INTO THE WOODS
How far will one go to get their happily ever after? Some will say, “Do what it takes” while others “Good things happen to those who wait”. Either way, many people generally make decisions based on sociological concepts because it provided guidance to right and wrong, good and bad, and strength and weakness. Thus, the musical, Into the Woods, gives people insights on how sociological concepts play out when one is put into a unique situation and/or obstacle. The musical is based on multiple characters from classic fairy tale books, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and The Baker and his Wife. Each character from the stories wanted and/or needed achieve a goal. In each story, it
…show more content…
He allowed this socialization to influence his actions. To lift the spell, the Baker needed four items for a potion that can be found in the woods. The items are a cow as white as milk, a cloak as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a golden slipper for her to break the curse so the baker can bear a child. The witch gave them three days to bring those items to her before the blue moon, which comes by only once every 100 years. Once the witch left, the Baker would not listen to his wife, as she tells him that it was his house that is cursed. Since the Baker only desire was to have a child, he set off into the woods to find the items to lift the curse. In order to lift the curse, he and his wife try to swindle, lie and steal from the owner of the objects. With this, they abandoned his morals, family values, and was willing to take on any punishments.
Little Red Riding Hood is also another example of an agent of socialization. Her mother told her to bring some goods for her old, sick grandmother who lived in the woods. Before she set off into the woods, her mother gave her a red cape and told her to follow the beaten path to her grandmother. As a primary agent to Red Riding Hood, the mother set the rules
Sigmund Freud introduces some powerful ideas in his book Civilization and Its Discontents. Many of his ideas and theories are evident in the life of John Wade in The Lake of the Woods. In my opinion, one can apply Freud’s theories to accurately analyze John Wade in three main ways: Freud’s structural model of the psyche, his argument of suppression of aggression, and neurosis “as the outcome of a struggle between the interest of self preservation and the demands of the libido, a struggle which the ego had been victorious but at the price of sever sufferings and renunciations.” (Freud 104). All of which lead to unhappiness and discontent.
Into the Woods is a musical based off of classic Grimms Brothers’ characters and their fairytales. The production explores the consequences of their wishes and the quests that they fulfill and take on. In writing this play, it seems as though Sondheim and Lapine were attempting to bring to life the classic fairytales of their youth with a twist of reality. Through this portrayal of classic tales, the audience is also taken back into their childhood for the entire two hours and forty-five minutes.
There is a serene moment when reading John Muir “A Windstorm in the forests,” that rushed through me. Which can only be described as a rush of emotions that one might face when returning home after traveling for so long. I feel that this response is so far harder to write than I could have imagined it to be because the forest Muir is describing within his story, within the Sierra Nevada is one that I grew up with. The same ones that I spent my summers and winter breaks at, I feel a slight struggle when trying to describe my response because I didn’t realize how much I miss all of that and how many of my memories are surrounded by that forest. Reading Muir story brought back the images of seeing stretches of land covered in an endless amount
People often have nicknames to describe details about themselves. Nicknames are not self-created but given to the person from friends or even comrades. In “Into The Lake Of The Woods” By Tim O' Brian, this is the case with John Wade, a former soldier that was nicknamed “Sorcerer”. John Wade is named Sorcerer because of use of magic in his youth and how the men is his squad would feel protected because of his magical powers. As Sorcerer is Wade's alter ego, it seems that it goes on to cost him dearly later in his life. Wade eventually ends up becoming governor of Minnesota and tries to run for U.S Senate. He loses in a landslide victory to his opponent as evidence of the My Lai incident is uncovered. His actions as Sorcerer start to make his life for the worse. It is seen later that Wade's wife, Kathy, is missing and Wade is soon suspected as he remains calm and not involved in the search party. O’Brien does not make it clear on how it Kathy's disappearance occurs but it is clear what happens. Sorcerer arrives again in John Wade as he pulls one final magic trick: to make Kathy disappear....forever.
