During my time as a student, I had the opportunity to be exposed to some of the great written works in literature, but there was sadly one of two novels that I was not exposed to in school and that I regret that I should have been exposed to it in the first place.
…
“The Last Unicorn” by Peter S. Beagle is a story that I think a lot of schools should be teaching their students because it is a story that can connect with students in more ways than one, especially these days in our society.
…
The story revolves around a unicorn who learns that she is the last of her kind and sets off on a quest to find them befriending both a magician named Schmendrick and a woman named Molly Grue along the way.
Later, they come across the Red Bull, the creature responsible for capturing the unicorns and in an effort to save the last unicorn, Schmendrick transforms the unicorn into a human named Amalthea. As a human, Amalthea falls in love with the son of the story’s antagonist and has to learn to embrace not just regret, but romance and mortality.
…
The Unicorn (Mia Farrow) and Schmendrick the Magician (Alan Arkin) in “The Last Unicorn” (1982)
The themes and morals that Peter S. Beagle’s story teaches us is very resonating, especially for those who are undergoing adolescence. Regret, Romance and Mortality are all traits that we encountered in life and a lot of teachers sadly either choose another story to add to their curriculum that teaches the same values or just completely ignores stories like this altogether.
…
Like the unicorn, I have had to experience all of the above in life like everybody else. I regret the actions that I have caused in the past, I have felt romantic feelings and I know that I am not invincible, nor I can live forever. These are all life lessons that students need to learn before they graduate into the real world and if these lessons are not taught, then the students are being handicapped and denied not just these lessons but being given the chance to read such a classic novel.
…
The Unicorn (Mia Farrow) and Molly Grue (Tammy Grimes) in “The Last Unicorn” (1982)
“The Last Unicorn” is also a representation of what it means to be a dying breed. When I first started working at my day job 12 years ago, I was told that I was the last of a dying breed in terms of someone who displays respect towards others in a professional manner.
The unicorns in the story are of a dying breed because people simply don’t believe in them anymore, much like a lot of people don’t believe in Santa Claus around the holidays at the end of the year. Nowadays, people would much rather believe in false idols and stories that corrupt the mind rather than improve it.
I happen to be one of the last of the dying breed in terms of maintaining a sense of dignity and respect in society. As I said in a previous blog, “I am not flawless, but I am a work in progress.”
…
Mommy Fortuna (Angela Lansbury) in “The Last Unicorn” (1982)
Finally, “The Last Unicorn” also teaches us what happens when we become possessive of something and how it can lead us down a path of destruction. This is represented in two of the story’s villains, Mommy Fortuna and King Haggard.
In the case of Mommy Fortuna, she intends to keep not just the Unicorn, but also the Harpy Celano just so she can make a profit off of them along with the other animals that she can make into something else via illusions, deceptions and mirages.
We all want to make money off of something that interests us, but we don’t seem to consider the feelings of the ones we are trying to make money off of. This is what ultimately leads to her demise at the claws of the Harpy Celano because she never considered the feelings of her captives.
…
King Haggard (Christopher Lee) in “The Last Unicorn” (1982)
Then there is the matter of the story’s main antagonist, King Haggard. He wants all the unicorns in the world for his own possessive amusement and this is the other part that we all have to learn in life. The main issue with a lot of neurodiverse individuals is the fact that we all want things to be a certain way and we can’t have it all.
King Haggard also teaches us that being in a leadership position requires you to have a clean slate without any blemishes. Being a king, he allowed his kingdom to go to ruin because of his obsession with the unicorns of the world. To be a leader, you need to not let your desires and false beliefs get the better of you. That’s what happened to King Haggard and that ultimately leads to his downfall.
…
Amalthea (Mia Farrow) and Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges) in “The Last Unicorn” (1982)
All in all, Peter S. Beagle’s “The Last Unicorn” is one of those stories that I think schools can teach their students and leave a lasting impression on them.
If General English classes will not embrace stories like “The Last Unicorn,” then Special Education English classes should, because it holds lessons that just as important as the other books/movies that classes teach their students.
…
Finally, I would definitely recommend the film version of “The Last Unicorn” from 1982 because it’s one of those animated films that can leave a very strong impact long after you become an adult, made by Rankin/Bass, yes, the same guys behind all those holiday specials we all grew up on like Rudolph and Frosty.
Plus, the casting is top notch with actors like Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee, Tammy Grimes and Robert Klein lending their voices along with music provided by the 1970’s band, “America.”
Trust me, “The Last Unicorn” is a story that both students and teachers will embrace fully and wanting to come back for more outside of the classroom.
…
Catch you all later!!
Comments