Hansel And Gretel Sparknotes

When I read the three packets for homework; Hansel and Gretel stood out to me the most. This was a story I remember reading when I was younger; but did not remember the true meaning behind the story. I do remember the basic plot of the story being about Hansel and Gretel trying to find their way back home from the trail of crumbs they had left. I also remember that the birds ended up eating all of the crumbs; so the two children wandered off further into the woods to find a house made of bread, cake, and sugar. However, I do not remember realizing that the parents of Hansel and Gretel were leaving their children in the woods to starve to death. I remember more about being fascinated that a house could be made out of food than anything else.

Hansel and Gretel’s parents seemed to not care about their children. They planned to leave the two children in the woods to starve because they did not have enough bread to feed the entire family. However, the mother was the one who had originated this plan. She said, “Tomorrow at the break of day we’ll take the children out into the darkest part of the woods. We’ll make a fire for them and give them each a piece of bread. Then we’ll go about our work and leave them alone. They’ll never find their way home, and then we’ll be rid of them.” (Page 184) Knowing this, the father did not want this horrible situation to occur; but the mother did not stop until he agreed. This shows that the father had to listen to his wife and forget what he was doing to his children. This also shows a stereotypical gender role about men and women. More men would have been seen to be the originator of this idea from the stereotype; not the women. Even when the children came home the first time, the mother made sure the children were deeper into the forest this time so they would be sure not to return home. The father went through with the second situation, too without fighting for his children’s lives. This also made the children have to learn how to fend for themselves and become independent. The story does take a turn at the end; but the beginning showed their parents lack of