Coursera Unit 1: Grimm's Fairy Tales

I am currently taking an online course through the University of Michigan called, "Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World."  This is through a new online learning site called Coursera.  Their mission is to provide free, quality, online education from the top universities in the country.

It's been a fairly enjoyable experience so far.  Each week we read a new book and have to write an essay on it.  We also have to provide feedback to at least 5 other students' essays (This is fairly easy because there are anywhere between 1,000-10,000 students taking this course.  I'm unsure of the exact number, although many of us have been curious to find out).  The instructor posts about 2 hours worth of unit videos each week.  As a advocate for education, I am in love with this concept.

Something I struggled with in Week 1 was essay length.  It is required that the essay be between 270-320 words.  In my first essay on Grimm's Fairy Tales, I did too much explaining and didn't get to my argument quickly enough (This can also be attributed to the fact that I forgot to submit my essay until an hour before it was due!). 

So!  Here is my first, super sucky essay on Grimm's.  The argument is in the last 3 sentences.  (Woops).

The Clever Shall Inherit? 

            Throughout one’s reading of Grimm’s Household Tales, several familiar faces appear.  However, these tales are interspersed between oddities like Clever Grethel, Cat and Mouse in Partnership, and The Three Spinsters.  What do we make of these?  They definitely do not sing the familiar praises to those who work hard, or those who wait patiently for their prince to come, nor do they give sound warning such as “Don’t talk to strangers.”   Let us examine a few odd tales. 

            Clever Grethel is about a cook who “gave herself great airs, and thought herself very fine indeed” (9).  We  are told that this is not a hard-working, humble person, and we naturally don’t want to be like her.  Yet, in the end, she is the one who outsmarts her masters. 

            Cat and Mouse in Partnership teaches that although opposites attract, it’d be best to settle down with one similar to yourself, otherwise your differences might lead to an untimely end.  But, as the tale-teller concludes, “that is the way of the world” (39). 

            The Three Spinsters highlights a girl who “was too lazy and would not spin,” which was a necessity for women of the times to do (82).  The hard workers are described as having deformed features, while the lazy girl doesn’t work, lies about accomplishments, gets the prince, and never has to lift a finger again. 

            All three of the victorious characters (Grethel, Cat, and the lazy girl) used cunning and wit to get their desires.  Many different angles could be examined, but the approach I am choosing to highlight is this: Sometimes, those who do evil are just as successful as those who do good. 

Why does our culture shield the hard truths from the youth, but those who lived hundreds of years ago didn’t?  I would argue that the hard tales are just as necessary to building character as the pleasant ones.