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The Gingerbread House: Summary & Questions and Answers | The Heritage of Words Class 12
The Gingerbread House by Robert Coover
DETAILED SUMMARY
The Gingerbread House by Robert Coover
This transforming story, "The Gingerbread House" has been written by contemporary writer Robert Coover. The writer has transformed the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel into a new story, "The Gingerbread House." This story moves ahead with descriptions. There are altogether four characters in this story. All the characters are unnamed.
Among these characters, we find the old man, two children (the boy and the girl), and the witch. This story starts in the mid-afternoon. During mid-afternoon, we find an old man leading two children towards a dense forest. Their condition is not good. The old man seems quite weak and miserable and has worn out and torn clothes. He has pale blue eyes and a wrinkled face.
He has worn out his ragged shoes. He is looking for a chance to desert the kids in the dense forest. He isn't happy. He feels guilty. He is going to desert the kids due to his inability to feed them properly. The kids are also in torn-out clothes. They are following the old man's bare feet. The girl is carrying a basket of flowers and singing a nursery song. Among the two, the boy seems a bit clever. He keeps on watching the old man's movements.
He is dropping breadcrumbs along the way, quite secretly, from his pocket. Both of the kids are unaware of their destination. They keep on following the old man. As they are moving ahead, they encounter a terrible witch. The witch has worn out a black rag.
Her face is pale, and her body is quite thin and twisted. Her eyes are like burning coals. She had long-nailed fingers and a beaked nose. She cackles madly time and again.
She spreads her hands in space and suddenly catches a white dove. Dove tries to get rid of her clutches but can't. The witch tears its red heart out. She again cackles so terribly. The old man saves the children with his trick. After some time, they reach the gingerbread house. The place is sunny and beautiful. The air is fresh there.
There is a river of honey and a beautiful garden of sugared fruits. In that garden, the lollypops have grown like daises. Just over the honey river, there is a beautiful ladder of biscuits. That house can be reached by walking through that biscuit's ladder. The gingerbread house is made of ginger, sweets, sugar, and chocolate. The roof of the house is made of chocolate. The door of the house is heart-shaped and red and is half-opened. The door is shining like a ruby. The house is all packed with sweet items.
They continue their journey again. After some time, the boy turns his head back and finds all the white birds eating up his bread crumbs. He becomes quite worried about his plan to return home. Both the old man and the girl are unaware of the boy's activities. As evening falls, the old man prepares the bed for all and also tells children's stories to the kids. They walk the next whole day. The kids get confused as well as frightened because they don't know where the old man is taking them.
During the evening, the old man decides to leave the kids. He tries to return home silently, but the kids know and start following him. The old man becomes angry with kids, and his eyes glow like burning coals. He pushes the girl and strikes the boy. Both kids start weeping. Leaving both kids in the strange black forest, the old man returns home.
After that, the kids face the situation courageously. They prepare their shelter from the leaves of trees. As they sleep, they get terrified because various strange figures move before their eyes. The old man at his house regrets his misdeeds. He wishes for every good thing for his children. After sleeping, the kids see all the events of the day in their dreams. In their dreams, they come to the Gingerbread House. They fall on the sticky garden of fruits. They lick each other. They enjoy it a lot and become so happy. The boy climbs up the roof of chocolate. They enjoy eating bread and sweets. At last, both kids get so terrified to hear the flapping sound of the witch's black rag.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Gingerbread House by Robert Coover
(Important)- Compare and contrast between “Hansel and Gretel” and “The Gingerbread House”.
Answer:
The comparison and contrast between “Hansel and Gretel” and “The Gingerbread House” are as follows:
Both tales raise the issue of poverty and its consequences. In both tales, due to poverty, the father and the old man leave their children in the forest.
Stepmother is presented in Hansel and Gretel, whereas she is absent in the Gingerbread house.
In Hansel and Gretel, children meet a wicked witch in the small house, whereas in the gingerbread house, they encounter the witch in the jungle and hear the terrible flapping sound of a red rag in their dream.
In Hansel and Gretel, the old man and his wife leave the children twice in the forest, whereas in the Gingerbread House, the old man leaves the children only once.
In Hansel and Gretel, the children miss their way to the house and wander in the forest for three days, whereas in the Gingerbread house, the children reach after a short walk in their dreams.
In Hansel and Gretel, the children kill the witch, whereas in the Gingerbread House, they do not struggle with the witch.
In Hansel and Gretel, the children become rich at the end, whereas in the Gingerbread House, they do not find any jewels.
Describe the Gingerbread House.
Answer:
The Gingerbread House is a house of dreams. The house can be reached by walking on the biscuits through the garden of sugared fruits. The house is made of sweets. The door of the house is heart-shaped and red. It is shining like a ruby. The door is half-opened. The garden is so sticky. The roof of the gingerbread house is made up of chocolate. The place is sunny and beautiful. The air is fresh. There is a river of honey, and lollipops grow like daisies.
Describe the witch whom the children meet/ encounter.
Answer:
The children encounter a witch on the way who seems so terrible. She has worn black clothes. Her face is pale, her body is thin and twisted, and her eyes are like burning coals. She has long-nailed hands and a beaked nose. She cackles madly and stretches her hand in the space. Her face is so furious. She catches a white dove and tears its red heart out. She finally threatens the children with a terrible voice in the gingerbread house.
How can you say they are poor?
Answer:
I can say they are poor with the help of the clues given in the text. The old man seems so miserable and has worn-out clothes. He is weak and thin. The children are also wearing torn clothes. They are walking with bare feet. The old man wants to leave his children in the dense forest because he is unable to feed them properly. The children’s act of licking each part of the house greedily shows their poverty too.
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Important Questions and Answers for Exam 2078
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