The Difference Between Tangled and Rapunzel The Short Story

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Tangled In many fairy tales, there is always a damsel in distress that is beautiful and the male character always falls in love with her. In Rapunzel the short story, Rapunzel is put into a tower and lives there most of her young life by her ‘mother’ before her prince comes to recuse her. The difference between Tangled and Rapunzel the short story is that, Rapunzel is the princess and her prince is actually a thief, which ends up falling in love with her. Tangled illustrates how a naïve and beautiful heroine, evil mother figure, and a shallow egotistical hero can make a fairy tale story end with love and marriage. As in many fairy tales we have grown up with, the characters are always beautiful or handsome, with an evil mother that wants to destroy that. Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz state that, “The feminine beauty ideal-the socially constructed notion that physical attractiveness is one of women's most important assets, and something all women should strive to achieve and maintain…[is] viewed largely as an oppressive, patriarchal practice that objectifies, devalues, and subordinates women”(711). Women grow up with the impression that they must be perfect and beautiful in order to get a man. They will see the beautiful girl get a handsome guy and everything they want. The characters in Tangled prove the fact that every fairy tale follows the same guide lines; Rapunzel, Flynn, and even mother Gothel are beautiful. Their features are all the same with them being thin, having straight teeth, and being good looking. If a person was described as being perfect looking, than a fairy tale character is what they would be compared to. A little girl will see Rapunzel and want to be like her because she’s pretty and a princess and they will l... ... middle of paper ... ...r to have one. Mother Gothel, even though she was beautiful on the outside, she was dark and evil on the inside, that is why she died at the end. No fairy tale will ever have the evil queen or mother survive, because that is not what little girls and boys want to read. They want to see the beautiful princess get her prince and the handsome prince slay the evil creature. All stories have happy endings and that is how it should be, with the main characters living happily ever after, forever and always. Works Cited Baker-Sperry, Lori, and Liz Grauerholz. “The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine Beauty Ideal in Children's Fairy Tales.” Gender and Society 17.5 (2003): 711-726. JSTOR. Web. 19 November.2013. Tangled. Nathan Greno, Byron Howard. Zachary Levi, Mandy Moore, and Donna Murphy. Walt Disney Pictures. 24 November. 2010. Blu-ray.

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