Traditional Fairy Tales, Class Two

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Monday, January 15, Period 2

The table in the center of the room was filled with breakfast pastries and hot drinks, there were stacks of books close at hand for the students to borrow for their readings assignments, and Aziraphale looked quite cheerful as he sat in his armchair and waited for the class to arrived.

"Good morning, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your first week of classes. Today we'll begin our discussion of the basic character archetypes found in fairy tales. Your assigned reading was Jack the Giant Killer and Molly Whuppie. Following the lecture, we'll discuss the central characters in these two stories, and how they fit into the roles of hero and villain."

LECTURE: "With a few exceptions, every fairy tale contains two central figures: the hero or heroine, and the villain. These characters can take many forms, from innocent child to clever thief, from evil stepmother to hungry wolf, but the central conflict of a fairy tale often evolves around the idea of the hero outwitting the villain. The hero may have a quest to fulfill, a puzzle to solve, or a difficult situation to escape. They may act out of self-defense, altruism, love, or necessity -- sometimes even out of greed or fear. Heros display a common set of characteristics -- in general, they are quick-witted, creative, and bold. Villains are not always evil, but are in general selfish and greedy, and usually act out of a desire to fulfill personal needs or an often baseless dislike of the hero."

DISCUSSION: "Take a look at the two stories from your assigned reading. Identify the hero and villain in each one, and then explain what motivates their actions. In your opinion, why is the villain villainous, and why does the hero act heroically?

"I would also like you to take a little time at the end of class to meet with the members of your project groups. I'll be expecting proposals for your final project in a few weeks, and I'll try to give you time during each class to meet with one another."

ASSIGNMENT: "For next week, read Mr Fox and John the True."


[ooc: For those who are new to Aziraphale's classes, there is always a spread of breakfast pastries and hot drinks, which you are free to mod. Also, the room is always arranged with comfortable chairs and couches for seating, rather than desks. Please wait for the OCD threads are now up, and class is in session.]


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Comments

Re: Discussion

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"The first story seems to tell that Jack is the hero while Cormoran and, later, the other giants are the villains. Jack was the hero due to trying to protect those around him and bringing to an end, the reign of the giants. If the giants had not be painted as taking whatever they wanted to serve themselves, I could've almost seen the giants not as villains, but as beings that were doing their bests to survive."

He paused for a moment.

"In the second story, I almost instantly want to say the parents are the villains as well as the giants. The parents left their children in the wood to fend for themselves and indirectly pushed them into the dangers with the giants. Molly Whuppie was the hero due to being clever, intelligent and brave. Though, later in the story, the king seems to take advantage of that by sending her back to the giants." He frowned. "It's really quite troubling to read that."

Re: Discussion

[untouchableskin.livejournal.com]

Marie nodded in agreement with Cedric's assessment.

"And the giant's wife wasn't much better, letting him get away with all those atrocities," she added. "And if you want to get right down to it, Molly's sisters weren't much help either."

Re: Discussion

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"Sisters and brothers never seem to be of much help in these stories. It always seems to be one person out there on their own," Lana added.

Re: Discussion

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale nodded as Cedric spoke. "Thank you, Mr Diggory. Let's touch a bit more on your observation about the king. Next week we'll be talking about some other character types, but I'd like to know whether you'd categorize the king in "Molly Whuppie" as a villain himself, or if see him fulfilling some other type of role. And...do you see any sort of connection between the parents and the king?"

Re: Discussion

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"The parents and the king both seem to be looking out for themselves more than looking out for the interests of those they're supposed to care for," Cedric said. "Parents are supposed to be keep their children safe. Kings are supposed to keep their kingdoms safe. Both the parents and the king in this story put the children at risk for their own benefit."