In Favor of Sex Education in Schools Essay - 2244 Words

Sex education is a major subject of interest among teenagers mostly during the puberty period. The puberty period is usually characterized by increased sexual desires and maturity of the sexual organs. Sex education is of most importance during this period in order to avoid deadly mistakes. The argument over sex education started in the early 1960’s when the government sponsored a sex education campaign in schools worth $176 million (Lemken 2). This innovation aroused the interest of many prestigious American citizens and the debate on the legalization of sex education became more intense. It is noted that towards late 1960, after the pros and cons of sex education had been analyzed, it was finally legalized in the U.S. An American†¦show more content†¦An example is cited by Danelle Karth, the author of Does Sex Education in Schools Encourage Teen Sex? She narrates how her grandmother was misinformed that kissing a boy could lead to pregnancy. As a result of this mis information, she indulged in other sexual activities excluding kissing; hence she became pregnant at a tender age. If she had proper sex education, she would have known how to avoid the pregnancy. Another example was given by the same author about how a boy was wrongly informed that if a girl touches his penis, he will feel unbearable pains. The day, he was touched, he felt sexually aroused and he had sex with the girl. This shows where sex education comes in, with sex education, teenagers get the right knowledge about the sexuality of their bodies, thereby preventing unforeseen mishap such as unwanted pregnancies. Moreover, sex education enlightens teenagers on how to respect their sexual organs. The lack of sex education creates room for one to disrespect his/her body. For example, if not taught the proper names and the importance of the pubic region, a teenager may not attach so much importance to it thereby misnaming and misusing it. Likewise, if a teenager notices new occurrences in his/her body, he/she may be scared due to the absence of sex education. For example, a young sexually uneducated girl might be really afraid during her first menstruation. She might think it is a wound and as such might notShow MoreRelatedSingle Sex Classes Should Not Be Incorporated Into Schools Essay1523 Words   |  7 PagesSingle-sex education consists of separating male and female students and teaching them in different schools or classes. Although controversial and often looked as antiquated, more Americans have been considering single-sex schools as a viable option since the early 2000’s. The rea son? With various problems public school education faces, many parents have been looking at single-sex education as a potential solution to some of those problems. In addition, with the very convincing gender rhetoric thoseRead MoreTeenage Pregnancy And Teenage Pregnancies1364 Words   |  6 Pagesand concise grasp of sex. Sexual education is typically incorporated into an academic setting either in middle school or high school when an adolescent is hitting puberty. But, teaching sexual education to teenagers when their hormones are off the roof is like telling a child not to eat a cake after they had just consumed it—not very helpful. If a child is taught at an early age about sexual education, staring in elementary school, rather than in high school or middle school, it will reduce the riskRead MoreA Study On Sex Education1081 Words   |  5 Pagesbook Teaching, Sex, sex education first appeared in 1913 when Chicago public schools instituted a lecture series for girls and , separately boys, on â€Å"physiology, moral hygiene, and venereal disease†. Americans have viewed adolescent sexuality as an impulse to be controlled, or better, repressed. Sex education has mainly aimed at saving teenage girls from having early sex, and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Alfred Kinsey discovered that girls and boys started having sex at younger agesRead MoreSingle sex schools or Coed schools1395 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Single sex schools have many benefits and are as equally good as coeducation schools. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Single Sex Schools or Coeducation Schools It is a controversial topic that between single sex schools and mixed schools has been ongoing for a long time. Some people think sex-segregated schools have similar impact on juvenile’s achievement as coeducational schools. This essay will explain why I disagree with this statement. In my perspective, althoughRead MoreCo-Education and Islam907 Words   |  4 Pageshave to say regarding co-education in schools? What are your viewpoints regarding this? Please elaborate on the pros and cons of such a system. Two popular arguments in favor of co-education are: 1. Coeducation builds confidence in a person and makes him/her a more complete person to live in a real world. In other words, studying in the same-sex education system makes a person lack in self confidence. 2. Another argument given by the proponents of co-education is that a person’s moralRead MoreTeenage Pregnancies And Std Contraction1342 Words   |  6 Pagesin rates of teenage pregnancies and STD contraction. What is it about the US and its approach to sexual education that produces such numbers amongst its youth? The prevailing sexuality education system in the US is abstinence-only sex education programs. Abstinence-only-until-marriage education in schools is highly destructive to its students in multiple ways. Abstinence-only sexuality education does more harm to students than good, and is shown to have adverse effects on its students. The CDC YouthRead MoreSex Education And Its Effects On The Body And Physiology1507 Words   |  7 Pagesphysiology. Adults, family, schools, and friends influence them and teach them about the world and the changes they are going to experiment, but how does an adult approach children and teenagers about sex? New ideas and debates have formed concerning how to educate the youngsters on the topic of sex: whether parents should explain their children about the birds and the bees, or schools need a course to educate students about sexual activity. This paper is going to examine sex education from different perspectives:Read MoreDo Same-Sex High Schools Promote Educational Success?1584 Words   |  7 PagesDo Same-Sex High Schools Promote Educational Success? By Kyle Neugebauer 3/11/2012 In this paper I am going to try to persuade you that same-sex high schools promote educational success. Single-sex education is an old approach that has recently gained new momentum. When we think about single-sex education, we tend to think just about private schools; however, there is a new push to create same-sex education in public schools as well. There are several arguments and statistics I will useRead MoreSame Sex Education Is The Wrong Choice For America s Youth876 Words   |  4 Pagessame-gender schools are starting to show up in public school systems across America. (Guarisco) Some ill-informed members of society believe that same-sex education is the wrong choice for America’s youth. Guarisco states arguments include that segregation leads to more rigid and traditional gender roles. However, schools that have implemented same-gender classes have seen promising results in grades and more support for same-gender education. Also, if a child wishes to attend a s ingle-sex school in AmericaRead MoreSex Education Programs Vs. Abstinence Essay1647 Words   |  7 Pagesissues they have to deal with is the risk of dangerous sexual behaviors and early pregnancies. Sex education programs in schools are clashing over comprehensive-sex education programs versus abstinence-only education programs. Abstinence-only programs not only instill morals, but the program helps prevent sex before marriage, prevents teen pregnancy, and the spread of STDs. The comprehensive-sex education programs helps kids make better decisions when it comes to sexual activity, they help prevent

Persuasive Essay About My Favorite Movie - 754 Words

