Shaping Stories

It is amazing how much you can find in a story--sexual undertones, cultural warnings, political messages. Fairytales were just stories when we were kids, right? They didn't have much of a point, except they entertained. Well, sometimes they didn't even do that. I remember thinking that Little Red Riding Hood was kind of silly when I was a little kid. I never understood how the girl could mistake a wolf for her grandma. But, then again, I loved the Disney versions of Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast. In a lot of ways, though, Disney changed many of these stories. It seems Disney has sort of taken over the popular view of these classic fairytales, asserting its version as the "true" version. I remember the first time I read a story of Beauty and the Beast that had someone killed in it. I was apalled. I had no idea how much my view of it, shaped by Disney, was different from many of the older versions.

Looking back now, I don't even recall a time when I had never heard of many of these classic tales. I can't remember the first time I heard the story of Red Riding Hood or Cinderella. It seems they have always been in my memory, much like the classic fairy tales seem to have always been part of our culture. Of course, it wasn't always that way. They were born out of something, and yet many different cultures from all over the world have very similar stories. It goes to show how alike humans are; how much we have in common, no matter our backgrounds. Every young girl wants to be taken away by her shining prince; every young man wants to pull a sword from a stone. We see these same ideas exhibited in modern "chick flicks" and adventure stories. The question is: do we shape the stories, or do the stories shape us? Since similar stories were born of different cultures in times of very little mass communication, I'd say we shape the stories based on our own human understanding and desires. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with a beautiful, confident woman captivating a man, and allowing him to take her away and shower her with chivalry and affection. I tell you what; if a man came riding up to me on a brilliant white steed and told me he would take me away to his castle in a faraway magical land, I'd definitely consider it. Maybe I am just old fashioned. ;)

Outside Reading List

Book 1: The Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle
Author: C. S. Lewis
Picture Book? No
Posting Date: 3/26

Book 2: Guess How Much I Love You
Author: Sam Mc Bratney
Picture Book? Yes
Posting Date: 4/5

Book 3: The Little House
Author: Virginia Lee Burton
Picture Book? Yes
Posting Date: 4/14

Book 4: I, Freddy
Author: Dietlof Reiche
Picture Book? No
Posting Date: 4/16

Book 5: Would you rather be a Bullfrog?
Author: Theo. LeSieg
Illustrator: Roy McKie
Picture Book? Yes
Posting Date: 4/17

Book 6: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J. K. Rowling
Picture Book? No
Posting Date: 4/18

Book 7: Clifford the Small Red Puppy
Author: Norman Bridwell
Picture Book? Yes
Posting Date: 4/24

Book 8: Sarah, Plain and Tall
Author: Patricia MacLachlan
Picture Book? No
Posting Date: 4/24

Book 9: The Cat's Meow
Author: Gary Soto
Picture Book? No
Posting Date: 4/25

Book 10: Foursome the Spider
Author: Larry Nestor
Illustrator: Michael Glenn Monroe
Picture Book? Yes
Posting Date: 4/26