Hello, I'm Richard Nicholas Nimz, prospector of the written word. Not long ago, I released my review of Goody Two Shoes and made clear my own religiosity. Now I want to talk about a related book, a nonfiction book. This was a primer written for children in Puritan New England, and through the years it became an example of changing attitudes in children's education. This is The New England Primer*.
*Pronounced prim-er, not prime-r. Older versions of English are weird like that.
The New England Primer. (1777). Retrieved from: http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/nep/1777/
Summary: It's a primer, focusing on reading and religion. The letters of the alphabet are given, along with syllables, several words of varying length, and sentences illustrating a word that begins with that letter. Most of the book, however, consists of verses of moral education, with a very Calvinist tone. The rest of the book contains various prayers, including the famous "Now I lay me down to sleep," prayer.
Thoughts: It's very interesting as an adult. I'm a born Roman Catholic Christian, and I didn't get much instruction in my late Grandmama's Presbyterian Church (which is a Calvinist/Reformed denomination). However, as an example of common religious practices from the American Revolution, it's very interesting. There is a lot of theology in this book, including Jewish Guilt, anti-Catholicism (the Whore of Rome analogy is used), and the idea that infants could be damned (which has long since been purged of many sects of Christianity, my own included). At the very end of the book is the story of a child who is delivered to death by Jesus because he would only grow up to sin more (the Calvinist views of unconditional election and limited atonement, maybe, but I don't know that).
However, this isn't just fire and brimstone. It may be my own Christian prejudices showing, but along with "Liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone", there is also "Come unto Christ all ye that labor and are heavy laden and he will give you rest". In the middle is a summation of Christianity (heck, Judaism and Islam, too, at the least) and my favorite line in the book: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivereth them out of them all."
There were many editions of this book, and according to Stephanie Schnorbus, they combined illustrate an interesting trend. The earliest editions were firmly Calvinist. The writers were afraid that telling the children too much might cause a contradiction that could lead an already sinful child into damnation (again, not a part of modern Catholic or many Christians' theology). As a result, pictures were an afterthought and there is a lot of focus on telling children what not to do. However, as time went on, the books borrowed from a school of thought called Lockean epistemology. This philosophy believed that children were a blank slate (a tabula rasa) that needed to have multiple senses stimulated in order to have one sense confirm what another was telling it. Thus, pictures became more important and more positive messages were written into the book (2010).
This book's usefulness as a primer seems to be ended. There are other ways of teaching reading and it certainly isn't for anyone who doesn't fit its theology. However, it's also a source of many good quotes that still apply to Christian life, and should be quite interesting to adult Christians who are ruminating on their faith. However, I'd recommend the Westminster Confession of Faith to people who want to know more about Calvinist faiths today, as well as a good interpreter.
References:
Schnorbus, S.(2010). Calvin and Locke: Dueling Epistemologies in The New-England Primer, 1720–1790. Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 8(2), 250-287. University of Pennsylvania Press. Retrieved July 31, 2015, from Project MUSE database.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Season III, post 2: "Grimm's Fairy Tales"
Hello, I'm Richard Nicholas Nimz, prospector of the written word. Now we move on to something I know everyone's heard of: Grimm's Fairy Tales. I'm rather excited to be talking about this, and not just because of my fine Prussian roots*. As I've said before, I have a great love of fantasy, which is part of why I love the Disney movies so much. Thus, the two linguists' collection of fairy tales from all over Germany and France that inspired several of their films would naturally interest me. And thus I talk about them now.
*Pomeranian. Yes, like the dog.
Grimm, J., Grimm, W., & Scharl, J. (ill.). (1972). The complete Grimm's fairy tales. New York: Pantheon.
Summary: There are 210 individual stories in this collection. To catalog them all with even a sentence would take the rest of this blog. Suffice it to say that kind-hearted fools are rewarded for their kindness and people who fail to do what they're told are punished. Also, odds are if you're read one, some of the others will seem similar to you.
Thoughts: By now, I think everyone knows that the original Grimm's Fairy Tales were darker, gorier, and lewder than the versions kids experience. The fact is, these stories were originally aimed at adults. However, because people were often reading them to their children, the Brothers Grimm decided to alter the stories to be more appropriate, more Christianized and less demonizing to mothers. The altered versions still have some undesirable content in them, though. Cinderella is the toe-chopping version seen in Into the Woods, The Jew in the Thorns is antisemitic, and unless you or your kids really love gore, avoid The Juniper Tree like the plague. In addition, these stories can get rather strange. A favorite passage of mine from The Bird, the Mouse, and the Sausage should illustrate this nicely:
"Not far off, however, [the bird] met a dog on the road who had fallen upon the poor sausage as lawful booty, and had seized and swallowed it. The bird charged the dog with an act of bare-faced robbery, but words were useless, for the dog said he had found forged letters on the sausage, on which account its life was forfeited to him."