For as long as I can remember the Adventures of the Wilderness Family has been my favorite movie. I was fascinated by how close to nature Pat, Skip, Jenny, and Toby were and particularly how close to wildlife they were. Every time I watched that movie I was just in awe of how beautiful it was and how they could sustain themselves and persevere through anything including multiple animal attacks. When I was a kid I always imagined running free in a field filled with flowers and being so close to nature and feeling free to explore my own little world. I have watched this movie countless times and have purposely never examined any faults the movie might have because I enjoyed it exactly the way it was. I never looked at it and actually saw†¦show more content†¦Whenever a character got attacked they seemed to take it really lightly, when realistically that is life-threatening. Childhood me really appreciated this movie for the kind of life I hoped to live when I got older. As a kid I would spend a lot of time by the pond outside my dad’s house and exploring the woods and backyard with my brothers and my Dad and watching this movie made me look toward the possibility of one day living a life that ultimately felt free from my parents’ issues and social conflicts and allowed me to find the heart and soul of who I am and depend on myself as I felt in a way I always had. As a kid I felt like the odd duck out sometimes and felt trapped between my parents as I still do today, so moving to a place like Gunnison National Forest seemed like the ultimate sense of freedom to me. I wasn’t looking for a place where I felt like I was free from all of the issues I had to deal with growing up and I could thrive as an individual without having to worry about having the coolest new things that my elementary peers had before it was uncool or eventually about having the latest Apple products or designer handbags. A lesson this movie really pushes to heart on its viewers is the importance of reducing materialistic values. During the time that this movie was produced America started becoming more urban and building new cities. The start of the movie takesShow MoreRelatedSimilarities Between Me And Matilda, Roald Dahl Fame1132 Words   |  5 Pagesadoration of the library. Like her, I would bring piles, bags full, of books home with me at each visit. Of course, it was helpful that my parents were nothing like Matilda’s so they happily filled the role of pack mule, allowing me to just pick all the books I wanted as I passed along. I will stop all analogies there and confess that â€Å"BFG† is actually my favorite Dahl book. Going to the library is something that nearly every child loves to do. Fresh off of learning to read, it feels like a secretRead MoreMy Reflection Of Writing1579 Words   |  7 PagesThis semester I wrote three essays; a review essay, annotated bibliography, an d a research paper. As I wrote these essays I learned what they were, why they are written, and why people use these to obtain information. Throughout this course I enjoyed writing the essays and learning new things from what I was writing about. Although some were not easy I still took my time and made sure they were perfect in my eyes. While taking this class I learned a new perspective of writing these specific papersRead MoreHow Joss Whedon Does Not Have An Origin As Dramatic1764 Words   |  8 Pagesstory is almost as unbelievable in filmmaking today: a transformation from a typecast fan favorite to the writer and director of some of the most successful movies of all time. He began his career as a lesser-known—but undeniably talented—sitcom writer in 1988, but his fame in Hollywood really began when Marvel sought him out in 2010 to write and direct The Avengers. Whedon’s varied experience in the movie industry, unique skill set, and passions for writing and creating made him the perfect fitRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie The Cheeks Were Red 1717 Words   |  7 PagesLong before Woody Allen’s jasmine was blue, his cheeks were red over an allegation about a midnight not in Paris, but in his attic. He was called an irrational man within the halls of his own home in Manhattan, putting Allen in a new kind of spotlight. After ending his twelve-year relationship with Mia Farrow, accusations arose claiming that Mr. Allen had molested the couples adopted daughter Dylan when she was seven. However, despite the precarious circumstances in which the allegations arose, bothRead MoreSynthesis Paper - Papparazzi1930 Words   |  8 PagesSynthesis Paper English 111 Lights, Camera, and Tactics Have you ever wondered where the photo of your favorite celebrity came from? Who took it? How much was paid for the photo? Was anyone injured or harassed in the process of taking this photo? Do celebrities have a right to privacy? This essay takes a look at the paparazzi, the celebrities, the tactics used to take the pictures, and the tactics used to avoid a photo from being taken. The Paparazzi The paparazzi are possibly the mostRead MoreTypes of Media4351 Words   |  18 PagesNewsletters also form an important part of print media. These target a specific group of audience and give information on the product. Brochures: Brochures give detailed information about the product. These are mainly distributed at events or even at the main outlet when a consumer needs to read in detail about the product. Posters: Posters are forms of outdoor advertising. The message in a poster has to be brief and eye catching as it targets a person on the move. Apart from these mediaRead MoreSituational Analysis: 7th Grade Language Arts6569 Words   |  26 PagesAfrican-American. 6 students are East Indian. 3 students are Asian. 2 students are Russian. Special Education students: No special education. Additional considerations: There 2 students who are part of a religious group who do not want their children learning about other creational myths. We explained to the parents, etc. that we are not promoting anything, etc. Principal is supportive with this. We have accommodated for them by allowing them to opt out of this lesson and in turn write a short paper describingRead MoreAllegory of the Cave Plato6021 Words   |  25 PagesDaynise Wendt Paul Zintgraff English Comp I April 5, 2013 Persuasive Essay Bliss Most people live in a world of relative ignorance; we are comfortable with this unawareness because it is all we know. Platos Allegory of the Cave† captures the essence of the journey to enlightenment. Clearly, the thought of sameness and normality thinking has transcended from Platos time to today. Thus, the allegory is relevant to contemporary essential life. Organizations are known for fostering a cultureRead MoreMedia Violence9754 Words   |  40 Pagesnormalization of aggression and the lack of empathy in our society. Study after study has shown that viewing encourages aggression and desensitization in children. The debate is over. Media violence causes violence among those who are exposed to it. This essay describes how the depiction of violence is evolving in a number of media formats. It analyzes how, and why, violence is used by entertainment and information industries. It offers an overview of research findings, an outline of government responsesRead MoreFun with Literature10373 Words   |  42 Pagesdiscretion. I use the movie â€Å"Cat’s Eye† as a companion to this story because the ï ¬ rst story in the movie is based on â€Å"Quitters Inc.† Two differences: Dick Morrison’s son is a daughter in the movie (played by Drew Barrymore) and a cat is used for the â€Å"rabbit room.† We also read â€Å"The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket† by Jack Finney. If you choose to show the entire movie â€Å"Cat’s Eye,† the second story is called â€Å"The Ledge.† It is not similar in theme, but you could talk about the similarities as characters

The Media and Mass Misinterpretation of Islam Essays

