"Tiny" from The Rose and the Beast

For many adolescents isolation is a feeling that is all too prevalent in their everyday lives. In “Tiny,” the protagonist of the same name is familiar with this notion as well, and the story becomes a window to those who understand what it means to really feel different. Then again, maybe the message is about overcoming the differences to find what one really wants.

All Tiny’s mother wants is to protect her. As a result, Tiny is so sheltered that she doesn’t realize that she is different from anyone else. Not until she sees a boy and response to unrequited love in much the same way modern teenagers do—with retreat, depression and resentment. For her mother, Tiny is a star, a symbol of hope after losing eight other children. This hope is her mother’s motivation for keeping Tiny as safe as possible.

As with “Snow,” in “Tiny” the protagonist’s sexuality is activated upon seeing someone outside of the norm. We can see Tiny’s infatuation with the boy in the description of him blundering around the garden, and how she watches him and finds him both “full of wonder” and “terrifying” (Block, 2000, p. 41). Even further, we witness her discovery of musk as the boy watches Tiny’s mother. A scent that she says is “better than all the flowers in her garden” (Block, 2000, p. 43).

Tiny’s journey is a journey of self-discovery. She realizes that she cannot stay with her mother—that she must try to find what she desires. This desire instigated change in Tiny, though she doubts her own power. Many adolescents doubt themselves, especially when they are unsure of whether or not they can achieve what they want. No doubt some will identify with Tiny on her quest to be part of a world bigger than she is, and have a place that means something.

Block, F. (2000). The Rose and the Beast. New York: Joanna Cotler Books.

Bruno Bettelheim and "Hansel and Gretel"

In Bettelheim’s article on “Hansel and Gretel,” he begins by stating the realistic nature of the story. That a family is poor and the parents may not be able to provide for the family is a very real possibility at the time of the story. Bettelheim discusses the differences in how the overheard conversation between parents, when discussing what to do about their hunger, is perceived. In terms of the parents, it is that “poverty and deprivation do not improve man’s character, but rather make him more selfish, les sensitive to the sufferings of others and thus prone to embark on evil deeds” (Bettelheim in Tatar, 1999, p. 273). Basically, the id overpowers the ego. But the children, being children, interpret the communication differently, letting themselves be “convinced that their parents plan to starve them to death” (Bettelheim in Tatar, 1999, p. 273).

In a previous post, I asked about the nature of Bettelheim’s “regression,” wondering if it likened to the Golding’s regression in Lord of the Flies. Rereading helped me understand the actual nature of Bettelheim’s regression, being one that entails reverting back to the original state of being, one that is completely dependent upon the mother. The children are ruled by their id, the need to find food. Bettelheim’s suggestion that the gingerbread house is symbolic of the mother’s body made me think for a minute. If they think of the mother in terms of being someone who provides them with sustenance, then this comparison makes sense.

Because symbolism is particularly interesting to me, the last point that interests me is the symbolism of the bird. Bettelheim explains that Hansel turns back to the house to say goodbye to a bird sitting on the chimney, a white bird guides them to the witch’s house, and it is a bird that guides the children back home. Bettelheim suggests that, since a bird is present at all three stages of the story, that the characters are exactly where they’re supposed to be in order to learn a specific lesson. Given that he also discusses the characters’ newfound independence when they return home, I’m inclined to agree with Bettelheim. Especially when considering the water archetype on the children’s return home. Water is symbolic of purification, and has a transformative nature. As they cross the river to return home, they are transformed from dependent child into independent child who is no longer ruled by the id.

Bettelheim, B. Hansel and Gretel in Tatar, M. (1999). The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.

Motif in Margaret Atwood's "Bluebeard's Egg"

The most intriguing motif in Atwood's "Bluebeard's Egg" was the heart
motif. Sally's husband Ed is a "heart man," which we can infer is a
cardiologist. He works in a hospital, and according to Sally, many women
 want him to fix their hearts. The narrator says that Ed is "beset by
sirens," (Atwood in Tatar, 1999, p. 160) alluding to the mythological
characters said to lure sailors off course and to their deaths. But even
 though Ed is a heart man, he's not clear on matters of the heart, thus
making him a target for those sirens. To Sally, however, the heart is
not a necessary organ, it is something that can be removed,
symbolically, I imagine, if it causes trouble.
 
We see, even further, Sally's detachment from her heart when Ed allows
her to test the new machine in his wing. She sees her heart in black and
white not as something that is attached to her, but something that beats
 somewhere off in the distance of its own volition. Thus, she cannot get
a read on her own feelings, her own sense of self.

At the end of the story, past the retelling of a version of Bluebeard,
after Sally decides to retell the story from the perspective of the egg,
 she revisits the black and white version of the heart outside of herself
as something she has no control over. The egg is the next image to pop
into her mind, one that shifts and changes, and feels alive to her. Its
 red hue intrigues Sally, and she wonders what will hatch from it. 

