Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1994. [Vol. 2.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 22)

STUDIES - András Tarnóc: "Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" Reflections of Political Correctness in a Distorted Mirror.

LRRH the main characters face the deadly threat of the wolf, who as a symbol of PC's evil incarnate, must pay for his sins with the loss of his life. II In the revised version of TTLP Garner left the skeleton of the original story untouched presenting the familiar confrontation between the "big bad wolf" and the three little animals. The three pigs built their homes from different materials; sticks, straws and bricks, respectively. The wolf blows down the first two houses and dies of a heart attack during his attempt to destroy the third. Garner's tale describes America as a multicultural state with the three pigs representing the three principal non-white ethnic and racial groups (Blacks, Hispanics and Asians) along with the wolf as the embodiment of "mainstream America." Post-Cold War U.S. is afflicted by the victimhood syndrome, as following the Puritan value system's emphasis on victimhood and redemption, minorities are assigned the role of the historical victim and white Euro-American males are viewed as the victimizers (Hughes 11). The author's opening premise is an idyllic picture with three little pigs living in harmony with their surroundings, building their homes in an environmentally sensitive way. Since construction materials that are "indigenous to the area" are acquired without doing considerable harm to the land, it is assumed that the white European as the number one culprit for all ills besetting minorities is also responsible for the destruction of the environment This idyl reflects the Menandian definition of multi-culturalism, the coexistence of functionally autonomous subcultures under a dominant culture, as these symbols for the four dominant racial and ethnic groups of the U.S. live under one dominant culture, the forest As a reference to the cultural separatism of ethnic groups under the label "ethnic pride," Garner in his description of the pigs' lives employs the terms "peace and selfdetermination." When the wolf "driven by expansionist ideas" wants to enter the pigs' houses, "mainstream culture" clashes with ethnic culture. When he 129