In order to understand the title I have given this literary analysis we must first revisit what J.R.R. Tolkien considers a Faerie story. He viewed most fantasy stories or even worse “fairy” stories written as stories that attempted to trick the audience into this other world, a world filled with illusions, created by a magician who manipulates the primary world that we live in. In his essay “On Fairy Stories,” he attempts to distinguish and defend the genre of fairy stories from what most understand as fantasy writing or quite literally a story about fairies. He structures his essay in a manner that distinguishes itself from other genres such as “traveller’s tales,” science fiction (i.e. Star Wars – more on that later), beast tales and dream stories. …show more content…
It is soon filled with creatures of all creeds and colors, creature from different planets all of which have distinguishing features and backstories, and of course consist the archetypal characters that can be found in fairy tales, such as the warrior wizard (Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda), the brave and beautiful princess (Princess Leia Organa), and the monstrous villains cloaked in black (Darth Vader and The Emperor). Where Tolkien creates a creation myth with The Simalrillion, Lucas develops a hero myth that follows in light of Joseph Campbell’s thesis The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Lucas fuses all sorts of mediums and genres to in order to create this galaxy’s landscapes and characters. He draws from Westerns, Science Fiction, and Samurai films as well as television and comic books when developing his version of
...n” is a great example of an old myth or tale reconstructed and adapted for a modern audience in a new medium. It is a progression on one hand in its use of modern language, setting, and style but it is also the product of the old myths in that it is essentially the same on the thematic level. In addition, the level of self-awareness on the part of the narrator and, by extension, the author marks it out as an illustration of the very notion of evolutionary changes of myths and fairy tales. Adaptation is the solution to the fairy tale, and fairy tales have been endlessly changing themselves throughout history and, by some strange transforming or enchanting power endlessly staying the same.”
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.
Warner, Marina. From the Beast to the Blond on Fairy Tales and Their Tellers. New York: Chatto & Windus, 1994. Print.
The Authors of the Literary Fairy Tale When asked to name authors of fairy tales, most people now (if they
Kathleen, the length is only one of the reasons I “declassified” The Hobbit as a fairy tale not the only reason. Fairy tales are often always short stories and The Hobbit is not. I am familiar with myths and their lengths, and many myths are usually considered epic poems. Paradise Lost, Iliad, and Odyssey are all epic poems, but are Greek myths. Therefore, making them shorter than The Hobbit but longer than a fairy tale. Let me be clear length is a small aspect on why I no longer consider it a fairy tale. Star Wars as in George Lucas? Star Wars has elements of mythology just like The Hobbit has elements of a fairy tale the characters, a moral lesson, and the happy ending to be exact. One of the most important elements of myths is the hero's
Throughout history people have always been telling stories, whether it is how some ones day went or something strange they saw. One place that has a particularly strong connection with storytelling is Ireland. Telling stories in Ireland was usually for entertainment told at a bar or by the fire in a friend’s home to hear what someone else saw or experienced leaving one with new knowledge. Fairy- legends were stories that were told quite often in conversational type settings telling people something they had heard of experienced about the fairies. The people of Ireland used to strongly believe in the fairies during the nineteenth century. Fairies are not human but look somewhat similar to us except that are usually a lot paler. They live their
Rollin, Lucy. “Fear of Faerie: Disney and the Elitist Critics.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly Volume 12. Number 2. 1987. Retrieved 18 Dec. 2013 from < http://muse.jhu .edu/journals/chq/summary/v012/12.2.rollin.html>.
J.R.R. Tolkien Research Paper As many have grown up during this generation, they have been dazzled by the work of J.R.R. Tolkien as well as the artistic interpretation of this trilogy by Peter Jackson. This movement started when Tolkien created The Hobbit and then later the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. However, there are those who have criticized both the books and the cinema for being sexist and/or racist. Tolkien is not sexist because he develops his female characters by revealing their individualism and dynamic features, and is also not a racist because much of the criticism comes from Peter Jackson’s interpretations and because racism is harshly looked upon more in this generation than it was back in the 1940’s.
In the introduction to the The Classic Fairy Tales, Maria Tartar notes that there is no “single, univocal, uncontested meaning” for any particular fairy tale (xiv). This is primarily due to the “kaleidoscopic variations” of fairy tales that have been “reconfigured” to meet the needs of different, distinct audiences (Tartar ix). As Tartar notes, “local color” shape each the telling of each tale (ix). However, the local color shapes more than just the telling, or variation, of a tale. When coupled with the personal experiences and expectations of the listener/reader of a tale, the local color also affects the meaning of a tale. As a result, a singular fairy tale or tale variation can have numerous meanings, each one dependent upon the individual. This is can be clearly seen by looking at several possible interpretations of “Wolfland” by Tanith Lee.
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...
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage, 2010. Print.
Bettelheim, Bruno. "The Struggle for Meaning." The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Knopf, 1976. Print.
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.
Zipes, Jack. Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.