Is the three little pigs just a tale about the importance of quality building materials and the incredible lung capacity of wolves?

24 days ago by Daftydux to c/asklemmy

kata1yst 79 points 24 days ago

Assuming the question is serious... The actual story emphasizes several important lessons I think. The pigs that build from sticks and hay are depicted as being lazy- taking the easy, cheap way to build their houses. But when the wolf comes, their homes aren't up to the task of protecting them, in most versions costing them their lives.

The third pig is depicted as choosing to do the hard work of doing things properly. In the oldest extended versions of the tale the third pig is also shown to arrive early to events, which foils the wolfs plans. When the wolf finally tried to enter the house via the chimney, the third little pig remains level headed instead of panicking and manages to defeat the wolf soundly.

The lessons are to not take shortcuts, to do the hard work of doing things properly, to be prepared, to be timely (though this is omitted in most modern retellings), and finally to be calm and collected in the face of danger.

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Bougie_Birdie 48 points 24 days ago

To add an additional moral here:

In many of the retellings the first two pigs escape to take shelter with the third. When the wolf tries to break in through the chimney, it's the three pigs together that are able to stop it.

There's something in there about accepting refugees and coming together in crisis.

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kata1yst 29 points 24 days ago

Yes, the original had the others die, but most these days have them shelter with the third pig. An extra layer.

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schipelblorp 14 points 24 days ago

I find it intersting that straw and sticks are both cheap and plentiful, while brick is financially expensive and resource-intensive.

So another reading, hard to avoid, is that it reinforces the just world narrative where it just so happens rich people come out on top all the time because they are morally better and poor people come out worse because they are lazy..

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kata1yst 13 points 24 days ago

In the original they are 3 brothers and begin with equal means given to them by their mother, fwiw.

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schipelblorp 7 points 24 days ago

I don't think I've ever heard an origin story for them. It's always been, "Once upon a time, there were three little pigs."

When it comes to stuff like this, I don't think it matters so much what the original authorial intent was, more how the story has been transmitted in pop culture.

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masterspace 8 points 24 days ago

No telling that I've ever heard starts with three little pigs having wealth disparity and only one being able to afford bricks due to generational wealth.

The implication of the story is that they are all equal and one works harder than the others. Which is a real life lesson. Regardless of your views on systemic wealth allocation, at any socio-economic class, hard work is still a virtue.

I feel like you're seeing the lesson you want to see.

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corsicanguppy 1 point 23 days ago

I don't think it matters so much what the original authorial intent was, more how the story has been transmitted in pop culture.

See also: the words of Jesus vs how America has transmuted them in pop culture.

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kata1yst 1 point 24 days ago

That's fair.

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Cocodapuf 3 points 24 days ago

Brick is also plentiful, it's just more time consuming. You get clay out of the ground, it's mud. It is resource intensive though, it does have to be shaped and fired, so that's a whole process.

Still, I think the allegory still would have worked if the third pig had used logs instead of brick, the point would be the same. Durable materials are a better choice in the long term.

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schipelblorp 1 point 24 days ago

They could also have just used stone, keeping with the primitive rural theme.

It's kind of like if one pig walked, the other rode a bike, and the third had private jet.

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Cocodapuf 2 points 24 days ago

Well again, that's a different story, as that's about things they had, not things they did.

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SaveTheTuaHawk 1 point 20 days ago

Durable materials are a better choice in the long term.

Or they should have bought a gun and killed the wolf.

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corsicanguppy 1 point 23 days ago

hard to avoid

I've 'avoided' any idea that it was yet another classism tale, for decades. Maslow's hammer?

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schipelblorp 1 point 23 days ago

There's a podcat I listen to, "If Books Could Kill" which covers books. There is definitely themes to books that are popular: among them, they a) encourage a sense of agency in the reader and b) they never talk about systemic issues or group action. In other words, there is sort of indiviualist mono-myth that gets repeated over and over again. The 3 Little Pigs fits right in there.

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nocturne 15 points 24 days ago

According to Green Jell-ΓΏ the moral of the story is that bands with no talent can easily amuse idiots with a stupid puppet show.

Their version actually expands the story a bit, it shows the first two were lazy,

Well, the first little piggy, well, he was kinda hicky
Spent most of his days just a-dreamin' of the city
And then one day, he bought a guitar
He moved to Hollywood to become a star
But living on the farm, he knew nothing of the city
Built his house out of straw, what a pity
Then one day, jammin' on some chords
Along came the wolf knocking on his door

Well, the second little piggy, well, he was kinda stoned
He spent most of his time just a-ganja smokin'
Hoppin' and a-boppin' down on Venice Beach
Getting paid money for religious speech
Built his shelter from what he garbage picked
Mostly made up of old cans and sticks
Then one day he was cranking up Bob Marley
Along came the Wolf on his big bad Harley

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Rhynoplaz 6 points 24 days ago

NOT BY THE HAIR OF MY CHINNY CHIN CHIN!

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nocturne 2 points 24 days ago

After posting this reply, I started thinking about the next verse. Basically the 3rd pig was a nepo baby.

Well, the third little piggy was a grade-A student
His daddy was a rockstar named Pig Nugent
Earned his Master's degree from Harvard College
Built his house from his architect knowledge
A tri-level mansion, Hollywood Hills
Daddy's rock stardom paid for the bills

The second pig, was actually making money, albeit as a preacher of some kind.

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antheraeavx 10 points 24 days ago

and the incredible lung capacity of wolves

Yes! It has always been a story about aerobic exercise and the importance of having a good VO2 Max. So you can use it to... *checks notes* destroy housing, I guess

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justdaveisfine 9 points 24 days ago

Its been awhile since I've read the story but as I recall, the first two pigs built their houses poorly because they were being lazy and didn't see the need.

The story morale is more or less that bad things can just come along and wreck your day, so you shouldn't laze about when things are good, but should prepare yourself for future hardships.

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FluidBeef 7 points 23 days ago

The wolf is climate change.

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JustPlainDave 5 points 24 days ago

I don't know about a wolf's lung capacity, but I could see it being a lesson about building materials. Of course, if a decent tornado comes along it doesn't matter what your house is built from unless it's underground.

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psud 1 point 20 days ago

Concrete domes have done well against tornados

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blackberry28 5 points 23 days ago

If it's a tale about the importance of building quality then US-Americans must not know this tale lol

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riskable 4 points 24 days ago

I read once that the tale of the three little pigs was modified from its original form to preach the Protestant work ethic and also as a form of Victorian-style propaganda, where the rich, educated landowner was the reasonable one.

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owsei 3 points 24 days ago

It's a recommendation to boil your enemies alive.

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Daft_ish 2 points 24 days ago

Of course, what have you been doing?

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Nemo 3 points 23 days ago

I grew up with the version where the houses areade of mud, cabbages, and bricks. The moral was about over-indulgence.

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SaveTheTuaHawk 2 points 20 days ago

It's a metaphor for weak Southern US building codes and extreme climate change.

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FreshParsnip 1 point 22 days ago

I see it mostly as a tale to tell kids because they like repetition

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leaky_shower_thought 1 point 24 days ago

also the moral lesson of not sliding down on chimneys

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