Monday, May 25, 2020

Life During the Great Depression - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1659 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/05/17 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Great Depression Essay Did you like this example? The American Great Depression was a period of financial instability and uncertainty for many people all across the nation. Unemployment and homelessness rates fell.(Laibman). Youth life during this time was very tough and brought many issues. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Life During the Great Depression" essay for you Create order The radio was not the only form of entertainment people had, but it was very popular during this time, and many people had one. Money complications created many headaches for almost everyone. Farmers were under a great amount of stress during the Great Depression, and many lost land. The pricing during this time was not comparable to the prices we have today. Life during the Great Depression was challenging and came with many problems; therefore, many people were not able to live the life they envisioned. During the Great Depression, the economy of the United States was atrocious. At the start of the Great Depression, the financial system started to become very fragile. Many people were in debt, and businesses started to drop payroll. Because of this, citizens were not able to to pay off all of their debt, which left them in a bad predicament. Unemployment and homelessness began rising during this time, and the standard of living dropped (Laibman). In order to make a little bit of money, some people would work to maintain dirt roads for three dollars an hour (Musbach 34). The laws that were in effect during the Great Depression also had a big impact on the economy. Many people were protesting Prohibition, causing issues between the people and the government. Gangs ran speakeasies, which were illegal bars. Also, beer being sold during this time led to beer wars (Collins 116). Between the years of 1930 and 1938, the number of children that were five years old and enrolled in school d ropped 17.3 percent. Within the same years, there was a 16.1 percent drop in kindergarten enrollment. One factor that played into these drops was the birth rate fall during the Great Depression (Collins 30). Growing up during the Great Depression was a struggle for the children and parents. One of the responsibilities of the mother was to teach the children right from wrong. Although most children wanted to stay in school, many children had to drop out. One reason they had to drop out was to work in factories to help make money for the family (Thiel-Stern et al. 163). Another reason children couldn’t stay in school was because their family was moving around so much. Also, the lack of transportation, clothing, and money forced children to stay at home. Many children during this time wrote letters to the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, asking for help and necessities (Collins 29). Children also played games to keep themselves entertained. Popular games during this time included Cowboys and Indians (better known as Nazis and Soldiers during this time), Hide and Seek, and Hopscotch (Thiel-Stern et al. 168). Their most prominent time of play was after dinner out on the banquette, which was what they called a patio during the time (Thiel-Stern et al. 173). During the Great Depression, many little girls looked up to Amelia Earhart and Shirley Temple (Thiel-Stern et al. 170). During this time of unemployment, people were searching for a way to keep themselves entertained. Many people would tend to gardens or tap trees for syrup. Also, they would pick fruits off of trees such as apples, pears, and cherries (â€Å"Growing Up During the Great Depression†). Playing board games was very common during the Great Depression, and two popular board games were invented. Scrabble was created by Alfred Butts, and Monopoly was created by Charles Darrow (Collins 86). Going to baseball games was a popular past-time before the Great Depression, but once the Great Depression started, the tickets became too expensive. Although many people couldn’t go see the games anymore, the radio started broadcasting games for everyone to hear. Baseball stadiums became lit, which allowed the games to be held at night. However, the baseball teams were still segregated during this time (Collins 92). Another way people kept themselves busy was by reading. One of the most popul ar books was Joan of Arc (Thiel-Stern et al. 170). Many people also read pulps. These were short fictions printed on cheap paper (Collins 58). The radio also played a huge part in the entertainment world during the Great Depression. Families would sit in their cold, unheated living rooms and listen to whatever the radio played (Thiel-Stern et al. 172). Many would listen to war reports or Franklin D. Roosevelts Fireside Chats in the evenings. When there was a big election, everyone would gather around their radios and listen to the election