The Media and Mass Misinterpretation of Islam As the cross is the symbol of Christianity, the Star of David the symbol of Judaism, the Crescent Moon and Star are supposedly the symbols of Islam. Islam at its core is a peaceful religion, which like many other religions over the ages has at times been misunderstood not only as to the values it preaches, but also in relation to its core beliefs. Although in today’s post September 11th world Islam and its followers, who are also known as Muslims, tend to be associated with acts of terrorism, the Middle East and anti-American beliefs, Islam at its core is radically different than what most people perceive it to be. Being the fastest-growing religion in the world, Islam’s 1.2 billion†¦show more content†¦Even if you stretch out your hand against me to kill me, I shall not stretch out my hand against you to kill you. â€Å"If anyone murders an [innocent] person, it will be as if he has murdered the whole of humanity. And if anyone saves a person it will be as if he has saved the whole of humanity. Though these two quotes are just a sample of the hundreds which can be found within the Quran, where it plainly states that violence is contradictory to the Muslim religion, there are some excerpts where it appears that the Quran does actually condone acts of aggression against others. In an effort to resolve these contradictions the Muslim scholars at the renowned Institute for the Secularization of Islamic Society (ISIS) have stated in MSN reporter Seth Stevenson’s article, Islam? A Peaceful Religion, that these â€Å"sword verses† came into the Muslim religion after the Muslim prophet Mohammed gained considerable military strength and still lacked converts amongst the Jews and Christians. Another one of the major problems, which effectively highlights the fact that Islam is gravely misunderstood in today’s Western world, is the symbol most non-Muslims associate with Islam. The mere suggestion that the Crescent Moon and Star aren’t the true symbols of Islam would seem almost comic to most educated Westerners seeing as these two items, with the help of our media and news outlets, have become almost synonymous with theShow MoreRelatedInspire, The, And Inspire The Believers Essay1157 Words   |  5 Pagesbombs used in the attack. The Boston Bombers are praised in â€Å"Remembering Boston† by Qadhi Bishr. In the opening â€Å"Editor’s Letter† Yahya Ibrahim states, â€Å"Muslims continue to face the results and consequence of the fierce crusade aggression against Islam.† He praises the 9/11 attacks as â€Å"the blessed 9/11 attacks,† and calls on Muslims in the West to join in jihad â€Å"in the cause of the events of 9/11.† He asserts that the â€Å"Mujahidin took an oath to defend the honor of the Prophet Muhammad,† siting theRead MoreReligious Terrorism : Islamic Terrorism1586 Words   |  7 Pages It also does not help that today’s social media thrives off of rude and belligerent internet memes that portrays just an average Middle-Eastern man as a awful, blood-shedding menace. There is one religion that is always directly connected to the basic terrorist stereotypes, and that religion would be Islam. Islam is defined as the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah. Though Islam produces the majority of terrorists, not allRead MoreThe Islamic State Of Iraq And Syria2095 Words   |  9 PagesRecently, much media attention has been given to the radical terrorist group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). To many, this group is a representation of Islam and affirms the stereotype that Islam is comprised of radical terrorists that are cruel to women, children, and minorities. Commonly, Westerners maintain that Muslims oppose peace and, instead, are set on converting everyone to Islam. This paper, therefore, will examine the basic tenants and beliefs of ISIS and compare them to mainstreamRead MoreAnti Islam Sentiments On American Culture Essay1696 Words   |  7 PagesThough there is a seemingly massive amount of people who have just now come out with anti-Islam sentiments, it is clear that this is not really the case. Citing the radical policy suggestions and bans suggested by Donald Trump, there is also reference to American history and how the citizens of America are, unlike Europe and Asia, products of immigrants who chose to come to America (aside from slaves and Native Americans). Citing journalist Rose Wilder Lane in 1936, they take her quote that saysRead MoreDoes Islam Encourages Conflict And Terrorism As Well As Establish Why Islam2199 Words   |  9 Pages This section aims to establish whether Islam encourages conflict and terrorism as well as establish why Islam is under the limelight and seen as a violent religion. This section of my project will be employing statistical and thematic analysis strategies so a better understanding can be made to the empirical data gathered. Within exploring my research, diverse themes stood out. A range of 30 News articles were coded identifying negative depiction. (See Figure 1:5) Islamophobia attacks have risenRead MoreIslamic Religion Of Islam And Islam2553 Words   |  11 Pagesthese four words establish the fundamental explanation of the word Islam. A deep study of Islamic teachings and thought reveals that Islam is a religion of peace, security and protection; the true believers in the sight of God and His Messenger are those who embody those qualities. The dominant religion of Islam has been the center of much attention and controversy in today’s civilization. The Western perspective s ubjugates Islam and the Muslim counterparts as violent, aggressive, deviant and terroristic;Read MoreThe Phenomenon Of Violent Political Islamism3203 Words   |  13 Pages3. Discuss the phenomenon of violent political Islamism. What are its origins, aims and grievances? How ought we to deal with the phenomenon? Political Islam, or Islamism, is the instrumental use of Islam to pursue socio-political objectives. Islam in this case is not merely a religious construct, but a political ideology. Individuals, groups, and organisations pursue political ideas and programs based on Islamic principles and concepts. They aim to implement Islamic law (Sharia) in both the publicRead MoreResearch Design And Methods Of Public Schools1435 Words   |  6 Pagessame study analyzed adult’s knowledge of different religions from around the world. The study found American adults over the age of 20 scored poorly . The theme addressed here refers to the idea that to fight ignorance, you educate people. The media portrays mass amounts of negativity for example regarding issues in the Middle East. Since 9/11, â€Å"Muslims† have been associated with terrorism and extremist views. Yet, little do people understand the extreme radical views that Americans believe to be installedRead MoreIn recent year s, a small piece of cloth has managed to cause quite a stir. The scarf, or hijab,1600 Words   |  7 Pagesgroups. With many different consumptions of religion, what it means, what is considered to be practicing and what is not can lead to negative misunderstandings. Ultimately the decisions are up to the individuals although; there is likely to be misinterpretation between the meaningfulness of religion to family and society. On an even bigger scale of things this could also impact society and it’s views towards the religion and those practicing it which can lead to unfair treatment. The importance andRead MoreThe Religion Of Islam And Islam3231 Words   |  13 PagesABSTRACT The religion of Islam has become a controversial issue in today’s 21st century. In spite of excessively negative representations by Western propaganda, increasing numbers of the population are pursuing to learn more about the wonderful religion of Islam. More frequently than not, these people are becoming more pleasantly startled by the product of their exploration. In fact, increasing numbers of people are embracing Islam nowadays then they did prior to the horrific attacks on September

Theme Of Money In The Great Gatsby - 1189 Words

The Great Gatsby is such a prominent novel of the 1920s. Many authors and critics have written on the impact of the novel even up until today. Fitzgerald expresses multiple themes to show the time and its importance. F. Scott Fitzgerald, in The Great Gatsby, reveals wealth, hope, and the demise of the American dream as major themes of his novel. Fitzgerald, interestingly enough, brings the importance of money into this novel early and refocuses on it often. Nick starts off the novel saying, Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had (Fitzgerald 3). He remembers his father noting this to him at a young age and has been mulling†¦show more content†¦The life Gatsby lived is so well expressed in the words spoken about the 1920s, F. Scott Fitzgerald would later describe as the greatest, gaudiest spree in history (Avey). Not only was the time ext ravagant, but so were those in lived in it and liked to show off their wealth. Gatsby, extravagant as it gets on the outside, used his wealth to try impress his one true love. Yet, this luxurious life style seemed to never live up to its hopes and dreams. All the money in the world couldnt buy Gatsby the one thing he wanted, Daisy. Hope is the the desire for something specific to happen. For the characters in The Great Gatsby, it seems that hope has been lost. The post World War I society was full of disillusioned and uncertain beings, many of which are resembled in the novel (San Jose State University). Gatsby is the poster child for disillusioned and uncertainty. Gatsbys entire life revolves around his