Into the Mind of Hans Christian Andersen “Hans Christian Andersen was a product of two towns, two social environments, two worlds and two ages.” Said Johan de Mylius. Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark. The only child to a poor shoe maker and a washerwoman, Andersen experienced the lower quality of life. As a young child he would roam the local town. He would often visit the home for the elderly in Odense where the old women would tell him aged stories and legends they were told
favorite Disney movie has been The Little Mermaid.. However, it scarcely crossed my mind as I grew older that there was a different story contradicting almost everything in the film. Despite bearing some similarities, the striking differences between Hans Christian Andersen’s and Walt Disney’s tales of The Little Mermaid have just furthered my love for Disney’s version. Andersen’s tale of “The Little Mermaid”, originally published in 1837, features a nameless mermaid who is referred to, simply, as the Little
The Little Mermaid is well known to everyone, but which version is known best? Hans Christian Andersen or Walt Disney, both are very similar mostly because Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid was the most popular version of the story before Walt Disney. Although Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” published in 1837, contains many patronizing nineteenth-century attitudes towards women, a value system that at least acknowledges the legitimacy of femininity shapes the fairytale. Unfortunately
Hans Christian Andersen was Lonely and desperately wanted to find love. This longing and failure to find someone showed through into his work. In his work cupid is portrayed as deceptive and evil. The Little Mermaid is the most often cited example of Andersen’s loneliness. The protagonist goes through much pain and loneliness for the one she loves, only to have him choose someone over her. In the short story The Sunbeam and the Prisoner, Andersen shows how fleeting love and happiness were in
Thumbelina is a fairy tale of Danish origin, created by Hans Christian Andersen and published in 1835 under its original name, "Tommelise". The name Thumbelina was first used by H.W. Dulcken in 1864. The tale revolves around a tiny girl of the same, and her adventures as a pint-sized human facing up to the challenges surrounding her. Her name is interchangeable, as she is named Thumbelina, but is referred to as Tiny. The motifs of the story are almost typical of fairy tales - talking animals (toads
Dickens, Thurber, Andersen, London and Perseus As far back as I can remember, my mind has always thought and learned by association. My brain fancifully connects things like computer terminals and bus terminals, Indian reservations with plane ticket confirmations, and carpetbaggers with rug stealers. Don’t ask me why, but I think I get bored with ordinary human communications and then lapse into my imaginary fantasy’ association world, finding it much more fascinating than the nightly news, soap
lives into portray reality under their frivolous endings. Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Ugly Duckling” symbolizes and defines the feelings, insecurities, and desires of not only the protagonist in the story but also the antagonists and the readers. The story of “The Ugly Duckling” represents the development of emotions and control. When the other creatures call the ugly duckling out on his flaws (Anderson), they feel powerful. Andersen uses this emotion to identify a person’s need to belittle
and they would live happily ever after; however, during this period stories didn’t end this way. The prince found a bride and on the day of the marriage, the little sea princess had an option to kill the prince and become a mermaid again or to die (Andersen,
into the fairytale is executed, what is found? In The classic fairytale treasury’s fairytale Thumbelina Hans Christian Andersen illustrates the patriarchal views that continue to control stereotyped traditional views of men and women in society by insinuating Thumbelina as a sensitive, beautiful, fragile being and the prince and male animals as rich, strong, powerful beings. Hans Christian Andersen depicts Thumbelina as a beautiful small fragile woman by choice of diction and juxtaposition in order
The Ugly Andersen “Life itself is the most wonderful fairytale” – Hans Christian Andersen. In the fairytale, “The Ugly Duckling”, the author, Hans Christian Andersen illustrates the character of the ugly duckling as one who struggles with unaccepting characters in his life, even his own family because of his appearance. Just as the duckling, Andersen, an outsider himself, lived a life of unacceptance by his peers. Through his writing, Andersen portrays his own personal life experiences as an outcast