Jack & The Beanstalk ?

C

craigb

just somthing compleatly different,
I was reading this book to my 8 yearold last night, and through reading these little 8 page things i discuss the good , bad , and the ugly about the choices made in the story lines, some are about trying , others like the little enginge that could, about not giving up!
but the story of jack and his beanstalk is terrible!
we discussed the story, and the courts discission is it.
Jack should be charged with 1,count of break and enter, 2 counts of grand theft, for the golden hen, and the magic harp.and 1,count of pre meditated murder.
This is crazy talk i know , but the story, is realy about doing these wrong things and living Happily ever after?:confused:
 
craigb said:
just somthing compleatly different,
I was reading this book to my 8 yearold last night, and through reading these little 8 page things i discuss the good , bad , and the ugly about the choices made in the story lines, some are about trying , others like the little enginge that could, about not giving up!
but the story of jack and his beanstalk is terrible!
we discussed the story, and the courts discission is it.
Jack should be charged with 1,count of break and enter, 2 counts of grand theft, for the golden hen, and the magic harp.and 1,count of pre meditated murder.
This is crazy talk i know , but the story, is realy about doing these wrong things and living Happily ever after?:confused:
Click to expand...

I don't think there's any childrens story that doesn't include some offence.

Eg Goldilocks, the vagabond feral, was guilty of breaking, entering and theft.

Pretty mild though compared to Hansel and Gretal, who in murderering an old woman and looting her house are equally culpable as Jack.

Also how does one know that Snow White is not an injecting druggie? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White

The lesson in all these tales is that 'justice' is 'do it yourself' without the 'law', the ends justified the means and evil people have no rights.
 
So nice to hear that you read to your little one though Craig. Well done for doing what so few fathers make the time for.

Poor choice of story line or not, at his/her age he'd probably enjoy it more than "property investing 101" or similar!
Most of those Disney type stories have morally/ ethically incorrect themes huh?
Still my fave childhood memories include being read to by my dad.

Jo
 
There's a lot more to those stories than first appears.

Many of these stories have a huge appeal to children. They are stories which they love to hear and hear again.

So what is the huge appeal?

I have read that many of these "fairy tales" appeal to the subconscious of youger children- that they help the child to come to terms with a world around which appears extremely hostile to them, and a world in which they are powerless.

They can see a world in which Jack kills the giant; Hansel and Gretel defeat the wicked witch; Little Red Riding Hood defeats the wicked wolf.

Children have trouble coping with the fact that there is authority, and have trouble dealing with a life in which they are really non entities.

A book which influenced me in this direction is Bruno Bettelheimer's The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales .

But I have also been influenced by other people about the meaning and power of "myth". The word usually implies nothing but made up stories. But it can imply a lot of meaning if the negative connotation of the word is ignored.

For instance, a vendor of a property I bought a few years ago wrote her honours thesis on the "Myth oh Anzac". Australia did not have a tradition of heroes or legends like other countries which ahd been around for much longer. So there were many committees which worked for many years to establish traditions. The 11AM two minutes silence. The dawn service. The reveille. The two up school on Anzac Day.

The "obvious" messages are not always obvious.
 
My kids are terrified of most traditional fairy tales, and so was I. Many of them have awful messages. :(

Thank goodness my boys have progressed to quality reading material like "The Simpsons" comics and "Captain Underpants". :rolleyes: :D
 
CraigB - I totally agree with you about Jack and the Beanstalk.
There are terrible messages in it - Jack is a dimwit, scoundrel, thief and murderer.
I read it to my kids to enjoy the fantasy side, and as an opportunity to discuss the moral (or lack of) it contains.

I have two daughters - it is amazing how many stories have 16 year old girls, who find their prince charming and marry them the next day. Again, we enjoy the story and fantasy, but also have a laugh at how 'silly' the ending is.

:)
Lily
 
And I thought it was only m me who had issues with Jack!

I couldn't for the life of me work out why he wasn't just satisfied with the hen laying the golden eggs. Why did he need to go back for the harp?? To me this was a change form stealing out of a need to eat to stealing...well...just because it was there!
 
BayView said:
Don't forget "Family Guy" for quality TV. :D

My boy loves it (and me too). He's 7 - is this bad?
Click to expand...

Yes it is bad :p. I reckon at 7 most of it will go over his head. My boy just turned 13 watches it, but if I am around, I ask him to turn it off as it is pretty "out there". Lots of things he doesn't need to hear (and I don't coddle him, but Family Guy just makes my skin crawl).

As for The Simpsons, my boys could quote it word for word, and often do. There is not a family situation that cannot be related back to "you know that episode........"
 
Jack and the Beanstalk, good question!

I had the same issue when reading it to my 3YO, but I think the particular version I have refers to the fact that Jack recovers his father's stolen harp, hen and gold. The inference being that he was just righting a former wrong, and was probably justified under self-defence for killing the giant as it came down the beanstalk with the intention of killing Jack.

Maybe we're all being a bit hard on the little guy. He and his poor old Mum were condemned to a life of poverty when that evil giant stole his old Dad's gear and probably topped the old codger at the same time. Jack just recovered it and ensured no further wrongdoings would be perpetrated by said giant... ;)

Cheers,
Michael
 
MichaelW said:
Jack and the Beanstalk, good question!

I had the same issue when reading it to my 3YO, but I think the particular version I have refers to the fact that Jack recovers his father's stolen harp, hen and gold. The inference being that he was just righting a former wrong, and was probably justified under self-defence for killing the giant as it came down the beanstalk with the intention of killing Jack.

Maybe we're all being a bit hard on the little guy. He and his poor old Mum were condemned to a life of poverty when that evil giant stole his old Dad's gear and probably topped the old codger at the same time. Jack just recovered it and ensured no further wrongdoings would be perpetrated by said giant... ;)

Cheers,
Michael
Click to expand...

Yeah this is also my take on it, he was just getting the family stuff back from the naughty giant!

How cool we now have a Book Club on Somersoft!
 
Last edited:
BayView said:
Don't forget "Family Guy" for quality TV. :D

My boy loves it (and me too). He's 7 - is this bad?
Click to expand...

there was one episode where the father wanted to be a redneck, so, he walked up to his daughter and said, Meg, now Im a redneck I have t do somethign to you which will scar so you so bad you'' have to hide it in the back of your subconcious.. while wlaking closer arms strretched out redy to grope her... she panics screams and runs away.. dad yells "I was talking about SEX !"

I wouldn't put it on the list of videos to watch if babysitting kids myself
 
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