results (Thiel-Stern et al. 173). Weddings during the Great Depression weren’t anything special, and they were kept very inexpensive. There were no bachelor parties or after rehearsal dinners. The bride’s wedding dress was very cheap and plain. Most of the weddings during this time had a very small and private ceremony. Although the ceremony was small, many people celebrated their wedding for almost three days. Also, at some celebrations you could pay a dollar to have a dance with the bride (Collins 15). One of the main issues during the Great Depression was financial stability. Many people lost all of their savings in the stock market crash. People lost their jobs, which led them to lose their homes (Collins 20). One of the big factors taking most of the money was the health care system (Laibman). Due to all of the issues dealing with money, men moved away from their home and family to find new jobs. Men also felt bad about themselves because they weren’t able to provide for their family (Collins 15). Many homes couldn’t pay for electricity (Mussbach 33). There was no running water or any heat. The stove in the kitchen was the only form of heat for many homes (â€Å"Growing Up†¦) . Being a farmer during the great depression was a struggle. During the war, before the Great Depression, farmers increased their productions to meet the demand; however, after the war, demand and prices dropped. This left farmers with all the crops, and no one to buy them at the price they were grown. Because of this, farmers lost a lot of their own land. Sharecroppers and tenant farmers were forced off their land because of this money predicament (Musbach 34). Most farmers could only afford four cows and bulls, two or three hogs, and a few calves, chickens, and horses. Farmers also didn’t have the money to have machines do a lot of the work, so the horses were used in place of machines (â€Å"Growing Up†¦). Only one in five farms had electricity during the Great Depression, and only one out of ten of them had indoor bathrooms. If a farmhouse had a radio, it was most likely battery powered. Since many farmers didn’t have any electricity, there was no form of refrig eration. So, when farmers created cream, they sent it to town to have it stored and refrigerated. Although iceboxes seemed like a good idea, they didn’t help because they would have to go to town to get the ice. People would keep cans cold by lowering them into a wall near the house. 16 percent of farm families made over $1,500 a year. Sharecroppers and tenant farmers made less than or equal to $350 a year. The average per capita farm income was $167 (Musbach 34). The prices during the Great Depression were very different from prices today. People were able to go and enjoy a movie for only ten cents a person (Thiel-Stern et al. 174). Nuts would cost around 20 cents, a shirt would cost around 79 cents, meat would cost around 55 cents, a goose would cost around one dollar and 43 cents, and pig feed would cost around eight dollars and 75 cents. A car licence would cost someone about five dollars and 25 cents, and then another 85 cents per gallon for gas (Musbach 39). Bread would cost around 35 cents, and butter would cost 30 cents (Musbach 40). In order for families to stay on budget, there was a recommended intake for each person. The recommended milk intake was one quart for children and one pint for adults. They should have had a serving of fruits or a tomato three or four times a week. Having one potato a day was also recommended to stay on budget. One serving of vegetables a day, and a leafy vegetable three or four times a week was recommended (Collins 22). Having three or four eggs a week was recommended. Also, crisp bread for the kids helped with tooth development (Collins 23). Having a meal plan during the Great Depression was essential for families to stay on budget. A family on a strict income would have very little food, and would have to make the food they did have stretch across a long period of time. For breakfast, they would have hot cooked cereal with milk and toast with margarine, and then wash it down with coffee or milk. For lunch there would be scalloped mac and tomatoes, cabbage salad, bread with margarine, toast for kids, and cocoa. Dinner consisted of lamb stew with potatoes, onions, carrots, bread with margarine, toast for kids, indian pudding, and milk to drink (Collins 25). Life during the Great Depression was challenging for many people. The economy was falling apart, and the financial system was on the verge of breaking. Growing up during this time was also difficult due to the need of schooling, but also the need to work and help the family make money. There wasn’t much a person could do for entertainment, but the radio played a big role in the entertainment world during the Great Depression. The money problems people had during this time were enormous, and many people lost everything they had. Many farmers were affected during this time due to the change in demand for crops, and many were forced off their land. The pricing of things