Fairy Tales 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Iron Hans

Iron Hans is a story follows the life of a boy. First, he is childish and plays with a ball that he can't even keep track of. He lets it fall into the cage with the wild man in it. Then, we see the boy trying to be obedient by not letting the wild man out. Yet, he is still easy to convince because he is a child, and he lets out the wild man by going behind his parents backs. He does not think for himself at this point - he either listens to his parents or to the wild man. Then, he is afraid of punishment when the wild man escapes. We do not know if he wanted to go with the wild man or not, but the fact that he goes with the wild man without putting up a fight shows me that he did not mind because he was afraid of his parents. The only bad thing the boy knows about is punishment from his parents, so that is what he is most afraid of. Then, in the forest, he must learn self-control. He fails, but he learns of a new consequence and he is changed forever, which he clearly does not like because he tries to hide his golden hair. After being sent back out into the real world again, he learns hard work. He hides his identity and works in the gardens. If somebody were to discover him, what would happen? He tries to play it safe. He receives gold, but gives it away. He is content with the way things are because there are no other consequences. He doesn't know what other consequences are out there if he strays from the path. Yet, then he hears about the war, and he wants to help. He has learned that he cannot do everything by himself and it is okay to ask for help. Then, he saves the kingdom and truly learns how to be a man because he can fight and lead an army and is still humble about it. Once he finally recognizes that the consequences are not always bad, he owns up to his actions and everybody lives happily ever after. A lot of growing up for this boy was to look ahead at the consequences to decide if they are good or bad. Once he can do this, he is no longer a boy anymore.

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