Never Take Candy From Strangers During the times the story was written, there was much child abuse in society. The child's welfare was often put aside because the family was more important. The unknown author of the Fairy Tale "Hansel and Gretel" used many rhetorical devices such as symbolism and diction to intensify the purpose of the story, to alert society of the abuse that existed against children. The recurring theme of the wicked stepmother has appeared throughout many of the fairy tales. In the tale of "Hansel and Gretel", the unknown author goes into great detail describing the full ext