Welcome to episode four of our short story series. In this episode, we begin Part I of our look at the seemingly simple story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” The story was first published anonymously as "The Story of the Three Bears" in an 1837 volume of Robert Southey’s writings called The Doctor. The story’s characters and plot morphed through the years, from an unpleasant old woman to a sweet little girl, and from three ‘bachelor bears’ or siblings, into Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear, but the dates of these changes are disputed. Goldilocks and the Three Bears is just an old English fairytale, short and simple. Or is it? You can’t judge a book, or story, by its cover.
Discussion Points:
- Judging people by their external qualities- age, skin color, etc.
- Childhood views of the story vs. today’s
- Irony is employed by flipping expectations of behaviors of bears vs. girls
- Re-read the story yourself with the link below and tune in for Part II
Resources:
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