Yes, that is from a story where a bird, a mouse, and a sausage live under one roof. And it isn't a comedy. Unless you find all of them dying funny because they should've stuck to their assigned chores, in which case the rest of this book should make perfect sense to you.
That being said, there are still a bunch of stories that both make sense and are G/PG-rated unaltered. Some of them include: King Thrushbeard, How Six Men Got on in the World, Godfather Death, The Fisherman and his Wife, The Elves (including the story of the Elves and the Shoemaker), The Six Swans, Little Briar-Rose (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty), Maid Maleen, and The Golden Key. As a whole, though, if you're going to read these to kids, you'll probably want to read through each of these and tailor them to fit.
The main message of many of these stories, as I mentioned earlier, seems to be "do what's right and do what you're told or there'll be Hell to pay". Even within those parameters, there's Hell to pay, but things turn out well enough in the end. Regarding modern sensibilities, there's little in the tales that outright contradicts them (see The Jew in the Thorns and The Good Bargain for examples) except for the gender roles of the time. Professor Seth Lerer points out that in most of these stories, women and girls are often swept around by the tides of the story, whereas men and boys take the bull by the horns (2008). I concur with his point, but I also want to make a point of Doug Walker's Nostalgia Critic to soften it a bit. There are several stories where a female protagonist takes an active role in the story, such as Hansel and Gretel, the Hare's Bride, and the end of Little Red-Cap (a.k.a. Little Red Riding Hood). However, even where the heroine is passive, such as in Cinderella, she is displaying patience and fortitude, which are good virtues for anyone to have (Walt Disney supposedly identified with her most of all the characters in his films) (2013). There's even a story that has men go through this: The Three Apprentices (warning, they deal with the devil, but it's not quite what you think).
Obviously, these stories were collected from many different places, but something I find interesting is that several of them resemble stories from further afield than just Germany and France and the like. The Water Nixie resembles a story about the Russian hag Baba Yaga. The Spirit in the Bottle is similar to a story from the Thousand and One Nights. Even stranger, The Wedding of Mrs. Fox features a fox with nine tails, a spirit from East Asia. In today's multicultural world, finding out what also exists where can be quite intriguing.
Granted, these stories are incredibly short and underdeveloped, but even that can be fun. As a writer myself, I love sparing a moment to think about what some of these stories would look like as films. With the fantasy boom currently going on, these are good seeds for a deeper analysis and exploration of the story for writers to practice their craft on. Even just enjoyed on their own, these are good stories, imaginative, although a reflection of a slightly alien and more gore-happy culture.
Lerer, S. (2008). Children's literature: A reader's history from Aesop to Harry Potter. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
Walker, D. (2013, Mar. 26). Nostalgia Critic editorial: What's with all the princess hate? [video file]. Retrieved from: http://channelawesome.com/nostalgia-critic-editorial-whats-with-the-princess-hate/
*Pomeranian. Yes, like the dog.
Grimm, J., Grimm, W., & Scharl, J. (ill.). (1972). The complete Grimm's fairy tales. New York: Pantheon.
Summary: There are 210 individual stories in this collection. To catalog them all with even a sentence would take the rest of this blog. Suffice it to say that kind-hearted fools are rewarded for their kindness and people who fail to do what they're told are punished. Also, odds are if you're read one, some of the others will seem similar to you.
Thoughts: By now, I think everyone knows that the original Grimm's Fairy Tales were darker, gorier, and lewder than the versions kids experience. The fact is, these stories were originally aimed at adults. However, because people were often reading them to their children, the Brothers Grimm decided to alter the stories to be more appropriate, more Christianized and less demonizing to mothers. The altered versions still have some undesirable content in them, though. Cinderella is the toe-chopping version seen in Into the Woods, The Jew in the Thorns is antisemitic, and unless you or your kids really love gore, avoid The Juniper Tree like the plague. In addition, these stories can get rather strange. A favorite passage of mine from The Bird, the Mouse, and the Sausage should illustrate this nicely:
"Not far off, however, [the bird] met a dog on the road who had fallen upon the poor sausage as lawful booty, and had seized and swallowed it. The bird charged the dog with an act of bare-faced robbery, but words were useless, for the dog said he had found forged letters on the sausage, on which account its life was forfeited to him."
