Response Writing 6

The Three Little Pigs: Traishelle, Eric, Rory, Paul

Marxism Criticism of "The Story of the Pigs" by Joel Chandler Harris

When analyzing a text through the lens of Marxism we aim to interpret the work as a reflection and product of economic conflict between social classes.

The story of the pigs by Joel Chandler Harris is the story of 5 pigs who just lost their mother: Big, Little Speckled, Blunt and Runt pig. Before their mother passed she warned them that Brer Wolf would come for them for them. "She said that if they could escape from old Brer Wolf, they'd be doing monstrously well." After their mother died Brer Wolf went to their houses one by one and eventually got the best of all the pigs but Runt who out witted Brer Wolf and took his life.

Based off actual situations, we can get an understanding how the story came about in the text. Not to the extent of an actual wolf attacking pigs but in a sense that higher-class people were constantly after the lower class. This version of the Three Little Pigs told as an African American tale, is to interpret the hardship and segregation they faced. The mother sow represented a wise woman warning her children of the dangers the wolf would bring. Same as an old grandmother warning her African children to be aware of the Americans who bring trouble. However, some of pigs (children) did not heed to her advice. Therefore, when the wolf came, they were naive and gave into his tricks. In society, this is how many people can be. Higher-class people take advantage of the lower class people because they know they will fall for their tricks. Nevertheless, if it were not for the wisdom of elderly people, they sometimes were able to shine light on oppressor's evil doings and pass this intelligence to their children, so that when the wolf did come, they would know what to do. As did pig Runt did in the story, she kept in mind what her mother told her and was expecting the wolf, so when he came, she got the upper hand on him before he could get her and that was the end of the big bad wolf.

#WordsofTheWise

Response Writing 5

Group: The Three Little Pigs

Traishelle, Eric, Rory & Paul

Kazia, Estrada

English 1301-175

8 Apr 2016

#LearnToMindYourBusiness

Summary: “Those who are nosy looking into other people’s business will most likely hear what they do not like.”

New Historicism Criticism of the Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf

After reading this version of the three Little Pigs, it is quite interesting how the story changed it's story line. Instead of the wolf just being the big bad wolf that he is, there are some similarities to how people behave today and in the past. The understanding I get from it is that it is like that in those times, if you were busy minding someone else’s business, trouble came upon you. In addition, people back then most likely did not deal too kindly with people who were destroying their property or taking their children away. Since this is an African American version, I think it is safe to say that the wolf represented a class of people who might have taken other people’s children away. However, the story does not say what happened to them, but after researching historical facts around the year 1908, African Americans were “sad & depressed” and they used their current situations to make their experiences into stories to amuse their family. 

Therefore, because bad things were happening to Brer Rabbit, he took matters into his own hands. Brer Wolf on the other hand was clueless, he thought that Brer Rabbit was being nice, but as most of the saying goes, “what goes around comes back around.” In those days, Brer Rabbit was seen as a sly trickster, so he had a few tricks up his sleeve for this wolf. After putting him in the box, he made his way into getting even with the wolf. Even when the children gathered around the wolf, he was suspicious but still clueless until he drew his last breath, but by then it was too late. Even after his death, his hide served a purpose to anyone who dared mess with Brer Rabbit, and I am sure no one dared to mess with him after that.

Group: The Three Little Pigs
Traishelle, Eric, Rory & Paul
Kazia, Estrada
English 1301-175
25 Mar 2016

#ListenAndBeWise

“Even when out on your own, it is best to listen to the wise.”

Feminism Critique of the Fox and the Geese

            The way the story was written is the first thing that grabs our attention. From beginning to the end, it is like a poem with rhymes. We believe this allows the readers to become more compelled to continue reading although it is long. When studying the females in this tale, we can see they play a major role. Although the editor of this version is a man, he characterizes the geese very well. Of the fox, he can be characterized as a man that is preying on young women. Another behavior that this story shows is how children can down play advice from their parents.  

            In the beginning of the fairytale, the mother goose is concern for her daughters because of the fox. However, after she passes they begin to make their own decision. Quite the same as a typical young female would do once she is out on her own. The role of the mother is like their guardian, but after she dies, they have no one. The roles of the daughters are basic life responsibilities for means of survival. It is understood that the writers attitude toward the daughters are that they are naïve and immature. Gobble did not take her mother’s advice and made her house out of very rudimentary materials. She was definitely stubborn and that is why the fox demolished her.

Goosey put up a little bit more of a fight than her younger sister, but her “want to be” independence got in the way and she half-stepped when it came to building her house. Eventually, he lit the thatch on fire that held the bricks down and killed Goosey too. This is a prime example of how young women are today, they feel they are doing great on their own, only listening to their parents advice sometimes and when something goes wrong, they try to flee. However, because they are not well prepared or mature, they are caught up.