hope in Daisy. The famous green light symbolizes Daisy, but more importantly Gatsbys hopes and dreams of what they could be. We see Gatsbys hope throughout the novel being revealed through the green light. The first time Nick actually sees Gatsby it is when Gatsby is on the end o f his dock reaching towards the green light. This shows how far off Gatsby is from reaching his beloved. Later on in he novel we come across the light again where Daisy and Gatsby are on the dock, and Fitzgerald says, Daisy put her armShow MoreRelatedThe Theme Of Money In The Great Gatsby879 Words   |  4 Pagesit, we all love money and want plentiful amounts of it. We yearn to be like the richest people in the world, who have so much money they can do whatever they want. Maybe some of us even want to be the richest person in the world, at this moment the richest man in the world is Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. He has a net worth of 90.6 billion dollars, something none of us will ever experience, but can dream about. But dreams pertaining to money can only get us so far. Money is a theme consistently expressedRead MoreThemes of Love and Money in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay687 Words   |  3 PagesA man named Nick moves into old money right next door to Jay Gatsby. Throug hout The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald discusses the American culture and themes that relates to Americans, such as the desire for material possessions, desire for love and The contrast between old money/new money. Fitzgerald discusses the desire for material possessions in The Great Gatsby by explaining the fact that Americans judge people by the possessions and the money they have. For example people pictured Tom as a godRead MoreTheme Of Money Throughout The Story Of The Great Gatsby By Philip K. Dick Essay1516 Words   |  7 PagesLiving in an advanced world, Joe Chip, who is always looking for coins to access places, learns the power of money that can either provide opportunities or put characters at risk. Throughout Philip K. Dick’s Ubik, the recurring theme of money greatly influences characters and causes them to act ambitiously. The desire to gain wealth play a major role which becomes the driving force of many events in the story. Characters perceive others based on their social status and treat them accordingly. RicherRead MoreThemes of The Great Gatsby Essay1040 Words   |  5 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a story that has many different themes. Fi tzgerald shows the themes that he uses through his character’s desires and actions. This novel has themes in it that we deal with in our everyday life. It has themes that deal with our personal lives and themes that deal with what’s right and what’s wrong. There are also themes that have to do with materialistic items that we deal desire on a daily basis. Fitzgerald focuses on the themes of corrupted love, immoralityRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Fitzgerald1296 Words   |  6 Pages The Great Gatsby Told by Nick Caraway, and written by Scott F. Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby is a classic novel that gives readers a glimpse inside the lives of the wealthy during the roaring 20s. The story follows the lives of Jay Gatsby, a man of new money, Daisy Buchanan, a married girl of old money, and Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s deceitful husband. Jay Gatsby is a man of mystery, with seemly unlimited funds, who throws ridiculous outrageous parties for no apparent reason. It’s learned that he hasRead More Comparison of A Farewell to Arms and The Great Gatsby Essay1267 Words   |  6 PagesComparison of A Farewell to Arms and The Great Gatsby The author’s style from Ernest Hemigway’s A Farewell to Arms differ from F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in many ways. Fitzgerald uses a more reflective style of writing meaning that he makes his characters reflect and the theme also includes reflection from the reader as well as the plot. On the other hand, Hemingway uses a more self-interest style with its theme, characters, and plot, meaning that he makes this book on hisRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1278 Words   |  6 PagesScott Fitzgerald continues to stun audiences of all ages with his magically written novel about romance, money, and despair. Though The Great Gatsby was not very popular when it was first released it has made up for lost time and is now one of the greatest classics in American literature and being read in classrooms all across the United States. What actually denotes a book as a classic or great, though? In my opinion, a lot of it has to do with what a p erson needs at the time. According to James LRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1343 Words   |  6 PagesHonors English 10 Shugart 18 Decemeber 2014 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life. The Great Gatsby is about the lives of four wealthy characters observed by the narrator, Nick Carroway. Throughout the novel a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby throws immaculate parties every Saturday night in hope to impress his lost lover, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby lives in a mansion on West Egg across from DaisyRead MoreSimilarities Between The Great Gatsby And Goodbye Columbus1743 Words   |  7 Pagesthat share the same theme. Sometimes they can have the same plot, but in the case of the two novels, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the novel Goodbye Columbus, by Philip Roth they explore the same dynamics of the American dream. In both novels there are similar themes of sex and money as a form of power. Both novels can relate to each other because the authors decided to show how the pursuit of the American dream may not always be a good thi ng, and how sex and money can cause problemsRead MoreThe American Work, The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1091 Words   |  5 Pagesmatter how great the author, eventually writer block ensues, casting a writer into a literary funk and halting the flow of thematic ideas; however, themes such as love and wealth transcend time, culture, and language. So it’s not difficult to think that famed authors, when in a pinch, often recycle broad themes to create a more compelling and relatable story. In the American work, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and its cinematic counterpart, directed by Baz Lutherman, themes such as wealth

Ryan Strassburger SAE Coming Of Age October 10, 1996 A Lesson Before D Essay Example For Students

Ryan Strassburger SAE Coming Of Age October 10, 1996 A Lesson Before D Essay ying In A Lesson Before Dying, Mr. Grant Wiggins life crises were the center of the story. Although he was supposed to make Jefferson into a man, he himself became more of one as aresult. Not to say that Jefferson was not in any way transformed from the hog he was into an actual man, but I believe this story was really written about Mr. Wiggins.Mr. Wiggins improved as a person greatly in this book, and that helped his relationshipswith other people for the most part. At the start of the book, he more or less hated Jefferson, butafter a while he became his friend and probably the only person Jefferson felt he could trust. Theturning point in their relationship was the one visit in which Jefferson told Mr. Wiggins that hewanted a gallon of ice cream, and that he never had enough ice cream in his whole life. At thatpoint Jefferson confided something in Mr. Wiggins, something that I didnt see Jefferson doingoften at all in this book.I saw a slight smile come to his face, and it was not a bitter smile. Not bitter at all; thisis the first instance in which Jefferson breaks his somber barrier and shows emotions. At thatpoint he became a man, not a hog. As far as the story tells, he never showed any sort of emotionbefore the shooting or after up until that point. A hog cant show emotions, but a man can. Thereis the epiphany of the story, where Mr. Wiggins realizes that the purpose of life is to help makethe world a better place, and at that time he no longer minds visiting Jefferson and beginsbecoming his friend. Mr. Wiggins relationship with his Aunt declined in this story, although it was never very strong. His Aunt treated him like he should be a hog and always obey, yet she wanted him tomake a hog into a man. His Aunt was not a very nice person, she would only show kindnesstowards people who shared many of her views, and therefore was