Themes In Twins, By Vivian Vande Velde

Vivian Vande Velde uses the mechanics of reversal throughout “Twins” to teach the moral lesson that even if people are inherently good, they still may never reach their deserved successful conclusion.
“Twins,” the eleventh story in the book Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird written by Velde, is a story about a young brother and sister threatened by an old woman who lives in the woods with a house built of bread and sweets. These children have saved their lives thanks to the ingenuity. This paper presents an argumentative analysis of “Twins” that argues Velde uses the mechanics of reversal throughout to teach the moral lesson that even if people are inherently good, they still may never reach their deserved happy ending (Velde,

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).
Knowing the importance of fairy tales for the child’s inner world, it is easy to understand why fairy-tale motifs play such an important role in the minds of adults as well: they are nurtured by the tales. “Twins” tale makes an important contribution to the field: the author shows that many people follow fairy tales in life. Fairy-tale motifs are crucial for the formation of personality in both positive and negative sense. These motifs have a profound effect on self-esteem and outlook that usually play a great role during decision making