The Things in the Forest

The Things in the Forest

There is much we can learn by reflecting on the stories heard in childhood. Magical characters such as the Cinderella, are likely to remain in the imagination for a lifetime. The adventures these stories describe often reflect challenges we face in our journeys. As children grow, the stories they were told or saw at a young age are understood on deeper levels, they begin to relate to or understand characters from their favorite stories . The hero's journey reflects the journey of life, the growth and experiences we all face as we take our place in society and accept our responsibilities. In our lifetime however, we face more than one journey; every challenge or change we face in life is in itself a journey.

The author of the story “The Thing in the Forest”, A.S. Byatt tells us the story as we are taken on such an adventure, but this is more than just a children’s fairytale. Through figurative language she is showing that the main characters, Penny and Primrose, are dealing with more than just a creature in the forest, and that with this use of symbols as a way to express a larger meaning to objects in the story, we better understand how Penny and Primrose are dealing with being away from their families during a time of war in England. Their imagination saves them from the tortures and terrors of a world in turbulence, preserving their innocence for as long as they can.

Fairy tales are full of images of loss and abandonment; Snow White is cast out by her narcissistic mother into a dark and perilous forest, and Little Red Cap deviates intentionally from the correct path. Hansel and Gretel are rejected and cast out by unloving parents and once abandoned in the woods, cannot find their way home, becoming increasingly lost in the depths of the deep forest, where only a cannibalistic witch lives. Many fairy tales have a "house in the middle of the woods" motif. This is a house that is very different from the one in which the hero...