"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten," Says Neil Gainman, author of the book Coraline. Fairy tales date back thousands of years. Fairy tales started out as oral traditions and later were written on paper and made into story books. Fairy tales open up and take children's imaginations to a place where they can learn how to deal with real problems while being enchanted. Fairy tales are given a bad reputation because of the mature themes in them. "Are Gory Fairy Tales an Evil?" notes that, "Parents and educators . . . have been troubled by the stories of blood, cruelty, revenge, and murder that are included in our fairy-tales. . . . Many stories set forth in grotesque form stories of ill-will, deception, robbery, and murder--even cannibalism," (285). These critics fail to mention the positive themes such as, justice, love, identity, honesty, and acceptance. Most stories have negative situations. There would not be much to a story if everything in it were good. What makes these stories so spectacular is what the characters must overcome or realize in order to have their happy ending. In the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, a prince was transformed into a beast by a fairy because he was cruel. He was turned into a beast so that he would have to learn how to be nice so that maybe one day someone could fall in love with him even though he was hideous. If that were to happen, the spell would be broken (Goldenburg and Killion 6). The imaginative part of this story, with the spell and enchantment of the castle, takes the readers to a place where they can imagine and dream of things they may have never dreamt about before. This story also demonstrat... ... middle of paper ... ...f you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” Fairy tales open up and take our imaginations to a place where we can learn how to deal with real problems while being enchanted. Works Cited 1. "Are Gory Fairy Tales an Evil?" The Literary Digest 5 Jan. 1929: 281-285. Print. 2. Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment. New York: Knoph, 1978. Print. 3. Fiedler, Leslie. "Fairy Tales-Without Apologies." Saturday Review 15 May 1976. 44. Print. 4. Goldenburg, Dorothea and Killion, Bette. Treasury of Fairy Tales. Illinois: Publications International, 2001. Print. 5. Longman, Phillip. New America Foundation: The Return of Patriarchy. 1 Mar. 2006. 6. Phelps, Ethel. Tattterhood and Other Tales. New York: Feminist Press, 1978. Print. 7. Sand 8. Wheeler, H. E. "The psychological case against the Fairy Tale." Elementary School Journal283-284. Print.
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.
Fairy tales are good. Santa Claus and Snow White are good. On the other hand, many stories we consider to be of cultural value are not good. If we treat them like fairy tales – fine! If we try to find a hidden message or a deeper sense – a waste of time!
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.
Fairytales, the short stories that most children heard as they went to bed, are actually folktales from previous decades. The fairytales today are primarily adaptations of older versions recreated by Disney— the pioneers of this generation. With that said, the modern versions consistently display good triumphing over evil, a prince charming that constantly came to the rescue, and a happily ever after ending. However, the original folktale version didn’t always come with fortunate events, but often were more violent and gruesome. With the fairytale Cinderella, Disney maintains a similar theme as its Grimm version; however, the conflicts, events, and characters that support this idea are rather different.
A fairy tale is seemingly a moral fiction, intended mainly for children. A lesson in critical analysis, however, strips this guise and reveals the naked truth beneath; fairy tales are actually vicious, logical and sexual stories wearing a mask of deceptively easy language and an apparent moral. Two 19th Century writers, the Grimm brothers, were masters at writing these exaggerated stories, bewitching young readers with their prose while padding their stories with allusion and reference: an example of which is "Rapunzel." Grimm's "Rapunzel" is packed with religious symbolism, which lends a new insight to the meaning of this classic story.
Most modern fairytales are expected to have happy endings and be appropriate for children, nonetheless, in past centuries most were gruesome. Consequently, fairytales have been modified throughout time. The stories “Beauty and the Beast” by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and “The Summer and Winter Garden” by Jacob and Wilherm Grimm share similarities and differences. The two stories are distinct because of the peculiar year they have been written in. LePrince de Beaumont’s story is written in London of 1783 and Grimm’s in Germany of 1812. At the time, wealthy people in London, were educated and had nannies who would read to their children; whereas, in Germany, the Grimm brothers created their own interpretation into a short story. Because many high class parents in 18th century London would not be able to spend time with their children, nannies would read “Beauty and the Beast” to them since they were intended for children and considered appropriate. In “The Summer and Winter Garden,” the Grimm’s’ story was mostly based to entertain misbehaved children and teach them the valuable lesson that everyone should be treated with kindness. The Grimm brothers’ goal in rewriting this short story is to better children’s behavior which worked quite well. Since these stories have been re-written for children, it would be safe to say the reason why parents expose the two stories to their children is because they both portray the same moral: good things happen to good people. The two interpretations of “Beauty and the Beast,” although written in separate countries, share important similarities and differences even though the authors have different interpretations and came from different cultures.
...lassic fairy tales is not the problem here, it’s the parents who try and raise their children in a perfect world. Children should be told the truth so they can be prepared for the real world before they grow up. I’m no parent, but I have been around children who do not know how to act in public places because their parents seclude them from the world. The violence in the classic fairy tales can be explained why it happen and ways children can learn what to do and what not to do. Parents can elaborate that not all step mothers are evil and that when hard times come they will not abandon them. The reality if the world would not be misleading if parents took the time to explain to their kids how things work in the real world. The classic fairy tales are nothing but entertain stories and they should not be taken so seriously by parents.
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.
Fairy tales are one of many ways to teach young children how to behave when they grow up. It teaches them to follow their dreams and express themselves. Fairy tales affect children's developing brains in the strangest ways. They inspire children to be and act like heroes. The options are endless. Children can be anything they want to be. Little girls can be beautiful princesses and little boys can be fearless princes. Imaginations run wild. The entire world is in their hands. But as they run away with their imaginations of magnificent lions and legendary wizards, their innocence diminishes because of the brutality displayed. The reality is that fairy tales aren't as sweet as we think they are. For this reason, parents are doubtful about reading fairy tales to their children. As society shift towards a era of fairy tales...
The first reason I support fairy tales for children is the relatable protagonist in each story. In the movie Kirikou and The Sourceress about a young boy trying to save his village from the evil Sourceress, Kirikou is very small. Throughout the movie his physical stature seems to always be of concern to others and often made fun of. When Kirikou visits his grandpa he says "Grandpa im so small and would like to be big" while his granpa replies " Today because you are tiny you have been able to enter places where no one else could, be grateful, and when you are grown never forget to be happy you are grown". This send such a strong message to children, to embrase their differences. With th amount of media/ advertisemetns regarding self image, children can igore them and learn that their differrences are what maker them unique. Evey child struggle with accepting who they are and with stories such as Kirikou and The Sourceress kids can identify withthe protagonist and learn how to deal with these problem. With
As a general rule, children love fairy tales. We grow up being read Grimm's or watching Disney remakes of classics. Parents love telling children fairy tales not only because they have an opportunity to spend time with their sons and daughters, but also because fairy tales, like fables, always contain a lesson or moral within them. Although both Kate Chopin's "The Storm," and D.H. Lawrence's "The Rocking Horse Winner" have some of the qualities of a child's fairy tale, only one of the stories has a moral tone, while the other has a very amoral one.
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...
A person can take a story and look at it from many ways. Fairy tales represent the transformation of young people. Beauty is transformed into a young woman; she passes through the stages successfully and in turn is able to love. Every story teaches a lesson and in this case more than one lesson is taught. Not only is the lesson of sexuality and maturity taught, an even more important lesson is taught. Beauty and the Beast shows that true love comes from within the inside and if it is meant to be it will prevail.