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The Erlking By Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum

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The Erlking by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum confused me, even though the interpretation sounded interesting and fantastical. At first, I wondered if my confusion dealt with me not reading or hearing about “Der Erlkönig” before. After thinking that, I read the poem online; I really liked the poem because of creepy it is. I saw some correlations with Bynum’s version, but confusion still lingered in my head. I’m thinking a combination of the story structure and the lore (the fairies and elves) didn’t mix well with me. I mainly believe it’s how Bynum wrote the story that confused me; it seemed to jump all over the place or at least the ideas did. However, my confusion doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy other elements of the story. I enjoyed the relationship between Kate and Ondine. They seemed as if they are a good pair, Ondine knew her mother liked giraffes and got a giraffe …show more content…

In these stories, the parents are distracted and don’t pay attention to their kids’ thoughts, especially when those thoughts are true or hold some weight to them. In “Der Erlkönig”, the boy tries to tell his father that the Erlking is coming, but his father ignores him. In The Erlking, Ondine thinks the man following them has treats or presents and it’s supposed to be a surprise, but the man stopped following them. Even though, this man appears to be a representation of the Erl-King; unlike the boy, Ondine didn’t notice that the man represents an evil entity. At the end of The Erlking, Bynum stated that her version revolved a parent’s anxiety instead of a child’s one. I believe she executed that, especially since Ondine doesn’t seem scare or concern by the man; Kate holds most of the worry in this story. However, I also think that the poem has elements of parental anxiety. My notion deals with the father ignoring his child. I took him ignoring his child as a way of him worrying some much he doesn’t pay mind to his child until his child

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