Down the Rabbit Hole: December 2008

Monday, December 8, 2008

Quotes About Literature

About one's choice of words

"Then you should say what you mean," the March Hare went on."I do, " Alice hastily replied; "at least I mean what I say, that's the same thing, you know.""Not the same thing a bit!" said the Hatter. "Why, you might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see!" Alice in Wonderland.

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.""The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things.""The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that's all."Through the Looking Glass.

About children's literature

“Good children's literature appeals not only to the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child”

About literature in general

It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature. Ernest Hemingway

Learning why one great book is just like every other great book is the key to understanding literature. John Moschitta

All that non-fiction can do is answer questions. It's fiction's business to ask them. Richard Hughes

Term Paper

Indecision
When it came time to finally decide on a topic for this term paper, I was experiencing some very intense issues of indecisiveness. First I wanted to write about portals and where they lead to and why they are needed. Then I thought I might be more interested in the move from innocence to experience. But then again I realized that the notion of nonsense and the compelling intrigue of magic left me even more confused and stressed as to what I really wanted to focus on for my final “observation” almost of the material in the class. Finally, I decided on a topic that was broad enough to encompass each of the aforementioned elements, yet still complex enough and focused to help me refrain from too many tangents, not that that is a bad thing. Therefore, I have entitled my paper:

Alice versus Dorothy versus Lyra; Child versus Adolescent versus Adult
Falling down rabbit holes, getting caught up in tornados, cutting through time, each resulting in experiencing a new world be it a nonsensical land of backwards and portmanteau or a colorful land with yellow brick roads and emerald cities or a world or the underworld where the dead need to be set free. To say that Alice represents the child, Dorothy the adolescent, and Lyra the adult is to say that despite each books similarity to the others, there lies an obvious difference in the lasting impression and magnitude of the experience each girl undertakes. This difference and the defense for my title, lies mainly in each girl’s response to the “dream” that consumed them and took away their reality.
Nearly everything about Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass helps emphasize the notion that Alice represents the child when compared to the other two females. From her seemingly juvenile portal (a rabbit’s hole) to the nonsensical lessons she tries to recite that come out “how doth the little crocodile” and “Twinkle, twinkle, little bat” the evidence of pure childhood imagination exudes from every page. Even Alice’s contemplation over whether she is the same at a different height and if not than whom is she during the second chapter remains unresolved. Children often leave complex thoughts unanswered after trying frustratingly to come to a “realistic” conclusion. The question as to what is a child and where is the differentiating change I feel is best answered in Phillip Pullman’s notion of Lyra in His Dark Materials as the second Eve. That is to suggest that perhaps the fall occurs because of the acquirement of knowledge more so than sin.
If that is the case, which I do believe it is, then the move from innocence to experience and child to adult is accompanied by the move from ignorance to knowledge. For that reason, I believe that although the end of Through the Looking Glass leaves Alice asking many good questions, she is unable to produce an answer to her curiosity as to “Which dreamed it?” This seems to suggest that although Alice may have experienced Wonderland, little knowledge was gained from her adventures. Her assertion that she prefers the dream world to the “real” one reveals how her childhood fantasies still live freely within her with little to no limitations.
Dorothy on the other hand undergoes a few more life altering experiences in her voyage through the wonderful Land of Oz. She discovers a sort of self awareness much like that we acquire during puberty or adolescence. Throughout her quest for home, Dorothy stumbles across various other unaware characters in search of their brain, (the scarecrow), their heart, (the tin man), and their courage (the cowardly lion). However, in the final scenes of The Wizard of Oz, after all the others have discovered their missing parts, Dorothy is left with a very superficial realization that “there’s no place like home” and she would rather stay in the world of reality. Her experience and knowledge gain does not venture much further past the top most layer of understanding that is the layer of self awareness. Although important in reaching adulthood, I do not think that this alone can qualify one as an adult. Therefore, Dorothy is the adolescent of the group.
However, the experiences and knowledge demanded of Lyra in His Dark Materials are more along the lines of sexual awareness, self sacrifice, and an understanding of the bigger picture. Through her relationship with Will and her sacrifice of that relationship, I believe that Lyra gains almost too much knowledge for her young age as she transcends rapidly into adulthood. For that reason, I believe that Lyra represents the woman in the equation that was initially established. Her dream can never again happen, or so it seems.
As much as I would like to think that the majority of the women in the world are dwelling in Wonderland with Alice, the tragic truth remains that there are far too many Lyras that have to assume a role to quick for themselves or are forced to make decisions they almost feel unprepared for. And unfortunately, not everyone’s knowledge is of the same scope and magnitude as Lyra’s and can end up making the “right” decision. As for me, I would much rather join Alice at the mad tea parties or even Dorothy on the yellow brick road than have to stand there and watch as Lyra says goodbye to her one true love. That is far too adult for me.

