Synthesis Page on The Grimm Conclusion by Adam Gidwitz

Synthesis page on The Grimm Conclusion

Critical Thinking Question: At what points do you notice yourself resisting the book, characters or      author? What does resistance say about the book, and what does it say about you?

Isolation and Neglect:

These two topics were focused on alot. In the book, when Jorinda and Joringel were born, the father had died, and the mother locked herself away in her study room because she was afraid that she might not raise them well. In the book it says ‘’She would feed them and clothe them and then she would retire to her study and pore over her ancient books in dead languages and try not to think too much about the babies who cried for her from the room upstairs.’’ This part just completely shocked me, a mother just completely neglected her children because she was afraid of not raising them well. Right after reading this, I thought that she should have at least tried to raise them. This just adds more to the fact that she should have done something. Later on in the book, she married a chef because she thought that ,being a chef and all, her kids would never go hungry. She married him also because he had two daughters, and because of that she thought he was a good father. When Joringel and Jorinda came up to her study to complain about their stepsisters, she said, ‘’Anger is a weed, Jorinda. It grows up through the soil, choking every other plant. You must stamp it out. Don’t let it enter your garden. Stamp out your anger until it never comes back.’’ This is the only thing she teaches her kids. And its not even good advice, its not good to stamp out your anger, choke back your tears, or smother your pain. This isn't at all how you find peace.

Decapitation and Murder

In the book, Joringel wanted a apple from his stepfather from his chest of apples. When the stepfather opened the chest’s lid, Joringel bent down into the chest to smell the apples. Right there the stepfather slammed the lid of the chest down on the boy’s neck. It said, ‘’The stepfather stood stock-still over the chest. The boy’s small, headless body lay on the floor. Blood pooled under his severed neck. His head, of course, was still in the chest of apples. Then the stepfather said, ‘’Oh no! His mother will be furious with me!’’  This passage just completely upset me. He just killed his own son (well, stepson), and he was only worried of what his wife will think. To cover up his tracks, he somehow made Joringel think that she was the one that killed her brother. And that just shocked me even more, a man killed his own son and let his daughter burn with guilt. This text just bothered me. Why would he kill Joringel? What ever did Joringel do to make his stepfather decapitate him?

Tyranny

Because Joringel couldn't stand her home and the guilt, she ran away with a prince. But prince suddenly left her to rule an entire kingdom, and with no one to teach her how to rule a kingdom, and all her feelings she locked, she transformed into a tyrant. In the book it says, ‘’So whenever someone bowed to her, she frowned and pushed her feelings down. And whenever a subject waved and smiled, she jerked her head way so as not to see, not to feel. And whenever anyone complimented her at all, she sneered at herself, and at them, and fought, fought, fought the pain within . . . the little girl monarch became colder and crueler . . .’’ I was slightly surprised by this, how could such a little girl be so cruel and distant? This  also shows that she followed her mother’s advice, which was to lock up your feelings. But I also think that it just proves my belief that locking up your feelings is just not right. It seemed to me that the more ‘’locked up’’ she became the more crueler she was. It was like she couldn't see the real world because all that pain she kept in was blinding her.

Child Abuse

When Jorinda left the throne, people heard a rumor  that she’d come back and taking all the children with her to raise an army and take over the kingdom since she made a law that parents who abuse their kids, would also be abused. And because of that people in that kingdom treated their children like slaves in fear. For example, it says, ‘’The little girl motioned down at their ankles. Then she stood up. A shackle was buckled around her little heel, and to the shackle was clamped a heavy iron chain.’’ This was just completely incomprehensible. People in the kingdom chained up their children just because of a rumor.

                        There were a few parts of the book that I noticed myself resisting, they were

usually all the gory and grim details, but all the other situations (like the ones that is listed above), just shocked me. One situation can lead up to another, and that can lead  up to another one, and so forth. This type of of resistance may show that this book may not be suitable for young kids, but compared to other books I think they can handle it. Although it was a bit upsetting in the beginning, I thought it turned out okay at the end.