Children’s literature is very influential part of a child’s early life. Stories told to children, while sometimes involving make believe, fantastical creatures, and things that do not exist in real life, teach morals to young children that will shape their beliefs and values in their lives. Fairy tales are one of the many influential types of children’s literature. Many tales are revised or retold to teach different morals to the younger generation (Joosen 129). By addressing the differing modernist views that people have today, “There Was Once” changes the way that fairy tales like “The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” were viewed as educational items for young children to assist in the teaching of morals and even prompts changing some elements …show more content…
One difference is the diction used in these pieces. Perrault uses cultured and elevated diction such as “christening” and “proclamation” to create his fantasy world for the fairy tale (Perrault 399). In contrast, Atwood uses scholarly and pedantic words such as “transcend” and “puritanical” to construct her piece criticizing fairy tales (Atwood 407). Along with differing word choice these stories also differ in tone. The tone in Perrault’s piece fantastical and fanciful while Atwood is candid and condescending. The differing elements in these stories emphasize the purpose of Atwood’s piece in criticizing the morals taught in Perrault’s piece. Another element that effects the mood and tone of these pieces is the speaker or speakers. In “There Was Once” there are two speakers that have a dialogue with each other and in “The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” the speaker is a narrator that is just telling the story. Because “There Was Once” has two narrators arguing, it makes the story more relatable to the audience in contrast to the reader being on the outside looking in with the narration of “The Sleeping Beauty in the
Fairy tale is a story that features folkloric chapters and enchantments, often involving a far-fetching sequence of events. Fairy tales have been around for thousands of years, whether it comes from Grimm’s Fairy Tales which is what most people consider the “classic” or “traditional” fairy tales to Disney movies, the idea of the fairy tale fills our society with lessons and examples of how we should behave and live; fairy tales teach the same things in different ways, or teach different things with the same tale. A couple of these tales are “Beauty and the Beast”, by Jeanne-Marie Leprince De Beaumont and “The Pig King”, by Giovanni Francesco Straparola. They are both tales about falling in love with someone despite their appearance. The similarities and differences between “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Pig King” is captivating while still depicting a similar tale. They are similar in the way they find love and their love story but they also share a similar behavior pattern in the way the girls behave towards the prince. However, the two tales do display a difference in the attitudes of the princes and their actions towards their love
The point of views are alike when comparing the two stories while the mood that the setting creates is different. Dr. Seuss, a children’s book author, said, “You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.” Two books that are magical are People Call Me Crazy and Good
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...
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.
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...
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.
The Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault are both very well-known authors of fairytales. Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm are usually the most recognized in our society, but Perrault has his own version of many of the same tales. These authors have very different methods and styles of writing, as well as differences in morals of their stories. Here I will assess some of the differences between certain tales, as well as provide some background behind the authors.
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.
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...
..., Maria. “An Introduction to Fairy Tales.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Toronto: Longman, 2013. 230-235. Print.
Fairy tales have always been told to us as children; whether to comfort or entertain us, they always seem to be a part of most everyone’s childhood. When Nadine Gordimer was asked to write a children’s story, she replied with a short story titled “Once Upon A Time”. Although the title is characteristic of a fairy tale, she leads the tale to an ending that is anything other than “…happily ever after.” Gordimer distorts the fairy tale by dealing with certain issues rather than giving the reader the usual fairy tale characteristics. Three of the more significant issues Gordimer likes to deal with in her story are racial discrimination and prejudice, society’s insecurities, and the persuasive way fairy tales have with children.
The first significant difference is in the plot of Roald Dahl’s poem. Taken out completely is the Wolf encounter with Little Red Riding Hood in the woods. Instead of the Wolf cunningly getting information on the whereabouts of grandmother’s house from Little Red Riding Hood, in Dahl’s poem the “Wolf began to feel / That he would like a decent meal, / He went and knocked on Grandma’s door” (Dahl Lines 1-3). The first couple of lines in Dahl’s poem don’t begin focusing on Little Red Riding Hood the way Perrault’s short story does, but instead these lines aim the attention of the poem on the Wolf by beginning with his primary actions and feelings. Along with this absence of plot and shift in focus, Roald Dahl deviates from Perrault’s short story again during Little Red Riding Hood’s encounter with the Wolf in grandmother’s house. Roald Dahl includes the beginning dialogue of questioning between Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf that was originally present in Perrault’s work. However, as this repetition of dialogue goes on, there are significant differences in Roald Dahl’s poem. Instead of carrying on the same questioning dialogue, Little Red Riding Hood says, “but Grandma, / what a lovely great big furry coat you have on” (Dahl Line 39), to then what Dahl answers, “That’s
Fairy tales have been an essential part of history since the dawn of time. Many people remember reading them as a child, or hearing them told by a parent. They have been written as books and created as movies and tv shows for humanity to enjoy. What do we know about where fairy tales originate? In this essay, we will dig deep into the history of fairy tales, and see what we can discover. Fairy Tales written many years ago are still famous today. They create a world of imagination for children and gives them a brief break from day to day realities.