In this chapter, I will examine the messages that are given to young children through fairytales and how theses fairy tales teach children the moral way to live. “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” (Albert Einstein) Having a hero who has to face challenges and conquer evil and a wicked villain, helps a child to educate himself and understand how to cope with real life situations that they will come across in their own lives, because every character in the fairytales is the child. To stimulate morals in children it is important that they have stories narrated to them, in order to make them aware of the consequences of their actions, such as …show more content…
Evil is illustrated in the form of figures and their actions. “It is the duality which poses the moral problem, and requires the struggle to solve it.” Evil is portrayed by jealousy, sibling’s rivalry, hatred, the power of the witch, the cunning queen or the beast. For a story to hold the child’s attention, it must entertain him and arouse his curiosity, For example, in Snow White, the queen has to wear hot shoes and dance till she drops dead. Djuna Barnes perceptive statement about fairy tales that the child knows something which he cannot tell, such as the idea that the child is looking forward to see the result of the punishment which satisfies him or in little red riding hood, the idea of the wolf and the girl being in bed together stimulate his imagination, helping him to develop his intellect and clarify his emotions. The evildoer is always punished for his crime and in all fairytales the “bad person” always loses out. This suggests that the hero is most attractive to the child because of the struggles he has to face, rather than good wining over evil. The child recognises the hero and believes that he also suffers with the hero in his trials and tribulations, and triumphs with him as virtue is victorious. On the contrary, fairytales can be seen as misleading for a child, for example, not all figures in fairytales are ambivalent, as we all are in reality. A child believes either you …show more content…
Cinderella is a story of sibling rivalry, jealousy and the power of love, in which the siblings compete for a wealthy suitor. Bettelheim outlines that Cinderella is shown mistreated by her step sisters. He argued that competition has always played an important role between siblings and an unconscious struggle for children. The hidden messages of the story show that children can tackle their unconscious minds and resolve their conflicts. A child is shown if Cinderella can resolve her struggles, the child can also resolve theirs. “Having to live among the ashes”, to live a dreadful life compared to the sisters, regardless of being a female or a male, hence the name “Aschenputtel” in Grimm’s version. Cinderella represents the inner experiences of the young or the youngest child in sibling rivalry, where the child feels outclassed by his brothers and sisters. Cinderella has to do all the household chores even the dirtiest work and although she does it at the best of her ability, she is not rewarded but only more is expected from her. This clearly reflects the behaviour in a child, where the child is shattered by the miseries of sibling rivalry. Bettelheim as examined that at some point of time, due to inner reasons a child feels this way regardless of his position among his siblings. From Cinderella’s victory, the child grows a hope and believes after all his miseries and hardships he will also have a better future. Sibling
Throughout history it is known that fairy tales were written to teach children lessons about life in a way they could understand and that is fun and unique. Authors of fairy tales put simple lessons into the stories so the children could understand them easily while reading. Whether this be a lesson to be nice to all people, like in Cinderella, or to not judge someone by their appearance, like in Donkey Skin, both by Charles Perrault. Each fairytale has a moral that can be found throughout reading the stories that teach children right from wrong while letting them use their imaginations to discover that moral. The good and the bad lets them express their thoughts openly, rather it be their negative thoughts through the villian or their
Katelyn Matroni Professor Torrence English 102 February 12th, 2014. Meaning of Life According to Bruno Bettelheim, in Introduction: The Struggle for Meaning taken from The Uses of Enchantment, the use of fairy tales in a children’s life allows them to deal with their fears in a symbolic way. In order for a story to hold a child’s attention, it must “help him to develop his intellect and to clarify his emotions”(263). The use of fairy tales in Burn Your Maps, by Robyn Joy Leff, portrays the subtle but important influence of fairy tales on a child.
A fairytale is a fictional fantasy fable that passes through generations of children as source of interest to them. Though used for the intent of entertainment, fairytales often indirectly advocate a moral or message to readers (whom are usually children), in hopes that they will grow up to apply these ethics and lead a righteous life. This criteria, however, often originates from the occurrence of a magical transformation; it is this paranormality that introduces the characters of the story to a side of life far from what they have grown to know and learn to adapt to the dramatic amend in their life. This is evident in the characters in world-renowned tales such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
We all grew up hoping that we were the princesses who met the dreamy prince and lived ‘happily ever after’ like in a fairytale.People debate over whether or not Disney fairytales are beneficial for children. Like Melissa Taylor the author of the piece ‘10 reasons why kids need to read non disney fairy tales’, I am against disneyfied fairy tales. In this essay I will argue on why kids should not only watch disney fairytales but also the real versions.
I believe that fairy tales are a big part of child’s life and they can make his or her childhood memorable. These fairy tales usually have a positive moral that teaches a lesson like the ones I was told as a child. Most tales teach against dangerous behavior. A good story teller, like the ones who passed down the tales and my grandparents, can really have a positive impact on a child. These tales were also a big source of entertainment, both in the present and in earlier days. Hearing stories as a kid taught me important lessons like not to talk to talk to strangers from “Hansel and Gretel”. These fairy tales are also very memorable part of my childhood with my grandparents.
