Blog entry 8: The Child as Hero

The Child as a Hero

https://commons.wikimedia.org/DerkleineDaumling.jpg

The motif of a child as the hero of a tale is very inspiring for young readers, especially during times of bullying, lack of self, or just growing pains in general. When an underdog character rises against all odds, hope is restored for the readers who feel they too are underdogs in their own story.

In Charles Perrault's tale "Little Thumbling," the hero is a young boy who is smaller than all his siblings, never spoke, and was blamed for everything that went wrong. In the end, Little Thumbling led his siblings to safety by outsmarting the ogre that captured them, and bringing treasures home to his family.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_and_Gretel

In "Fulano de Tal and His Children" by Julio Lopez, the little girl and boy who were sent off to die in the woods by their stepmother to save food. However, the siblings eavesdropped on the parents and found out, then made clever plans to avoid their demise. First, the girl made trails to follow back home, then the boy used a chicken bone to convince the witch he was too skinny to eat. Their quick thinking saved them from death, and allowed their father to be free from their evil stepmother.

The Freudian point of view deconstructs the actions of the children in "Hansel and Gretel" into psycho-sexual stages. The most recognizable being the oral fixation stage that the poor children begin with as they search for food and begin to eat the witch's house. The action of leaving the bread crumbs is considered a defense mechanism in this scenario because the children should have known that the birds would eat them. Bruno Bettelheim adds that the oral fixation stage is conquered when they cross the river and give gifts to their parents. When crossing the river, Hansel and Gretel are forced to separate because the duck can only carry one of them at a time. This separation symbolizes the need for the siblings to develop individually.

https://chaztales.wordpress.com/tag/hansel-and-gretel/