Mythology
There are few things that are more complicated than a human being. The way our brain is able to tell us what to do in fractions of a second, how all our muscles and tendons are able to work in unison, and how we act in certain situations. But if we were to factor out what set us aside from everything else, we would find ourselves to be an empty vessel. We would be a race with no diversity and no conscience. We would not be able to make choices, but instead do what instinct tells us to do. However, we as humans have experienced this before. It was when we were babies. As babies we are completely blank and completely oblivious to right and wrong. We have no ability to do anything except sleep, breathe, and use the bathroom which is part of our autonomic nervous system. The benefit to this stage, however, is we are gaining information at an incredible rate without realizing it. By this I mean that our surroundings make us who we are. Whether it be our parents, friends, entertainment, and even fairytales.
As children we are intrigued by all that is not reality which is why we are so attracted to the stories we are told as children. In Bruno Bettelheim’s “Uses of Enchantment” Bettelheim argues that fairytales are very important in a child’s life and could be potentially devastating if
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the child is denied the fairytales. Bettelheim uses certain fairytales as examples of how they help a child’s development, some examples are Cinderella, Snow White and Hansel and Gretel. In the said children stories, Bettelheim argues why children need fairytales in order to grow up as functioning human beings in society. He states that children have a missing piece in their personality or character and they need the made up...
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...ng cycle. The only thing Bettelheim should be none for is his infamous reputation to lie and plagiarize his concepts (http://journalism.nyu.edu/portfolio/books/book411.html 13).
Work Cited
1. http://www.JamesPMercurio.com/review_enchantment.html
2. http://www.librarything.com/work/432
3. “The Norse Myths”. Holland Crossley ,Kevin. The Creation
4. http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-the-uses-of-enchantment
5. http://www.thenextlayer.org/node/206
6. Louis Macneice, poet
7. Maria Tartar, psychologist
8. http://www.Freudlife.org
9. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/mental-health-autism
10. “The Uses of Enchantment”
11. http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/freud.html
12. http://todlertime.com/interests/bettelheim.htm
13. http://Journalism.NYU.edu/portfolia/books/book411/html
14. http://pep.net/document/php?Id=psar.087.0385a
Children can identify themselves with fairy-tale characters; they imagine themselves as heroes, who are capable of killing dragons, or simpletons, who demonstrate the superiority over clever people. Fantasies based on the fairy tales are extremely important part of the children’s lives, and this is not only because they describe threatening situations that resemble main fears of a young child such as the fear of getting lost, fear of wrong decisions, fear of monsters or evil animals. Happy endings, which are always present in fairy tales, give children the confidence that despite all their fears they will be able to win in the end. This knowledge helps them to prepare for the difficulties of life, regardless whether they are real or imagined (Doughty, 2006).
Similar to the above conversation, one must take these tales with a grain of salt, and keep in mind the time period in which they were written. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will only be on what the tale is striving to teach those who read it. Similar to Lurie’s opinion on “The Light Princess,” readers of “Sleeping Beauty” may come away from the story thinking the best was to grow up or be helped is to fall in love; let the man (prince) solve the problem (Lurie 360). This thought is further echoed by Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek, the authors of “Folk and Fairy Tales,” as they describe the story “as a metaphor for growing up: the heroine falls asleep as a naïve girl and awakens as a mature young woman on the threshold of marriage”
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.
Hansjorg, Hohr, (2000). Dynamic Aspects of Fairy Tales: social and emotional competence through fairy tales. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, Vol 44, No 1, Department of Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Tatar, Maria. Off with Their Heads!: Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1992. Print.
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.
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 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...
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,
“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 teaching more valuable lessons than just teaching children than just how to behave.
...im, Bruno, The Use of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (London: Penguin, 1975).
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage, 2010. Print.
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.