When Reviewing Brothers Grimm...

When I started my review for the exam, I wanted to go back over the stories from Brothers Grimm and partially because they were absolutely entertaining to read. As I re-read Rumpelstiltskin, I though it was insanely interesting to analyze the weird contrasts between the Brothers Grimm version and the version from Once Upon A Time. First, of all, can we just acknowledge the creepy and sketchy Dark One is in the Once Upon A Time version and how much of a freaking jerk he was. That was so rude and disrespectful making Rumpelstiltskin kiss his boot and practically bow down to him in front of his son. I would be so ashamed and unbelievably embarrassed. It is really crazy to see the difference in the stories as well....one is somewhat like a Disney type, where there is a problem presented and someone prevails in the end. While the Once Upon A Time version is all hardcore and medieval- they oddly enough complete very different tasks or "adventures" to gain what they want in the end. As well, Rumpelstiltskin ultimately wants different things in both stories. In the  Once Upon A Time version he is seeking to gain absolute power to protect his son and in the Brothers Grimm version Rumpelstiltskin only wants to take the child away from the miller's daughter. I did however, love re-reading the story, The Mouse, The Bird and the Sausage. It was certainly a cute story to say the least but very sad in the end. I was absolutely heartbroken that essentially because the other stupid bird tried to convince the main bird that he was carrying most of the weight- thus leading to a disagreement about the balances of work. Ultimately leading to the swapping of tasks and because none of them knew what to do in their new tasks they either got eaten or killed. What a horrible way to end a story because for a majority of the story it definitely seemed like they had a good thing going for them. We seem to see an apparent theme of death in Brothers Grimm, at least from my perspective..... In the story, The Riddle, the princess is very adamant about being able to crack and solve any riddle thrown her way. With everyone who told her a riddle that could be solved, would eventually lose their head. The princess was also ready to go through extensive lengths to figure out the answer to a riddle by sneaking in on the prince who told her the final joke while he was sleeping and covering herself in a robe so she could disguise herself. Too bad, she was caught when she though she would get away with it.....haha serves her right. Overall, it is definitely refreshing to see a twist in simple short stories that you would completely expect a sappy, happy ending but that is not what you get at all. Prime example, Brothers Grimm version for Cinderella.....enough said.

Earth, Wind, & The Shire- Too Funny Not To Use As A Title!

I can't even begin to explain how happy and excited about having Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter as some of the required readings for this course. The Lord of The Rings movies are among some of my favorite. I think it is interesting viewing the central ideas of Harry Potter and the central ideas in Lord of The Rings- because believe it or not they're not terribly different because they contain a lot of similar elements. I also thought it was awesome to see how schooling or the topic of being in school takes an effect or role in Harry Potter because the book was initially created as a children's book and so therefore the idea of school certainly makes it a lot more relatable. It also allows for a place in a story where kids can be with other kids and certainly away from their parents and it provides them an opportunity to figure out who they are and where there are going in their lives. As Harry Potter develops from a shy and quiet boy, you see a growth towards a confident and certainly courageous young man. Or better known as a bildungsroman, as Dr. Mitchell-Buck stated, it is definitely a coming of age story- a story as to where you see someone develop and grow up through age. Being at a school implies that it has a lot of structure as well- they have a school, ministry, sports, hospitals, etc. Further on, I thought it was definitely interesting to see why there was an importance of having a clear cut separation- as far as having a muggle world and a magic or wizard world. The world is just viewed as amazing and spectacular because the muggle world is just so plain, bland, and ordinary. As to where the muggle world also has that element of surprise and mystery and you can always expect something unique, extraordinary, and new happen.