost in the tunnel showed chivalry not usually displayed by Tom. Even the way he divided the “wedding” cake showed true affection and unselfishness (191).
After discovering that Judge Thatcher sealed the cave, Tom immediately alerted him that Injun Joe was inside the cave. Despite his fear of Injun Joe, Tom did not want anyone to die in the cave (197).
Tom Sawyer documents interactions in vivid imagery, allowing the reader to experience Tom’s coming-of-age.

Tom Sawyer

This is my first blog in a succession of comments about Mark Twain's works. The last time I read this piece was before most of you were born. It has brought back nostalgic times growing up when neighborhoods were still safe and before the invention of cell phones, internet, and video games.

Tom's mischief is a way to conceal his true identity - a smart, compassionate boy that becomes preoccupied with romanticism. Not only does he expose his true self around Becky, but his dreams of pirates, Robin Hood, and Indians permit his romantic persona to shine.

His conscience shows when remembering the murder that he witnessed, as well as when he visits Aunt Polly when she is asleep.

His stories are not only amusing, but thought-provoking.