during the Great Depression were very different from what they are today, and planning meals according to budget was a challenge. Life During the Great Depression - Free Essay Example Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 921 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Psychology Essay Level High school Tags: Depression Essay Did you like this example? Imagine losing all your money in a blink of an eye after it being flowing into your pocket rapidly in the last period and then you either have to depend on others or sell what you have and stand in long lines for food.This is what happened to average families during the greatest economic downturn in the history of the U.S. Before the great depression the U.S was advancing exponentially during what was called the Roaring Twenties (Ellen Parson,2002). The introduction of electricity and installment payment made average citizens capable of owning products they couldnt afford such as fridges, radios, microwaves etc (John Lake, 2018). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Life During the Great Depression" essay for you Create order But all of this changed in what was called Black Tuesday were the stock market crashed and the worst economic crisis in history started(Sloan Lynch, 2018). The effects of the great depression were devastating on politics, social aspects of the community and more importantly the economy of the Land of the free that lead to the government intervention into economic and social affairs of the country. The roaring twenties were the years before the great depression from 1920 to 1929, it was an era of flourishing and advancement and also changes in the Americans mindset. The national wealth of the United state became more than double its value from 1920 to 1929. The introduction of electricity to American homes was a major change in the life of the average life of an American citizen. Radios became the way of communication and news broadcast. Average families were able to afford electrical products that they couldnt afford using installment payment. Installment payment was introduced by stock buyers who used the same method to buy their stocks.The downpayment of product could be as little as 10% of its price .(John Lake, 2018) The cultural change during the roaring twenties was of a massive impact to the culture of the U.S. The Harlem Renaissance played a major role of changing the music, art and theatre aspects of the American culture forever. Other symbols that characterized the Roaring twenties was The New Lady who was a young lady with bobbed hair and short skirts who drank and smoked and was more sexually free than other ladies according to (History.com Editors,2010). In conclusion, people were living in luxury during the 1920s; watching baseball games and listening to Jazz(Ellen Parson,2002) (Kathleen Harris,2016). However, this joy didnt last long.On the 29th of October 1929, that black Tuesday, when the stock market crashed and billions of dollars were lost. The New York stock exchange trading floor was filled with traders on that night, 16 million shares were lost and billions of dollars vanished through the air (picture in photo essay by: Carry Nelson n.d). Investors were abe to buy through margin purchase. A margin purchase allows an investor to borrow money, typically as much as 75% of the purchase price, to buy a greater amount of stock. (Ushistory.org, n.d.) The cause of the market crash was mainly due to the investors belief that if a stock is going to sell,they will be willing to pay more for it so they rise its value (Ushistory.org, n.d.). But when they feel thats its price may fall they will try to sell it and when all investors try to sell at once no one will buy ad the market value will decrease and thats exactly what happened (Ushistory.org, n.d.). This panic sell began on Thu rsday October 24th 1929 and continued and by the end of the day on the Black Tuesday panic has erupted and stocks were being sold for even less value and in 10 weeks time the stock market value halved. (Ushistory.org, n.d.) This market was blamed to be the incentive of the great depression yet it was more of a symptom of it.It shaked the American economic confidence and made an end to the loans America extended over European countries that were recovering from World War 1.(abc-clio,2018) The stock market crash, bank failures and business practises all lead to the great depression (Sloan Lynch, 2018)The worst economic disaster in the history of the US.The Great Depression lasted roughly 12 years and was ended by World War 2. It devastated the American economy and produced financial hardships for millions of people.(abc-clio,2018) Everyday life changed for every class during the great depression. More than a quarter of the population became jobless and had no income. That was about 15 million people were out of work(KIMBERLY AMADEO, 2018). A third of the children couldnt attend public schools as schools didnt have the budget to open (Sloan Lynch, 2018). Most of the people who didnt lose their job had either their wages reduced or their schedules became part time schedules. Unemployed men and homeless people had to go to soap kitchens and Hoovervilles(were name after president Herbert Hoover, Hoovervilles were shanty houses built for homeless people) to get meals and shelters.