Finally, there was Ganderee, who was very smart. She takes head to her mother’s advice and lives by it by building a very strong house that held the fox at bay. She too is scared of the fox but had prepared herself to overcome any of his tricks. Guessing from her behavior, she might have been the eldest. When she allowed the fox to hide in her churn bucket the fox thought she was naïve. However, she had an alternative motive and poured boiling water on the fox that killed him. By listening to the warnings that her mother gave her, this kept her alive.

           The moral of this story is that the value of listening to our elders could in fact save our lives or at least from heartache. Not only women, but men as well go through tempting situations, but it can be avoided if they obey the law of wisdom.

Work Cited

Roger. "The Fox Chases the Canada Geese." Flickr. Yahoo!, 11 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Mar. 2016. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/53444368@N05/16569726487/in/photolist-rfdbpr-5ZaQq6-9Nb5Wb-7ZVn19-brLGZm-oc74dg-7WbR5H-azVANq-egQ5yv-8R7LeG-rSW89b-5Ynuns-qrNb9j-bEFzYp-5Dtatk-8ekWdi-eTf4Cf-q84s8d-6myHrF-7DF9Go-6mPmbn-7tqMAn-ax3ZcH-brUxbL-5HooqE-pfunBX-9Zbr7M-6XNeRN-zg7myQ-jhSuam-okcWMD-7DERhb-rSVZk3-satdrt-nySGPx-9fSXJu-kPT5z9-kPT3Zq-4Yyt3B-rT46hv-e9sYDP-sasb7F-DSEReJ-samRuG-sanSpf-brLGjS-qezxrC-7z9aXY-ce7KM9-aLP31r>.

Group: The Three Little Pigs
Traishelle, Eric and Rory
Kazia, Estrada
English 1301-175
6 Mar 2016

#theonethatgotaway

"I know what you want; you shall not come in here tonight."

Psychoanalytic Criticism of the Fox and the Pixies

From the popular story of the Three Little Pig’s comes a version a bit different, it is called The Fox and the Pixies. This particular fairytale is an English version but still to this day, the original author remains unknown. In this particular fairytale, it begins with a fox driven to devouring pixies. When reading this story the reader can gain a clear imagery of how this story might have happened. In addition, it is certain that the fox’s state of mind in the story is sort of up and down throughout the story. In the beginning, it was nighttime and the first two pixies did not have very good solid homes to protect them, so the fox had them at a disadvantage. This situation gave the fox determination because he was easily able to get to them and eat them.

However, when he tried to get the third pixy, it does not go along as planned. He begins to get frustrated and sad because he cannot defeat the pixie. In the beginning, the first two pixies had lost, but this time around, the third pixy was smarter than the fox. Because of this, the fox loses his cool and by the third pixie, he is defeated. The third pixie was so smart that he even compelled the fox to fall into his own trap and there he dies.

Being that the fox was in a dream-like scenario, he loses all control and dies by the power of his own prey. Although the story does not mention this, it is possible that the third pixie knew about the fox from his stories during his childhood or that he was aware of what happened to the other two pixies. Therefore, he was able to prepare in advance and protect himself from the fox.

This is similar to the human psyche, when we think of home invasions. When we hear stories of what happen to someone else, or if happens to us, we go out of our way to make sure that same things does not happen to us again. The third pixy did stay calm the entire time, even when it looked like he was going to be eaten. Thus being a prime example that a boisterous attitude would cause you to fail, but a clear mind prevails and keeps you alive. It is also possible that the pixy himself was a little sick minded as well, as he did not mourn his peers deaths (but then it never mentioned he even knew them). However, he also had no guilt after charming the fox to its death, which I am sure any well-minded person would feel guilty after killing another person even in self-defense. 

Work Cited

"Fairy Fae a Touch of Magic." Pinterest. Web. 06 Mar. 2016
 https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/85/c3/70/85c37092a07ee388f289a5fd48cce339.jpg

The Three Little Pigs
Traishelle, Paul, Rory and Eric
Kazia Estrada
English 1301-175
19 Feb 2016

#BWBPigs
“Be Wise Little Pig, Your Character Is What Determines Your Life”

New Criticism of The Three Little Pigs by Andrew Lang

In the second version of The Three Little Pigs, Andrew Lang tells his version and provides significant imagery in the storyline. He begins describing the characteristics of the main characters, Browny, Whitey and Blacky. Although throughout the text, there are patterns and symbols that help create this fairytale. The words Lang chooses to use in this text are very detailed and easy to understand. Such as wisdom, which the mother pig bestows upon her pigs to help protect themselves against the fox, who is the villain of the story. The author writes this version in third person and the thesis is to be that the pigs all chose their material based on their level of maturity that would become real life consequences.

