Sagas about princes and princesses, beauty, magic, and love, fairy tales like Snow White and Cinderella among others have become children’s favorite bedtime stories. However, as parents tuck their sons and daughters in, they fail to realize that there is a much more daunting purpose to these stories. American writer and poet, Jane Yolen suggests that fairy tales indicate life values. Furthermore, Yolen insists that these tales are “thumbprints of history” (Yolen 27). Studying fairy tales in depth, she proves that the “functions of myths” consist of “creating a landscape of allusion [and] enabling us to understand our own and out culture from inside out” (Yolen 18). Yolen confirms that these stories comment on, “the abstract truths of our common human existence” (Yolen 18). To Yolen, fairy tales inform the audience about significant themes and historical events.
Jack Zipes, a retired professor, has lectured on the subject of fairy tales and folklore for many years. Zipes maintains that fairy tales are far from harmless and play a much larger role in society. In fact, he concludes that “the creative purpose and major themes of the folk tales did not concern harmony but the depictions of changing social structures” (Zipes). Moreover, he insists that “might makes right” as the ideas in a particular fairy tale usually display the beliefs of the dominating class (Zipes). According to Zipes, “central to most tales is the concept of power” (Zipes). Furthermore, Zipes argues that fairy tales frequently present elitist and sexist views. Zipes argues that fairy tales reflect the views of the dominating class, often mocking the minorities of a given community.
As stated by Jane Yolen and Jack Zipes, fairy tales play a much greater ro...
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...h much more significant themes and truly enlighten people (Yolen 36).
Work Cited
Tatar, Maria. “Jack Zipes: Breaking the Disney Spell.” The Classic Fairy tales. New York: W.W.
Norton and Company, 1999. 332-352.
Yolen, Jane. “How Basic Is Shazam?”Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie and Folklore in Literature of
Childhood. Little Rock: August House Publisher Inc., 2000. 13-19.
Yolen, Jane. “Once Upon a Time.” Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie and Folklore in Literature of
Childhood. Little Rock: August House Publisher Inc., 2000. 27-36.
Zipes, Jack David. Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales.
Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2002.
Zipes, Jack. “On the Use and Abuse of Fold and fairy Tale with Children: Bruno Bettelheim’s
Moralistic magic wand.” Literature Resource Center. Gale, 2007. Web. 18 Feb 2010.
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.
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.
Tatar, Maria. Off with Their Heads!: Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1992. Print.
During the 19th century, Grimm’s fairytales were strongly disapproved of due to harsh, gruesome details and plots. One American educator from 1885 stated, “The folktales mirror all too loyally the entire medieval worldview and culture with all its stark prejudice, its crudeness and barbarities.” As childre...
Everyone knows and loves the enchanting childhood fairytales of magic, princes, and princesses, but very seldom are privy to the detrimental impacts of “happily ever after” on the developing youth. Fairy tales are widely studied and criticized by parents and scholars alike for their underlying tone and message to children. Peggy Orenstein, feminist author, mother, and fairy tale critic, has made it her personal mission to bring these hidden messages to the surface. In the article, “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” Orenstein dissects the seemingly innocent tale of love and magic, and the princess many know and love, and points out its flaws and dangers. Fairy tales, Cinderella in particular, are not suitable for children because upon deeper evaluation,
Faris, Wendy B. Ordinary Enchantments: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 2004. 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. 21
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.
Fairy tales teaching more valuable lessons than just teaching children than just how to behave.
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.
The simplicity of fairy tales and non-specific details renders them ideal for manipulation allowing writers to add their own comments often reflecting social convention and ideology. Theref...
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...
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: the Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. Print.
..., Maria. “An Introduction to Fairy Tales.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Toronto: Longman, 2013. 230-235. Print.
The affects of fairly tales on our lives are very underestimated and maybe even unconsciously acted out in our everyday challenges and experiences. In pretty much every single fairy tale ever told the main event in the story is falling in love. While Prince Charming may not have ever actually existed he surely did in every little girls heart who heard her parents tell of his heroic deeds and the dragons he slayed and most im...
Zipes, Jack. Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.