I believe the short story “Bewitched” and the poem “Goblin Market” still remain in our classmates’ minds although we read them a while ago. At least to me, they leave such strong impressions not only because of supernatural and fantastical figures in these works, but the overall theme – appearances are deceiving and sometimes they can be traps. In “Bewitched”, the protagonist fell in love with the beautiful lady a serpent disguised as, but later on he discovered that the serpent was trying to possess his body. Similarly, in “Goblin Market”, the younger sister Laura couldn’t resist the tempt of the various, juicy, colorful f: ruits sold by the goblins, but after eating them she suffered from a severe illness. These two stories, though simple, taught us a very important principle: beautiful appearances can be camouflages for fatal traps.
Everyone loves beautiful things, it is absolutely normal for a human. That is why some smart frauds thought of this clever way to lure people into their traps with things that are extremely tempting. I once watched a video of a man who drives around a Lamborghini to attract girls. He asked 8 random girls on the streets to go for a drink, and 7 out of 8 girls got on his car without hesitating. The man asked each of them why they would get on his car when they did not even know him, they all answered similarly: you’re driving a beautiful car, I believe you’re friendly and won’t harm me. I literally laughed out loud when I heard this answer: what kind of logic do these girls have? Even though the video was just testing how many girls would “fall for his trap”, I believe there are many similar cases like this where girls are lured into a car and get robbed or raped. There are also cases such as men who are attracted by beautiful girls but eventually got all of their properties scammed away. Like the protagonists in the short story and poem, the consequences for their ignorant actions are severe. It is very important to think twice before we act, and do not fall for these beautiful traps!
Attached is the video for those of you who understands Chinese.
-Kary Huang
I think it is very sad how so many people care more of outer beauty, rather than the truth. I was shocked and appalled at the stupidity of those girls who choose to get into a stranger’s care simply because it was beautiful. They did not think of the consequences and the truth that is masked behind this beautiful outer facade. It is sad to say that in our society today, there are many instances of a beautiful appearance hiding an ugly truth. For example, some celebrities might look beautiful and perfect but in reality they can be horrible and unpleasant. Just because someone is beautiful, it does not mean that they are good. It also isn’t helpful that young children are brainwashed into thinking that anyone beautiful is a good person and anyone ugly is a bad person. This concept is strongly portrayed in children movies or stories, as the heroine/hero are all handsome or beautiful while the villain is hideous. I hope more people watch the video above and will learn that they should not judge a book by its cover. Beautiful appearances are not always good.