(abc-clio,2018)(Sloan Lynch, 2018) During the Great Depression, half of the banks failed and by 1933 4,000 banks have failed.Even big banks run out of business as when people knew the banks used their money on investing in the stock market they were shocked and they ran to take money from banks. Jack Bates,one of the survivors of the great depression, says: farmers had no money during the depression. He also says his father was a dentist and when some farmers came to his clinic they had to pay with the products of their farm like chicken, eggs,ducks and geese.(Adam Bird,2012)

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Puma Marketing Project - 5317 Words

Introduction: With a hallmark of mixing it up, PUMA has a top 10 position in the global sporting goods market. We have distinguished ourselves from the competitive landscape and strengthened our hold in our consumers life. Puma has risen fast to attain sixth place in the global sportswear market, doubling its annual profits in one year. Dedicated to delivering cutting edge products and a long-term growth plan are key drivers in our longevity which result in our ability to anticipate the markets needs. As we will continue to stay true to our objective and expand our innovative ideas, we are confident that 2005 will be another rewarding year for PUMA. The following contains our internal analysis, external analysis, DAFO Analysis, fixed†¦show more content†¦PUMA has been built on them and needs them to flow relentlessly hour by hour, day by day. This demands a willingness to think outside the box, to zig where others zag and to seek inspiration beyond the more obvious boundaries of our bus iness universe. Such creativity has inspired the PUMA brand strategy. It will also be needed to make it a reality. Looking back at 2003, PUMAs global advertising campaigns aimed at communicating a singular and unique message to our consumer base. Center stage in the second half of 2003, was PUMAs Hello campaign that strived to solidify the brands personality to a growing consumer audience. The soft product focus, and Hello tagline aim to nurture an emotional bond through the use of fun and light-hearted imagery and to establish PUMAs openness as a brand. In contrast, by marrying the elements of sport and fun, PUMAs 4some concept exemplified the companys devotion to its strong sport heritage. Held in six key cities across Europe, it is a four-woman team based competition involving running, swimming, cycling and football. Communicated as a time to have fun, learn and compete, 4some targeted the recreational female athlete who regards physical health as only one element of well being. So their marketing has necessarily has to go through the previous concepts to reach as much sport varieties as possible providing the maximum quality and image to each one of their products and customers.Show MoreRelatedMarketing Strategy Of Puma And Adidas Essay1900 Words   |  8 Pageshave in common today. Puma is known to be one of the most popular brands in the sports industry, along with Nike and Adidas. It is a huge company with various types of customers who is either a sport and athletics fan or love the trends and fashion of Puma. It will be interesting to analyze the history and steps taken to maintain their impressive status as there has been constant competition with their rivals throughout history. 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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Beginning Of Civilizations On Education - 1026 Words

The world we live in today is a very good example of a dystopia. Problems have riddled our societies from race fighting, to bigotry, and even mocking people for choices about their bodies or genders. There are many choices that have led to both the causes and the effects of what we live in now. Many people are discussing how to turn our current situations around, this is how I will accomplish these goals in my utopia. The beginning of civilizations starts on education, as future generations are taught the ideals and beliefs of a society; this leads me to take the same exact step in implementing my strategy. Basic education will be very similar to the current American system through high school. Education will start with a strict adherence and following of my former credo. Continued education through college will be payed for, but only for the most intelligent of the populace. The less intelligent will be allowed to attend trade schools, or apprenticeships in any type of labor job. Ou tside learning on one’s own time is highly encouraged to continue to grow overall as a person, which also elevates a person religiously. Not only for that reason but also to be able to get into college if they don’t want to have to go to technical