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Fairytales impact on children
Merits and demerits of fairy tales
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Fairy Tales have enchanted people for generations. These stories have long been sources of entertainment and moral education, weaving together elements of fantasy with values. Today, fairy tales are often dismissed as children’s stories; however they have permeated popular culture. There are countless versions of these classic tales, with movies, books, and songs recounting the ever so familiar tales as well as colloquial phrases alluding to them. However, some critics argue that beneath the innocent and whimsical demeanor of fairy tales, lie the suppressive values of the dominant culture. These stories have many times been adapted to accommodate the needs of their audiences, and the modern fairy tale, although embedded with the ideas of countless storytellers, has been completely transformed from its original version. Over time, fairy tales have been infused with the different desires, struggles, and complaints of their storytellers and provide perfect snapshots of the societies that created them. Although these fairy tales were initially instilled with the values of the dominant culture, the modern fairy tale has been simplified to promote universal values. The modern fairy tale is deeply rooted in oral tradition. These tales, although attributed to authors such as the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson today, were communal property. Fairy tales originated from oral folk tales, promoting ideas of harmony and providing explanations for natural occurrences. “Originally, the folk tale was (and still is) an oral narrative form cultivated by non-literate and literate people to express the manner in which they perceived and perceive nature and their social order and their wish to satisfy their needs and wants” (Zipes 7)... ... middle of paper ... ...ment that teaches universal values to children. Works Cited Bell, Elizabeth, Lynda Haas, and Laura Sells. From Mouse to Mermaid: the Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1995. Print. "Les Contes Des F." Endicott Studio of Mythic Arts and Journal of Mythic Arts. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. . Zipes, Jack. Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales. Lexington: University of Kentucky, 2002. Print. Zipes, Jack. “Of Cats and Men: Framing the Civilizing Discourse of the Fairy Tale.” Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. Web 24 Feb 2010. Zipes, Jack. “Breaking the Magic Spells: Politics and Fairy Tales.” Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. Web. 24 Feb 2010. Zipes, Jack. “Breaking the Disney Spell.” The Classic Fairy Tales. New York. W.W. Norton & Company,1999
Callow, B. (2013). Fairy Tales: How They Have Changed Over Time. The Artifice. Retrieved from http://the-artifice.com/fairy-tales-how-they-have-changed-over-time/
Warner, Marina. From the Beast to the Blond on Fairy Tales and Their Tellers. New York: Chatto & Windus, 1994. Print.
Alexandrova, Marina. "Disney and The American Princess: The Americanization of European Fairy Tales." America: The New Society (2010): 1-77. Print.
Smith, Caroline. “The Not So Wonderful Word of Disney.” University of Alabama Arts & Sciences Department. Retrieved 13 Dec. 2013 from < http://www.english.uga.ed u/fyc/barnett/smith2006-07.pdf>.
In “Fairies and the Supernatural on Reachrai,” Ballard explains the nature of fairies according to Gaelic culture. She states that fairies not only embody the dreams of Irish folk but also maintain the power to scare them from doing wrong. Ballard establishes that authors create a world of imagination with an underlying voice that encourages good behavior, especially when the fairies are near. He integrates fairy tales and ethnology to point out the tales’ importance during “The Troubles” and other times of conflict in Ireland.
Rowe Karen. “Feminism and Fairy Tales.” Folk & Fairy Tales. Matin Hallett and Barbrar Karasek. Canada: Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication, 2009. 342-358. Print.
Zipes, Jack, Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tale (London: Heinemann, 1979).
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...
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. 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.
..., 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.
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