Are fairy tales simply entertaining stories for children, or tales geared to educate children to be solid citizens and consumers? While fairy tales are entertaining stories and can be used to educate children of the normal social manners of reality; however, it can be used to entertain and educate people of all ages. It can be used as a method of escaping the real world or to teach valuable life lessons than just the normal social mannerisms of society. I believe that fairytales can educate children on how they should behave in society and are a form of entertainment for children; however, I believe they do more than just entertain and educate children. As a person who enjoys Fairytales, I believe people of all ages can be entertained by …show more content…
Fairy tales teaching more valuable lessons than just teaching children than just how to behave. While The Last Unicorn contains elements of a traditional fairy tale (good vs. evil, royalty, quests, magic, etc.), I believe that it is more than just a traditional fairy tale. The Last Unicorn critiques fairytales by being a slight parody by using the traditional elements, character awareness, and including valuable life lessons by tinkering with the “Happy ever after” element. The comedic side of the Last Unicorn comes mostly from Schmendrick the Magician and his awareness of the fairy tale formula. “You’re in the story with the rest of us now, you must go with it, whether you will or no. If you want to find your people, if you want to be a unicorn again, then you must follow the fairy tale to King Haggard’s castle, and wherever else it chooses to take you. The story cannot end without a princess.” This is one of the Schmendrick’s quotes where he breaks the fourth wall a tiny bit and talks about them being in a fairy tale. The awareness that he has about being in a fairy tale is not only hilarious, but it’s this awareness that adds depth to the story and parodies traditional fairy tales. It points out the traditional formula of fairy tales and kind of makes fun of it a bit since the characters are aware of the story they are …show more content…
The Last Unicorn doesn’t end with the main character riding off with the Prince where they will live happily ever after. The ending of the story gives the impression that each character’s life will continue onto more adventures to continue their growth, rather than having their entire life based on the course of this specific quest. This is a valuable lesson to children and all people need to learn that other fairy tales do not really teach. You shouldn’t wait for a happily ever after because one quest or journey will lead to being happy forever. The Last Unicorn teaches the readers of life being more than a simple happy ending. It teaches the readers that to become what they want, they have to be active on your journey will get out of the everyday cycle. In addition, it teaches the readers that there is not a sole quest that will define the ending to your story. There is not one quest that will ultimately lead to a “happily ever after,” that other fairy tales seem to push forward. It teaches readers that life continues and you will keep growing with the many obstacles that come your
Fairy tales connect to our owns lives, dreams, anxieties, and help us to consider what we would do in their shoes. Many cultures have their own spin on common fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty, with their own cultural flavor. We read those versions and know that we share something important and the hope for good to overcome evil.
Fairy tales are one of the longest lasting forms of literature. Though now they bring to mind classic movies engendered by Disney, many of these stories were first passed on in an oral manner, meant to convey a message, moral, or lesson. Alison Lurie’s “What Fairy Tales Tell Us” covers a broad range of classic tales, discussing how under the guise of an entertaining story comes life lessons we would all do well to follow. To begin this paper, some of the tales Lurie examines in her article will be looked at and critically examined beyond what she discusses. This will then move the text towards its remaining sections, which will take Lurie’s ideas and have them applied to folk and fairy tales that have not yet been contemplated; for the purpose
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.
Originally, the purpose of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales were to articulate his life experiences unlike like modern Disney adaptations that focus on the entertainment value. Andersen used his fairy
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.
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
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.
The fairy world shows us a lighter side of reality that today we do not see as often as we should. The fairy world is one of carefree enjoyment and fun times, unlike the human world which is wrought with death and destruction. The human world is one of horrible tragic events that occur all the time while in the fairy world one is known only to have a good time. The fairies are responsible for the comedic aspect of this play and without them it could not have been comedic. The fairies represent a realm of carefree and amazingly enjoyable freedom that the members of the human world want to have but cannot because of the structure and laws.
“The fairy tale, which to this day is the first tutor of children because it was once the first tutor of mankind, secretly lives on in the story. The first true storyteller is, and will continue to be, the teller of fairy tales. Whenever good counsel was at a premium, the fairy tale had it, and where the need was greatest, its aid was nearest. This need was created by myth. The fairy tale tells us of the earliest arrangements that mankind made to shake off the nightmare which myth had placed upon its chest.”(Walter Benjamin). For generations fairy tales have brought happiness to hundreds of people. Through childhood to adults, people still enjoy the mysteries of fairytales. In society, fairytales are a great way of connecting
Fairy Tales have been around for generations and generations. Our parents have told us these stories and we will eventually pass them down to ours. In this time of age the most common fairytales are Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and The Beast and many more. Children idolize their favorite character and pretend to be them by mimicking everything they do in the stories. The character’s behavior is what is viewed as appropriate in society. These fairy tales show a girl and a boy fall in love and live “happily ever after”. The tales in many people’s eyes resemble a dream life that they would want to have of their own. However, have you ever really looked at what makes up a fairy tale? Many things are unrealistic but the most unflattering aspect of these tales is how women are depicted in them. Fairy tales give an unrealistic view to how women should look and behave in real life.
There are many fairy tales that have been discussed in this class. The most interesting stories to me are Snow White by Brother Grimm and Ever After: A Cinderella Story directed by Andy Tennant based on Cinderella by Charles Perrault. There are many different versions of Snow White and Cinderella from numerous cultures. In every version, both stories are known as children bedtime stories. In addition, the purpose of both stories is to give a life lesson to the children about overcoming evil to attain happiness. At first, every fairy tale has to deal with evil that threatens the protagonist, but in the end, good must always win. In the same way, both of the fairy tales have a similar scenario of a character
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.
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...
The fairytale is not just about her journey to grandma’s house, or everyone knowing Little Red Riding Hood because she is a sweet little girl, the fairytale is giving us messages that we should help our elders and we should kind.
Normally, when one was a child, our parents would tell us fairy tales as bed time stories, or to simply entertain us. This is a worldwide tradition in which every parent tells their child the stories they were told when they were little, or new stories. There are infinite stories to be told as well as infinite stories that have already been written or told. The stories told by our parents have influenced us and still influence us in our beliefs and values today. Throughout our childhood, we have been told many stories that teach us to be brave and courageous, respect others, love ourselves and others, to obey orders, and even to help and