Responses 75 Word Florida Gulf Coast University

For both responses…75 word minimum each

First discussion

The Baker’s Wife: She wished for a child. This was accomplished by making a deal with The Witch by bringing her the four things she required to restore her youth in three days time, before midnight, upon which receiving she would give them a child. She does end up bringing all the items to The Witch and getting her child like she asked.

Jack: All Jack wished for was his cow, Milky White, to give him some milk. This was due to the fact that he and his mother were very poor, and Milky White’s dairy products were their only reliable way of earning money. The outcome of this wish was more convoluted than the previous one; Milky White dies and has to be brought back by The Witch, but only because The Witch hasn’t used Milky White for her advantage just yet. She technically gives Jack his wish of Milky White giving milk, but only in the sense that he bears the milk The Witch uses to become young again.

The Witch: The Witch wishes for her youth back. The reason The Witch looks the way she does is because the Baker’s father stole her magic beans from her mother’s garden. This made her ugly, and in return she stole their daughter, Rapunzel, and cursed their family line to be barren. She does end up getting her youth back, but at the cost of her magical powers, and, most importantly, her daughter. As the narrator states: “As is often the way in these tales, in exchange for her youth and beauty, The Witch lost her power over others” (Act 1, Narrator, 1:18:23). While she got what she wanted in the form of her youth, she lost what she already had: Rapunzel; arguably, she ended up worse than when she began.

2. I think her saying the final “I wish…” tells the audience how there is always more to wish for. Even if we think we’re satisfied, we always end up wanting more and more. Near the beginning of the show — when Cinderella is at her mother’s grave — she also blurts out an abrupt “I wish!” with no follow up. Her mother responds with, “What, child? Specify!” (Act 1, Cinderella’s mother, 16:21). We’re not even sure of what else we want, we just know that there’s something else our heart desires. When you’re distraught and feeling empty, you can’t list all of the things you want in the moment – there are just too many and it’s impossible to start. I think that applies to this as well; even though the characters all seem happy at the end, they’ll never truly stop wishing for more. I also think it serves as a framing device, and brings the show full circle (with the first line sung also being “I wish…”).

3. Take, Cinderella, for instance, and how she wished to go to the festival. First off, not going to the festival meant she and her prince would’ve never gotten together, since they would have never met (he wouldn’t have found her slipper to use as a guide either). Her not going to the festival would also have caused the Baker’s Wife to not get the slipper as pure as gold, meaning they wouldn’t receive their child.

Example rsponses

1. I think it’s so cool you brought up the point of Cinderellas’s random “I wish!” when she goes to see her mother. The point you make with not knowing what we want but knowing we need something is a great point and captures the feeling of the show. People wanting things but not always knowing what they want. Good find! I totally missed this point and just thought it was just part of the song.

2. I didn’t think of the witch has having a wish but since you brought that up, I think that almost every character had a wish—some were just larger than others. The stepsisters wished to be married to royalty, Rapunzel wished to be released from tower, and Little Red Riding Hood wished to see her grandmother. On some level, they all have aspects of their lives that they would like to change, and I agree that when Cinderella says, “I wish..” in the final line it means that they each have an insatiable desire for what they think will bring them greater happiness.

Second discussion

Into The Woods was a fantastic musical containing all the fairytales we know and love. The three main characters in the story are Cinderella, the baker, and Jack. They all start the story with a wish. Cinderella’s wish was to go to the king’s festival. Her step family mocks her for such a silly wish. They don’t believe that Cinderella is fit to attend such an event. “You’d make us the fools of the festival” (Act 1, Stepmother, 13:18) says her step mother. She ends up going to her mother’s grave to which she wishes for it once more. A beautiful gown and golden slippers appear and she heads to the ball. After the festival, Cinderella is unimpressed. She meets a prince but she doesn’t seem to feel the same way about him as he does her. The baker’s wish is for him and his wife to be able to have a child. A witch appears in the man’s bakery. She reveals that the baker and her wife are in fact infertile because of a curse she placed on the baker’s father. “That your family tree would always be a barren one!” (Act 1, The Witch, 10:22) she said. His father apparently stole magic beans from the witch’s garden and because of this the witch was turned ugly. She explains that if they want to cure them of the curse they must gather four ingredients: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold. Jack’s wish is for his cow to be able to produce milk for him and his mother. His mother says that they must sell the cow in order to survive. Jack then goes through the woods on his way to the marketplace so that he could sell his cow. While on his way, he runs into the baker to which he decides to sell his cow for some magic beans. The baker and his wife collect the rest of the items, including one of Cinderella’s shoes, and brings them back to the witch. The witch uses the items to make the potion and Jack’s cow is able to produce the potion. The potion works and the witch also becomes young again. I think that Jack’s wish in particular did obscure from his other needs. Jack was very focused on keeping his cow. However, him and his mom couldn’t afford to do this since they were so poor and needed the money for food. At the very end of the musical, Cinderella says the line “I wish” just before the light goes dark and the story is over. To me, this meant that although she got what she wanted, she still has wishes. It goes along with the theme of the show of them thinking what they want will make them happy, even though it doesn’t. This line makes the audience think about whether or not the characters actually got their happy ending. If one of the characters in Into The Woods had decided to sacrifice his or her wish and had not pursued it, the story would have completely changed. For example, if Cinderella didn’t wish to go to the festival, the bakers would have never gotten the golden slipper from her to make the potion. Or if the bakers had decided not to pursue their wish, then Jack would have never gotten a hold of the magic beans and act 2 would be completely non existent without that. Each of the character’s wishes were completely dependent on each other and everything would be different without one of them. Overall, I really enjoyed this musical. I thought it would be boring but it was actually quite funny and entertaining. I really enjoyed watching it!

Example responses

1.The story would have been totally different if Jack never got the beans, but wouldn’t be better if he never got them? The beans and the giant make the story interesting but if Jack never got the beans they would be a little closer to happily ever after right? There would be no giants to deal with and Rapunzel, Jack’s Mother, The Baker’s Wife, and the Narrator would have survived. I personally feel like The Baker and his wife and Jack cause most of the problems in this story. I do like the points you make though. I like the points you made about Cinderella’s “I Wish.” Good Job!

2. Nice job! I liked your descriptions of the characters’ wishes, and I really liked the point you made about going with the theme of people thinking what they want will make them happy. This message is hidden in a ton of the lyrics to the show; I think I was aware of it, but I never really put the pieces together. Thanks for pointing that out to me!