A deep understanding of children’s stories

1. The story of The Three Little Pigs was a part of my childhood and I still remember it deeply. Like all other fairy tales, its purpose is not only to entertain children but to teach them a lesson. While the general story of The Three Little Pigs remain the same, each country incorporates a bit of their culture into the story and slightly alters the focus of the lessons that are being taught.
     One big difference among all the versions are familiar with is that this version has not three, but five pigs. This could be representative of the large households of typical African American families. This story emphasized the care that the mother had for the children. Perhaps, it is related to the tough times that African Americans had in the past; the mother pig does not want her children to go through what she had gone through. Even though the mother’s “breath was mighty scant,” she still nevertheless forced herself to warn her children of the monster Brer Wolf. After the mother sow died, each pig went their separate way and built their own houses. This could be representative of African American traditions where a mother has a large family and when the children grow up, they are to go out into the world and build a life for themselves. The moral of this story lies in the deaths of the four pigs. They are as follows: don’t be greedy, don’t trust strangers (or more specifically white men?), and always follow your mother’s warnings. There is a saying that “it’s always the quiet ones you should look out for.” This could be another lesson to be learned because even though Runt seemed to be quiet and soft-spoken, he was the one that survived at the end.
     The Three Goslings most notably incorporated the famous Italian dishes such as the macaroni & cheese. The second difference I noticed is that the children worked together to build the houses. However, the two older goslings surprised me by kicking out a blood-relative who helped them build the houses they are currently living in. Those two met their doom when their respective houses were blown down and they were swallowed whole by the wolf. The lesson here is to not be greedy or you will receive bad karma. The youngest gosling was the one that went through the most pain (getting kicked out by BOTH siblings), yet he was the one who had the best fortune in the end. A stranger offered to build an iron house for him. I feel that unlike the African American version, the Italian version welcomes the help of strangers. The youngest gosling’s forgiving nature is a quality that is highly preached in Italian cultures. Finally, by allowing the first two goslings to jump out of the wolf’s stomach can represent reincarnation—a second chance to live their life in a better way.
     Because of the close relation between American and English culture and traditions, the English version of The Three Little Pigs is also the one that has the most similarity with the American version. For example, both versions use the phrase “by the hair of my chiny chin chin” and “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house” in. A lot of English tradition is seen in this version. The wolf tries to befriend the pig and convince him to participate in activities such as going to gardens and markets to pick turnips, apples, etc. This was also the only version where the wolf was eaten by the pig. I think that this portrays the ironic humor that is present in many British literatures.

2.

Hickory dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse ran down
Hickory dickory dock

     The first nursery rhyme I chose, Hickory dockory dock, was intended to teach children about telling time. It also introduced children to the use of alliteration. Although it may be too young for a child to understand the exact elements and use of alliteration, I believe this familiarity will help children to learn it better when they get older.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses, And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!

     I remember reading the nursery rhyme “Humpty Dumpty” when I was little. The nursery books always had illustrations of a round and chubby figure (portrayed to be Humpty Dumpty) sitting on a wall. Logically, I have always thought Humpty Dumpty was an obese person. Upon going to this site, I found out that the original meaning of it was a cannon. This nursery rhyme represents the fight between Parliament and the Royalists in the English Civil War. “Humpty Dumpty’s” great fall was caught by a cannon shot from the Parliamentary side which broke the Royalists’ wall. The royalists were unable to raise the cannon to fire from a different part of the wall. An important history lesson can be learned from this nursery rhyme. Children are known to be very curious and are likely to ask “Mommy, what is Humpty Dumpty?” It would be at this point for the parent to tell the children about the story of the English Civil War.

3. Sigmund Freud was a very prominent psychoanalysis who came up with the Psychoanalytical Theory. He was very interested in studying people’s feelings and reactions to dreams and fairy tales. He believed that they can be used to fulfill wishes, whether they are obvious or hidden. Sandor Lorand believed that a fairy tale can cause traumatic effects to children. Even so, he still thinks that there are positive motives to telling them these stories, such as fulfilling the wishes of adults and allowing them to temporarily escape from their internal conflicts. Alan Dundes based a lot of his analysis on that of Roheim. However, he did not follow only Freud’s beliefs but also that of Alder and Erikson. He agrees that there are a lot of important symbolic elements in fairy tales.
     I find the theory of Alan Dundes the most relevant. Being one of the later psychoanalysts also puts him at an advantage because he is able to contemplate the accuracy other previous psychoanalysis’ ideas. I agree that one motive for telling fairy tales to children is to see their reactions and try to interpret the symbolic meanings. Sigmund Freud puts too much of an emphasis on sexual content in latent-controlled dreams. Although I believe that this is definitely an element present in many of the children’s fairy tales, I do not think it is the most important. I do not agree with Lorand’s motive for telling fairy tales because it will take a long time for an adult to be able to make use of the story.