Madness # 8
Much
reading, writing, researching with limited time was required this week. Thoughts are shared below about the history
of a fairy tale (multiple versions) of The
Bremen Town Musicians, as well as Discussion Week Five. Multiple versions of the same fairy tale were
carefully examined.
Week Five
Discussion
The number
of versions of each of the well-known fairy tales and even the multiple tales
of some not so known ones make the need for categorization and classification probably
necessary. A comparison/contrast chart
or even an old standard Venn diagram might be helpful, certainly if many
versions of a tale must be examined at the same time.
We can
examine the first fourteen tales assigned in ABG which include some popular,
well known fairy tales and some that are not so familiar to see if some type of
classification might be helpful. While
true that the many famous tales may not need categorization and classification,
the less popular ones might need to be identified in some way. Personally, when I started examination of the
large number of versions of Little Red Riding Hood, I was overwhelmed after
just previewing a few versions. I
actually had begun my own classification process before realizing one already
existed. I think harm comes from
personal confusion or from trying to clarify the author’s theories and true
meanings of that particular tale without full understanding of the tale itself. Tying versions of the same tale together
makes preservation of that tale easier for all to understand. With that being said, even though the
Aarne-Thompson index can still be confusing to the newcomer with the variances
of folktales of the same type used in different cultures, some form of
categorization remains necessary.
Certain
parts of the classification process seem more useful such as who the heroes are
or who the primary protagonist might be.
I am not prepared to say that classification creates critical mischief,
but I do think we can be easily swayed if read a particular point about a work.
I also might be willing to say that the right computer guru could simplify the
classification process and easily cross match tales with other works.
As far as
the first fourteen works assigned for reading this week, I found having some
familiar fairy tales scattered with some little known ones perhaps a ploy or
desire to keep the attention of the reader.
While reading though the selections, I decided to look at the
classification of one of the tales unknown to me, The White Snake.
(Information located: Supernatural Power or Knowledge 650-699 AT 673 The
White Snake)
As far as
the writing style of Brothers Grimm many of the tales are told in third person,
with the narrator being omniscient. The
tales seem to be clearly written so that they can be passed to future
generations. Many of the tales are told
in exposition form with most including some dialogue to create credibility to
the story. I do sense in some of the
first fourteen tales perhaps that the Brothers Grimm had some knowledge of the
romantic poets and the language used during the era in which these fairy tales
were written.
FAIRY TALE
HISTORY Below...
Debbie
Guidry
Dr. Ernest
Rufleth
English 575
16 April
2017
Tracing the History of a Fairy Tale May Still Offer Solutions For Future
Generations
Although not likely that a fairy
tale written long ago would be able to anticipate all of the changes that might
occur in families, societies, work and daily activities, through reading the
opinions and story lines of a similar tale by numerous authors and adaptations,
the possibility does exist that helpful ideas may be conveyed to a new
generation of readers. With the
selection of The Bremen Town Musicians
by Brothers Grimm, readers from different generations can at least appreciate
that individuals from a past generation might offer a moral lesson to be
learned for future generations. With the
roots of The Bremen Town Musicians
clearly German and with one version being shared in the 17th century
and another in the 18th century, this tale has been translated into
English and retold in a variety of ways by various persons and media alike,
allowing later generations the opportunity to savor and gather appropriate life
lessons presented in a way for all to understand. Early history suggests that The Bremen Musicians comes from eastern
Westphalia and is attributed to the von Haxthausen family from Paderborn (Kinder-und
Hausmarchen), while more modern versions suggest that the lessons gained from
this tale are somewhat universal in that the roots of this tale may exist in
many cultures.
While the story itself is simplistic
in nature, the fact that every generation reaches a point of when extinction
lingers nearby, all readers may benefit from words read, provided the thoughts
can be translated to that particular generation. In many ways this Grimm Brothers work, The Bremen Town Musicians, is much like
many other fairy tales with multiple versions which may allow readers to gather
varying opinions. Fortunately, The Bremen Town Musicians does appear
relatively kid-friendly with original writings and with more modern versions. Tales ranging from a 91BC version of this
tale arriving in Europe via India (Maitland) where good meets evil face to face
with good able to prevail using brain over physical strength showing a
comparison to European cities that held a new life for serfs. In the same tale by Brothers Grimm, four
downtrodden animals who have lost their strength and use to their specific
owners join together to go on a journey to Bremen in order to become
musicians. Along the way, these four
animals are forced to outwit a ban of robbers in order to remain safe and be
allowed to live out their days with happiness and dignity, choosing to use
brain power over a dwindling physical strength (Grimm).
