ENG 2043 Unit 1 Reflection Essay PDF

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Unit 1 Reflection Essay - a comparison between the themes of fairy tales including "The Mirror of Matsuyama" "Snow White" and "Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree"...

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Unit One Reflection Essay Morgan Dietz Kean University

The fairy tales that were read this week reflect the cultures that produced them. For example, in the Japanese story “The Mirror of Matsuyama” themes of Japanese culture like

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minimalism, politeness, respect, and strict gender roles can be identified. The story shows the minimalism and lack of wealth in the outer villages in Japan. As written in the story, “So the wife was very anxious while she helped her husband get ready for the long journey, knowing what an arduous task lay before him. Vainly she wished that she could accompany him, but the distance was too great for the mother and child to go, and besides that, it was the wife's duty to take care of the home,” (n.d., p. 2). The mother was expected to take care of the household and her daughter while her husband went to the capital to provide for the family. Upon his return to his family after being in the capital for about a month the father gifts a mirror to his wife. She had no idea what this item is used for, and her husband has to explain it to her. He explained that when she looked into the surface of the mirror, she could see her reflection, and this was something that rich women possessed. When the father gave his wife and daughter, they were both very respectful and polite to the man. Unfortunately after this, the wife passes away. Later in the story, the husband remarries a woman who becomes very jealous of the relationship between the father and daughter. She believed that the daughter was not respecting her, which is something that is not tolerated in Japanese culture. The whole story is based on the cultural norms of Japanese society. These themes are also present in the Japanese story, “The Story of Princess Hase,” specifically, politeness, and respect. Minimalism can also be identified in the story when the princess is living with the servant in a small house. It is described as “ a tiny house on one of the hills quite near,” (n.d., p. 5). In both versions of “Snow White,” vanity can be identified by the actions of the mother and stepmother, depending on the version. The woman asks her mirror quite often, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who in this land is fairest of all,” (Grimm & Grimm, 1812 p. 2). She is completely obsessed with being the most beautiful woman in her whole kingdom and she cannot stand the idea of Snow White being seen as a more beautiful woman than she. This value is not very commonly seen in Japanese culture. In fact, the husband in “The Mirror of

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Matsumara” has to explain to his wife how to use a mirror. He explains, “What I have brought you is called a mirror, and whoever looks into its clear surface can see their own form reflected there. Although there are none to be found in this out of the way place, yet they have been in use in the capital from the most ancient times. There the mirror is considered a very necessary requisite for a woman to possess,” (n.d., p. 5). While the stories reflect the cultures that produced them, they also exhibit cross-cultural human themes. Underlying human themes such as the desire to feel appreciated and needed, vanity, jealousy, and selfishness are all traits that can be seen throughout many of the short stories from this unit, specifically with the stepmothers in the stories. These traits are exhibited by the aunt of the young girl locked in the castle in the Italian story “The Young Slave,” the mother in the Scottish story “Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree,” the stepmother in the Japanese story “The Story of Princess Hase,” and the Japanese story “The Mirror of Matsuyama, the stepmother in “Maria, The Wicked Stepmother, and the Seven Robbers,” and the stepmother and mother in both the 1812 and 1857 versions of the story “Snow White.” Each of the women mentioned attempts to kill their daughters or stepdaughters within their respective stories. While these themes are considered to be negative, they are a large part of human society in all cultures. This is showcased throughout each of these stories, regardless of where they originate from. The theme of patriarchal admiration is recognizable in “The Mirror of Matsuyama,” “The Story of Princess Hase,” and “The Young Slave” between the girl and the uncle. Love can also be identified in both “Snow White” and “Little Snow-White” with the prince and the dwarfs, and between the father and mother in “The Mirror of Matsuyama.”

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Grimm, J. & Grimm, W. (1812.) “Little Snow-White.” https://blackboard.kean.edu Unknown. (n.d.) “The Japanese Fairy Book/The Mirror of Matsuyama.” https://blackboard.kean.edu Unknown. (n.d.) “The Japanese Fairy Book/The Story of Princess Hase.” https://blackboard.kean.edu...