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Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 11th grade February 2008

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"I Love Little Pussy" I love little pussy, /Her coat is so warm, /And if I don't hurt her, /She'll do me no harm. /So I'll not pull her tail, /Nor drive her away, /But pussy and I, /Very gently will play. (http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/pussy.asp) "Georgie Porgie" Georgie Porgie, puddin' and pie, /Kissed the girls and made them cry. /When the boys came out to play, /Georgie Porgie ran away. (http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/georgie.asp) As a young child, mother goose nursery rhymes are nearly the entire basis for learning. By memorizing and reciting these verses, children develop memorization skills, verbal skills through communicating them effectively, and vocabulary. Of course, these nursery rhymes also establish valuable life lessons too. "Humpty Dumpty" and "Jack and Jill" both teach us about the violence that can occur as a result of carelessness, and "Queen of Hearts" teaches children that bad things happen to those who steal.

But not all of these nursery rhymes come with such happy lessons. The two that I have chosen teach a more morbid lesson. Each is about how men pursue women for sex. Both illustrate examples of men using women for sex and discarding them, however, their approaches stem from roots as far apart as the polar caps.

In "Georgie Porgie", Georgie is portrayed as an abusive character. Someone who takes the more up-front, perverted, approach to women. Georgie is illustrated as someone who takes advantage of girls, hurts them, and "makes them cry." Knowing that these habits could get him into trouble, he strays away from the men in the women's lives (i.e. husbands, boyfriends, brothers, and fathers) fearing physical retaliation. Georgie is told to be an animal driven by his own raging hormones, victim to his own vulgarity and testosterone.

Other Guy seems to be more of a romantic, a guy who cherishes his women. He is a man knows that it is best not to do girls any "harm," because once you do so, you risk the same fate yourself. He treats his women like delicate flowers as not to drive them away, and plays with them "gently" so he won't hurt them. He is a compassionate man who "loves" his women.

Just scratching the surface, one can find all the differences in the world between these two characters. Georgie doesn't mind taking the bad boy approach. The approach of someone who is abusive to women, who doesn't mind making girls cry. He is more up-front about his promiscuity; it's not a secret. On the other hand, Other Guy takes the romantic approach. He treats his women as fragile creatures that are to be honored and adored, vowing to do them no harm and play with them gently. He is the type of boy mom's like their daughters to bring home, and he knows that. He puts off the persona of someone who is in search of spiritual fulfillment and love, rather than sheer physical pleasure.

The differences between these two characters are clear, but the similarities lying beneath the differences are almost uncanny. As I will show, neither of these men are what they appear to be on the surface. I am going to prove that the bad guy, heartbreaker, isn't as bad as he puts on to be, and that the spiritual romantic may have more on his mind than meets the eye.

They both have extensive great wisdom in the field of women. Georgie is makes it quite obvious that he is very immoral, because right in his tale is says, "Girls." But the girls never seem to learn no matter how rotten or offensive he treats them. They keep falling for his tricks, and he keeps getting more of what he wants. He's a classic case of the girls who seek the thrill and danger of a bad boy type. Other Guy is also good at swooning the ladies. How else would he know so much about how to keep a lady other than experience? He's a suave, James Bond, type of player. He ditches his women when he's done with them too, he just doesn't say so for the sake of his good guy reputation. And deep down, neither of these characters has that altruistic of intentions. Georgie is obviously a pig. He doesn't care about the welfare of the women he is with, nor does he care about the consequences of his actions. Secretly though, Other Guy isn't as innocent as he first appears. The only reason he is nice to the women is for his own self-gratification. All of a sudden, he's not so selfless anymore is he? He puts on the front of an idealistic lover, but is in fact just as dirty of a scoundrel as Georgie.