Journal - April 25 2001

It is the stories that I was introduced to as a child that have influenced me to become who I am now. The myths, legends, and fairytales that I became familiar with when I was younger have created my personality, and have affected my beliefs. I was familiarized with tales that taught me justice, and the difference between right and wrong. However, what I did not know was that I was also being familiarized with stereotypes and generalizations that have stayed with me as long as the morals have.

I remember reading stories such as The Three Little Pigs, and Little Red Riding Hood. From these fairytales, I found that the “good guys” always won. In both stories, a wolf - the classic villain - was killed, and the heroes rejoiced. I learned the values of being good and polite, and I forced myself to use these traits on a daily basis.

The story of The Three Little Pigs appealed to me, possibly because it seemed to be a direct representation of my life. Just as the pigs had been attacked and harassed, I too experienced these problems - it was difficult for me to find a good companion during the first few years of elementary school. I sympathized with the pigs, as I knew what it was like to be made fun of. It was for those reasons I loathed the wolf - just as I hated all those bullies who had given me a hard time. My relation to the story was strong, which is why all the lessons I learned truly made a difference in the way I ran my life. Once I knew what happened to the wolf, I tried my best to be ethical and just - I did not want to die like the wolf had.

The story has been passed down from generation to generation by both oral and written tradition. The written story is full of illustrations to allow children to appreciate the story on a higher level. There have also been many theatrical plays of the tale, as it has been considered a classic for many years. Countless variations of the story have been created to keep the legend alive, and to incorporate people of different races and heritages. The story has survived the test of time, and will most likely continue to do so for many, many years.

A variety of archetypes are used in the story to portray individuals in a typical form for fairytales. The wolf is large and ferocious. He is scary looking, and has an unruly personality. The pigs, on the other hand, are extremely small and meek. They lack courage and confidence, and are easily intimidated. The only reason that the pigs are capable of beating the wolf is they have a higher level of intelligence - they create a plan to burn the wolf, and make use of it. At the end, the big, bad wolf is unexpectedly killed by a group of three laughable pigs.

It seemed important to me that the pigs had the characteristics that they did. They were shy, but also extremely rational - the same characteristics that I possessed. They were also respectable, noble figures, which is what I wanted to be. I related to the pigs and I believed in them, and because of this, I understood the story so much more.

I believe that the purpose of myths, legends, and fairytales is to bombard the reader with morals and lessons, but also to provide a connection to the reader, in order to ensure that they absorb the story on a higher level. This relationship may have to go to an extreme to be heard, for example, having to using a stereotype. This allows the reader to understand the characters more deeply, but also may imply an offensive generalization. Repeatedly, the same archetypes are used, no matter how politically incorrect they may be. The fact is that they do work - which is why archetypes have existed for so many years.

Often in fairytales one will find that beauty, courage, intelligence, and strength are all admired. For example, in The Three Little Pigs, three small pigs use their knowledge, and are able to outsmart the fierce wolf. The moral of the story is that a person, regardless of their size, is able to overcome any obstacle with the usage of their intellectual skills. However, a problem exists when incorporating this moral with such a variety of people. How should a little person with a low mental capacity feel when they discover that they would be incapable of killing the wolf? The moral does not apply to everyone, which can obviously be quite offensive.

Thus, it is important to understand that these stories are fabricated, and it is imperative that children understand this as well. Over and over again, children learn stereotypes, and cannot comprehend that these stereotypes belong in a fictitious world. Society is plagued due to the expansion of stereotypes, and if fairytales are unable to help put an end to stereotypes, they are unable to provide children with a worthy purpose.