The narrative structure of Hanzel and Gretel

The  story of Hansel and Gretel is told in chronological order, it follows a typical storytelling structure. Here, we created the main freeze frames of the story to show how the plot is split up into different parts.

Introduction:

In times of famine, Hansel and Gretel lived at the edge of the forest with their woodcutter father and cruel stepmother.

Complication:

The stepmother is selfish and wants all the food they have to herself . therefore, leads them into the forest to abandon them.

Turning point (moment of good or bad?):

To their good fortune, they stumble across a house made of treats, where a seemingly good witch lures them in.

The peak of climax:

After fattening up Hansel and trapping him in a cage, she enslaves gretel to help cook and eat him. Gretel tricks the witch and shoves her in the oven instead. 

Resolution:

Hansel and Gretel steal her treasure and journey home to reconcile with their widowed father.

The moral of the story

All traditional stories were made to teach a lesson to young children, and really anyone who listened to them. The main moral of this story was to not trust strangers and to not be greedy.

Our visual moral:

In this picture, we are showing the moral 'Don't trust strangers'. The lack of eye contact between Emma and Emily while shaking hands shows that they are not familiar with each other, which makes them strangers. I am showing a cross sign to portray that this is something you shouldn't do. In conclusion, Emma and Emily are greeting each other as strangers and i am incorporating the "Don't trust" part.

Themes in the story

 Traditional stories contain UNIVERSAL themes which make the plot and characters relevant to anyone, regardless of age, gender or culture.

• Greed- From the greedy witch and stepmother.
• Family life and marriage.
• Survival- Of the two children in the woods and against the witch. This can also relate to the times of famine and survival on little food.
• Poverty- lack of food and money.
• Abandonment- fear of being abandoned or lost like in the woods.
• Cannibalism- As these traditional stories came out in very religious Christian times, big sins such as cannibalism were punished with death (like the witch and the wolf in red riding hood).
• Maturing/growing up- the two children had to become independent and rely on their selves to stay strong and make it home.

 We created a short piece to show the theme of fear of abandonment or getting lost.

By having the group of us connected as we walk along, doing the same movements and staying attached, shows we rely on each other. Kicking one person out of the link and showing them try their hardest to get back in, shows the desperation and fear of being abandoned. 

What i think the witches back story is...

The witch, as a young girl had a terrible childhood. As a child, she was badly bullied for years, until the moment came where she lashed out and killed one of her bullies in rage. Her family also hated her, and were stingy with what food they gave her. She was so hungry that the night she killed her bully, was the first night she tried child flesh. She loved it so much that she craved the taste, she would kill over and over again, covering it up every time. She realised as she got older, she could use how she lived, and how she acted as an advantage to lure children in, to quench her thirst. She built a house in the woods and stuck delicious treats on it, to create the illusion that her house was something out of children's dreams.