probably a very hard person toget along with. The way Mr. Wiggins regarded his relationships most likely would have been differentwere he white. Mr. Wiggins feels, and rightly so, that several white men try to mock or make afool of him throughout the story. This was a time of racial discrimination with much bigotry, so ifthe story took place in the present, it would be much different. In fact, there probably would havenot even been a book because in the modern day, and honest and just jury would have found himinnocent due to the lack of evidence. It wasnt really clear what sort of situation Mr. Wiggins was in regarding money, but he could not have been too well off because he needed to borrow money to purchase a radio forJefferson, and he commented about the Rainbow Cafe: When I was broke, I could always get ameal and pay later, and the same went for the bar. I suppose he had enough money to get by,but not much extra. As the book progresses he probably had less money to work with due to themoney he was spending to buy the radio, comic books, and other items for Jefferson.Mr. Wiggins seemed to be well respected by the community, and he felt superior to otherAfrican Americans because he was far more educated than they were. That makes Mr. Wigginsguilty of not practicing what he preaches, although Jefferson probably made it clearer to himthat the less intelligent are still humans with feelings. At the start of the book, Mr. Wiggins didnot understand this. .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e , .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e .postImageUrl , .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e , .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e:hover , .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e:visited , .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e:active { border:0!important; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e:active , .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uccd633ac6055e63cc2d3665380fb9d0e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The House Of Representatives By Alexander Hamilton Essay He went to visit Jefferson because Miss Emma and his Aunt more or lessforced him to do it. He really had no motivation except that he would be shunned by his Aunt ifhe did not comply. The whole process of Mr. Wiggins development and the plot of this story both spawnfrom the crimes of two characters with no other relevance to the story. After the police foundJefferson at the liquor store with the dead bodies all around, he was of course taken to trial andthe times being what they were, he was convicted with very little doubt that he would be foundinnocent. Miss Emma, his godmother was afraid that he would die a hog and have lived ameaningless life. She wanted him Not to crawl to the white man, but to get up and walk to himat the end. At first Mr. Wiggins was not very concerned about Jefferson, he just wanted to pass thetime he had to spend with him, but then after a while he began to think of what it would feel like to be a dead man, and what he could do to make the time Jefferson had left to be the best theycould for him. This was the greatest achievement Mr. Wiggins accomplished in the entire book.He managed to be able to have pity upon Jefferson without empathy. After the point in which hediscussed the ice cream and the radio with Jefferson, and Jefferson admitted for the first time thathe was more than a hog, Mr. Wiggins truly cared. Mr. Wiggins developed greatly during the course of this story, along with othercharacters featured in the story. Vivian met new people and increased the quality of herrelationship with Mr. Wiggins, Miss Emma finally got to see someone stand for her, Tante Loulearned that she had a decent nephew after all, and Jefferson got off of his four legs and stood.The End!

Has Disneyfication destroyed the traditional folk tale and damaged childrens illustrated literature Essay Example For Students

Has Disneyfication destroyed the traditional folk tale and damaged childrens illustrated literature? Essay Has Disneyfication destroyed the traditional folk tale and damaged childrens illustrated literature? Contents 3. Introduction 4. The Death of the Seven Dwarves 5. Folk Tales 6. Rant #1 7. Input ~ Laurence Anholt writes 8. Beauty and the Beast 9. Cartoons, Capitalism, Commerce and Conjecture 13. Walter Elias Disney 18. Forum 21. I Relent 22. Sycophant 24. Rant #2 26. Tex Avery 27. Cutting Edge and Contemporary with Typographical Twists 31. Conclusion 33. Bibliography / Reference Introduction Having decided to produce a childrens book as part of my Degree course, I initially considered writing a contemporary version of one of the old folk or fairy tales, possibly a story by Hans Christian Andersen or a tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. I narrowed my selections and decided tentatively on a reworking of the classic folk tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I immediately tried to blank all thoughts of Happy, Dopey, Sneezey, Bashful, Sleepy, Grumpy and Doc, but this proved harder than expected. How do you go about renaming, individualising and illustrating characters that are so firmly ensconced in the memories of children all over the world? Disneys monopolising of the fairy/folk tale genre and mass marketing of the characters as toys appeared to limit my options of adapting the Snow White story to a. Mocking the Disney version in the tale itself. or b. Radically departing from the original story and imagery. both of which seemed quite appealing. I finally decided on a subtle combination of both options, but resolved to look further into Disneys domination and desecration of folk tales, myths, fables and classic childrens literature. The Death of the Seven Dwarfs On a high plain between Brugg and Waldshut, near the Black Forest, seven dwarfs lived together in a small house. Late one evening an attractive young peasant girl, who was lost and hungry, approached them and requested shelter for the night. The dwarfs had only seven beds, and they fell to arguing with one another, for each one wanted to give up his bed for the girl. Finally the oldest one took the girl into his bed. Before they could fall asleep a peasant woman appeared before their house, knocked on the door, and asked to be let inside. The girl got up immediately and told the woman that the dwarfs had only seven beds, and that there was no room there for anyone else. With this the woman became very angry and accused the girl of being a slut, thinking that she was cohabiting with all seven men. Threatening to make a quick end to such evil business, she went away in a rage. That same night she returned with two men, whom she had brought up from the bank of the Rhine. Together they broke into the house and killed the seven dwarfs. They buried the bodies outside in the garden and burned the house to the ground. No one knows what became of the girl. Documented by Ernst Ludwig Rochholz 1856 Translation by D. L. Ashliman 1998 Whilst researching traditional fairy tales, particularly those collected by the Brothers Grimm, it became apparent to me that Disneyfication has impeded the natural evolution of the folk tale and, to some extent, tainted childrens illustrated literature and animation as a whole. Clearly my introductory tale The Death of the Seven Dwarfs would now be construed as being in bad taste: and rightly so, if considered purely in the context of 20th/21st century childrens books, and of course its an extreme example. But initially traditional folk-tales werent necessarily childrens stories, they just became so during the natural evolution of the story due to the oral traditions of times past; each re-telling would elicit new twists and variations on a fable, some subtle and engaging, others decidedly grim. In the words of writer Joseph Campbell, these stories are Told and retold, losing here a detail, gaining there a new hero, disintegrating gradually in outline, but re-created occasionally by some narrator. In his book The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology Campbell describes the folk-tale as an art on which the whole community of mankind has worked, and as if in warning to Disney himself asserts Clearly, mythology is no toy for children. Many children dont like them and many adults do C. S. Lewis on the subject of fairy tales. In my opinion the preceding old Swiss version of the tale, though cutting and concise, is far more exciting, charming and evocative than anything in Walt