Most every reader who reads or is
told a fairy tale expects to receive some type of moral lesson, and in the case
of The Bremen Town Musicians, that
simple moral surrounds events with an assorted group of animals, each having to
deal with the conflict of age as each animal seems to have outgrown the
usefulness that was once possessed and even reveled. This truly is a lesson that all parents long
to have their children understand that even when the day comes that their
physical strength leaves, they understand that with weakness of age can comes
lasting wisdom,
In examining individual versions of
this work, a reader should perhaps look first at one of the earliest versions
of TBTM, where four beasts seem to
have outlived all usefulness, soon to be cast away by long time masters. The four animals, a donkey, a hound, cat, and
a rooster, led by the donkey begin a journey to run away from a not so good
fate to become musicians so that they can live happily ever after. Along the way the animals are able to find
shelter in a place that was once a den of thieves. The animals basically use cleverness to
convince the robbers that an evil witch exists and that they should never
return to the cabin allowing the animals a solid place to live out their lives
not having had to rely on their physical strength which no longer remains, but
rather realizing their intelligence has prevailed. The animals are allowed to live out their days
in complete happiness, experiencing lives that all older people should be
entitled (Grimm).
Many versions of this epic tale
follow, each in their own way distributing the idea that an individual’s worth
should continue throughout his or her natural life, regardless of age. Little did many realize that early in the
twentieth century, Walter Booth, Anson Dyer, Lotte Reiniger, Walter Lantz and
others all used fairy tale plots in different ways to trick films and cartoons,
but none ever outdid Disney’s early animation in 1922-23 with The Four Musicians of Bremen (Crafton). Disney brought to life four animal musicians
who take up arms against a town who does not like them, the most violent Disney
action ever in animation at that time (Disney). The Cartoon Network in
between cartoon breaks (called wedgies) introduced an animal garage band made
up of teens rather than aging animals based on the similar tale called The Breman Avenue Experience features a cat (Jessica), dog (Simon), donkey (Barrett), an a rooster (Tanner). Pin the tail on the donkey, a popular
children’s birthday game even arose from one of these adventures. The animals in this version are either a
modern adaptation of The Town Musicians of Bremen or are descendents of the old
musicians of Bremen (Cartoon Network).
In somewhat of a twist, children are not actually getting old, but
rather are preparing to give up childish things, maybe even being asked to leave
a comfort zone, just as in attitudes brought on by changes in generations. These same changes can exist in minds of
children as well as adults. Further
modern adaptations continue with a version appearing on an HBO Family animated
series, “Happily Ever After, Fairy Tales for Every Child,” adapted in this same
story line in Season 3, projecting a classic tale in a different culture, where
a country/African-American twist occurs featuring Jenifer Lewis as Hazel the
dog, Gladys Knight as Chocolate the donkey, Dionne Warwick as Miss Kitty, and
George Clinton as Scratchmo the rooster, further proving that even after all of
these years and versions with slightly different names, that no matter gender, color,
age, or generation, the moral of this tale remains refreshing the same (HBO),
that once someone no longer has the strength he once had, that person is still
entitled to use his intelligence and should be allowed to live “happily ever
after,” making this tale a continued read for children and adults.
Commemorating
Bremen Musicians
Four Brains
Can Outwit a Band of Thieves (Helm)
Works Cited
Bremen Town
Musicians Kids Story/Fairy Tales Bedtime Stories for Kids. 2012. Print.
Cartoon Network.
“The Bremen Avenue Experience.” 2008.
Clipart Illustration #42 (Helm).
Crafton, Donald. Before
Mickey: The Animated Film 1898-1928. Cambridge: MIT Press. 1982.
Disney, Walt. The
Four Musicians of Bremen. Walt
Disney Film. 1922.
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. The Annotated Brothers Grimm. The
Bremen Town Musicians, New York: W.
W. Norton, Inc., 2012, 156-162. Print.
HBO Family Animated Series. Happily
Ever After, Fairy Tales for Every Child.
Adapted in
Kinder-und Hausmarchen. (German Edition). 2012. Print.
Maitland, Sara.
From the Forest: A Search for
Hidden Roots of Our Fairy Tales.
Counterpoint
Press, 2012. Print.
The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar.New York:
Norton 1999. Print.
"The Cultural Evolution of Storytelling and
Fairy Tales: Human Communication and Memetics."
Princeton:
Princeton Press.
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