school, or if they want to achieve a high position in the military. Fighting and the establishment of militaries have been around pretty much as long as there have been disagreements about different things. People are constantly fighting, whichShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of An Education During The Beginnings Of Civilizations Around The World Essay1571 Words   |  7 Pages The importance of an education has increasingly been promoted throughout the beginnings of civilizations around the world. During the early centuries, there was a push in order to achieve advancements in technologies and improve everyday life. Another reason was in regards to religious faith, to become informed about those practices and ways to reach s alvation. 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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

The Evolution of Snow White free essay sample

Reflecting the female zeitgeist of the mid 1930s with the reactionary antifeminist undertones brought about by the overindulgence of the Roaring Twenties, the Disney film still leaves much to be desired in the realm of children’s indoctrination. The original Brothers Grimm version first established these moralistic formulae, but it did so in a particularly gruesome fashion. Gone were the morbid details of murderous narcissism, witchcraft, prepubescent sexual ripening, and ritual cannibalism, originally indispensible story elements to better reinforce the all-too-important Protestant values the brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm held so dear. The target demographic was very different as well; while the Disney version was conceptualized with the General Patronage rating in mind, the Grimms’ version was formerly written and published for scholars and teachers in various editions abounding with annotations and notes. The pilot German edition was entitled â€Å"Snow-drop† and published in Kinder–und Hausmarchen in 1812. The rumored early drafts supposedly were a darker and more sinister tale, much more so than the edited version. We will write a custom essay sample on The Evolution of Snow White or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, this was not the first appearance of the Snow White character. The Grimms collected the elements of their stories from old midwives, nurses, sewing circle members and the like, owing to the deeply-steeped oral folk traditions of the time. The earliest known written version of the tale may be a derivation of Giambattista Basile’s â€Å"The Young Slave,† published in the collection, Il Pentamerone in 1634. Referenced in the Grimms’ text in 1812, the story is recognizable as the parent of the Grimms’ Snow White albeit it differs in some of the finer points, as well as owing some similarities in other fairy tales. In the account, a lady gets impregnated by the ingestion of a rose leaf. Secretly, the lady, a baron’s unmarried sister, births a baby girl and names her Lisa. Similar to the â€Å"Sleeping Beauty† trope, fairies were invited to bless the child but one unfortunate fairy botches up the blessing (she slipped and twisted her ankle), making it into a curse that states specifically that the child, Lisa, will die when she reaches the age of seven. True to the bumbled blessing, Lisa’s short and fast-forwarded life comes to an end on her seventh year, while her mother was combing her hair. In her grief, the mother tries to preserve the charming vision of her daughter in seven caskets made of pure crystal and hides her in a secluded part of the baron’s castle under lock and key. The mother’s grief eventually brought her to her grave; on her deathbed he gives the baron the key to the room and makes him promise to never open the door under any circumstance. Years pass, and the baron marries. Borrowing from â€Å"Bluebeard†, the baron is called by his peers to a hunting trip so he gives his wife the key and strictly instructs her not to open the door. Propelled by the sense of mystery, distrust and a skewed by-product of reverse psychology, the wife runs up to the locked room and opens it. Here she finds a stunningly beautiful young maiden—our Snow White, Lisa, now grown to her adolescent years by the magic of time—sleeping in an intricate crystal bed. Mistaking the girl for the baron’s secret mistress, the baroness in a fit deserving of the â€Å"Scorned Woman† description, dislodges the comb from the girl’s hair—subsequently waking her from her reverie—beats the girl within an inch of her life, cuts of her long, immaculate black hair and dresses her like a kitchen maid. When the baron returned and inquired about the appearance of this strange and careworn young woman, the baroness supplies that the girl was â€Å"a slave sent her by her aunt, only fit for the ropes end, and that one had to be forever beating her. † One day, the baron was invited to a local fair, but before his departure, he promises everyone, including the cats and slaves, a gift when he returns. Lisa asks for a doll, a knife, and some pumice-stone. After a series of