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fandomhigh2006-04-05 06:56 pm
notavegetarian.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-04-05 06:56 pm
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Cultivation and Gardening, Wed 4/5/6 [4th period]
Today, Zhaan was in grey again, something somber in her mood. The bunny slippers are still in evidence, however. On the desk in front of her are several books, volumes of fairy tales and folk tales, at least one dictionary.
"I have been doing investigation into a phenomenon I have no name for. Perhaps there isn't one, other than allegory and poetic license. Humans have a tendency to use plants in their language, in their stories. Sometimes, as illustrations of good or bad. Sometimes as a means to an end, sometimes the plants are even aware." Zhaan flipped open one of the books and paged through.
"Plants are the ever-present background in stories as they are in life. Forests, fields, even grass is often mentioned. Special trees, talking bushes, leaves of gold and silver... The woodsmen are highly prized. A man who chops down a cherry tree is forever marked. Fairy tales in particular have a love of the woodland green."
Her gaze grows distant, "Plants as the enemy is often a theme -- Sleeping Beauty, trapped in her castle by menacing roses. Rapunzel's lover, thrown from the tower to have his eyes pierced by rose-thorns, not to mention her mother being consumed with a need for lettuce." The gaze sharpens, "Yet, Jack climbs the beanstalk to reclaim his life, young Ashenputtle's mother's spirit lives on in the tree over her grave, and the Reed survives the storm by bending to the wind."
A chuckle escaped her. "Perhaps these are simply ornaments of story. Perhaps they are the authors' way of allowing their plants to live on, as they allow the people they knew to filter through the mirror of prose."
"Your homework for the week is to find a story where a plant plays a significant role. Write a hundred words describing it, the tale it's within, and whether it's there for good, bad, or simply as an observer and catalyst. It's due next Wednesday."
[All hail the shelf of fairy stories... Messirs. Grimm, Andersen, and Aesop. Not to mention the original inspiration: Datlow & Windling's title 'Black Thorn, White Rose']
"I have been doing investigation into a phenomenon I have no name for. Perhaps there isn't one, other than allegory and poetic license. Humans have a tendency to use plants in their language, in their stories. Sometimes, as illustrations of good or bad. Sometimes as a means to an end, sometimes the plants are even aware." Zhaan flipped open one of the books and paged through.
"Plants are the ever-present background in stories as they are in life. Forests, fields, even grass is often mentioned. Special trees, talking bushes, leaves of gold and silver... The woodsmen are highly prized. A man who chops down a cherry tree is forever marked. Fairy tales in particular have a love of the woodland green."
Her gaze grows distant, "Plants as the enemy is often a theme -- Sleeping Beauty, trapped in her castle by menacing roses. Rapunzel's lover, thrown from the tower to have his eyes pierced by rose-thorns, not to mention her mother being consumed with a need for lettuce." The gaze sharpens, "Yet, Jack climbs the beanstalk to reclaim his life, young Ashenputtle's mother's spirit lives on in the tree over her grave, and the Reed survives the storm by bending to the wind."
A chuckle escaped her. "Perhaps these are simply ornaments of story. Perhaps they are the authors' way of allowing their plants to live on, as they allow the people they knew to filter through the mirror of prose."
"Your homework for the week is to find a story where a plant plays a significant role. Write a hundred words describing it, the tale it's within, and whether it's there for good, bad, or simply as an observer and catalyst. It's due next Wednesday."
[All hail the shelf of fairy stories... Messirs. Grimm, Andersen, and Aesop. Not to mention the original inspiration: Datlow & Windling's title 'Black Thorn, White Rose']