WWTA Mythic/Folkloric Lens Application by Pierson Lumaya

Explaining the Proto-World

amendez2968 — 2024-01-10 17:04:30 UTC

The proto-world is similar to our real world because the story starts with Max in his wolf costume causing commotion in his house and his mother gets fed up with it. He gets sent to his room and his imagination makes his room turn into a jungle/world that has trees, land, sky, and water like ours however there are mythical made up creatures. His task in his new land was to be away from his mother and do what he wanted whenever he wanted. This goes on for days and nights and he becomes the mythical creatures king which he loves temporarily. After a while, he has a feeling that he wants to feel loved again by his mother, so he decides to leave this land. The creatures beg him not to leave saying "'Oh please don't go well eat you up-we love you so!'" Sendak 34. As the book goes on he refuses the creatures and returns to the real world (his bedroom) and enjoys his mothers dinner she had made for him.

who is the magical child saving from and what? what is the lesson?

clee5064 — 2024-01-10 17:24:08 UTC

In the short story, "Where The Wild Things Are", the magical child, Max, is saving himself by finding the affection he wants. During his dream, Max sails off to an island full of wild things to escape his punishment for misbehaving. Here, he can be the boss of things and cause trouble as much as he likes. When all of the monsters were sleeping, Max realized he, "was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all". Max came to the realization that his mother would still love him no matter how big his feelings were and "he gave up being king where the wild things are". The overall lesson of this short story is that Max's mother will still love him no matter how big his feelings are and it causes Max to come home.

Sendak's Message

plumaya5575 — 2024-01-10 17:24:21 UTC

Rather than stating anything other than positive emotions is bad, Sendak gives the message that it is okay to experience "fury" or anger. However, those emotions must be controlled. Emotional control doesn't come naturally; it is something gained through internal growth. Sendak shows this through his character Max. In the beginning of the story, Max is sent to his room for lashing out at his mother. This punishment gives time for Max to reflect on his actions, allowing him to mature. Sendak shows here that it is ok to be angry, but you cannot act out because of it. Moreover, Sendak explains how we must grow within. His message is continued through the interaction between Max and the monsters. The monsters acted out much like Max did in the beginning of the story. Max matures after viewing this, and understands it is not okay to act out. Overall, Sendak's message is that while negative emotions are common and okay, people must learn to control our actions because of these emotions

Who is the magical child? How is he different from the other children? What are his magical qualities? What other forms of magic are evident here?

jkalish1749 — 2024-01-10 17:24:27 UTC

The magical child is Max because he acts like a wild thing. One night, he put on his ¨wolf suit and made mischief of one kind¨. He is acting out of hand. He proclaimed to his mother that he will ¨eat [her] up¨. His mom did not like that, so he was ¨sent to bed without eating anything¨ (Sendack). Max is acting like a wild creature and being destructive. His attitude towards his mother was out of hand. Punishing him will help him work on his behavior and be not acting up. His magical qualities is that he can make the monsters on the island obey him. Max declared for them to ¨´be still´ and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into their eyes without blinking once¨. The monsters were terrified of him. They ¨called him the most wild thing of all¨. Because of that, he was made ¨king of all wild things¨(Sendack). Max´s magic qualities named him king of them because he was the wildest of them. He controlled them with just looking in their eyes and doing magic hands to stop them from groaning.

Which of the archetypal characters does Sendak use in this text?

amendez2968 — 2024-01-11 16:45:28 UTC

All of the archetypal characters can be seen in the story like the main character, Max, only has one parent and is marked as different in his family from his wolf costume. When he leaves home into his imaginary world, that is when you can notice his full potential which is staying up day and night dancing with the monsters as "[the] king of all wild things" Sendak 24. Later in the story he returns home and peace is restored within himself and his household. The second

What IS THE FOOD? What role does it play in the text? Think about the different types of food as they appear in the text.

clee5064 — 2024-01-11 16:49:35 UTC

At the beginning of the text, Max's mother sends Max to his room without having dinner which causes him to dream about going where the wild things are. Max didn't realize how hard it was to tame the wild things and he," sent the wild things off to bed without their supper" (Sedak 31). When Max realizes that he does not belong where the wild things are and wants affection from others, "he gave up being king of where the wild things are" (Sendak 33). When Max comes home," he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot" (Sedak 40). The food in the text represents Max's mother's reconciliation after she sent Max off to bed without supper. It represents how his mother will continue to love him no matter how big his feelings are.

So, why does Max wear a wolf suit? Why does he leave his mother? What, really, is the “wild rumpus”? Why do the wild things want to “eat him up”? So......he runs away and his mother leaves warm food? WHAT?! Make it make sense!

clee5064 — 2024-01-11 16:53:51 UTC

Max wears the wolf suit because he wants to escape from the constraints of reality and enter a fantastical world where he is in control and can let his instincts run. His wolf suit also represents how Max wants to be wild and free without having his mother disciple him. Max leaves his mother because he doesn't like how his mother calls him, "WILD THING" (Sedak 8) and he decides to leave for the island where all of the wild things live. On the island where all of the wild things are, the wild rumpus is the uproar the wild things make because they are undisciplined. When Max realizes how he doesn't like being the leader of the wild things, he decides to leave but the wild things doesn't want him to leave and "[they] love [him] so!" (Sedak 34). Max didn't want to be with the wild things and their wild rumpus. When Max returns home to his bedroom, this mother left him dinner and it was still warm. The food represent's his mothers love for him and she'll love him more matter what.

The Others

plumaya5575 — 2024-01-11 16:54:02 UTC

In Sendak's story, "Where the Wild Things Are", the monsters are considered the others. To Max, these characters are others. In Max's eyes, the monsters are wild, and Max "tame[s] them with a magic trick" (Sendak 22). Max believes the monsters are bad and dangerous. Sendak creates the monsters to be similar to Max. Because of this depiction, to the viewers eyes, the monsters are not others. Rather, they are similar to Max. Sendak repeats the plot from the beginning of his story, but Max plays the role of his mother, and the monsters play the role of Max.

Who is the helpless central character?

jkalish1749 — 2024-01-11 16:54:08 UTC

The helpless central character is the other wild things. After the wild things ¨made him king of all wild things¨, Max remarked to ¨let the wild rumpus start¨. The wild things are the helpless central characters because they are just listening to what Max is telling them to do. He is in charge of them and they are just following his command. After they were messing around, Max commanded them to stop and ¨sent the wild things off to bed without their supper¨. Since the wild things were going around all hyper, he wanted to stop it and just punished them with no food. They have to obey him. When he decided to leave and go back home, the wild things ¨cried ´please don´t go´¨. They are not the same without him. The helpless central character is the wild things because they have to listen to Max because he is their king and they do not have the same qualities by not having authority like him.