Within many people, there lies a fascination that cannot be quenched unless people explore it to their hearts’ content. This zealotry devours the mind, leaving behind a maddening obsession that takes complete control. In Jon Krakauer's nonfiction work, Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, displays such a yearning as he travels to Alaska’s countryside, ignoring the advice of others, obsessively seeking to free himself from the chains that hold a materialistic world center. McCandless exists as a zealot searching for the wilderness, fanatically pursuing its fruits of spirituality and blessings of liberty.
The stories suggest we shouldn’t be spending so much time trying to get to the “Happy Ending”, and we should be more concerned about what’s going on in the middle. The majority of us are that typical person living the typical life, and perhaps Atwood is suggesting that we strive for more.
Based on a series of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (1987) focuses on fairy tale characters such as Cinderella, Jack and Little Red Riding Hood’s wish of life fulfillment. Numerous fairy tales are intertwined with one new tale in attempt to carry the childhood stories into an adult realm without ridding of their child-based sensibilities. (Knapp, 2009.) Little Red’s song, “I know things now” is performed after she escapes the wolf’s belly. It is a reflection song on what she has learnt from the experience of speaking to strangers. Sondheim cleverly integrates musical devises such as key, modulation, pitch, accompaniment, dynamics, motif and rhythm alongside language and literary devices to contribute to the development and growth of the character and story.
In Margaret Atwood’s short story, “Happy Endings,” the central theme of fiction provides several different kinds of marriages and relationships that ultimately result in the same ending. The “Happy Endings” shows that it’s difficult to have complete control over day-to-day events. No matter how hard society tries to achieve the perfect life, it does not always go as planned. It doesn’t matter if the characters are bored and depressed, confused and guilty, or virtuous and lucky; the gradual path of version A is not always in reach.
Into the woods was an adventurous play that was perfect for the use of your imagination and spirit. Into the Woods had numerous different fairy tales involved which could make a small child feel like he/she was in heaven. The acting, music, concept, stage design, costumes, and even the language of the play all mixed to perfection. The crowd became involved right away with the irony of the play. I liked how Into the Woods was set up in the beginning because it made the play easier to follow. However, the play seemed to be a little lengthy and some of the characters became annoying. I do not believe the second part of the play altogether was necessary. Into the Woods did not fulfill my expectations to the max, although, the play was enjoyable to experience.
In this essay, I examine what Zipes means by institutionalised, define what makes a fairy tale and evaluate how different versions of Little Red Riding Hood reflect the social ideology of the period.
Henry David Thoreau implies that simplicity and nature are valuable to a person’s happiness in “Why I Went to the Woods”. An overall theme used in his work was the connection to one’s spiritual self. Thoreau believed that by being secluded in nature and away from society would allow one to connect with their inner self. Wordsworth and Thoreau imply the same idea that the simple pleasures in life are easily overlooked or ignored. Seeing the true beauty of nature allows oneself to rejuvenate their mentality and desires. When one allows, they can become closer to their spiritual selves. One of William Wordsworth’s popular pieces, “Tintern Abbey”, discusses the beauty and tranquility of nature. Wordsworth believed that when people
Family is an agent of socialization through nurture in early childhood by teaching children skills, values, and beliefs (Macionis, 2017). They are also an agent of socialization through race and class (Macionis, 2017). Race because of where we come from and how we view ourselves (Macionis, 2017). Class because of the type of family that we born into, either of high or low class and how it affects our growing process (Macionis, 2017).
When a person lives a life with no dreams or wishes accomplished that person would die knowing they lived a dissatisfied life full of regret. In the book, Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, the author conveys an argument of living a life with no regret throughout the literature. The argument presented by Krakauer is conveyed by character relationships, character actions, and references to an images.
Socialization takes a large toll in the way that children perceive themselves when they are younger and affects them as they grow up. How do a lack of social agents whether it is parents or peers can affect the way that the children view themselves as they age? Then by having third parties come in and fill in for the lacks of social agents can it better the children’s view of themselves and help them become more open. In other words how do charities such as Big Brothers Big Sisters help the way in which a child develops when in the past they have had a lack of social agents around them to learn from.
It was a calm, overcast day, and I found myself resting at the side of a large oak tree, admiring the beauty of the woods that surrounded me.