Fairytales: Children’s Greatest Companion Throughout my childhood, my sister loved to write unique fairytales for me that would make my little mind soar. Although I didn’t read modern fairytales, fairytales played an important role in my childhood as they first helped me to read, gain knowledge about the world and understand myself. According to Bruno Bettelheim’s book, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairytales, fairy tales give children much knowledge about their identity, others emotions and their environment. Children gain knowledge by reading about life experiences similar to their own and use this knowledge they gain through out their development, just as I did. Grimm’s Fairy Tales, written by the Grimm Brothers …show more content…
Children often experience many difficulties concerning their families in their time of development. Children turn to fairytales during these hard times, because, “fairytales recognize children’s problems found in all cultures and societies” (Bettelheim 5). “Snowdrop” recognizes difficult periods children have with their family and that there are times children put their trust in non-parental figures. In the fairytale “Snowdrop” due to terrible events caused by her evil stepmother, Snowdrop’s trust is put in the Dwarfs who promise to care for her. Snowdrop’s evil stepmother turns to deadly ways to get revenge on Snowdrop for being the “fairest of all the ladies in the land” (Grimm 91). Snowdrop’s …show more content…
“For a story truly to hold the child’s attention, it must entertain him and arouse his curiosity” (Bettelheim 5). Fairytales are a type of literature meant to develop a child’s mind and personality in a way they can enjoy. Numerous children’s stories incorporate talking objects and animals, because as Bettelheim states, “child’s thinking remains animistic until the age of puberty” (46). According to Dictionary.com, “animism is the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls”. In “Snowdrop”, the fairy-looking glass, which holds conversation with the evil stepmother, is an example of animism. The fairy-looking glass is parallel to that of a mirror, in which a child might look in and talk, but not receive an answer they are expecting. This inanimate object can’t talk, but a child might believe otherwise until they gain rationality. Fairytales often obtain figures of speech similar to that of animism to hold the child’s attention. Figure of speech is defined as, “a word or phrase used in a nonliteral sense to add rhetorical force to a spoken or written passage.” An example of figure of speech in “Snowdrop” is after the evil stepmother first attempts to murder Snowdrop, but is told she failed by the fairy-looking glass. After she was informed, “her blood ran cold in her heart with spite and malice, to see Snowdrop
For centuries, the tales that capture the youth of society or the adult 's mind are continually under speculation. To whom do the fairy tales of our literature belong, and have they been disassembled from their true meanings? Jack Zipes ' Breaking the Disney Spell and Donald Hasse 's Yours, Mine, or Ours? essays focus on the answers to this pressing question.
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).
They serve many purposes, as both demonstrated by Lurie’s article “What Fairy Tales Tell Us,” as well as what is investigated in this paper. Nevertheless, one must keep in mind how dated of many of these stories are; what some may view as having a deeper meaning, such as abuse, may also be reflecting the habits and occurrences of the time period, such as seen in “Hansel and Gretel.” That is not to say, however, that these stories are to be taken lightly. Ostensibly, romantic tales where true love is apparently the only motive may actually be harbouring important ethics and beliefs. This can be seen in the tale of Sleeping Beauty; criticized in modern times for being a feminist’s nightmare, the tale actually consists of genuine messages about the world. It takes insipid daily lessons and turns them into something magical, or, more eloquently, “the fairy tale survives because it presents experience in vivid symbolic form”
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.
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
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.
Though the evils of the world may discourage us from reaching our full potential, fairytales such as Little Snow-White by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm teach us that good will always triumph over evil. As many tales of its kind, Little Snow-White uses a number of literary devices to attract a younger audience and communicate to them a lesson or moral that will remain with them throughout their lives. Since children have such an abstract stream of thought, it is vital to use language and devices that will appeal to them as to keep them interested in the story.
“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
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
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.
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.
Fairy tales have been read to children for many years by parents hoping these tales of heroines and heroes would provide a fun and interesting way to teach moral and values. Fairy tales provide children with a fun and entertaining way to deal with strangers. Children learn that when you don’t follow the rule and talk to mysterious strangers you’re put into situation that can cause pain or suffering to others.
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...