Our Wizard of Oz Project

So, I am sure that for some groups, "Dorothy Does Vegas" was perhaps a little unexpected. And I'll admit when we first sat down, we were a little unsure ourselves. But then it just all started to piece together so nicely and it made sense. Dorothy goes to Oz to escape Kansas and drugs are often claimed to be an source of escape. And the best friend as Toto, the stripclub owner trying to get their clothes as the Bad Witch, the bartender that helped keep them on track as Glenda, the stripper that wanted to go to college as the Scarecrow, the businessman who disregarded his family as the tin man, the bouncer who couldn't talk to girls as the cowardly lion, it all just seemed so perfect. Looking back, we had so much fun and quite a few late nights piecing this project together and I not only want to thank my group for all the good times but also everyone in class for understanding where we were going.

Faerie Tale Theater

When I was about 6 years old, my mother introduced me to this television series that retells the fairytales that we read in class, not the disney versions that are "sachrine".

It is most definitely worth checking out, mainly because it is beautifully made and many popular and well known actors and actresses are involved with Shelley Duvall's retellings.

Some of my all time favorites are of course The Little Mermaid and thanks to Jessi mentioning it in class a while back, she helped me remember this fantastic series. I also am obsessed with The Twelve Dancing Princesses mainly because I wanted to walk through the portal they do and cross the lake to dance the night away as a young aspiring ballerina. Well, I left ballet school because of the horrid instructor but I can still go dance with them whenever I want thanks to the stories, the movies, and my imagination.

Here is a link to a youtube video of the first scene in The Little Mermaid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Q6EsSQY0k

Rapunzel

Perhaps my favorite part about this fairytale would never have been introduced to me outside of this class. Sadie's displacement through both a newspaper and a recipe not only stumped me but also astounded me with its simple genius. I never would have thought to displace via a recipe however it was remarkable how well she made it work for the story. It makes me look at recipes in a new light, reiterating the notion learned in 300 that everything is literature.

The Story of the Three Bears

Here is a perfect example of the didacticism we have seen throughout the semester. I love the little girls obvious reply to the idea of poridge being too cold.

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

So apparently, if what Cinderella sings about in Walt Disney's version of the fairytale classic, my heart does not want me to know what it wishes. I can rarely ever, for the life of me, remember one of my dreams. Perhaps the added pressure of having to do so for a blog forces my mind to block them out even more. However, my fiance vividly remembers many of his dreams and recieved the okay from him to divulge one that I think pertains quite a bit to children's literature.

Apparently he was sent on a quest and he was accompained by his daemon, a black panther that talked to him. (Can anyone say His Dark Materials) After awhile, he felt as if they were simply traveling around and around in circles and finally asked the panther that seemed to come right out of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book if they were indeed going in circles. The panther replied very tatologically with "I know we are not going in circles because I know" and continued on to say some very nonsense things that could perhaps resemble the confusing and puzzling speeches of the Caterpillar and Humpty Dumpty from Alice inWonderland. Unfortunately he woke up after that so we have no way of knowing whether in fact they were going in circles, just as Alice contemplates whose dream she was actually in.

Alice in Wonderland = Phoebe in Wonderland

I found a trailer for a movie that came out in 2008 starring Dakota Fanning's little sister Elle and Felicity Hoffman that reveals how one little girl whose imagination is too big for the real world explores the world of Wonderland with the help of an intriguing and provoking drama teacher. Here is a link to it on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTqNKWCndX8

Peter Christian Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moe

Here are the authors of East of the Sun, West of the Moon

Phillip Pullman and His Dark Materials

Books and stories don't just emerge from nothing in a sort of mental Big Bang. They grow more like plants, from a seed that's nourished by a rich and fertile soil. All my books have come out of the background of my own reading and from the things I've seen, or heard, or done, or thought about; and I thought that anyone who asks the question “Where do you get your ideas from?” (and a surprising number of people do) might find some of the answers here. I'll add to it as time goes on, but these are some of the things I like, or think important, and that I find interesting; and I hope you'll find them interesting too. - Phillip Pullman

East of the Sun and West of the Moon

The image of the girl with the polar bear appears not only hear in East of the Sun, West of the Moon but also on the cover of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials and on the cover of the

movie The Polar Bear King.

Here is a youtube link to the beginning of the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVbc_goDy8A

The Story of the Three Little Pigs

The multiple displacements of this classic story into many other versions for children often leave me with one of the biggest smiles on face after reading them to the afterschool daycare class I teach. By far both theirs and my favorite is the version told through the experience of the wolf in Jon Scieczka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. The humor in him having a cold and looking for sugar only to sneeze the poor houses down always gets to me.

Thought Process Behind my Displacement

So here is a look into my brain as I tried to be as clever as I could with my fairy tale. I am going to go through the story and bullet something genius and explain why it is so.

