Letters: Don't look too deep into 'Rudolph'

I read with amazement the story regarding C.W. Post professor George Giuliani's controversial interpretation of "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" ["Had a very shiny controversy," News, Dec. 18].

Not everything needs to be psychoanalyzed. I suppose we should consider the lullaby "Rock-a-bye-Baby" for child abuse, since it contains the words, "When the bough breaks the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all."

Maybe we should also consider "Frosty the Snowman" for child abandonment, because it ends with the words, "I'll be back again someday." Are we also saying that Santa is blind to injustice and this is a way to empower Mrs. Claus?

Let's get real. The story is fictional. It was created in 1939 as a marketing tool for the retail store Montgomery Ward.

Charles F. Howlett, West Islip

Editor's note: The writer is an associate professor of graduate education at Molloy College.

Maybe Rudolph can be used to gauge a child's empathy. If a 3-year-old laughs when the other reindeer make fun of Rudolph, send him or her off to a therapist. But if a child feels empathy for Rudolph, then it would appear the child's parents, and the story, have done their job.

Susan Scharf, Flushing