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fairy tales and symbolism
fairy tales and symbolism
fairy tales and symbolism
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Fairies in Folklore and Literature
Fairies have been part of literature, art, and culture for more than fifteen hundred years. With them have come many stories about their interaction with adults and children. These stories have been compiled by men such as Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, who provided the world with a large compilation of fairy tales, which are still told today. Perrault and the Grimms together compiled over six hundred legends that originated from all around Europe. These myths and legends often included imaginary being called fairies, sprites, and nymphs.
Fairies are frequently described as tiny human beings. Their clothing, which is usually green, gold, or blue, is thought to have been created from natural elements such as leaves and vines which have been sown together to make their dresses and loin cloths. Many of these magical beings had wings and could change forms and disappear when they had to.
There were both male and female fairies, some good and others evil. Evil female fairies were usually associated with female sexuality and abused their magical powers by doing harm (Rose 107-9).
They also had two, distinct living groups. One was called the "trooping group," a group of fairies that lived together in a community with governmental authority and laws, usually a monarchy. Most of these "trooping groups" were found in Irish and occasionally in English folklore. The other fairies are simply known as "solitary fairies," the ones that do not live within the community and are associated with outside families, places, or activities. This group would include fairy godmothers (Rose 107).
All fairies were said to live in the ground, within a forest. If humans wanted to find the fairie...
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... Jane Eyre can been seen in the compilation of Charles Perrault’s work, especially in "Tom Thumb" and "Bluebeard" and "The Fairies." It could also be argued that Charlotte might not have read or heard these stories but was introduced to many of the same themes through gothic novels of the time.
Works Cited
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Beth Newman. New York: St. Martin’s, 1996.
Fraser, Rebecca. The Brontes: Charlotte Bronte and Her Family. New York: Crown, 1988.
Perrault, Charles. Perrault’s Classic French Fairy Tales. Austria: Meredith, 1967.
Rose, Carol. Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes and Goblins: An Encyclopedia of the Little People. Denver: ABC-CLIO, 1996.
Silver, Carole. Strange and Secret Peoples: Fairies and Victorian Consciousness. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.
The Spanish-American war was fought in the year 1898, 33 years after the end of the Civil War in 1865. The threat of Spain upon Cuba blazed the patriotic hearts of the Americans as what appeared to be Spain torturing its territories. There are many causes that can be credited to the condition of these territories and surprisingly, but not too ironically, it can be clearly traced to that of the American people.
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were two of the most prominent leaders during the Civil Rights Movement who helped the African Americans to gain equal right and collapse the walls of oppression held. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were both African American civil rights advocates who fought for freedom against racial discrimination, but used different approaches to get their message across. Instilled with hope of a better community and civilisation around the world,
Numerous leaders have made tremendous impacts throughout the history of the world. In this essay, I will compare and contrast the lives and philosophies of civil rights activists Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were prominent leaders during the Civil Rights Era. They both had very different philosophies and methods on the racial emancipation of African-Americans. Despite their differences, they shared a common goal to live in a society with equal opportunity and a world free of segregation.
All over the world people have believed in a race of creatures, superhuman and subhuman, that are not gods or ghosts, but differ from humans in their powers, properties, and attributes (Briggs, Vanishing 27). The concepts of these creatures/fairies have been passed down through generations in many cultures through forms such as songs, sayings, and stories. Stories such as folktales and myths have wide array of fairy types found in them from various cultures' folklores (Abrams 101). Little people (lesser spirits) are often considered a subclass of fairies and include creatures like gnomes, trolls, and goblins (Rose 200, South 329).
The first reason for the Spanish American War was public opinion. In 1895, American citizens took notice of a Cuban revolt against their corrupt Spanish oppressor. The Cuban insurgents reasoned that if they did enough damage , the US might move in and help the Cubans win their independence. Not only did Americans sympathize with the Cubans upon seeing tragic reports in the newspaper, but they also empathized in that the US once fought for their own independence from Britain. If France didn’t intervene, the Americans probably would not have won their freedom. As if this did not rally enough hate for the Spanish among the American Public, fuel was added to the flame by the Spanish General (“Butcher”) Weyler. He attempted to crush the rebellion by herding Cubans into barbed-wire concentration camps. In turn, the American public was outraged.