The title: Frosch means frog in German and sometimes it is a well in stories that the princess loses her ball in and sometimes it is a spring, hence wellspring
chemistry lab, formaldehyde: hinting to dissection and prescence of frogs
rose perfume, glod locks, rose lips, unnoticed beauty rest, Sarah: I wanted to try and incorporate as many of the general princess stereotypes as I could. Even the name Sarah means princess
gold heart shaped compact: the princess loses a gold ball, in place a gold compact with a circular mirror inside.
Name of school and Sarah's name: semi-royalty in the school
purple latex gloves: royalty
fiddling with compact: open and close it like tossing a ball up and down
Jacob Frosch: Jacob for the author, Frosch for frog
vintage video game: frogger
Louis Vuitton purse: royalty
hopped and hobbled: frog like motions
"I can fix it for you": offering
proposal, terms: Frog will only retrieve ball under certain conditions
dissecting frogs: Hint to the frog prince storyline
Sarah chooses Aurora: Goes back on her promise
smacks Jacob: symbolizes throwing him against the wall
not half bad: turns into a prince
completely mutilated frog: Jacob's years as an outcast were over and he was no longer a frog

So, I hope that helped explain a little more how it does actually fit into the plot of The Frog Prince quite nicely if I may say so myself.

The Frosch and the Wellspring; My Displaced Fairytale

The Frosch and the Wellspring

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, in the chemistry lab of Wellspring High, the scent of formaldehyde mixes with that of rose perfume so strong, the stench lingers for hours after class. Equally as annoying is the clicking of a clasp on a gold heart shpaed compact as it is sporadically opened and closed. Sarah Wellspring sits at the back of the class, obviously bored, as she gazes into the source of the nuisance, admiring her fondness for the color of roses on her lips as well as their scent. Her golden locks cascade over her face in such a way as to offer her the occassional unnoticed beauty rest. However, no one in the school even dares to confront her about her distractions given her namesake. It is no coincidence that she shares her name with the school built and funded by her grandfather.

As she sat in class on one of her least favorite days, one in which the use of scalpels and purple latex gloves would be not only inevitable but necessary, she took out her compact and unconsciously began fiddling with it. All of a sudden, Jacob Frosch, the vintage video game enthusiast, made his entrance wearing his signature ball cap and glasses.

As he passed Sarah's desk to set his computer bag on the back counter, he tripped over her Louis Vuitton purse and hopped and hobbled to regain his balance. In all the commotion, Sarah dropped the heart-shaped compact which snapped at the clasp as it crashed on the tile floor. Jacob reached down to retrieve the broken pieces before Sarah had the chance to shed any tears.

"I apologize. You know, I can fix it for you if you would like" offered Jacob.

In a startled and yet excited voice, Sarah delightedly accepted with "Oh i you could that would be wonderful!"

"Of course," croaked Jacob as he choked on his new found confidence, "I can fix it right now if you would be my lab partner for today's dissection."

A look of slight distain appeared on her face as she heard his proposal. "Well, what are we dissecting?"

"Frogs. You know, they're not as bad as people think. They're actually one of the easiet things to dissect."

"Okay," Sarah decided. "I guess I can partner with you for today."

"Great" replied an ecstatic Jacob. He had always been mesmerized during class by her and now he was getting the chance to actually work with her.

He handed her back her newly rejoined compact and watched as she returned to her seat, anxiously awaiting the time to choose her as his lab partner. However, when the time did come, the ungrateful Sarah turned to her best friend Aurora as her partner and began getting the supplies. Jacob Frosch approached Sarah in confidence, unaware of the girl's betrayal of her assertion, and sat next to her. Unaware of his presence, Sarah turned too quickly, gesturing about a tennis match she had won the previous night, and smacked Jacob in the face with the back of her hand.

"What do yo think you are doing?" she snapped at him.

He looked back up at her with a look of hurt and confusion in his eyes as he gathered the broken shards of his glasses and retrieved his hat from the frog laden tray on the table next to Sarah's.

"I guess you don't know how to keep your word then" he remarked.

As she turned around to provide a crude retaliation, she choked on her words when she say Jacob sans his signature look for the first time. He was actually not half bad without the glasses and hat. Actually he was on of the better looking guys at the school with his shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes.

Sarah turned instead to Aurora and with pleading eyes asked, "Would you mind if I worked with him today? I did tell him that I would."

Aurora, realizing the same appealing qualities of the formerly outcast guy before her agreed with little hesitation. By the end of class that day, Sarah's and Jacob's frog was completely mutilated and unrecognizable and they had a date for Friday night.

Displaced Fairytales

Here is a list of the fairytales each person chose to displace. I found it interesting that The Little Mermaid ended up being the most repeated fairytale of choice.

