It has been a while since I’ve seen the Disney version of “Snow White” but there are some aspects of Brother’s Grimm’s “Snow White” that I am completely unfamiliar with.  For example, in Disney’s version I don’t believe the mother pricked her finger and let three drops of blood fall to the snow and then wish her child would look similar to that. This is how Snow White got her name in Grimm’s version but I don’t recall Disney explaining where she got her name from. I feel as though Disney just let her appearance explain the name.  Also, in Grimm’s version the prince doesn’t kiss Snow White to wake her from her sleep but instead an apple chunk that was lodged in her throat was knocked out. Obviously Disney wanted to make their version of Snow White more romantic.

What surprised me in Grimm’s version that isn’t in Disney’s version is that the evil stepmother was able to trick snow white three times. You would think after the first time Snow White would have learned her lesson but no. She didn’t listen to the warnings that the dwarfs gave her and finally on the third try, the evil stepmother managed to do some damage. I’m glad that Disney didn’t put this part into their version because it just makes Snow White look not so smart.

As for the theme of Grimm’s story, I believe it has to do with being happy with your own appearance. The evil stepmother was so worried about being the fairest in all the land that she turned against her own stepdaughter and basically went crazy. In the end, Snow White was still the fairest in all the land and the stepmother ended up dead so all that deceiving the stepmother did was for nothing. Little girls should learn to accept themselves as they are and work towards being a better person on the inside for improving our outsides can only go so far.

No egg is told in this tale,

No lentils or peas lining the trail,

“Be bold,” you will not be told,

No decapitated fingers will unfold.

Do you know the tale of which I tell?

For one women, it was her hell.

Hi everyone! My name is Ashley Zerr. I was born in Alberta, Canada but grew up in Morgan Hill, California. This is my third year as a Liberal Studies major at Chico State and I have loved every minute of it. I hope to one day have my own classroom and teach the primary grades.

To me, being a reader means reading everything and anything around. Street signs, restaurant menus, and price tags are all daily reads for the average person. Those who read these are considered readers to me because they are doing just that. Although these are simple reads, they are essential reads for a day to day basis.

Outside of school I do not read a lot if scholarly work. I’ll read the feed from my Twitter and Facebook but rarely will I pick up a book that will make me more “book smart.” I enjoy reading love stories while laying out by the pool but that is the only time I’ll sit down with a book. I think that the reading I do outside of school only connects to the reading I do outside of schools by the fact that I am reading. I may not be reading what one of my teachers may assign but reading is reading. Although I do enjoy my outside reading a lot more than my school reading because I get to chose what I want to read and am not forced to read it.

“Literacy was implicitly defined as the reading of great books that make one a great person rather than as rhetorically effective communication.” (Williams 180) This definition of literacy from William’s article surprised me. I don’t even see how we can define such a broad and misunderstood word. An average person uses literacy everyday to deal with daily, simple tasks. People also use literacy to write papers for their masters programs. The scale of literacy is so spread out that I don’t see how we can measure it or define what is good and what is bad literacy. In Williams article, he says that “the definition of literacy and literary reading in the report were laughably narrow.” (Williams 180) As future teachers, we cannot narrow in on one type or the “right” type of literacy but let our student’s literacy and literary readings be as broad and unique as the students in our class.