Analysis Of The Song 'The Girl Without Hands'

In the song ‘Angels,’ Chance the Rapper sings “I got angels all around me, they keep me surrounded!”. The tale found in the Brothers Grimm collection called “The Girl without hands” follows a poor miller's daughter. This daughter is offered to the devil in exchange for riches, but due to the young girls connection with God it makes it rather hard for the devil to capture her. For a story created during the 19th century in Germany, the respect they held towards those who took on the christian faith is strongly reflected in this piece. The piece shows the moral value of knowing what you’re giving away and who you’re giving it to. A message that can help us understand what we value as humans, as well as, it’s culture of origin.

The tale opens up with a struggling family. A character later recognized as the devil approaches the family and says “ I will make you rich if you will promise me that which is standing behind your mill."(Line 2, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm). Without a breath of hesitation, the father said yes, thinking it would be an apple tree. To his dismay, it was his very own daughter. When the devil came by the next day to pick up the daughter, it was hard to touch her due to the hymns she’d whisper. The Father was then instructed to cut his child's arms off to make it easier for the devil to make his catch. The daughters tears which coated the nubs of her hands as she prayed, made the devil give up for the time being. Although the family received all their riches, she decided to leave the house, where she was faced with even more conflicts. The daughter was always able to persevere through the struggles due to her strong faith. Christianity was tied into the story, due to the culture at the time of its