Author Archives: Vanessa

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Curious George Analysis

According to June Cummins’ article, The Resisting Monkey: “Curious George,” Slave Captivity Narratives, and the Postcolonial Condition, I realized many things that I didn’t when I was younger about Curious George, I always just recalled the story about a monkey who always got into situations he shouldn’t be in, and always getting into mischief that got him into trouble. What struck me the most is how the story is related to slavery, because George is supposed to be connected to the slaves and the Man in the Yellow Hat is connected to the slaves masters. This story connects to different things if you think about it more closely after reading Cummins views on the entire story through the article. Like my peers found out that also struck me is how George is related to kids and masters to parents. In a way, maybe perhaps she sees things this way because kids are often curious themselves, and obviously George is a curious monkey and parents need to discipline the kids from trouble like a master would. It is also reasonable that she argues that it is related to slavers and their masters too, since slaves act out to escape as much as possible to become free and live how they want much how George acts out to get away from his master.

I do believe that although there is a back story behind these adventures of Curious George,  that there is always going to to be a moral for kids to understand in their own innocent ways too. In this case, I think it teaches them to be disciplined in control or get punished for their actions. Even though, it relates back to slavery I still think its a great comparison and argument that Cummins  teaches us in a whole new light as to what the story is truly about.

 

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A Coon Alphabet

   Just like my  fellow peers, the first thing that also caught my attention reading the alphabet was the use of  language and how things are misspelled and the funny looking drawings. I feel as if this is obviously making fun of slavery in a way for kids to understand, and also to portray how slavery was back then. Like some have noticed already that the word  “coon” is a derogatory term so I also find it hard to determine whether or not the author is supporting slavery by showing us how things were back then and how it should be remembered or if the author wants us to be against it in some way. I Just find the whole thing as mockery towards slavery, and it reminds me of modern day comedy  that we see nowadays in newspapers and such of those little sketch cartoons that are made to make us laugh or find a social situation as a joke. Although this is made for children, we have to always keep in mind that their is always something morally off when it comes to children’s stories and their is always some kind of hidden bigger picture behind it, and in this case I automatically get the impression that this is made to make fun of slavery and nothing more.

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Falling deeper into the rabbit hole

As mentioned a lot in class, there is a lot to talk about when it comes to Alice in Wonderland.  Through a child’s eye we see the world differently and think of this story as nothing more but a fun journey full of vibrant and odd characters that will capture anyone’s attention, but is this really meant for children or was Lewis Carroll’s attention something more that he only wanted adults to understand?

Many Disney movies for instance, as we brought up in class are based of a more Grimm tale that is more of a tragedy rather then something we would expose a child too, I wonder if  this was  intentional so that we grow up to uncover the real truth ourselves and learn life lessons into our adulthood.  I also agree with other peers and the professor, that movies and the books are two totally different things that portray the story in their own version of it. Books are usually more detailed, where as the movies are more sweet and not as violent because they tend to cut off a lot of scenes we read in a book to make for a movie.

I’m sure that all over the world, people continue to seek an explanation for the stories, a deeper understanding or higher level of meaning, but I believe this is to be a pointless exercise. In the end, Alice was created for children, and it requires no great intellect to fully understand and enjoy her adventures. Even though, the story consists of violence like the animals being kicked around in a game, or Alice wondering off and almost drowning, and drugs even it still captures a child’s attention because they have yet to understand the truth. Despite the bizarre imagery and dreamy tone, I think that’s what makes this story so interesting through a child’s perspective because it makes them feel as if they are almost on an adventures themselves as they watch it unfold.

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to Alice like her curiosity, but that’s how children are they are curious too and a lot of the time just trying to make sense of their surroundings, because that’s how a child learns. The argument of uncovering the truth behind the authors attentions of Alice in Wonderland has been something we been trying to figure out for years, Personally I just think as we get older we just notice things more and view it differently but that doesn’t necessarily mean it shouldn’t be meant for a child too. No matter how people judge it, I grew up watching it myself and it remains one of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

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Analysis on The Star of Freedom


  After reading the poems from “The Star of Freedom book, I noticed that every poem/short story I’ve read has a theme that its shameful to be a colored slave, and that no good comes out of being colored. They feel that they aren’t deserving of  life in general which sparks a wave of emotions as I read these poems and short stories dealing with anti-slavery. They all have a very depressing, and upsetting tone to each piece that I have read, making it seem not only sad but also feeling like they are stepping foot in the day of what a slave had to go through. The poems are very detailed in terms of how they  are trapped, especially how the younger slaves weren’t able to act like normal children and play otherwise they will be punished because they aren’t deserving of that kind of freedom, nor do they know what freedom will ever feel like.

 

I personally think one of the sadness parts was the poem called “The Little Dead Slave” because even though its a very short poem, its very detailed in how the passing of this young boy makes his mother happy because she is content knowing that her own son won’t have to continue  going through the hardships and cruel reality of what it feels like to be a slave like herself.  She is content knowing he is better off in Gods hands because if he continued living as a slave, then he wouldn’t be deserving enough to get to heaven. I can only imagine how hard something like that must be for a parent at that time, but at least it gives us enough insight to feel the sadness as we read on into this book and that’s what makes me interested to know more about a certain poem/story is gives me a visual in my mind of how those tough times were like for people. It also makes me curious to know why the author remains anonymous, perhaps maybe they have a connection to something similar that they refuse to share but either way I enjoyed the book.

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The Dark Side of Peter Pan

As many people did, I grew up watching Peter Pan as a kid and wanting to be part of never land myself. As I got older, I realized that there is was always a deeper meaning behind the innocence of these Disney movies filled with adult lessons and sexual humor that I didn’t understand back then. A child is simply drawn to the animations of the story and the desire to be part of it, the last thing any of them would expect is that they are watching real life lessons unfold before them as they go into adulthood and realize it themselves. While I knew Peter Pan was fictional and that never land didn’t exist in reality, it was disturbing to see Peter Pan as well as many other childhood Disney movies I grew up watching in a whole new light, and in a disturbing way strong enough to ruin some childhood memories.

As Jacqueline Rose pointed  out in in the class reading of “ The Case of Peter Pan”  the twist is that the author of Peter Pan is actually just a man who had a desire and interest in little boys himself. This is what I meant by disturbing memories strong enough to ruin a childhood memory, because the whole image of Peter Pan is now seen as something different and not in a good way. Especially in today’s society, where problems like that happen daily, it doesn’t paint a good image for the author or the fans who grew up wanting to be part of Pan’s fictional life. Now I see that this story wasn’t meant for children at all but rather for adults to know, the worst part is knowing that this story probably would of never existed if it wasn’t for possibly the authors interest to possess these little boys. I’m sure everyone who is familiar with the story of Peter Pan has the same question in mind, and I’m not sure exactly myself either.