Although Nadine Gordimer’s Once Upon a Time follows a fairy-tale pattern (there is even a wise old witch!), the storyline doesn’t have a fairy-tale ending. On a superficial level, it could be regarded as a parody of The Three Little Pigs: a family builds a stronger and stronger house to keep out the big bad wolf, only for the extra security to ruin their lives. On a more serious note, the story has several important themes: Racism, Apartheid and Inequality (which lead to Social Decay) and the consequences of being ruled by Fear (Anxiety, Overreaction, and in this case Self-Destruction).
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i need to discuss this story to my clasmmate
Hope you enjoyed it. Good luck!