So if you think that an older fairy tale, for example, is disturbing; you need to explain how it disturbed you and changed your life or how it disturbed and changed the lives of several child readers you've come in contact with. Just because you think something will have a negative impact does not make it so.

this is a very important note:

The questions for the discussions in this class are not asking what you think / feel / believe. Your opinions are not going to earn you many points in this class.

Of course you all have your beliefs and feelings, but beliefs and feelings (personal notins) are not going to earn you points here; this is a critical thinking class, a class demanding analysis of the works we read. The class asks you to look at meaning/implications of what you read and (here's the hard part):

back up all of your conclusions with examples

Cite actual sections of works you have read; quote and parenthetically document (as demonstrated in the Writing about Literature lecture assigned this week).

Answer one of the following questions.

  1. But it's just a story! Perhaps literary historians and analysts (and Children's Literature teachers) read TOO DEEPLY.

    Whether a child can articulate sophisticated meaning in a story, these subtler ideas allow readers to come back to the literature again and again to get even more out of it. Note that the analysts/critics are not saying author's intended "deep ideas"; they are, instead, looking at the text and locating patterns and relating the patterns to psychology, history, social sciences, philosophy, etc.

    Examine any short work of children's literature that you choose (you may want to look at one of the folk tales other than the "Little Red..." stories that Bettelheim analyzed for us). What are some of the subtler implications or ideas of the story?

    Remember, these ideas are not necessarily things that kids will "get"; in fact, Bettelheim never suggests that; he says they have an impact, plant patterns in the reader. Still, we are not kids, and we can see patterns.

  2. How does rewriting a folk tale and taking out all of the political incorrectness change the meaning and the impact of the story?

    This question invites you to contrast a Disney-fied or Golden Book or other modified, watered-down version of a fairy tale with its original.

    What has been changed? What do the changes imply? This topic is about ideas, not good/bad, right/wrong, like it/hate it.

    Do not settle with, "The version I read is less violent; therefore, it's better." This is not a better/worse question. How has the MEANING changed? For example, Bettleheim notes that Little Red Cap's being swallowed up suggests that she really is NOT ready to cope with certain dangers. A modern, politically-correct version of "Red Riding Hood" would have the grandma stuffed in a closet (not eaten) and the woodsman chasing the endangered species away into the woods, not splitting him open. This is much "nicer" (sanitary), but the suggestion is "don't worry, if you get in over your head, there will always be someone there to save you; you aren't really at risk."

    If you read a version of "Hansel and Gretel" which has the kids accidentally wander into the forest and get lost (which is quite different from the murderous intent in the original), than the competition for attention and well-being between the new parent and the children is totally lost.

    And for this question you need to actually quote

Remember, discussions are worth 20 points each, and you must post your response to the English 101 Message Board no later than the due date in order to get credit.

Don't forget!
After the class has posted to the Message Board, read what everybody has to say about the discussion topic and respond to any or all of them, and feel free to respond to responses over the next couple of days :)