Ann Kraeger
Rosalie Owens
LITR341
22 April 2012
The Evolving
Tale of Swine and Their Canine Adversary
The
influence of culture can be seen on just about every aspect of a society, from its
tastes in food to the movies that are produced, the books that are written, and
the stories that are told to little children.
This influence is also a matter of evolution, changing and developing
along with its attitudes and mores. A good example of this evolutionary process
can be seen in the changes that have been made to folk and fairy tales,
especially in the last century. The idea of this evolutionary process is best
described by the blogger, Lethologica when he said,
“In the hands of the numerous authors who have shaped them,
fairytales springing
from a single
core theme have told vastly different stories, fulfilling different purposes,
having different outcomes and teaching
different lessons and values… fairytales, as a
whole are
constantly evolving to reflect the needs of society.”
A close examination of the familiar favorite, “The
Three Little Pigs,” and some of its variants aptly demonstrates the imprint of
culture as the times have changed. The
basic story remains the same but the variations that are seen reflect
influences that are religious, ideological, political, and simply fun.
A brief
synopsis of the story is a good place to begin so that changes along the way
may be easily pointed out as the tale progresses through the century. It is a simple tale really, the mother pig,
unable to sustain herself and her three young ones sends them off to make their
own way in the wide world. Each piglet,
according to its own abilities constructs for itself a home. A predator in the form of a wolf comes along
and devastates the homes of the first two piglets. Alas both of these piglets are consumed by
the wolf since their houses are so poorly built and the piglets are so easily
overcome. The wolf then threatens the
third piglet in the same way but to no avail since the third home is solidly
built of bricks. The two then enter into
a battle of wits which the piglet ultimately wins and the wolf is boiled alive
and the pig eats him instead; end of story.
This version of the story of pigs and wolf comes from one of the
earliest credited to, according to Soden, “English author, Joseph Jacobs, when he adapted
the story for a book titled, ‘English Fairy Tales.’” (Sodon 2) This then will be the measuring stick against
which all the other tales will be compared.
One of the first
changes made to the tale of pig and wolf was to make the story more
child-friendly. Though Long quotes
Jacobs thus (in English Folk and Fairy
Tales, 1890), “it’s just right for small children—lively with action, with
repetitive patterns of language and incident and a villain whose fate precisely
fits his crime” (Long 171), it seems that modern society would disagree with
that opinion. In Wiesner’s retelling of
the tale, though the wolf does ultimately die in the very same way, the author
chooses to be less graphic with the details of the villain’s demise. Instead David Wiesner chooses to couch the
gory details in a busy array of comic book like illustrations, bubbles of
dialogue, and a confusing sprinkling of letters that may or may not spell out
the ultimate sentence of the wolf. This
can be taken as a far kinder and gentler way of ending the life of the wolf and
preserving the sensibilities of the young to whom the story will be read than
letting them know the harsh truth. This
type of change to the classic tale can be filed under ideological. This is not the only way that the pigs and
wolf have been manipulated, however.
The next example is one
more of interpretive manipulation rather than a change in the telling of the
tale. When Professor Schwartz gets hold
of the tale of the poor pigs and the insatiate wolf it is told in the same
fashion as the original is with the same deathly outcome but the meaning that
can be gleaned from the telling of this tale seems to be what needs to have
some adjustment. Rather than
interpreting the story to mean, as Sodon stated it, “that hard work and
dedication pay off,” (Sodon 2) Professor Schwartz chooses another
interpretation altogether. The Professor
finds religious parallels in such details of the story as “The ‘hair of my
chinny-chin chin” is…the beard…a well-known symbol of the Jewish race”
(Schwartz 1), “the Angel of Death, the forces of chaos…aptly symbolized by the
wolf,” (Schwartz 1), and “Providence, evidenced by the uncanny feat of a couple
of pigs outrunning a wolf” (Schwartz 2) all to convince the reader that the
story has religious undertones.
