Hansel and Gretel | Jack Zipes | ESSAYS | THE HERITAGE OF WORDS | Grade XII | Compulsory English

Hansel and Gretel 

Hansel and Gretel

            Jack Zipes      

Theme: He interprets the original text from Marxist point of view. There is class struggle between higher and lower classes.           

Summary

Basically, literary text conveys more than what they literally say. As a result, we should explore the meaning which is expressed indirectly in the text. Interpretation the text means exploring and identifying what the text is really about.

The essay 'Hansel and Gretel' the writer has tried to interpret the original story from Marxist point of view. The essay is the story of hope and victory. In the story, the woodcutter is a poor man who can't support his family. The poverty forces him to leave his children alone in the jungle. The children struggle against all evil forces and finally get success. They return home with jewels after killing the witch.

The children's struggle is the struggle against poverty, against the witch who accumulated foods, wealth etc. The witch represents feudalism, and aristocracy. Children killed the witch that symbolizes as working class people hate feudal. The children don't take parents as their enemies, because the system is against their condition. The working class people hate the prejudices and injustices of aristocracy and feudalism.