The Tale of One Who Traveled etc I found to be very strange because really the only thing that saved him from all the horrors he faced was his own ignorance. His stupidity made him fearless which usually would end in disaster but in these cases, where he sought out something to scare him or make him "shiver" it was to his advantage. All of the terrors in the haunted castle were violent and intended to harm him but his inability to be frightened combined with brute strength made him invincible. In the end the thing which made him shiver was not fear from violence but the unpleasant feeling of cold water and slimy fish. The theme of violence was rather unconventional here because it did not receive the expected reaction.
I didn't really understand the two stories about Thumbling. There was a lot of "violence" in that he was continually being swallowed by various animals, though he never sustained any injuries. But the stories didn't seem to have any purpose other than to prove his cunning and bravery. Personally if I was trapped in a cow that was being cleaved to bits, I'd be a little upset. But all of these indirect acts of violence seem to serve the purpose of making Thumbling appear to be brave and maybe to show that even though he is smaller than normal, he is still courageous and shouldn't be taken for granted. It could be viewed as a lesson to not judge those who are different from us. Or it could just be a bizarre story. I also didn't really understand why the two stories were so similar. Twice he gets caught in a cow's belly and the cow is killed for being "possessed by evil spirits".
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