The stories in the Turkish Fairy Tale unit shed a little light on the odd justice system of the area. While nowadays the justice in Turkey at times will seem very harsh, depending on what demographic group someone belongs to may determine whether there will ever be justice at all.
As for justice in these stories, it varies greatly in strictness. For example, in The Wizard and His Pupil, the wizard is a thief, but he teaches the young man to also be a thief, which he pursues. Then, when he runs away from the wizard, and the wizard tries to bring him back to work, the pupil kills the wizard. The pupil is supposed to be the good guy and is rewarded by becoming part of the king's court. This sort of justice seems a bit twisted to me. The wizard was not a good man, but the boy was just as dishonest and violent (hence the killing in the end).
While this is definitely a more interesting story and maybe more realistic than other fairy tales, there is generally a lesson to be learned, which does not happen here. Another example of odd, Turkish justice is from the Imp in the Well. When the main character's nagging, horrible wife falls down the well, no one does anything. The imp is so scared of having to spend time with her again that he flees when her name is mentioned and never returns. So, though she may be the most annoying person ever that does not mean that she deserves to die. But in these stories, anyone who is not the main character who breaks a rule is probably going face a horrible fate.
The justice in fairly tales is often skewed in favor of the main character, but no main characters have as morally questionable actions as the ones in the Turkish Fairy Tales.
You can find this reading unit at Turkish Fairy Tales.
The justice in fairly tales is often skewed in favor of the main character, but no main characters have as morally questionable actions as the ones in the Turkish Fairy Tales.
You can find this reading unit at Turkish Fairy Tales.
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Hello again,
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Turkish Fairy Tales yet. But I have read similar units like Persian Tales and Indian Fairy Tales. These both have similar concepts to the way you described Persian Tales. Some of the stories were a little bizarre to read but definitely gets you thinking. I'll have to give your unit a read soon. Thanks for sharing!
I also read the Turkish Fairy Tales for this weeks readings. I did not look at the fairy tales the way you did. I think it's interesting how you see the injustice of the fairy tales which I did not notice at first! It is true though, it seemed every main character was in control of everyone else's fate. In many stories the other characters did not deserve the outcome they got. Thanks for this view point!
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