Underneath still the tale of “The Three Little Pigs” yet the story has
been interpreted in light of the Jewish faith.
Simply a new twist on the tale to fit the needs of the culture or
society that is reading the story. But
the fun of playing with the pigs and the much beleaguered wolf does not end
here.
Garner in his version
of this much retold tale goes beyond simply nodding to the current centuries’
need for political correctness; he bows and scrapes to it. The pigs are portrayed as “liv[ing] together
in mutual respect and in harmony with their environment” (Garner 291), or in
the language of the day, “green.” Also,
rather than portraying the wolf as bad, which may be offensive, after all that
is what political correctness is all about, he is said to have “expansionist
ideas” (Garner 291), a kinder and gentler phrase. This retelling is all about telling the story
but not offending anyone in the process.
So much for politics and fairy tales, but it does make for an amusing
reading of this beloved tale if the reader does not take the changes too
seriously. That is the trick behind all
of the changes to the retelling of “The Three Little Pigs,” do not take them
too seriously, since there are even changes that are just that, simply amusing
ones.
Finally, there are
those authors who have looked at this beloved tale and see not a vehicle for
political or religious views but something that is purely fun. Author Jon Scieszka did just that when he
wrote, The True Story of The 3 Little
Pigs!. Maybe it was sympathy for the
plight of the wolf or simply a desire to tell the wolf’s side of the story but
this retelling of the oft told tale is not only fun but humorous and totally
without politics or offense. The wolf
claims that he was framed for the whole thing then lets the reader decide
whether he is telling the truth or not.
A simple explanation for the whole chain of events in the eyes of the
wolf but as he claims,
“They figured a
sick guy going to borrow a cup of sugar didn’t sound very exciting.
So they jazzed up
the story with all of that ‘Huff and puff and blow your house down.’
And they made me
the Big Bad Wolf.” (Scieszka 29)
That is the fun in this retelling of “The Three Little Pigs,” that
the story has been told from a different point of view and the reader if left
laughing at the wolf’s antics instead of wrestling with an agenda.
Whether fun, politics,
religion, or ideology is the reason behind the author’s retelling of the
beloved old tale, “The Three Little Pigs,” all of these motives seem to fit
beautifully into its framework. As
society changes and evolves so too do the stories that make up that society
evolve and change. Good examples of
those changes can be seen when reading the folk and fairy tales as they are
told and retold down through the centuries.
An examination of the changes to the classic tale of “The Three Little
Pigs” demonstrates the influences of societal changes in politics, ideology,
religion, and sometimes a need to just have fun retelling the story.
Works Cited
Jacobs, Joseph. “The Story of the Three Little
Pigs.” Folk & Fairy Tales. Ed.
Martin Hallett and
Barbara
Karasek. 4th ed. Ontario: Broadview Press. 2009. 289-291. Print.
Garner,
James Finn. “The Three Little Pigs. Folk
& Fairy Tales. Ed. Martin Hallett and Barbara
Karasek. 4th ec. Ontario:
Broadview Press. 2009. 291-292. Print.
LONG,
JOANNA RUDGE. "Some Pigs!." Horn Book Magazine 85.2 (2009):
171-178.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 18
Apr. 2012.
Schwartz, Professor Rumplestiltskin, “The Three
Little Pigs: A Quintessential Jewish Allegory
in
Deceptive Disguise?”. Jewish Action.
Spring 2000. Web. p.1-2.16 April 2012.
Scieszka, Jon. The
True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs. New York: Penguin Putnam Books. 1989.
Print.
Soden, J. M. “What Is the Moral Lesson of the
Three Little Pigs?” eHow.com. 2010.
16 April
Trivizas, Eugene. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. New York: Margaret K
McElderry Books. 1993. Print.
Lethologica. “Seeking Cinderella: A Brief Glimpse
of the Evolution of Fairytales.
12
March 2011. Online posting. serendip. 20
April 2012.
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