Adam - The 3 Little Pigs
Dustin - Beauty and the Beast
Cassie - Hansel and Gretal
Sam - The Little Match Girl
Rebecca - Jack and the Beanstalk
Katie - Sleeping Beauty
Aaron - Hansel and Gretal
Erin - The Little Mermaid
Lynn - Beauty and the Beast
Montana - Little Red Riding Hood
Kathleen - Little Mermaid
Chris - Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
Ryan - Bluebeard
Jesse - Little Mermaid
Julie - Beauty and the Beast
Stephanie - Rumpelstilskin
Aaron - Beauty and the Beast
Kalli - Beauty and the Beast
Lisa - Hansel and Gretal
Brett - Humpty Dumpty
Kyle - The Princess and the Pea
Kayla - Sleeping Beauty
Cheryl - Hansel and Gretal
Raquel - Little Mermaid
Emily - Little Mermaid
Ben - Little Red Riding Hood
Taylor - Little Red Riding Hood
Brittani - Little Red Riding Hood
Ashley - Rapunzel
Ronnie - 3 Billy Goats Gruff
John - Bluebeard
Jill - Cinderella
Jessie - Little Mermaid
Sutter - The 3 Little Pigs

The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich

Hans Christian Anderson

Works found in Maria Tatar's collection:

"The Emperor's New Clothes"
"The Little Match Girl"
"The Princess and the Pea"
"The Ugly Duckling"
"The Little Mermaid"

Key Facts:

Has written over 150 tales
stingy with the use of "happily ever after"

Quotes:

“Every man's life is a fairy tale written by God's fingers”
“Where words fail, music speaks.”
“Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan's egg.”
“Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with short steps.”
“You say you have thousands of my days; but I have thousands of moments, in which I can be merry and happy [the ephemera replying to the oak tree].”

Favorite Chapter in Alice in Wonderland

My favorite chapter in Alice in Wonderland is either "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" or "A Mad Tea Party" because the latter has some amazing quotes which I will post later on and I love the story of the Walrus and the Carpenter from the first.

The Ugly Duckling

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Enjoy a brisk walk around the lake

Drink a cup of hot chocolate by the fireplace

Watch a pick me up cartoon such as a fairytale

Relax with a glass of wine in a hot bubble bath

Look forward to a day without confrontation

Acknowledge that I am all caught up in my classes

"Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things.""I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."Alice in Wonderland.

Six Degrees of Seperation - Alice and Oz

There is one easy degree of seperation between the two of them and that is Brain Talbot and his graphic novel Alice in Sunderland.

He mentions both of these women on a mission.

The Little Mermaid

Hans My Hedgehog

So here are some of the Motifs found in Hans my Hedgehog

rash promise (Jeptha's daughter)
transformation of the beast
number 3
sacrificial child
passing of property
husband and wife can't have children
monster baby
desperation
innermonster
parent hating child
lost in the fores found mysterious house
year and a day (language formulas)
isolation (black sheep)
relationship with human and animal
beast husband (marriage)
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife.

Here is a link to the song by Jimmy Soul that fully embraces this theory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh9ZZgDqzAg

My Book and Heart Shall Never Part

In all honesty, I am not sure that what we saw on the film was what I was expecting. This is however, not necessarily a bad thing. Where I went in expecting somewhat of a happy go lucky retelling of some choice fairytales, I was presented with a conclusive and informative depiction of children's literature throughout history and through the eyes of a child. Some of the scenes were indeed unexpected and very clever, such as little red riding hood picking up the wolf mask and wearing it herself. I also really enjoyed the grandmother's house made of books. Overall, I found it somewhat ironic that we were all sitting there, learning about children's literature while the movie was telling us that didacticism should not be a goal for children's literature. It was simply amusing to me. Even though it seemed somewhat repetitive from class lectures, the introduction to the material prior to viewing allowed me to focus in on the littlier, more pleasant things in the movie. Excellent work!

Sleeping Beauty

My All-Time Favorite Fairytale

I have always loved Ariel in The Little Mermaid whether it be the Disney version that is far to sweet, or the true Anderson version that we see in Tatar's collection. Here is a beautiful statue of her that I found.

Possible Term Paper Topics

There are so many different things I would love to write about and research for childrens' literature.

Portals
innocence to experience
nonsense
magic
didacticism
what is a child?

Who knows what I will decide to write on in the future?

Snow White

The displacement of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that is apparent in the movie Sydney White is perhaps the most recent displacement I have actually had the privelege of viewing. The way in which it "poisons" and apple computer and has a "fairest one of all" at the college is so clever yet a little corny. It was definitely a cute movie though and it was fun trying to decipher all of the hidden clues as to how it relates to the classic fairytale.

Charles Perrault

Works from the Maria Tatar Collection:

"Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper"
"Bluebeard"
"Donkeyskin"
"Master Cat, or Puss in Boots"
"Tom Thumb"