Finding True Love

      When you think of the ocean, do you think about talking flounder and singing crabs?  What about a seagull that is a self-proclaimed expert on humans? Or a mermaid that lives in a giant oyster shell and sings with the prettiest voice ever heard? If you have read Disney's version of The Little Mermaid, then you have seen all these things!  Even though the setting is vague, "fathoms below the ocean's surface", and it never mentions what ocean they are talking about, most people know that this is not your average sea life! 
       The Little Mermaid is an all American classic traditional book that is filled with color, excitement, and curiosity all in one. As I read this story to my children, I explained to them that this book is called traditional literature. "Mommy what does that mean," and I simply explained to them that traditional literature is a book that usually starts off with "Once upon a time" or "Long ago and far, far away," such as their favorite movie Shrek. Although these are just a few of the elements that make a book traditional literature, there are a host of others that I will share with you as well. The Little Mermaid is full of magic, transformations, journeys and quests, as well as trickery. Now, who would have ever thought that a little harmless shell could possess an overwhelming amount of magic? Well, it's true; one little shell can as seen in this fairytale. The mean old sea witch Ursula, who disguised herself as a lady by the name of Vanessa, wore this magical shell around her neck in order to use Ariel's voice to capture the heart of Prince Eric. "The magic shell that contained Ariel's voice went flying through the air and landed on the deck just as Ariel reached the ship. It shattered and Ariel spoke alas as her voice returned to her." While reading this book one can't help but to fall in love with the young and beautiful Ariel who wants more out of life than just being a mermaid. On a quest to learn about humans, Ariel and her best friend Flounder collect human artifacts and travel to the surface of the ocean often to visit her friend Scuttle the seagull with whom always seems to give misleading information about the humans. Although Ariel's father disapproves and warns Ariel to stay away from the humans, Ariel ignores her father’s wishes and continues on with her constant journey to reach above the sea and join the humans. Ursula agreed to transform Ariel into a human for a period of three days, but not without stipulations. In order for Ursula to transform Ariel into a human, Ariel had to give up her voice. Ariel agreed and Ursula placed her voice in the nautilus shell agreeing to give it back if Ariel received a kiss from her true love. As the story continues on it becomes evident that Ursula's promise to turn Ariel into a human is a trick and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid. Reaching a happy ending, King Triton, who is Ariel's father, comes to the rescue and realizes that his little girl does truly love Prince Eric. Wanting his daughter to be happy and experience true love, King Triton changes his daughter from a mermaid to a human. In the end Ariel and Eric marry, living happily ever after. 
           Like many traditional stories, the Disney version is a retelling of an earlier edition of The Little Mermaid which was written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1836.  Of course, Andersen's version did not have all the talking fish and dancing sharks that the Disney version contains. This is a common theme in traditional literature where the story is passed from generation to generation many times, usually changing along the way.  There were many other differences also. For example, in Andersen's version, none of the characters have names; they are known simply as the Sea King, the prince, the little mermaid, and the Sea Witch. The Disney version gives the characters names like Ariel (the mermaid) and Eric (the prince). This creates a more personal  relationship between the characters in the book and the readers. Also, in Disney's version, the little mermaid  becomes a part of the human world she loved and "would live there with her beloved prince happily ever after".  However, in Andersen's version, the prince marries another woman and the little mermaid is supposed to kill him or she will die. Instead, she opts to save him and throws the knife into the ocean.  Doing this selfless act makes her a heroine and gives her immortal life with the daughters of the air.
      Disney's version of The Little Mermaid is an example of a Fairy/Wonder Tale.  It contains witches, heroes, magic and, of course, being a Disney story means it has a "happily ever after" ending.

Wherever You Are, my love will find you.

This is a beautiful poem written by Nancy Tillman. It also has beautiful pictures to go along with it.

I wanted you more
than you will ever know,
so I sent love to follow
wherever you go.

It's high as you wish it. It's quick as an elf.
You'll never outgrow it...it stretches itself!

So climb any mountain...
climb up to the sky!
My love will find you.
My love can fly!

Make a big splash! Go out on a limb!
My love willl find you. My love can swim!

It never gets lost, never fades, never ends...
if you're working...
or playing...
or sitting with friends.

You can dance 'til you're dizzy...
paint 'til you're blue ...
There's no place, not one,
that my love can't find you.

And if someday you're lonely,
or someday you're sad,
or you strike out at baseball,
or think you've been bad...

just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair.
That's me, my sweet baby, my love is right there.

In the green of the grass...in the smell of
the sea...in the clouds floating by...
at the top of a tree... in the sound
crickets make at the end of the day...

"You are loved. You are loved. You are loved,"
they all say.

My love is so high, and so wide and
so deep, it's always right there, even
when you're asleep.

So hold your head high
and don't be afraid
to march to the front
of your own parade.

If you're still my small babe
or you're all the way grown,
my promise to you
is you're never alone.

You are my angel, my darling,
my star...and my love will find you,
wherever you are.

You are loved.



Antoinette's Thoughts:
Having children of my own has allowed me to develop a deep appreciation for this poem.  For many of us, we think about a time in life when we will have our first child, and when that day finally comes our lives are forever changed.  Our children become our everything, they become our heart and our love follows them like a never ending shadow.  Love is a word that even when it is unspoken, can be felt in the green of the grass ... in the smell of the sea...in the clouds floating by...at the top of the tree...in the sound crickets make at the end of the day... it is this type of descriptive language that allows our love to live even when we ourselves can no longer continue on.  Within this poem there are several ingredients that come together in order to make this poem a beautiful piece of poetry.  It's as high as you wish it.  It's as quick as an elf  (simile) or, you can dance til you're dizzy...paint til you're blue...(metaphor)

I wanted you more
than you will ever know,
so I sent love to follow
wherever you go.

As seen in the stanza above, alliteration is used through the words wanted, will, and wherever in order to explain a love that begins for our children even before the first time we hold them in our arms. In closing, I will make a big splash! in order to show that onomatopoeia exist in this poem as well.



Macy's Thoughts:

I love this poem!  This poem captures the love that a parent feels for a child. The poem basically tells the child that no matter where they are, their parents' love will always find them.  I read this poem to my son regularly, and not once have I made it through the whole poem without crying.  My five-year-old always asks why I get so sad when I read it, but I tell him it that I am not crying because I’m sad, I am crying happy tears because I know that I am so lucky.  So this poem definitely has an emotional impact on readers. 

             Another element found throughout the poem is personification, and that is basically where you give a non-human object the characteristics of a human.  The most common instance here is where the author gives human qualities to the feeling of love.  For example, she says that love can swim and that love can fly. She also says that love never gets lost, never fades, nor ends.  She also says that the real sound that crickets make at the end of the day is not chirping, but them repeating “you are loved”.

            Although each of the stanzas rhymes, the poem does not have a set rhyme scheme. The most common seen pattern is ABCB.  It definitely follows a nice flowing rhythm. Part of this is due to another common poetry element, which is repetition. It repeats several times, “You are loved. You are loved. You are loved.”  In fact, the word love is repeated thirteen times.

             I hope everyone enjoys this poem as much as I do.  I talked about the emotional effect it has on me.  But even though I really like the poem, if I did not have a child, the poem would probably not have such a profound effect on me.  Are there any other poems that you have read that make you feel the same way?           

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