Masters of Story Telling

 

         This narrative is about two brothers who shared the imaginations of make-believe, dreams do come true, and the belief of happily-ever-after. There names are Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm born in the 1700’s in Hanau, Germany. Together, the brothers became known as the Guardians of Fairy Tales.

 

         According to Thomas O’Neill, Guardians of Fairy Tales: The Brothers Grimm stories of derived from two great upheavals. One the country of Germany was in great turmoil. It was known as medieval times during the 18th Century. The country was divided into many small states or towns. The country of Germany had no type of centralized or federal government.  It was the Napoléon War and the French was trying to embark, what was known as “The Enlightment,” all over Europe. The French had ideas that all people were equal, as far as being treated as human beings. This had all the scholars of the land in fear of the people becoming educated. Second, the Grimm Brothers were faced with instability of their own. In 1796, they lost their father, Phillip, and 10 years later they lost their mother, Dorethea. The brothers’ were forced to become the bread winners’ of the family. Through the help of their aunt they were able to begin to study law at the University of Marburg, in 1802. Where they began collecting their own folk tales while they continued to study their legal education. They started to seek after the origins of the German culture and literature. They explored the oral traditions of the old ballads and stories of the villagers and peasants. They wanted to keep the tradition of folk storytelling alive. Jacob then took a position in Kassel as a librarian to assume the responsibilities of supporting his three younger siblings. As usual, because of their close bond, Wilhem joins him there. Together, they had access to the library resources while working there.  Because of the Napoléon War they were worried that the French Culture would take over the Germany’s Culture of their heritage. They wanted to preserve the oral form of telling folktales in the country of Germany and provide for their family. They started to explore Marchin (folk tales) which continued to enhance their curiosity and imagination of make-believe. By 1812, they had published volume one of Children’ and Household Tales which later became known as Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

 

        After reading one of their tales I found myself fascinated by their insight and how they could relate to day to day life of people. I read the fairy tale, The Tailor in Heaven, and found a direct connection to some of issues I deal with every day.  Concurring with the story, The Lord had given Saint Peter a commandment. The Lord said, “Do not let anyone enter heaven in my absence.” Soon after, the Lord had left, there came a knock on the door from someone requesting to enter to enter Heaven because he was hungry. He stated “I am a poor, but honest tailor. Peter replied, “Honest indeed! Like the thief on the gallows.” The tailor was, himself, was a thief. He then played on the conscious of St. Peter. He stated, “Little scrapes that fall off the table by themselves are not stolen, and are not worth mentioning. See here, I am limping and have blisters on my feet from walking here.” St. Peter opened the door and let the tailor in and told him to hide behind the door. Thinking the Lord would not notice and all would be well. St. Peter had to leave for a while. When Peter left, the tailor’s curiosity got the best of him. He became very noisy and started to explore the wonders of Heaven. He came to a place where he could rest more comfortably. He saw that the Lord’s throne was beautiful and it had a footstool went with it. The Tailor sat in it and he could see all things. Looking, he saw an ugly old woman washing clothes and had she secretly set aside two scarfs. The Tailor became angry and threw the footstool at her. The Lord returned and questioned St. Peter about his footstool. He asked St. Peter “Who has been here?” Peter told the Lord about the Taylor and said it was him. The confronted the Tailor and said if I were to judge as you judge, how would it have gone with you.” (Brothers Grimm #35)

 

                          Matthew 7 says, “We should not judge any other person because no one is perfect. Look at your own faults before 

                          passing judgments. We are not qualified to pass judgments on anyone” (vs 1-3)

 

          This account of this story has a profound truth about my life. You see, I have been labeled as a criminal, but I’m not one at all. 1996, I was charged with possession of paraphernalia, 1st offense. This accusation happened in Southampton County, VA. The home town of rebellious slave named Nat Turner. I had never been in any kind of trouble before. As a matter of fact, I had just finished working for the NOAA Ship Mt. Mitchell, just a few years earlier. I have an honorable discharge from the Army Reserve for 7 years of service. My transportation, for court that day, never showed and automatically turned my 1st offense charge into convicted of cocaine and failure to appear. I received 5 years for the conviction and 5 years for the failure to appear charge. I found myself going downward on a spiral road. Since then I have difficulty finding gainful employment. When the background check comes back, I’m never hired. Even here at TNCC I’m having problems with applying for the Work Study Program. The Office of Procurement has expressed interest in me, however I’ve not heard anything back from Human Resources. I fight these obstacles on a daily basis. The tailor was dishonest. He forgot where he was and where he had been. I dream of redemption and the prosperity of success. I imagine that dreams that do come true and the affluence of happily-ever-after.

 

          In conclusion, I can really relate to the Grimm’s Brothers and what they were trying to do and what they went through. They found themselves in a place where they had to survive and take care of their siblings who were depending on them. They took advantage of the opportunities that were already in place for them. They combined their love for a good story and then added a good dose of imagination. I don’t think they realized what type of impact the stories would have on people, young and old, all over the world.

 

                                                                            

                                                                                      Works Cited

 

 Brothers Grimm. The. Tailor in Heaven.” Fairy Tales. 1812. Project Gutenburg, 2008. Sept.14, 2014.

        <http://self.gutenberg.org/rss/authors.aspx.

 

New King James Bible. “Matthew.” Chapter 7 vs 1-3. Kenneth Copeland Ministries:  Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1990. Sept. 14, 2014.

 

O’Neill, Thomas. “Guardians of the Fairy Tale: The Brothers Grimm”. Living in the World: Cultural Themes for Writers. 1st ed. Boston          Wadsworth, 2014. 44-57. Sept. 14, 2014.