events, he finally acquires the requested gifts and presents them to Lisa. Lisa tired of the suffering she has endured, goes to the kitchen, and tells the doll her heartbreaking tale while she contemplates killing herself with the sharpened knife. She threatens the doll that if it did not answer, she will most certainly end her life. The doll, animated by sympathy, answers and pleads to her not to. After several days of routine suicide consideration and marionette psychotherapy, the baron overhears the miserable tale of the child. Wanting to right what is wrong; he adopts the child as his own and restores her health, beauty and heritage. The misinformed baroness is forever banished—back to her parents. Basile’s The Young Slave contains motifs we recognize not only from Snow White but also Sleeping Beauty (the fairys curse), Bluebeard (the locked room), Beauty and the Beast (the troublesome gift), and other tales. The minimal inclusion of any supernatural elements is also a distinct note. Excepting the circumstances of Lisa’s birth and death, the primary conflict did not, in any way, warrant the use of telltale poisoned apples, dwarven miners, and paranormal, information-gathering mirrors. The cause of the baroness’s fit can also be considered as a â€Å"normal reaction;† a woman driven to a temporary insanity by jealousy and Lisa’s suicidal kitchen conversations with the doll spoke a poignant message of a child’s battered psyche. Basile painted for us a domestic and deeply moving tale of Italian courtly life. Finally, we move on to the Grimms â€Å"distilled† version. Similar to the Basile version, the story starts with a barren queen longing for a child. Set in the frigid, northern snow lands, the queen gets inspired with the droplets of blood from her pricked finger marring the white snow and she wishes that her daughter be â€Å"as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window-frame. † Soon after that, the queen gives birth to a baby girl who has skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. They name her Princess Snow White. As soon as the child is born, the queen dies. We are then introduced to the king’s replacement queen: a vain and conniving woman who daily consults a magical mirror that can answer any question asked to it. Often, she asks the mirror in those immortal words, Mirror, mirror on the wall, who in the land is fairest of all? to which the mirror always replies You, my queen, are fairest of all. This daily exchange goes on until the princess reaches the age of seven. Even at a very young age, the princess is described as the most beautiful woman in the land, and the mirror does not fail to point this tiny detail out to the queen. The queen’s jealousy overwhelms her and she orders a huntsman to take Snow White into the woods and kill her. The huntsman, buckling under the sheer beauty of his young companion, shirks his duty and tells the girl to run away, hoping that the forest wildlife might be the ones to end her life. Of course, he mustn’t return empty-handed, so he kills a boar, takes its liver and lungs and presents them to the queen as Snow White’s. The queen, rejoicing in her victory, proceeds to eat the entrails after demanding it to be cooked. Back in the forest, where the forest critters stay their claws and hunger at the sight of pretty, little Snow White, she discovers a tiny cottage belonging to seven dwarfs, where she rests. The dwarves, after a long day at the mines, find their homes slightly disturbed. Incensed at the existence of a trespasser, they quickly search the house and finding the sleeping body of Snow White in one of their beds. Again, dazzled at the sight of this lovely child, they took pity on her. When she finally woke up—and after Snow White’s explanation—they agreed to keep her safe in exchange for manual labor, and gratefully, she agrees. The dwarves, wary of the queen’s retaliation, warn her to close the door during the day and take care not to let anyone in. The queen confers with the mirror to reaffirm her superiority, and is shocked and furious at the fact that Snow White is still alive. With her experience in the arts of witchcraft and camouflage, she scours the seven mountains in search for the girl and three times tries to take her life. After two failed attempts (the dwarves save her every time), she finally succeeds with the help of an enticing poison-laced apple. Such is the splendor of her apple that Snow White almost immediately eats it and falls into a deep stupor. The dwarves fail to revive her and so they place her in a glass coffin, her beauty exposed for all to bask in. Snow White’s â€Å"corpse† does not decay even after a certain amount of time. A traveling prince happens upon the coffin and, intrigued, asks the dwarves for her. At first they don’t agree but they eventually give in, seeing that the prince’s help might be the best for the girl at this time. The prince’s servants carry her away but a serendipitous incidence lodged the poisoned apple piece from her throat, waking her from her reverie. After quick