Yes, that is from a story where a bird, a mouse, and a sausage live under one roof. And it isn't a comedy. Unless you find all of them dying funny because they should've stuck to their assigned chores, in which case the rest of this book should make perfect sense to you.
That being said, there are still a bunch of stories that both make sense and are G/PG-rated unaltered. Some of them include: King Thrushbeard, How Six Men Got on in the World, Godfather Death, The Fisherman and his Wife, The Elves (including the story of the Elves and the Shoemaker), The Six Swans, Little Briar-Rose (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty), Maid Maleen, and The Golden Key. As a whole, though, if you're going to read these to kids, you'll probably want to read through each of these and tailor them to fit.
The main message of many of these stories, as I mentioned earlier, seems to be "do what's right and do what you're told or there'll be Hell to pay". Even within those parameters, there's Hell to pay, but things turn out well enough in the end. Regarding modern sensibilities, there's little in the tales that outright contradicts them (see The Jew in the Thorns and The Good Bargain for examples) except for the gender roles of the time. Professor Seth Lerer points out that in most of these stories, women and girls are often swept around by the tides of the story, whereas men and boys take the bull by the horns (2008). I concur with his point, but I also want to make a point of Doug Walker's Nostalgia Critic to soften it a bit. There are several stories where a female protagonist takes an active role in the story, such as Hansel and Gretel, the Hare's Bride, and the end of Little Red-Cap (a.k.a. Little Red Riding Hood). However, even where the heroine is passive, such as in Cinderella, she is displaying patience and fortitude, which are good virtues for anyone to have (Walt Disney supposedly identified with her most of all the characters in his films) (2013). There's even a story that has men go through this: The Three Apprentices (warning, they deal with the devil, but it's not quite what you think).
Obviously, these stories were collected from many different places, but something I find interesting is that several of them resemble stories from further afield than just Germany and France and the like. The Water Nixie resembles a story about the Russian hag Baba Yaga. The Spirit in the Bottle is similar to a story from the Thousand and One Nights. Even stranger, The Wedding of Mrs. Fox features a fox with nine tails, a spirit from East Asia. In today's multicultural world, finding out what also exists where can be quite intriguing.
Granted, these stories are incredibly short and underdeveloped, but even that can be fun. As a writer myself, I love sparing a moment to think about what some of these stories would look like as films. With the fantasy boom currently going on, these are good seeds for a deeper analysis and exploration of the story for writers to practice their craft on. Even just enjoyed on their own, these are good stories, imaginative, although a reflection of a slightly alien and more gore-happy culture.
Lerer, S. (2008). Children's literature: A reader's history from Aesop to Harry Potter. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
Walker, D. (2013, Mar. 26). Nostalgia Critic editorial: What's with all the princess hate? [video file]. Retrieved from: http://channelawesome.com/nostalgia-critic-editorial-whats-with-the-princess-hate/
Season III, Post 1: "Goody Two Shoes"
Hello, I'm Richard Nicholas Nimz, prospector of the written word. This summer, I'm going to be doing things a little differently. This time, my blog posts are going to be focused on examples of how children's literature used to be, although I will still review the books I bring up (though I will not be posting another person's review). With that said, let's get started with Unknown Author's The History of Little Goody Two Shoes.
No, this book didn't invent the term, but it did popularize it (sans meaning). Stay sharp, it's not the only thing you might be surprised at during this review.
Source: Goody Two Shoes: A facsimile reproduction of the edition of 1766. (2004). Original work published 1766. Retrieved from: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13675/13675-h/13675-h.htm
Plot: An honest farmer by the name of Meanwell is bankrupted by his vile landlord and driven to an early death. Shortly thereafter, his wife dies, leaving his two children, Tom and Margery, to fend for themselves. However, Tom is lost at sea, leaving Margery alone to find her own way. However, she finds a way to fend for herself, becoming a tutor, then a teacher, and by the grace of God, Mrs. Goody Two Shoes comes to a good end.
Summary: If you're looking to be entertained by this book, bear in mind it comes from a different time. The pacing moves like a Bugatti but is packed to the gills with detours with lessons to teach the impressionable children. The characters are all extremely shallow, and the book often comes off as overly idealistic. This is a product of the time, when children were seen as impressionable minds that had to be carefully instructed lest they turn to damnation, a viewpoint that persists to this day in some corners.