I wonder, as a reader, if we are supposed to infer that within the egg
is a color version of Sally's heart, very alive and very much part of
 her. This could represent a liberation of sorts, returning to the actual
question. There life within an egg, followed by the birth (hatching) of
an egg--Sally's sense of self is confined inside this pulsating object,
 and Sally is afraid of it, as many women find themselves afraid of life
on their own.

Tatar, M. (1999). The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: W. W. Norton
& Co.

Image and Symbol in Cinderella

An interesting image in the Cinderella stories to me was the image of
the antagonist sending a "hunter to kill and recover her lungs and liver
for dinner" (103). This image is recurring, not only in the Cinderella
 stories, but in the Snow White stories as well. The antagonist, in this
case the "wicked" stepmother, is looking for evidence of her
stepdaughter's murder. The fact that she wants to ingest parts of her
stepdaughter's remains suggests that by consuming these pieces of the
 girl, the stepmother is thereby internalizing Cinderella's (or Snow
White's) power, becoming one with it.

A prominent symbolic element in the Cinderella stories is the
protagonist's finding of aid in the natural world. From animals helping
 with ridiculous tasks (Grimm's "Cinderella"), gifts from a dead fish
("Yeh-hsien"), to being dressed up in the hides of animals
("Donkeyskin", "Catskin", and "The Princess in the Suit of Leather"),
the protagonists have a peace with nature that allows it to help the
 with their tasks and away from harm. In "Catskin," "Donkeyskin," and
"The Princess in the Suit of Leather" specifically, the Cinderella
character assumes the outward figure of an animal, dressed in their
hides, to keep from being recognized.
 
Tatar, M. (1999). The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: W. W. Norton
& Co.

Symbolism in "Bluebeard" Variations

One symbolic element seen in the Bluebeard stories is the key. In the
Perrault version of the story, Bluebeard gives his wife the keys to the
storerooms containing all of his valuables. He uses the key to try and
 "unlock" the happiness of his wife, or at least, to keep the door to
happiness open and thus misdirect her. However, Bluebeard gives her the
specific instruction not to enter the little room at the end of the
hall, though he does give her the key. This small key is the key to
 unlock Bluebeard's anger, as well as the key that unlocks his past and
what became of his previous wives.  This little key also becomes the key
to her potential demise—because it is enchanted, she cannot wipe it of
 her misbehavior, and it is stained with the blood of the women in the room.

Similarly, in the Grimms' version ("Fitcher's bird"), the husband gives
the wife the keys to the estate and says that she can go anywhere except
 in one room with penalty of death. This small key represents the
husband's history. That it is locked away may mean that it is something
he wants private, but that he also wants her to find, otherwise he would
have removed the key to begin with. In the end of the story, it is a key
 (though not explicitly stated) that becomes the demise of the sorcerer
as he is locked in his house and destroyed by fire.

In the second Grimms' version ("The Robber Bridegroom"), there is no
mention of a key in this story, though the finger that the girl
 possessed is like a key as it is the element that unlocks the story of
the robber and is used to turn this robber over to the authorities so he
and his band of murderers cannot kill anyone else.

Another symbolic element present in the Bluebeard stories is the use of
 dreams and rings. Both the girl in "Fitcher's Bird" and Lady Mary in
"Mr. Fox" use dream telling as a means of confrontation. By using dream
telling, the protagonists can distance themselves from the action they
 witnessed, express to the antagonist their knowledge of his
transgressions, and find their way out of the marriage contract.

In both of these stories, as well, the protagonists witnessed the
antagonist's attempt to remove a ring from the finger of a murdered
 girl. The archetypal ring is associated with fidelity. The removal, or
attempted removal of the ring from the girl is symbolic, to the
antagonist, of the girls' fidelity, in death, to the antagonist.

Tatar, M. (1999). The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
 

The Man in the Black Suit

from Everything's Eventual

This tale was told to King by one of his friends, claiming that it had actually happened. King also said that it was based on the same ideas as Nathanial Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" from Mosses from an Old Manse. "The Man in the Black Suit" is not a Faustian tale, which is what I usually think of when I think of people conversing with the devil.

The only similarity I could really find between the two texts is the devil character. In "Young Goodman Brown" the devil's purpose is to shake the faith (or Faith) of the goodman, whereas in "The Man in the Black Suit" the devil seems to just be hungry. On second thought, however, in both stories the devil does employ the tactic of using someone close to try and sway the protagonist. In "Young Goodman Brown," Brown sees his wife, Faith, among the converts in the woods. In "The Man in the Black Suit," Gary, the protagonist, is told by the devil about the death of his mother.