declarations of love from both of them, they, without more ado, plan their wedding. The queen, still thinking the princess dead, consults her mirror who is the fairest in the land, and yet again the mirror disappoints her by proclaiming that, You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But the young queen is a thousand times fairer than you. Not knowing the new queen was her stepdaughter, she goes to the wedding to scope out the new competition. When she realizes that not only was her stepdaughter alive, but the wedded queen of a prince, an unfathomable horror encroaches upon her heart. As punishment for her repeated attempts at murder, she is forced to dance in a pair of heated iron shoes until she dies. The fetishization of physical beauty is obviously in play more so in this narrative than in Basile’s story. Physical beauty was the agent of the queen’s ire, and her determination in snuffing out that wondrous, miraculous beauty fuels the major conflict. Could it be simple vanity, an intense narcissism mutating into a murderous obsession in being the most beautiful? Or could it be an inherent insecurity fueled by the fear of being upstaged by the cloying prettiness of the young woman? Roger Sale, best encapsulates the psyche of the queen in â€Å"Fairy Tales and After. † He states, â€Å"There is, for instance, no suggestion that the queens absorption in her beauty ever gives her pleasure, or that the desire for power through sexual attractiveness is itself a sexual feeling. What is stressed is the anger and fear that attend the queens realization that as she and Snow White both get older, she must lose. That is why the major feeling invoked is not jealousy but envy: to make beauty that important is to reduce the world to one in which only two people count. Within the realms of the Grimms’s female community, Snow White’s beauty is a hindrance; a loosely-said blessing given to a child too young to realize its significance and the social gravity (i. e. possible competition) connected with it. In Delia Sherman’s poem, â€Å"Snow White to the Prince,† the princess openly shows her disdain for the beauty she possesses, â€Å"My cursed beauty. Will you hear now why I curse it? It should have been my mothers — it had been, until I took it from her. Sherman also has some very astute observations concerning Snow White’s gullibility in accepting all these gifts from a suspicious and vaguely familiar source. Due to lack of character detail on the Grimms’ part, Sherman forged her own reading on the tragic relationship of stepmother and stepdaughter as what it really is, stripped from all the Judeo-Christian trappings of the original authors, Do you think I did not know her? . . Of course I took her poisoned gifts. I wanted to feel her hands coming out of my hair, to let her lace me up, to take an apple from her hand, a smile from her lips, as when I was a child. Snow White, according to Sherman, is not a guileless, naive little girl tempted by folly; she is the embodiment of every child yearning for even a sliver of affection and love from an abusive parent. Here, she willingly participates in the queen’s homicidal charades to invoke a certain semblance of motherly bonding between them. The Grimms’ flimsy explanation of â€Å"hardwork being the cure of idleness,† then dissolves in a pile of spent orals, as the painful realization of Snow White’s ignorance might be her longing for a mother figure. Olga Broumas has an analogous interpretation in her poem eponymously entitled, â€Å"Snow White,† Dont curse me, Mother, . . . No salve, no ointment in a doctors tube, no brew in a witchs kettle, no lovers mouth, no friend or god could heal me if your heart turned i n anathema, grew stone against me. Snow White has been an alluring and, ultimately, mysterious figure that has been given a lot of literary treatments through the years. Deconstructive attempts in popular culture tried to veer away from the archetypal elements set by the original story (as well as Disney’s counter-productive attempts) by reinterpreting the characters, setting, and the binaries of the main conflict. Honorable mentions would be Neil Gaiman’s short story, â€Å"Snow, Glass, Apples,† which features the Snow White story in the narrative voice and point of view of the stepmother. It features a vampiric Snow White, using her powers to inveigle the people around her while she feeds on the blood of her victims. The queen, here, is fighting a desperate struggle to rid her kingdom this undead monstrosity but, true to the plot flow of the original, fails to convince her subjects to see through her evil stepdaughter’s ruse. Angela Carter’s gothic re-imagination â€Å"The Snow Child† would also be a worthy candidate. Instead of a baroness asking for a child, it was the Count who wanted a child â€Å"as white as snow. † In accordance with an in-story legend, his wish is granted and he lavishes the child with his time and affection, much to the Countess’s vexation. At the Countess’s command, the child picks up a rose and dies at the prick of a thorn.