In its historical context, though, I love it. It's not hard to see that Christianity is on a lesser pedestal than previously, and though I'm fine with that, it's often accompanied by propaganda that's nothing short of venomous, characterizing it as the source of all evils in a modern society, complacency and superstition, among others (Doctor Who, I'm looking at you). This book goes far to dispel all of that. Yes, it comes from an earlier time where some of its values, like relentless preaching, are frowned upon now, but many of its values are timeless.
For example, after a house collapses, the author takes time out of the story to urge readers to make Parliament work to protect them. That's something a lot of adults still don't do in a more secularized world. In addition, when the main character is accused of being a witch, another character gives a very long speech about how a belief in witchcraft is superstition that disfavors elderly and impoverished women. Yes, a book preaching both Christianity and the evils of witch-hunts; it's not as odd an idea as you think. It's the source of possibly my favorite quote:
"Sir William Dove, who was on the Bench, asked [Margery's] Accusers, how they could be such Fools, as to think there was any such Thing as a Witch. It is true, continued he, many innocent and worthy People have been abused and even murdered on this absurd and foolish Supposition; which is a Scandal to our Religion, to our Laws, to our Nation, and to common Sense..."
Yes, this could be said about any religious disagreement, but for the longest time, Christianity did not believe in witchcraft or any kind of supernatural idea bar the Holy Trinity. Malleus Maleficarum was immensely unpopular on its release in 1487 and was banned by the Roman Catholic Church three years later. Heck, thirty years before this book was published, the Witchcraft Act made it a crime to accuse someone of being a witch. Seeing that passage in this book lifts my spirits, not only as a Christian, but as someone who knows a bit about history. Though it's not as entertaining as it once may have been, a lot of what it stands for is still undeniable.
No, this book didn't invent the term, but it did popularize it (sans meaning). Stay sharp, it's not the only thing you might be surprised at during this review.
Source: Goody Two Shoes: A facsimile reproduction of the edition of 1766. (2004). Original work published 1766. Retrieved from: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13675/13675-h/13675-h.htm
Plot: An honest farmer by the name of Meanwell is bankrupted by his vile landlord and driven to an early death. Shortly thereafter, his wife dies, leaving his two children, Tom and Margery, to fend for themselves. However, Tom is lost at sea, leaving Margery alone to find her own way. However, she finds a way to fend for herself, becoming a tutor, then a teacher, and by the grace of God, Mrs. Goody Two Shoes comes to a good end.
Summary: If you're looking to be entertained by this book, bear in mind it comes from a different time. The pacing moves like a Bugatti but is packed to the gills with detours with lessons to teach the impressionable children. The characters are all extremely shallow, and the book often comes off as overly idealistic. This is a product of the time, when children were seen as impressionable minds that had to be carefully instructed lest they turn to damnation, a viewpoint that persists to this day in some corners.
In its historical context, though, I love it. It's not hard to see that Christianity is on a lesser pedestal than previously, and though I'm fine with that, it's often accompanied by propaganda that's nothing short of venomous, characterizing it as the source of all evils in a modern society, complacency and superstition, among others (Doctor Who, I'm looking at you). This book goes far to dispel all of that. Yes, it comes from an earlier time where some of its values, like relentless preaching, are frowned upon now, but many of its values are timeless.
For example, after a house collapses, the author takes time out of the story to urge readers to make Parliament work to protect them. That's something a lot of adults still don't do in a more secularized world. In addition, when the main character is accused of being a witch, another character gives a very long speech about how a belief in witchcraft is superstition that disfavors elderly and impoverished women. Yes, a book preaching both Christianity and the evils of witch-hunts; it's not as odd an idea as you think. It's the source of possibly my favorite quote:
"Sir William Dove, who was on the Bench, asked [Margery's] Accusers, how they could be such Fools, as to think there was any such Thing as a Witch. It is true, continued he, many innocent and worthy People have been abused and even murdered on this absurd and foolish Supposition; which is a Scandal to our Religion, to our Laws, to our Nation, and to common Sense..."
Yes, this could be said about any religious disagreement, but for the longest time, Christianity did not believe in witchcraft or any kind of supernatural idea bar the Holy Trinity. Malleus Maleficarum was immensely unpopular on its release in 1487 and was banned by the Roman Catholic Church three years later. Heck, thirty years before this book was published, the Witchcraft Act made it a crime to accuse someone of being a witch. Seeing that passage in this book lifts my spirits, not only as a Christian, but as someone who knows a bit about history. Though it's not as entertaining as it once may have been, a lot of what it stands for is still undeniable.
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