Disneys celluloid outing. Did Snow White really require such a nauseatingly saccharine sweet voice? Did they have to give the dwarfs memorably endearing/stupid names? Of course, I wouldnt want any young child of mine to encounter the language and brutality described in the previous text, but corny, clean-cut sentimentality, moralising, and censorship are just as, if not more offensive. My other reason for recounting The Death of the Seven Dwarves is to illustrate how the Disney machine has desecrated classic storytelling, and deigned to stamp its own sterile mark, not only on early folk tales, but also enduring favourites such as Alice in Wonderland or Tarzan. To me, sanitising great literature is plummeting to the depths of bad taste but thats not to say it shouldnt be mocked or satirized. Perhaps, during my research I was in danger of becoming a little too biased against the Disney Corporation: I need, after all, to try and balance the companys good and bad points and it certainly does have its good points. Maybe political correctness, the ever-changing moral climate, and the fickle and erratic tastes of children and parents, have a part to play in this matter. To give balance to my deliberations I decided to get a second opinion on the matter. I wrote to Catherine and Laurence Anholt, Double Gold Award winners of the NestlÃÆ'ƒÂ © Smarties Book prize and named as Top 10 childrens authors in Britain by the Independent on Sunday; and I posed the following questions Has the Disneyfication of traditional folk tales and classic childrenquot;s literature Halted the natural evolution of the folk/fairy tale? Damaged childrenquot;s literature as a whole? Affected the way that you work? and in the same way has political correctness damaged/enhanced or in any way changed the folktale or childrens literature as a whole? In response to my inquiry Laurence Anholt writes Im not a huge fan of contemporary Disney, although I loved some of the earlier animations as a child, but I guess trad itional tales have always been moderated, contemporised or censored by each new generation, and you could argue that quot;Disneyficationquot; is a natural part of that process. Itquot;s a bit like complaining that slang defiles the English language, whereas in fact language is an organic, constantly changing thing, in which slang has always played an important part. Essentially I accept Mr. Anholts point, but I would like to suggest that, in the case of folk tales unlike childrens literary classics, where we have a concrete and definite reference point, the animation giant has permanently etched a number of distinctive characters each with their own particular idiosyncrasies and a clear-cut chain of events into our subconscious minds, effectively eradicating its organic and constantly changing nature. Take for example Beauty and the Beast; As a child, no matter how many illustrated interpretations of The Beast I saw depicted in countless editions of the story, my imagination could still conjure up its own grotesque, misshapen behemoth. Sadly Disneys gruff, yet cute and cuddly buffalo style creation has entrenched itself in our bookshelves, brains, and living rooms via The Disney Store and I fear that the great illustrated revisions of this particular tale, by countless artists from the past, such as Paul Woodroffe, Margaret Tarrant, Jessie Willcox Smith, W. Heath Robinson, Charles Robinson, Arthur Rackham, Margaret Evans Price, Peter Newell, Warwick Goble, H. J. Ford, Edmund Dulac, Walter Crane, Eleanor Vere Boyle and John Batten, not to mention more recent editions illustrated by Mercer Mayer in 1978 and Jan Brett in 1989 cannot compete with complete saturation of the marketplace. I hope I can follow the path these dark illustrators have walked, or at least use the sidewalk that runs alongside it. Lane Smith ~ Childrens book illustrator In essence, Disneys machine was designed to shatter the two most valuable things about childhood ~ its secrets and its silences ~ thus forcing everyone to share the same formative dreams. It has placed a Mickey Mouse hat on every little developing personality in America. As capitalism, it is a work of genius; as culture, it is mostly a horror. Richard Schickel The Disney Version At this point I would like to point out that Im certain Disney, in its infancy, didnt set out to erase our traditions, flood the marketplace with mass produced posters and playthings or brainwash anyone, but somewhere in the companys long history, either Walt, or at least one of his unscrupulous yet perceptive employees, decided to utilise their power, to exploit gullible consumers and to overlook minor little irritations like history and folklore. Conversely, in Disneys defence Anholt rightfully points out that Angela Carterquot;s superb retellings and the Opiesquot; collections of the original versions, remind us that fairytales were cleaned up and sentimentalised long before Disney got hold of them. Traditional fairytales are full of violence and even rape and I think the Victorians changed them quite dramatically for their young readers. The stories we were told as children were also softened. Itquot;s important to consider that the original stories grew out of an oral tradition and they were told to adults as well as children and were steeped in the brutality nd morality of their time. Anholt also states that although I personally loathe the sentimental, dollar-motivated, formulaic junk that spews out of Disneyland, I feel that classic stories are robust enough to stand a bit of a thrashing. I donquot;t know if you have read my Seriously Silly Stories, illustrated by Arthur Robins, but they are certainly not reverential to tradition. In fact I would go as far as to say that some aspects of traditional fairystories need a good shaking. And in reference to one of the aforementioned tomes Beauty and the Beast for example, is a beautiful story but it could have been written by Goebbels himself! I mean it is decidedly non politically correct and needs to be completely re-told in a contemporary light. My problem with Disney is that they donquot;t challenge enough. I could go at length, but in summary I donquot;t think we need to worry too much about quot;Disneyficationquot; children have never had a greater wealth of stories and pictures; some good, some lousy, and only the best will survive the test of time. On the subject of the adaptations of classic childrens literature, in particular the travesty that is Walt Disneyquot;s Alice in Wonderland I would like to refer to reviewer Dan Patanella, who pledges in his internet appraisal of the film that; No amount of contextualism, revisionism, conversations with caterpillars, or sampling alternate slices of giant mushrooms will convince anyone that Disneyquot;s Alice in Wonderland is a classic film. Itquot;s a time-filler. Disney turned the Tea Party into an amusing ride at his various theme parks, and thatquot;s perhaps the kindest thing I can say. Ever the conservative film, the Disney version of Alice follows the Hollywood tradition of mashing together Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass , using Carrolls bizarre characters as excuses for stunt casting , and presenting the final result as a whimsical, neutered fairy tale. Patanella informs us that prior to the presentation of the finished artwork, studio drawings suggested a blatant Tenniel influence, but that on completion of the project the clean lines and flat colours were reminiscent of a more recent animation style such as Hanna-Barbera. He goes on to assert that in this film Much of Carrolls wordplay is dumped, and what little retained is delivered in a fey, overly precious manner. Mr Patanella also quizzically contemplates the question of whether Alice in Wonderland could be described as Disneys worst animated full-length feature film; but ultimately deems this accusation a little unfair, considering the companys recent penchant for churning out straight to video sequels such as Aladdin. I was personally quite flabbergasted, recently, to see a television advertisement for Disneys latest venture: a DVD/Video sequel to 101 Dalmatians. What they appear to be feeding us here in 101 Dalmatians 2- Patchs London Adventure is a feature film sequel, that is not only 40 years too late, but one which has been preceded by the live-action version of the original film, as well as its live-action sequel. In this instance I think that the Disney Corporation is being a little too greedy and far too lazy for its own good and I think