I remember talking about the symbolism of the name Faith when I studied this story in college. She is not only his wife, but represents his faith in God as well. As he leaves her he says, "My love and my faith...this one night I must tarry from thee." (The link to the ebook is above.) Brown knows with whom he's meeting when he leaves his wife. For so many children, their faith is tied to the faith of their parents. So the supposed death of Gary's mother shakes him as much as seeing Faith in the woods with the devil.

I'm going to have to admit that neither of these stories ranks high on my list of favorites. I also must admit that I bought Everything's Eventual because I wanted to read "1408" before seeing the movie. Since I purchased the entire book, however, I am going to read the entire book from front to back.

The Journey to the Great Oz

The question guiding this post is this: what significance do Dorothy's "friends" have to the story or the story's thematic ideas?

Each of Dorothy's friends is seeking something from the Wizard of Oz. If you've seen the film at all, you know this. The Scarecrow is seeking brains, the "Cowardly" Lion is seeking courage and the Tin Woodsman is seeking a heart. We know that to find these things, they don't have to go any farther than "their own backyard," but these characters are clearly not self-aware.

As the foursome are traveling to the the Emerald City, they come upon a large ditch. The only one who can actually cross the ditch, after some deliberating, is the lion. This, the lion comes up with after looking at the ditch and calculating how far he can jump in his head. His declaration is the epitome of cowardly behavior. Yes, I'm such a coward that I can jump this large ditch. And to boot, the scarecrow adds that each of the members of the party can ride across on his back. So much for not having any brains.

Then they walk some more and come upon a larger ravine. The lion can't jump this one. Oh, what are they going to do. No, the scarecrow has another idea. Why doesn't the tin man cut down one of the large trees so that it falls across the ravine. Then they can all just walk across. No brains my ass. And they're being followed by these guys who have the body of a bear and the head of a tiger. Our friend the coward staves them off for a moment by growling loudly at them, then scurrying across the log. The brainless one tells the tin man to cut the tree so they fall in the ravine.

Moral more than thematic idea: Being self-aware keeps you from going out of your way to search for something you already have. Then one can argue that the purpose of Dorothy's friends is to show her that she already possesses all the knowledge she needs to accomplish her goal, she just has to look inward to find it.

Percy Jackson's Hero Journey Part II: Characteristics of the Hero

So before we can talk about Percy's journey, we also have to talk about what makes Percy the archetypal hero. Now, not all heroes have all the qualities, but many of the heroes have many of the qualities. I used Harry Potter to explain the journey, but I'll use Percy Jackson to explain the qualities of a hero.

And away we go.

1. The hero has mysterious origins.
1. In the case of heroes from Greek Mythology, more often than not, one parent is of divine origin. For Percy, his mom is a mortal and his father is Poseidon.
   
2. The hero is vulnerable. He can be killed, maimed, wounded, what have you. But he goes anyway.
1. The camp directors didn't want to give Percy the quest since they knew that he hadn't been trained properly. He also has every monster from Greek mythology coming after him. Oh, no. What if our hero gets killed!?
3. The path of the hero is dangerous and confusing.
1. And it doesn't help for Percy that someone stole Zeus's lightening bolt, blamed it on him, and Ares keeps getting in the way.
   
4. The hero is essentially solitary, his friends don't share his sense of purpose.
1. Percy is trying to clear his name. He's also one of the children that's not supposed to be, so his friends can't really identify with the fact that everyone wants to kill him.
5. Hero has a mentor/teacher/guide
1. Percy's guide/mentor/teacher is Chiron, the centaur. Unlike other centaurs, who are known for being wild, Chiron is civilized, and works with demigods at Camp Half-Blood.
6. Hero has a magical weapon that only he or she can use. It is given to the hero by the mentor.
1. Percy wields a sword given to him by Chiron. The first time Percy uses it, it's to kill his math teacher, one of the Furies. His sword is disguised as an ink pen and returns to his pocket whenever he loses it.
   
7. The hero has to go on a journey/quest to find something. He has to complete impossible tasks, battle monsters, etc. in order to either be a role model or save civilization as the people know it.
1. Percy has to save Camp Half-Blood from the friend that becomes an enemy. In the first book, The Lightning Thief, Percy has to find Zeus's lightning bolt to prove his innocence and to convince the Olympians not to kill him.
   

There are actually more elements to the hero journey. The most interesting graphic representation of the hero journey is found at the Monmouth Website, ORIAS, UC Berkley. The journey is set up counter clockwise, and if you hover over each element, it explains what each piece means to the hero's journey.

Percy Jackson's Hero Journey Part I: Characteristics of the Journey

The archetypal Hero Journey is one of the most commonly used formulas in both books and movies. After I describe the parts, go back and look at movies like Meet the Robinsons, Cars, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Akeelah and the Bee, Shrek (it's backwards) and many more and you'll see this formula applied to entertain us.

