Hansel and Gretel Mythology project
By: Kate Jules P-6 (German)
Plot of the story
Hansel and Gretel is about two kids who are growing up during a depression in Germany. They have lost their mother and all they have left is there father. Their father remarried and married and she became there stepmother. During this time period when they were growing up parents had to abandon their kids or starve. So the evil stepmother cooked up a plan to have the kids go out into the woods to "go collect firewood". The kids were led out into the woods but Hansel filled his pockets with rocks and as they were being led out into the woods he would drop them along the pathway so they could find their way home. Unfortunately for the stepmother they found their way home the 1st time. Their father was overjoyed until he was forced to take the kids back out. The second time there step mother gave them bread to eat while they were getting wood. Hansel dropped the bread along the path but this time the birds ate it and they could not get back home. They were left in the woods alone to starve and die. Until they get to a house made out of nothing but candy. Slowly they start eating the house until a "nice" witch comes out and brings them her house (her house is filled with riches) and feeds them. However the witch is not very nice, she locks Gretel up in a cage and won’t let him out. She feeds Hansel scraps of old rotted food. One day the witch decides she is going to eat them so she sets the oven and tries to get Gretel to crawl into the oven. However Gretel is to smart and sees the witch is trying to cook her along with Gretel. Gretel come up with a excuse and says I cannot fit and the witch leans towards the oven and Gretel quickly pushes her in. The two kids were free, so they quickly grabbed all the valuables and ran to the lake. In the lake they saw a duck, they quickly climbed on the ducks back and were carried across the river to their father. Their father is thrilled to see them, there stepmother has passed away and they have a lot of money now because they took all the riches form the witch's house.
Values
Values:
Selflessness is shown through Hansel and Gretel's father he was willing to do anything and everything for his kids he loved them to pieces.
Selfishness is also shown throughout the story. Hansel and Gretel's step mother wants to lose them because she is hungry and has "no" other choice. In reality, during this time parents could not support themselves and their kids, so they either had to abandon their kids or starve.
Dependability is shown throughout the story because the two kids were left alone in the middle of the woods and had to depend on each other for help and comfort.
Trustworthiness is shown throughout the tale as well. You should not trust everyone you meet because they could be dangerous or fake. For example the witch was evil but the kids trusted her and went into her house anyway.
Deception is also a huge factor in the tale. The witch represents how the government was deceiving its people and treating them awfully. For example the stepmother shows how easily the government could manipulate its people.
Many of the German folk tales written are surrounded around there past and history. Hansel and Gretel was based on Nationalism in Germany. This tale is a very famous story about nationalism in Germany. This tale was a different way to describe nationalism, because most were songs and this was one of the only stories. Most of the Grimm stories are orally or traditionally told.
The bread crumbs represented hope for the government and the kids. The bread gave the kids hope that they would get out of the woods, just like people relied on money to get them out of their economic depression.