that, unfortunately, children brought up on a diet of tedious, run of the mill entertainment and audiovisual mediocrity will greet it with open arms and lazy parents will accept it as another animated quick-fix to silence their restless and understandably inquisitive offspring, whilst critics and those with a more selective appetite will justifiably shake their heads and simply yawn. In the same vein Dan Patanella states that Alice may very well be a suitable time-killer for undemanding children totally unfamiliar with the Lewis Carroll texts. All others will find the film annoying in proportion to their love of Carrolls writing, and hope that Disneys heirs dont revive the hookah-smoking caterpillar and the Mad Hatter in a direct-to-video sequel. Patanella also points out in his review that Uncle Walts input on the film was negligible, aside from obtaining the rights to use Tenniels original book illustrations as a basis for character outline and design, he also indicates the irony in that an early animated series by Walt Disney himself had the title Alice in Cartoonland and questions why Disney didnt shown more interest in the development of the project. In The Disney Version The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney, Author Richard Schickel informs us that, apparently the movie mogul didnt particularly care for the film personally and, in hindsight, bemoaned the fact that it was filled with weird characters The more he worked on it, the more he came to think of Alice herself as a prim and prissy little person, lacking in humour and too passive in her role in the story. Audiences, he felt, could not identify with her and he could not blame them much: neither could he. To me, this begs the question; is it Disney the man or Disney the company that I should be taking issue with? To clarify this point I decided to read a little more on the man himself. Could go on a Disney slagging off session as I hate everything he stood for politically. That, however, is not the point here. James Merry Illustrator/Animator Apparently, when Walter Elias Disney died of acute circulatory collapse on a December morning in 1966, his empire was at its zenith. The corporations balance sheets showed total profits at their highest since the companys inception in the early twenties. The character of Nora in A Doll's House EssayIf Disney hadnquot;t participated in telling those tales many children and adults may never have heard them at all. Perhaps they even encouraged the older versions to be retold over the years I never read The Little Mermaid until I saw the movie first and became interested in the story. What good is a book if it sits on the shelf? The beauty of a story is in the telling. You refer to the final version of the Beast that appeared in the film as some kind of branding iron that will burn all other versions of this character from the memory or imaginations of the public. Personally, I suggest you take a look at some of the concept art that was created in the planning stages for that film, they werenquot;t all sweet and the illustrations are fantastic, but again this is just one telling for the story by a team of artists. I doubt this or any other film, will eradicate any piece of inspiring artwork from a readerquot;s memory. Where in any Disney Marketing material do you see anyone telling consumers to overlook minor little irritations like history and folklore? No one is holding that child in his/her chair and saying Donquot;t you do it! Donquot;t you open that book! For Godquot;s sake, donquot;t READ it!! . Since Waltquot;s death, the lull that the Disney Company had in the early 80quot;s anybody remember The Black Cauldron. anybody and the resurgence and perverse expansion into every type of business they could become involved in I think many people have become bitter toward the Mouse and Mickey as more of corporate symbol than the character they loved as a child. Marketing, high prices at the Disney Store, and press coverage of Michael Eisner in court have diluted the Technicolor that once awed America on Sunday night television. But the heart and soul of the Disney Company has always been its feature-animated films, and every good film starts with a good story. -Lisa Mazzuca On Your Mark Design Graphics www. oymdesigngraphics. com Courageous storytelling ~ Although I have already accepted and conceded some of these points in my previous text, I have to say that I believe that it is this type of unadulterated hero worship and pitiful sycophancy and that has turned Walt Disney into both an American deity and, conversely, an object of disdain and ridicule. It seems to escape the minds of some people that Disney was, amongst other things, a businessman and predominantly interested in making money and not a saintly benefactor working for the good of mankind as Ms. Mazzuca would suggest. Surely it is no coincidence, as Gary Morris points out in his Bright Lights Film Journal that: these stories predate the copyright laws and were thus free to adapt. Making money has always played an important part in the make-up of the Disney corporation and I do not think that unwarranted fawning and flattering of the man can absolve him from any blame, he was after all an unabashed capitalist. I also cannot see how anyone could possibly submit Disneys The Little Mermaid as a positive example of an adapted folk tale, and extolling the virtues of concept art in the planning stages of Beauty and the Beast merely highlights the fact that these fantastic unsweetened drawings were not used in the final film. I do accept a point that many have made which suggests some of the earlier animated feature films were intentionally over-sweetened to combat the general gloom resulting from the Great Depression, but I think its important to remember that Disney wasnt the only animator at that time toying with folk and fairy tales, and some of these others didnt subscribe to Disneys sugary style. In one of Gary Morriss journal articles he informs us that Not everyone in Hollywood was so enamoured of order or happy endings or the sentimental school of mindless, grinning funny little animals. Amongst these renegades of Warner Brothers Termite Terrace were Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett and most notably Tex Avery. As Morris affirms Averyquot;s application of modernist elements to an ancient cultural form is the most complex and extreme of the lot. Between 1937 and 1949, whilst animating for Warner Bros. and M-G-M studios, Tex Avery made eight films based on or relating to fairy tales, namely: Little Red Wa lking Hood, Little Rural Riding Hood, Red Hot Riding Hood, Swing Shift Cinderella, Cinderella Meets Fella, The Bears Tale, A Gander at Mother Goose, and Blitz Wolf. Morris again explains that these animated shorts represent an assault on the Bettelheim school that sees fairy tales as the source of moral instruction for youth, and, closer to home, on the Disney aesthetic. Averyquot;s rendering of these ancient tales were produced to gratify the young and naive, as well as the more mature worldly-wise audience and to reverse the sentimentalist trend by bringing chaos out of order. For young audiences, Avery preserves the trappings of the genre ~ talking animals, supernatural events ~ and adds the cinematic touch of physical law constantly challenged. For adults, he litters his work with sexual innuendo and distancing devices that replace the sense of reassuring archetypes with a modernist construct that merges the story with its audience, puts adult preoccupations e. g. , sex in place of childrenquot;s, and imagines characters not as clueless tabula rasas awaiting moral enlightenment but as sophisticated, willful creatures with a bottomless bag o f tricks. Gary Morris The Fairy Tales of Tex Avery For a time, Avery was able to successfully remove the tired old characters of the big bad wolf and red riding hood from their safe and sacred sanctuary of the well-worn fantasy narrative and relocate them into a sleazy, urban landscape full of pool halls and nightclubs awash with lusty ladies, sinful suggestions and sarcastic side swipes: creating in the process a unique world of self-conscious cartoon actors who know theyquot;re in a cartoon and freely comment on their status as fictional creations, undercutting the story at every turn. So, are there any contemporary artists still willing to challenge the Disney aesthetic and produce childrens books and illustrated folk-tales with a harder edge? A name that was mentioned earlier in this