Goblins, Imps, Brownies, Trolls, Pixies, and Bogies – Yesterday and Today
In modern day, one is not likely to encounter a goblin in one’s travels, except perhaps those found scurrying after candy on Halloween night. However, goblins, as well as imps, brownies, trolls, pixies, and bogies were once considered as much a part of daily life as cows and chickens.(Briggs, These were the fairies, the half-natural, half supernatural beings that helped and haunted mankind throughout most of the world. The Scottish divided these fairies worldS into two groups, the Seelie Court, those helpful to humans, and the Unseelie Court, those who were mischievous, misleading, or downright evil. At the lowest rungs of the Unseelie court, one would find the goblins. (Briggs, 357) The goblins have changed, however, since these dark times, and it is the purpose of this paper to show the evolution of these monsters from medieval fairy, to subterranean miner, to Sauron’s horde of minions, and into other various modern-day incarnations. Additionally, the cultural driving forces of feminist theology, Freudian psychology, political agendas, and technological fears will be used to explain several of the more notable goblin literary works. Finally, it will be shown how the medieval concept of the goblin, the fairy trickster, will resurface after a hundred years of exile in the form of the gremlin.
The goblin as a fairy has its roots mainly in Britain, although they had counterparts in most of Europe. The French had goeblins, the Germans kobolds, the Welsh pwca (pooka), and even the Japanese had the tengu. However, the name ‘goblin’ is attributed to an Italian origin. The story goes that in Florence there were two infamous houses, the Guelfs and the Gibelins. So malicious were the members of these families that mothers would warn unruly children that the Guelfs and the Gibelins would come to get them if they did not behave. Thus the modern words ‘elves’ and ‘goblins’ were born. (Latham, p. 48) The fairy goblin ranged in disposition from the truly sinister to the near-harmless trickster. An example of the nastier medieval goblins is the legend of Redcap, a vicious goblin who inhabited a deserted castle. He was described by William Henderson in Folklore of the Northern Countries as a “.
In all of human history, people have written about inhuman beings, many of which include gods, demons, wizards, sorcerers, sorceresses, and witches. Nowadays mystical beings are seen everywhere in media. Most of society stopped believing in these creatures years ago, but for 17th-century Salem, witchcraft became a living nightmare (Fremon, 1999).
Hillman, James. "An Essay on Pan." Pan and the Nightmare. Trans. A.V. O'Brien. New York: Spring Publications, 1972.
Grendel and Saint George's dragon, then to the mermaids, trolls, and one-eyed giants of our fairy and
The second stage is Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. This is when the child is developing its physical attributes and beginning to move around more. This stage occurs between the ages of 18 months and three years old. During this stage the child will start to assert their independence by picking out what clothes they are going to wear or what they are going to eat, etc. As they begin to do things on their...
Erikson’s work emphasized each person’s relationship to the social environment –psychosocial human development and proposed eight stages of human development with crisis in each stage to be resolved. Individuals must go through all the stages in a lifetime, whether they resolve the conflict in each stage successfully or not. You must resolve each stage before moving to the next stages in life.
Poole writes this piece in order to expose the truths of American history. He wants his readers to know the good, the bad, and the ugly and wants them to have their history not just be a part of their past but rather, a piece of them they will carry with forever. He also aims to show that the monsters of are past are not just a figment of our imagination; they are a connection to history. Chapter one focuses on both the repulsion and obsession that Americans experience when confronted by monsters or the unknown. Poole reveals that monsters have been around since the beginning of time and are a result of the fears and anxieties found within society. Chapter two emphasizes that the fears of exploring new worlds along with mysterious stories of
Erikson’s first stage of his theory explains the issue of trust versus mistrust during the first year of life. During this stage of life, a baby will seek care to their primary caregiver. If this person gives consistent and reliable care to the baby, the baby will develop a trustful relationship with the caregiver. This relationship would soon be transferred to other people the baby comes in contact with. Developing a sense of trust is important during infancy so that the baby doesn't feel overly threatened when coming into contact with new people.
Role Confusion, children discover their identity. Erik claims that he had trouble discovering his own identity because he was a blond haired and blue eyed jewish boy, which contradicted everything in the 1900s. Erickson went through role confusion before he could figure out his true identity. When becoming an adult, Intimacy vs. Isolation, the sixth stage appears. According to Erikson, this stage can only arise if one is able to find their identity in the previous stage. This is where people begin to explore relationships with other in search of a long-term commitment such as marriage. Avoiding commitment and intimacy can lead to depression or simply a life without one consistent person. Erikson’s seventh stage is Generativity vs. Stagnation which is finally bringing your life together by having children and a stable job. Without these expected accomplishments, one may feel like they haven’t done anything with their lives. The eighth and final stage of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development is Ego Integrity vs. Despair. At the age of about 65, one tends to reflect on their life, and what they have accomplished. If satisfied, wisdom is gained and death is accepted with no fear. On the contrary, if feelings of unproductivity and guilt about one’s past occur, depression and hopelessness is a very common feeling
Zipes, Jack. “Breaking the Magic Spells: Politics and Fairy Tales. “New German Critiques (Autumn 1975): 116-135. Rpt. in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 171. Detroit Gale, 2010. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 11. 2010
Hoggart, Simon. “Beauty and the beasts.” The Spectator. ProQuest, 31 July 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Tubbs, J. (2007, June 29). Developing reading fluency through an iPod language lab. Retrieved February 10, 2008, from the World Wide Web: http://misterteacher.blogspot.com/2007/06/developing-reading-fluency-through-ipod.html
Since the advent of art and writing, monsters have been at the forefront of human creation. From cave paintings of great beasts to the snake-haired gorgons of Greek myth, mankind has been fascinated by what frightens it. The horror genre is so eternally popular because it provokes a very intimate reaction from the audience. Just as comedy is met with laughter and tragedy with tears, horror is met with fear. Horror has taken its place not only as an artistic and literary medium but also as a facet of society. Monsters and fear motivate and inspire just as much as heroes and hope, shaping cultures and religions along lines of light and dark. One must look no farther than the skeletal depictions of Hell and its beasts in medieval manuscripts to see the social weight terror can wield. The pious medieval citizen was motivated equally by the feverish desire to stay out of hell as he was to gain access to heaven.
Child obesity is a problem in America today. Children who are obese continue to struggle with many things in life that may affect them in the future. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “obesity most often develops from ages 5 to
Over the years we have been fighting with the issue of obesity among children in the United States. Nearly one in three kids and adolescents are overweight or obese in the United States. Obesity in children has more than tripled from 1971 to 2011and is the number one cause for concern amongst parents in the United States. It is important to prevent obesity during childhood because habits that are formed during youth usually carry on into adulthood. Being obese describes children with a body mass index at or above the 95th percentile for their age and gender. An overweight child would be described as having a body mass index at or above the 85th percentile but below the 95th percentile. Children
A monster can be a symbol of what we fear or something we desire to be and cannot. A monster is a figure of speech. Overtime monsters have not changed how they are portrayed to the world. When we are growing up we use several figures to portray our feelings and sometimes act out. Many social scientists have developed theories telling how we can learn about people from the monster myths they tell. Some of these theories stress the role of monster myths in understanding society as a whole. Others emphasize the place of monster myths in understanding why an individual act’s in a certain way, whether it is conscious or unconscious by a person experiences in the world filtered through the senses. They come in the form of fairytales, or in this case