Stones From The River Sparknotes

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The Exploitation of Little People

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful maiden Pallid Powder amidst seven dwarfs.There was a dwarf who worked in a sideshow display at the local circus, a dwarf who was frequently cast by Galactic Studios for the dancing baby parts, and all the other dwarfs locked themselves in their isolated cabin in the woods so that the nearby villagers wouldn’t laugh.These snippets—both fictional and real—are all most people know about the lives of dwarfs, or little people as they prefer to be called.But Ursula Hegi’s novel Stones from the River suggests that dwarfs were stereotyped, and although the information I found was limited, I found enough to satisfy myself that many dwarfs in the past—and even today—have …show more content…

Circuses and sideshows use dwarfs as exhibits and often claim ownership of them as well.In fact, circus dwarfs or midgets were often referred to as “pets of the circus” or “dolls of the sawdust” (O’Brien 214).One dwarf in particular, Chiquita Del Rio, was involved in a case of company ownership; she married a man who was employed by another company and insisted on traveling with his circus.Her company, the Colonel Bostock Show, actually sued his company for ownership rights (O’Brien 215).In the novel Stones From the River, Pia was a circus performer, and although she seemed to be treated well, she never came back with the circus.Today, TV shows are even responsible for exploitation of dwarfs.Flipping through the channels one day, I came across …show more content…

The novel Stones From the River is set in Germany before and during World War II.The story revolves around a young dwarf girl named Trudi, growing up in an homogeneous community who have trouble accepting change or differences.As a young girl, Trudi is shunned by the rest of her town because of her difference.At first, Trudi is even rejected by her own mother, who “squeezed her eyes shut and twisted her face aside” at the sight of newborn Trudi (Hegi 16).A review of the novel states:“…we watch her soon victimized by the teasing and rejection of her peers; we agonize with her struggle to gain acceptance in the community.”Trudi is seen as different, a condition which makes her vulnerable to the remarks and actions of the public.The novel is specific in how she is an outcast—from the way she is laughed at to the fact that she had no best friend to hold hands with when walking to and

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