Spring Break
Dischord
Scholar says fairy tales problematic
By: Bunmi Ishola
Issue date: 10/17/05 Section: News
To be or not to be eaten?
That is the question Jack Zipes set before his audience Friday afternoon in a speech about the survival and impact of traditional storytelling.
Zipes, a fairy tale scholar and professor of German at the University of Minnesota, told about 70 people that traditional storytelling is very canonical, establishing a code of law.
Traditional stories are ways for societies to create an identity for themselves, but most of them have very problematic values, he said. Religious "folktales" are good examples of this, he said.
Using the story of Abraham, a man revered in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Zipes questioned the validity of passing down stories. Abraham sent one of his children into the desert and was willing to sacrifice his second, which Zipes said he found very disturbing.
"Why should we reference a child abuser and an imaginary deity," he said.
Zipes' presentation, "How and Why We Eat our Children: The Survival of Traditional Storytelling," was sponsored by the Department of European and Classical Languages and Cultures.
Zipes has written over 20 books on children's literature and has co-edited the Norton Anthology of Children's Literature.
Many fairytales show humans as the monsters and as the ones eating the young, Zipes said. He said that the world has become so brutal that children cannot even trust their own parents.
"Our nurturing is more like the witch in Hansel and Gretel," he said. "No story, no matter how grotesque, should surprise us."
Tales shape what societies believe, Zipes said, but the world should not respect traditional storytelling, because it is responsible for most of the discord in the world. The tales that survive are the ones enforced by religion, education and other authoritative institutions, he said.
Zipes said the relationship between literature and society has yet to be acknowledged or fully explained, which is what needs to be done.
"There may be something in our nature that makes us latch onto these tales," he said.
Zipes said he thinks society insists on preserving and building on traditional tales because of a basic genetic disposition.
Dana Lawrence, an English graduate student who has researched Zipes' work, said she found all of his points interesting and critical.
"His point about questioning the canonical impression of the tales and why they survive was really interesting and important to someone who teaches literature," she said.
Robert Shandley, associate professor of film studies and German, said he invited Zipes to speak because of his background with children's literature.
Shandley, who had Zipes as his dissertation adviser, said Zipes usually says shocking things that make people think.
After the speech, Shandley said he was satisfied and that Zipes did the "damage" he was expecting.
That is the question Jack Zipes set before his audience Friday afternoon in a speech about the survival and impact of traditional storytelling.
Zipes, a fairy tale scholar and professor of German at the University of Minnesota, told about 70 people that traditional storytelling is very canonical, establishing a code of law.
Traditional stories are ways for societies to create an identity for themselves, but most of them have very problematic values, he said. Religious "folktales" are good examples of this, he said.
Using the story of Abraham, a man revered in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Zipes questioned the validity of passing down stories. Abraham sent one of his children into the desert and was willing to sacrifice his second, which Zipes said he found very disturbing.
"Why should we reference a child abuser and an imaginary deity," he said.
Zipes' presentation, "How and Why We Eat our Children: The Survival of Traditional Storytelling," was sponsored by the Department of European and Classical Languages and Cultures.
Zipes has written over 20 books on children's literature and has co-edited the Norton Anthology of Children's Literature.
Many fairytales show humans as the monsters and as the ones eating the young, Zipes said. He said that the world has become so brutal that children cannot even trust their own parents.
"Our nurturing is more like the witch in Hansel and Gretel," he said. "No story, no matter how grotesque, should surprise us."
Tales shape what societies believe, Zipes said, but the world should not respect traditional storytelling, because it is responsible for most of the discord in the world. The tales that survive are the ones enforced by religion, education and other authoritative institutions, he said.
Zipes said the relationship between literature and society has yet to be acknowledged or fully explained, which is what needs to be done.
"There may be something in our nature that makes us latch onto these tales," he said.
Zipes said he thinks society insists on preserving and building on traditional tales because of a basic genetic disposition.
Dana Lawrence, an English graduate student who has researched Zipes' work, said she found all of his points interesting and critical.
"His point about questioning the canonical impression of the tales and why they survive was really interesting and important to someone who teaches literature," she said.
Robert Shandley, associate professor of film studies and German, said he invited Zipes to speak because of his background with children's literature.
Shandley, who had Zipes as his dissertation adviser, said Zipes usually says shocking things that make people think.
After the speech, Shandley said he was satisfied and that Zipes did the "damage" he was expecting.
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