The title relates to the protagonists of the story. The word “little” in the title, refers to their youth and related to youth is immaturity. Browny is a “filthy pig that just roams in mud all day”. Portrayed to be the oldest yet ironically, he is mindless. Whitey is “clever but greedy” and puts her food before anyone else. The youngest, Blacky, is described as a nice and good looking pig. The mother pig seems to favor the youngest pig. As she is optimistic for him. As a parting gift, the mother is to give each of her pigs a home, the material they choose says a lot about each pig. Browny disappoints by choosing mud, a material to which he put no thought into at all. It says that there is a very childlike innocence to his character. Whitey chooses cabbage, which just proved that her greed and gluttony stood in the way of her making an important decision for her future. Her decision can relate to that of a young person who does not have their priorities straight but lives in their present wants. Greed and Gluttony are also two of the seven mortal sins; this may or may not have been a symbol in the passage. Blacky chooses bricks to build his house, a conscience decision based on logic. He wanted his house to "be safe all year long". Blacky showed a level of maturity that his eldest siblings clearly lacked.

Soon the mother passes away after they built their houses but not before warning the pigs of a dangerous sly fox. The mother was a symbol of a safe carefree life that has now left the pigs. When the fox does come to Browny's house but he does not let him in. Unfortunately, the fox makes his way in and snatches up Browny taking him to his den. The author writes this part of the text as a stanza for the fox continues and does the same thing to Whitey’s house and Blacky’s house which. However, Blacky out smarts the fox several times before the fox ends up burning to death from the scalding water that Blacky set out for him. When all danger is gone, Blacky goes to the fox’s den and saves his older brothers.

From then on, Browny is no longer messy and Whitey is no longer greedy. Each pig's decision in their building materials showes a different level of maturity that most humans pass through in their lifetime. In addition, we can relate to how experiencing a life-threatening situation can change our attitude about how we live our life.

Work Cited

Image: Dreamstime. Web. Feb. 2016. <http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/three-little-pigs-holding-signs-clip-path-761683.jpg>.

Group Name: The Three Little Pigs

Traishelle, Paul, Rory and Eric
Kazia Estrada
English 1301-175
4 Feb 2016

Blog Summary: Little Pig Little pig let me come in! Not today, you are not! #LittlePigLittlePig

The fairy tale we would like to share with you today is going to be The Three Little Pigs, it is the first version on the list and is from England. The literary criticism that we are applying to this story will be the Marxism. We selected this type of criticism because of the way the story was written. The beginning of the story sets the scene.

“There was an old sow with three little pigs, and as she had not enough to keep them, she sent them out to seek their fortune.”

The first half of the story appears to be the same story that we are all used to hearing as a child. However, in this version the first and second pig do not escape from the wolf, possibly because they were not ready to live out on in the world on their own, because if you continue to read, they did not get strong supplies to build their houses. Straw and Sticks, and when the wolf came they were not prepared thus being eaten. The third pig however more than likely the eldest, had a lot more wisdom than the first two, because he built his house out of bricks.

When the wolf came, he was sure that the wolf could not come in. The wolf did try, but to no avail. The wolf thought he was smart, because in the beginning of the story he appeared to be the dominant one, taking over the first two pigs.

“Well, he huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed, and he puffed and huffed; but he could not get the house down. When he found that he could not, with his entire huffing and puffing, blow the house down, he said, little pig, I know where there is a nice field of turnips."

 Nevertheless, the third pig had a few tricks up his sleeve and knew the wolf would not give up. The wolf still believed he had the upper hand, he thought he could trick the pig into coming with him to the field, the apple in hopes to try to eat him. The third pig quickly caught on, and instead of falling for his tricks, he tricked the wolf by getting up extra early and going to the field and the apple tree. The wolf frightened the pig, so he threw the apples far enough to give him time to run away. After that, the wolf was getting pretty agitated and one last time he invited the pig to the fair. Of course, the pig got there early and upon leaving, he saw the big coming, jumping into his churn bucket, he rolled all the way home in the process scaring the wolf. Soon the wolf realized what was going on. Therefore, he climbed down the chimney and then fell into the boiling pot of water. In a twist of events, the pig eats the wolf.

            The version of this story is not widely known. We all are used to the first two pigs escaping and running to the third pig’s house. They trick the wolf and boil him up in the pot of water, but this Author chooses a different way to write his version. Although it is a misfortune the first two do not survive, but he does add a twist in how the third pig survives his run in with the wolf. However, it does capture the reader’s attention, this could be the reason why he changed the story, to give readers something new to read but use a popular storyline that is easy enough to understand as a fairy tale.

Work Cited

Photo Pitucci, Rina. When the Wolfs at the Door. 2013. Flickr. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.