Fairy Tales 2010

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Good and Evil

Birds have been symbolically referred to in literature as having the ability to communicate, having the ability of ultimate freedom, flight, and a mediator between heaven and earth. Flight can also be seen as a stand in for an awakening of some sorts which is exactly the metaphorical transformation the boy experiences in "The Juniper Tree". The boy began his life as human, and unfortunately ended rather abruptly and in no means naturally. The boys transformation into an animal that represents "freedom" is by no means surprising as he escapes and begins setting his plan of revenge into motion. By punishing the wicked stepmother, he "earns" his life back as a human being, never getting lost in the momentary transformation of becoming a bird. Birds often beautiful and representing freedom, can also bring a sense of impending doom, black or white. As we have read in Cinderella and Snow White, the hero/heroine continues to suffer until the stepmother's evil regime comes to an end. Cinderella was protected by doves, and they ended up pecking her stepsisters eyes out at the conclusion of the story. Serving as protection for the good, as they took Cinderella under their wing and made her beautiful for the ball, were Snow White's best friends and aided her during dark times, while also serving as a mediary of existences for the boy in the Juniper Tree.

5 comments:

  1. I like how you compared the birds in the Juniper Tree to those of Cinderella and Snow White. However, I would disagree that the bird represents entire freedom. I think he is, in fact, trapped in his animal like state until he can prove to his father that his stepmother has killed him. Justice results in his ultimate freedom and his ability to be human again. After he is brought back as a boy he can live, without the maliciousness of his stepmother, and be free to live with his father and sister in peace. I liked your consideration of the multiple meanings of birds- they can represent freedom and bad omens. I also think birds can represent wisdom- for example in both the transformation stories of "The Twelve Brothers" and the "Seven Ravens" the brothers know that their sister is in danger and can save her. Similarly, in the Juniper Tree, the boy knows something that neither his father or his sister know- that the stepmother killed him. He uses this knowledge, as well as his ability to communicate and tells the ignorant characters the truth.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My intention was to associate the boy's freedom during his bird stage as a freedom from death, not from the current bird stage. Regardless of his outer body formation, death would be the ultimate end of any sort of life. Transforming into a bird after death was a gift within itself, whether or not he were lucky enough to become human again, a chance at life in general in my humble opinion is essentially "freedom".

    I readily agree with your thought of birds representing omens, as this can tie into my previous thought of birds being the mediators between heaven and earth without getting entirely too religious. They are the ones who carry out justice upon the wicked and defend the moral.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would agree with you Haley in that the boys freedom from death was in that form of a bird. To be frank, he could have easily been a ghost hoping that he can makes signs and wishful that the family would be able to translate them; however that would not be very fairytale like and in turn was lucky to be an actual living thing to sing to his family of what had happened/reveal the tragedy and reason of his transformation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This whole idea is really interesting to me. I never saw the bird transformation as a "gift" but rather just the next step in his journey. As for omens, I see where you're coming from but I'm not sure if I think that really applies here, its seems to much of a stretch more me to assume that the bird symbolizes the fall of the stepmother. To me it just seems as though a bird form allows the spirit of the boy to easily achieve all his goals (acquiring the materials, giving gifts to the family, and killing the stepmother) rather than just serve justice.

    ReplyDelete
  5. In reference to the omen, the bird, as we have read, has either been the swift executioner or the guardian angel to the pure at heart or those presented as evil. Regardless of color, both the Raven and the dove have been known to represent prosperity and death, never having flown into a scene without specific purpose. Just because the bird makes an appearance, does not mean whoever views the bird knows the meaning for its presence in their lives. For the boy, becoming a bird was a positive happening, a gift of possibly earning a second chance at life. For the stepmother, regardless of whether or not she knew its purpose, we the readers as well as the transformed boy knew what his arrival meant for her. (stepmother)

    To suggest that the boys transformation into a bird is an example of simple literary prose would be a bit one-dimensional. As Nicole stated above, the boy could have easily become a ghost and carried out his deeds of revenge, as that would be the most logical occurrence. However because it IS a fairy tale, and this same thematic element has repeated itself in numerous tales we have read just within the past few weeks, I believe it is safe to suggest that birds, regardless of their color, have a deeper symbolic meaning than a casual transition in literature that happens to repeat itself all of the time.

    ReplyDelete