Preston, Paul. The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge. 2006. Reprint, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2007.
The fairies and the fairy realm have many responsibilities in this play. The most important of which is that they are the cause of much of the conflict and comedy within this story. They represent mischievousness and pleasantry which gives the play most of its emotion and feeling. They relate to humans because they make mistakes but differ in the fact that they do not understand the human world.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were very significant during the Civil Rights Movement. Both were excellent speakers and shared one goal but had two different ways of resolving it. Martin Luther King Jr. chose to resolve the issues by using non-violence to create equality amongst all races to accomplish the goal. Malcolm X also wanted to decrease discrimination and get of segregation but by using another tactic to successfully accomplish the similar goal. The backgrounds of both men were one of the main driven forces behind the ways they executed their plans to rise above the various mistreatments. Martin Luther King Jr. was a more pronounced orator, a more refined leader, and overall saw the larger picture than Malcolm X.
Witchcraft is said to be the most widespread cultural phenomenon in existence today and throughout history. Even those who shun the ideas of witchcraft cannot discount the similarities in stories from all corners of the globe. Witchcraft and its ideas have spread across racial, religious, and language barriers from Asia to Africa to America. Primitive people from different areas in the world have shockingly similar accounts of witchcraft occurrences. In most cases the strange parallels cannot be explained and one is only left to assume that the tales hold some truth. Anthropologists say that many common elements about witchcraft are shared by different cultures in the world. Among these common elements are the physical characteristics and the activities of supposed witches. I will go on to highlight some of the witch characteristic parallels found in printed accounts from different parts of the world and their comparisons to some famous fairytales.
Mermaids, Fairies, and Witches are some of the most prominent mythical characters in today’s entertainment. These creatures are common characters in Folklore from various countries around the world. Folklore from other countries and cultures often affects how authors portray these creatures in the movies, books, and TV shows that are familiar to the citizens of America. One such country is Scotland, which is filled with multitudes of different folk stories. Scottish Folklore in particular has many tales about these three well known creatures. The most commonly known folklore from Scotland has had a huge impact on some of the most well known entertainment in the United States today.
The Spanish Civil War began in July of 1936, and ended in April 1939. Spain of the early 1930s was a deeply divided nation. There were two main factions in Spain- those of the left, and those on the right. Contrary to the political system in the United States, on the left were the Republicans (also called Loyalists) and on the right were the Nationalists. The Republicans were a conglomerate of many groups that banded together over the main thing they had in common—their opposition to fascism. This group consisted of Communists, monarchists, socialists, anarchists, and many of the common people (such as peasants and factory workers). On the Right, the Nationalists comprised of the middle to upper classes, Catholic Church supporters, and of course, those who fully supported a fascist regime .
In order to understand the effects of the Spanish Civil War, the atmosphere of Spain prior to 1936 needs to be understood as well. Spain, unlike major European powers, never experienced a bourgeois revolution and was therefore still dominated by a significant aristocracy. However, Spain had gone through several civil wars and revolutions making violence one of the most common devices for change. It, also, had undergone several cycles of reform, reaction from the opposition, and reversal by military uprising led by a dictator before 1936 (Preston 18).
that are ever read make fairies out to be nice things that grant wishes and such. Who
From the very beginning, the mass of workers of Spain, both in the city and in the country were the decisive elements. When the students rioted before the universities in 1930 it was only when the workers joined them with a vast general strike that the regime of the military dictator, Primo de Rivera, fell and the temporary regime of General Berenguer set up. When General Berenguer tried to hold fake elections without extending the franchise to all, it was another general strike that overthrew the regime, compelled new elections, forced the king to flee and established the republic in April 1931.