Children’s literature is very influential part of a child’s early life. Stories told to children, while sometimes involving make believe, fantastical creatures, and things that do not exist in real life, teach morals to young children that will shape their beliefs and values in their lives. Fairy tales are one of the many influential types of children’s literature. Many tales are revised or retold to teach different morals to the younger generation (Joosen 129). By addressing the differing modernist views that people have today, “There Was Once” changes the way that fairy tales like “The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” were viewed as educational items for young children to assist in the teaching of morals and even prompts changing some elements
When a fairy tales begins the characters in an instant show who is good and who is bad and the child will figure the person identity. In the film, Ophelia just met her stepfather and is trying to see if he is a good person Vidal says, “That's the wrong hand”(Pan’s). When a story begins the good and bad characters are easily recognized like the big bad wolf or an evil witch or a scary goblin in the story. Most parents will tell the children don't believe in fairy tales and belittle them. The fairy tales are important to the children they understand the situation much clearly. The child connects to the hero not just because that person is good but on what victory they accomplished. It depends on the good characters that best resembles them in their own world. In fairy tales, its shows good and bad people and small children think the same way either this person is evil and the other is good, or one sister is beautiful and the other ugly. “The child makes such identifications all on his own, and the inner and outer struggles of the hero imprint morality on him” (Bettelheim 205). When the child sees their hero going through struggles and obstacles they know that they will be able to do the same thing. In the film, Ophelia was supposed to go to dinner with her mother and step-father however, she disobeyed and did not go. She
For centuries, children stories have been a valuable tool in teaching lessons and morals. Like most stories that one was read as a child, there lies a life lesson that the author is trying to portray. Whether it was told orally like the story Beowulf or written by an author like Chaucer who wrote The Canterbury Tales, there are life lessons that are being taught through the characters and their challenges that they endure.
Fairy tales portray wonderful, elaborate, and colorful worlds as well as chilling, frightening, dark worlds in which ugly beasts are transformed into princes and evil persons are turned to stones and good persons back to flesh (Guroian). Fairytales have long been a part of our world and have taken several forms ranging from simple bedtime stories to intricate plays, musicals, and movies. However, these seemingly simple stories are about much more than pixie dust and poisoned apples. One could compare fairytales to the new Chef Boyardee; Chef Boyardee hides vegetables in its ravioli while fairytales hide society’s morals and many life lessons in these outwardly simple children stories. Because of this fairytales have long been instruments used to instruct children on the morals of their culture. They use stories to teach children that the rude and cruel do not succeed in life in the long run. They teach children that they should strive to be kind, caring, and giving like the longsuffering protagonists of the fairytale stories. Also, they teach that good does ultimately defeat evil. Fairy tales are not just simple bedtime stories; they have long been introducing cultural moral values into young children.
At first glance, what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale may seem obvious—some kind of magic, hidden symbols, repetition, and of course it’s evident it’s fiction—but fables are more than that. As Arthur Schelesinger puts it, it’s about “[expanding] imagination” and gaining understanding of mysterious places (618). While doing this, it also helps children to escape this world, yet teach a lesson that the reader may not be conscious of. A wonderful story that achieves all of this is Cinderella, but not the traditional tale many American’s have heard. Oochigeaskw, or The Rough-Faced Girl, and Ashputtle would be fitting for a seven-year-old because they get the gears of the mind turning, allowing for an escape on the surface, with an underlying enlightenment for children of the ways of the world.
Over the years, fairytales have been distorted in order to make them more family friendly. Once these changes occur, the moral and purpose of the stories begin to disappear. The tales featured in the many Disney movies - beloved by so many - have much more malignant and meaningful origins that often served to scare children into obeying their parents or learning valuable life lessons.
Though the evils of the world may discourage us from reaching our full potential, fairytales such as Little Snow-White by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm teach us that good will always triumph over evil. As many tales of its kind, Little Snow-White uses a number of literary devices to attract a younger audience and communicate to them a lesson or moral that will remain with them throughout their lives. Since children have such an abstract stream of thought, it is vital to use language and devices that will appeal to them as to keep them interested in the story.
I am writing this paper because I was assigned to write it as a class project. Along the way I realized the importance of sharing the real meanings of all these stories. Stories are important because in the society we live in things are constantly changing. Fairytales change but the base of the story always remain the same no matter how many times it has been retold. It’s important to reveal the true meanings of these stories, even with its dark characteristics, because the world is dark .Children need to know that there are people that have told stories relatable to what they are going through. Fairytales help the development of children; it helps their maturity as they confront someone else’s tough situations, instilling hope of a more positive ou...
It is this element of hope in a true fairytale that creates the support for a protagonist to overcome the opposing force that has been thrust onto them. A genuine fairytale is said to have the element of, “A innocent character [placed against] the evil character who normally loses somehow,” (Gokturk) which is seen as Cinderella is chosen by the prince over the evil step-sisters at the ball. As human beings with a developed moral system, it has been seen that the more deserving, mistreated character is favored to succeed in the story. Cinderella is seen as this “underdog” character in her quest to find love with the prince and overcome her step-sisters’ mistreatment. As Cinderella is mistreated by her new family, sympathy is built for the emerging protagonist and hope of her to conquer her situation follows. The underdog of this story grows in favorability to be picked by the prince due to the societal belief that the more deserving candidate should overcome their opposition. If there was no sense of hope thought the story of Cinderella, this story could not be categorized as a true embodiment of a
Many fairy tales are filled with things such as knights and princesses. They are written to make children feel safe and happy. Little known to many people fairy tales take on a deeper and darker meaning. Many fairy tales are just watered-down versions of tragic things that have happened in history. Many fairy tales have scary origins. Some may talk about rape, cannibalism, incest, and torture. Some may think that children cannot handle the truth of these events. Therefore they write fairy tales to numb the pain that may have had to deal