The hero journey is like a 12 step program. A circular 12 step program. I will use the ever familiar Harry Potter for brief examples before I delve into explaining the hero journey in terms of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The 12 steps are as follows:

1. The hero's journey begins is the NATURAL WORLD. This could be where the hero comes from (e.g. Little Winging in Harry Potter).
2. The hero receives a CALL TO ADVENTURE (e.g. Harry's letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry).
3. The hero doesn't want to answer the call (in the case of Harry Potter, he had no idea what the call meant).
4. The hero meets his MENTOR/TEACHER/GUIDE (we can argue for both Hagrid and Dumbledore in the role of Harry's teacher, but in the case of the journey, let's call this one Hagrid. Hagrid, we meet when Harry's still in the NATURAL WORLD; he knocks down the door of the boat/cabin).
5. The hero crosses the THRESHOLD into the SUPERNATURAL WORLD. Sometimes something will happen that will move the hero to accept the call. (The THRESHOLD in Harry Potter is the barrier at Platform 9 3/4, at this point, Harry moves from the NATURAL WORLD to the SUPERNATURAL WORLD).
6. The hero is TESTED. Here he meets both friends and enemies. (This spans a couple of scenes... First Harry meets Ron and Hermione, then Harry meets Draco and rebuffs him.)
7. The hero enters the INMOST CAVE, the source of the item he seeks. (Harry doesn't know it at the time, but he runs across the Mirror of Erised [interestingly, "desire" spelled backwards] long before he knows it will contain the Philosopher's Stone.)
8. The hero comes to the HEART OF DARKNESS (no, not the Conrad story). Here, he almost dies, and almost finds what he seeks.
   
9. The hero finds what he's looking for. (Harry finds the Philosopher's Stone in his pocket).
10. The hero embarks on the road back (or wakes up in the hospital wing).
11. The hero experiences RESURRECTION (this is extremely obvious in the 7th Harry Potter book more than the first).
12. He returns home, to the NATURAL WORLD with the knowledge that he's saved society.

One of the reasons Harry Potter works so well with the idea of a circular hero journey is because he embarks on this journey multiple times, moving from the NATURAL WORLD of Surrey to the SUPERNATURAL WORLD of Hogwarts. That, and he's continually fighting the bad guy.

Something Faster This Way Comes

In retrospect, I forgot to mention that this book is broken up into three parts: Part I, Arrivals; Part II, Pursuits; and Part III, Departures. Since my last reflection, we have found some action. It's interesting to note that Bradbury writes very short chapters in this book, possibly as a way of propelling the reader from one situation into the next. The beginning was mainly exposition--introduction of characters, tendencies, to get us wondering about this out of place carnival.

Since then, we've discovered that the carousel changes the ages of the riders, older or younger, depending upon which way it's running. Age seems to be the recurring symbol throughout the novel so far... The carousel runs backwards and makes people younger, Will threatens Jim with "I'll remember this when" (he's older). The school teacher, Ms. Foley was entranced with herself in the mirror, younger. This is, possibly, what trapped the other woman in the ice, which Charles Halloway found as a puddle on his way home. The only reason I offer this as conjecture is that the mirrors have been previously compared to ice; people felt cold coming out of the maze of mirrors.

The one thing I'm having trouble making out at this point is the reading but not reading, seeing but not seeing, and hearing but not hearing. I think my confusion occurs in the diction. Bradbury chooses to say "seeing but not seeing" instead of saying "looking but not seeing." I don't know if he was going for something specific with the repetition of the words, or if he was simply trying to imply that no one was really paying attention to what was going on around them and I'm reading too much into it. The distinction is not as obvious as in Faulkner's Light in August where he distinguishes by saying a character is thinking something, thinking something else that appears in italics. So I don't know. Perhaps with further reading the understanding will come.

Interestingly, with all this seeing but not seeing, people only briefly questioned the lateness of the carnival, then went blindly on to "enjoy" it. And how many people, like Will, Jim and Miss Foley, took home cards for a free turn on the carousel when it's "fixed"? And what exactly happened to that woman in the ice? Was she real or simply a temptation indudged by the man peddling lightening rods for a storm that didn't come? Of course the storm the lightning-rod-man predicted could be metaphoric, representing the invasion of the carnival.

And in keeping with the discussion of figurative language, at the end of Chapter 13, where the mirror maze is discussed, and Charles Halloway is seeing but choosing not to see the puddle of water on the floor the maze is waiting "for so much as a bird to come look, see, and fly away shrieking. But no bird came" (56). Single bird. Not flock of birds. A flock of birds flying away is symbolic of danger. A single bird, however, is a positive symbol. Here, the lack of the single bird suggests an ominous sense of danger.

Next time: Part II, Pursuit.