discussion is that of Lane Smith, an artist renowned for distorting folk tales and fables. After meeting with writer Jon Scieszka in 1986 the inventive pair produced The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. The book, described by internet childrens book site Kidsreads. om as a wise-guy fairytale was initially rejected by most publishers for being too weird and too sophisticated but has now sold over a million copies, been translated into ten languages, and has been called a classic picture book for all ages. Their next venture which, incidentally, I recently purchased was a collection of anarchic interpretations of classic tales and fables called The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales and certainly breaks boundaries in the world of childrens illustrated literature. The book itself questions the principles and standard practices not only of folk-tales but even those of typography and publishing. For example: Take the opening tale, the classic Chicken Licken; One minute the story is running along smoothly in the traditional manner and then an odd little character, claiming to be Jack the Narrator appears shouting Wait a minute! Wait a minute! , only to inform us that he forgot to publish the contents page; The throng of familiar characters Goosey Loosey, Ducky Lucky etc. gnore this bizarre interlude and carry on their customary course until the Table of Contents falls from the sky and kills them all, leaving a twisted mass of typography and body parts. But of course its not purely Jon Scieszkas bizarre plot and the imaginative use of typography that makes this book so different and so successful; Lane Smiths beguiling use of all manner of media, from photomontage to printed textiles certainly strike the eye accordingly, in his weird and wonderful renderings of such tales as Cinderumplestiltskin and The Really Ugly Duckling. I was surprised to read that much of his sinister grainy work was not done using any spray-painting technique. As Smith himself explains: A lot of reviewers have misidentified my technique as airbrush or dyes or even egg tempera. I think this is because it almost looks as if it was sprayed with paint with little dots of color and texture visible. Actually, my work is rendered in oil paints. I paint on board, building up several thin glazes of the oil, sealing them between coats with an acrylic spray varnish. This not only dries the oil instantly, but also causes a chemical reaction between the oil and the acrylic. Normally, it would be a mistake to combine two opposites like this and in fact it was a mistake the first time I did it, but I liked the results. Iquot;m a big fan of artists who play with surfaces. I love texture and grunge. The trick is to know when to stop. Sometimes I keep adding more and more layers until Iquot;ve ruined the piece. Usually I stop when the painting starts to look interesting. Then I go in with a fine brush and add details, lights and darks, etc. Itquot;s a laborious process, but itquot;s unpredictable and it keeps me interested and surprised. This book retains its appeal to children as a familiar storybook, whilst attracting the adult graphic-novel readers, sells successfully worldwide, has won many awards and still manages to offend a few purists along the way. Another artist who works with a variety of media, styles and techniques is Lauren Child. I was interested in her innovative mix of naive-art, montage and creative typography, but particularly the combination of these techniques with digital media A recipe I have recently been experimenting with myself. In Whoquot;s Afraid of the Big Bad Book, the hero Herb falls into a book of fairytales, where he instigates a chaotic series of events, meets a tenacious and headstrong Goldilocks, is pursued by numerous recognizable individuals and ultimately gets rescued by his Fairy Godmother. Herb is also the star of Beware of the Storybook Wolves another Lauren Child book to mess about with the conventions of this genre. This time, the wolves from his bedtime story come alive to devour the boy, but the child tricks the wolves and again begins a madcap jaunt through a number of well-known fables, along with more of those notorious fairy tale characters and mocked clichÃÆ'ƒÂ ©s. Ilene Cooper, in her internet review of the book, states that The artwork is franticÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢ €šÂ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?strips of color serve as background for exuberant pen-and-watercolor pictures reminiscent of Quentin Blakes art, only kicked up one dizzy notch. Of course, having mentioned Quentin Blake, we are reminded of hi work with the late Roald Dahl and in particular their book of Revolting Rhymes which memorably satirised a number of tales, again including Little Red Riding Hood. In Dahls last picture book he teamed up with illustrator Patrick Benson to produce a book that almost straddles genres; a contemporary tale that, whilst featuring deep dark forests, a throng of little people, a largely unseen beast and a general feeling of foreboding, still manages to retain a modern, upbeat, quality largely due to Bensons twisting on the old cross-hatching style. My final example is the work of author James Finn Garner and illustrator Lisa Amoroso entitled Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life Times a sample of which is neatly condensed by book reviewer Russell A. Peck: Cinderella is a kind of misfit with sisters-of-step heavily augmented with cosmetics, a man appears, her individual deity proxy, who helps her prepare for the ball with tight-fitting clothes that cut off her circulation and high heeled shoes that ruin peoplequot;s bone structure. Conclusion To start summing up, I would like to point out that when I first started this dissertation I honestly believed that my original question Has Disneyfication destroyed the traditional folk tale and damaged childrens illustrated literature? had an obvious answer and that my research would reveal an open and shut case. But during my research I have discovered the matter to be far more complex than I had initially anticipated. Even though I still believe that the Disne y corporation has permanently altered the course of the folk tale, I now dont necessarily believe this to be such a heinous crime. For the foreseeable future I will still look upon Disney ~ the man, the machine and the mouse ~ with a certain amount of scepticism, contempt and culpability but possibly with a little less angst. It has recently occurred to me that we can equate Disneys apparently inadvertent interference in the evolution of the folk tale with that of the new breed of Illusionists who supposedly spoil the traditional, tried and tested, formulaic magic by showing you exactly how the trick is done: when in reality they are challenging the conventions of a dying art and merely invite revitalisation, invention and the promotion of healthy competition. Back in the area of childrens literature and film, I am also encouraged by the resurgence of witches, wizards, ogres and the like, in blockbusters such as Shrek and the Harry Potter series, whilst obviously not forgetting The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But funnily enough, the final factor in turning my argument around was simply the fleeting appearance of a number of well known storybook characters in a recent, extremely popular, award winning childrens book. Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper, a beautifully illustrated and fairly cheerful tale about a cat, a squirrel and a duck, contains a segment where two of these protagonists wander through a grim, shadowy forest, imagining all manner of beast and villain, most notably the green-faced witch in the pointy hat, the big bad wolf, a hungry fox and a brutal bear, whilst a lost and oblivious innocent skips playfully on his way. And here again we have an artist imaginatively playing with typography and challenging conventions. All of this simply proves that somehow, however stale or sterile the genre can get, there are always cutting edge artists around to tinker with ideas and subvert from the norm, not to mention annual pantomimes and Halloween celebrations to keep these shady characters tightly lodged in our subconscious minds. And having researched far more on the subject of Disney than I could possibly convey in this thesis, I will have to leave you with a thought from Paul Bommer Artist and Illustrator, who surmises: I guess the old frozen nazi wasnquot;t all bad!