Fictional Cautionary Tales Reading by Children and Adults

Reading fictional children’s tales has a long tradition that predates man’s modern history. Children and adults alike have gleaned lessons from the cautionary stories, each holding a nugget of wisdom more pertinent to their own being. Many would say that such stories are written for children and that they are the ones who are most influenced and impressed by them. They would argue that since children’s brains are much less mature, such stories will easily mold them. Hudson et al. (89) maintain that while the stories are often targeted towards children, they often contain mature themes and undertones suitable for society as a whole. For children, the stories act as a deterrent against the assumption of irresponsible behavior. They are meant to impart good virtues on young and to inform them of dangers they stand to. However, for adults, the tales have whole different meanings as shall be discussed in this paper.

The tales commonly espouse themes of cannibalism, deceit, even mortal danger. Protagonists often represent vulnerable members of society, in this case, children. A figure of authority, often a parent, informs them of dangers presented by the antagonist. The children are then educated on how to avoid getting ensnared by the villain and alerted of their capacity to deceive. However, due to the children’s naivety and antagonist’s cunningness, the protagonists often end up defeated before a given figure rescues them. They often seem perfect tales to engrain discipline and regard for authority among other acceptable norms among children. This article theorizes that childhood stories have different impressions on adults and children reading them.

Adults Read Differently from Kids

However, as Hudson et al. (90) notes, such stories may not only be appropriate for minors but for adults as well. The author notes that there does exist a significant difference between the perceptions and interpretations of children and adults when reading such tales. Adults have the privilege of knowing that the stories are fictional and that the events in them are animated and supremely improbable. Their understanding of the stories is not as cinematic as their young counterparts’. While children are more intrigued by the dramatization and the graphic value of the stories, adults are more likely to be interested in their underlying meaning. The contemporary belief that adults have outgrown the far-reaching impacts of children tales is certainly not true and can often be easily disputed.

Hansel and Gretel

One of the most impactful childhood fictional stories with immense learning value for the 21st century contemporary adult is the tale of Hansel and his sister Gretel. The two individuals were orphaned at a young age during the witch hunts that occurred in Salem in the late 17th century. The fictional tale describes the horrific events where the children were hounded off into the forest by their parents who were consequently captured and burnt (Grimm 19). Lonely, frightened, and disoriented, the children stumble upon a mysterious cabin in the woods with walls made out of candy. They unwittingly enter and are incarcerated by a powerful witch who outlines her intention to slay them in a ritual killing. In an impressive show of teamwork, they defeat the witch and burn her to death. With this, their career as feared witch hunters begins (Grimm 22). The tale of Hansel and Gretel is deeply symbolic to the conventional 21st century adult. While they may not identify with the rigors or dynamics of hunting or torching witches, they are bound to understand the virtues of sacrifice for loved ones and teamwork in the face of adversity.

In the fictional story, Hansel and Gretel are believed to have discovered they have an unmatched ability to identify, hunt, and kill witches. As a consequence, they created a well-structured, and highly organized working relationship with each individuals having distinct responsibilities. They used different weapons, all designed for different but very specific tasks. Their fighting techniques revolved around each other and one always appeared to have an intimate understanding of what the other was doing. Hansel is diabetic from eating too much candy as a child, a reality the duo aptly compensate for in their routines (Grimm 28). Children might not always comprehend or even notice the presence of such structure in the story.

Conversely, adults reading the story appreciate the importance of certain attributes of the tale they find relevant in their day-to-day lives. The siblings’ identification of each other’s strengths and weaknesses is certainly inspiring to the 21st century adult. They identified something they were proficient in, perfected and pursued it as a career leading to remarkable success and widespread recognition. The story is testament to the fact that the average 21st century adult can attain an enviable level of accomplishment if they associated with those they shared interests and worked hard to turn their gifting into a source of income. The adults learn that they must develop a support circle of dependable people with their best interests at heart even if it is with a single individual. All the carnage, bloodshed, and drama in the story would serve merely to cement the resounding lessons the adult reader would have leant. Therefore, adults stand to benefit immensely from reading fictional tales as do children.

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids is another cautionary tale 21st century adult readers stand to learn from. A happy family of a goat and seven kids live on the edge of a forest. The mother loves and cares for them. On the fateful day, the goat is hesitant to leave her young family to go and fend for them but is reassured by the oldest kid that they will be safe. The mother informs them of the immense danger they face and warns them against a cunning wolf that marauds the area looking to devour hapless victims. The wolf notices the mother’s absence and seeks to eat the young kids (Fox 13).

After several attempts, he is successful in deceiving the kids that it is their mother and eats all but one of them. The spared one successfully evades the wolf and is instrumental in the recovery of their other six. The story points to their innate weaknesses human beings have especially in the face of a rapidly changing environment. The pressure to compromise when their real goals have not been achieved is often their greatest undoing. Today’s adults often attempt to attain their objectives and are confronted with half-baked results (Fox 18). Many of them often lose the will to continue and settle for what appears to resemble their initial plan, often with unimpressive results. By reading childhood tales, adults get to realize the many important lessons that have been so neatly tucked into the books, and frequently overlooked by children, who are too young to fully appreciate them.

Works Cited

Fox, Carol. At The Very Edge Of The Forest: the Influence of Literature on Story-telling by Children. Burns & Oates, 1993.

Grimm, Brüder. Hänsel und Gretel. Vol. 1. BoD–Books on Demand, 2015.

Hudson, Judith A., et al. “From knowing to telling: The development of children’s scripts, stories, and personal narratives.” Developing narrative structure (1991): 89-136.