A Brief Look at the Brothers Grimm

Before the Brothers Grimm transcribed what is known today as one of the most recognized fairytales ever recorded, it was being passed down orally from generation to generation at every corner of the globe. Various versions of Cinderella’s myth can be found in almost every culture in the world, all very distinct with their own specific qualities, reflecting each society’s predominant interpretations of religious themes. For instance, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s works were known to promote their Prussian culture and language, such as “Aschenputtel”, their German version of Cinderella. Most of their adjustments were heavily influenced by the criticism of their fellow countrymen, their audience, and their Christian beliefs.

Storytelling has been changing rapidly in recent years. Stories have been told orally, through books, and most recently movies. These stories provide an escape from reality for children and adults alike. Many fairy tales were originally thought to be enchanting and were meant to please a child’s endless imaginations and presents different teachings and morals (Moore 175). In the society seen today, many aspects of life are changing and fairytales have not been adapting consistently to these changes. The biggest contributor to fairy tales today, is Disney. Disney utilizes their popularity by shaping and dominating the world and creating notions of happiness and utopia (Zipes 17). While children find joy in these tales, Disney inserts their

Everyone loves a good fairytale, and nothing is quite as magical and heartwarming as a Disney fairytale. The themes of love, comedy, and morality deem them as more than just little kids' stories, but suitable and entertaining tales for the entire family. This is known by a majority of the stories' readers. However, what one may not be so familiar with is the origin of these tales. Where did the stories of Cinderella, Ariel, and Rapunzel come from? The Disney writers certainly did not create them themselves. The differences in the originals will shock anyone familiar with Disney. And what about Snow White? There are differences between the original Brothers Grimm version of the ebony-haired, white-skinned princess and the Disney movie, believe it or not. Some major differences between both versions are the multiple ways the evil queen tries murdering her stepdaughter, the cause of Snow White's revival, as well as how the evil queen died. Why the story was altered is obvious:

Fairy tales as we know them today began between the years of 1812 and 1857 with two young German librarians, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. They published a collection of tales that became one of the most influential works of folklore in Germany, then ultimately, the world. These tales are based on the difficulties faced by families at the time. The tales were taken from German oral tradition, a successful attempt to preserve their cultural heritage (Gillis, 2000). These tales were made for adults, never intended to meet the ears of children. Many of these tales have been copied and ‘fine-tuned’ by Disney to make them more “child-friendly”(Tatar 2003) . Disney is described as a force that impacts cultures which influences more than just the film industry. Davis (2006), both a communications professor and Disney film researcher, argues Disney has,

The Grimm Brothers version of Cinderella is a written down oral story that people passed down from generation to generation, meant to teach a lesson about piety and good behavior. Before the Grimm Brothers ever wrote it down, the story had been told several times by memory. It is thus not surprising that the descriptions of certain events in the story, such as the way Cinderella went to the Ball, are lacking in details. It is obvious that these parts of the story are unimportant to the overall message of the story. Instead, it focuses on the piety of Cinderella and the wickedness of the step-sisters. Through the events of the story, it becomes obvious that the goodness of Cinderella is justly rewarded, and that

Once upon a time, didn’t happen the way everyone was told as a child. Though out time and cultures, the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales children have grown up with, have been changed to fit the needs of individual cultures and families. Their influence stretches over geographic and linguistic boundaries leaving a mark on cultures around the world. The tales of damsels such as Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White are ones that are known by every generation, in almost every cultures around the world. These stories that are told now are not the ones told long ago in their home country of Germany.

"The Brothers Grimm were academics best known for publishing collections of folk tales and fairy tales, which became massively popular." (Zipes p. 7) "Born in Hanau, Germany, a year apart, with Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm born the oldest, on January 4, 1985, and Wilhelm Karl Grimm on February 24, 1786. Their family consisted of nine other siblings, six of which survived infancy, and their parents." (Zipes p. 9) Their early childhood was described as "idyllic" with them living in a beautiful countryside home while their father, Philip Wilhelm, was employed by the Prince of Hessen. However, when Jacob was eleven years and Wilhelm only ten, their father died, and their fortune dramatically declined to nothing. Their family was forced to move

For centuries fairytales and folk stories have been created and told to entertain and to explain the mysterious world. Each story holds a clear message for its readers but it also underlines more subtle messages that teach readers. Fairytales are especially targeted at an audience of children as those stories are told by parents each night before bed. But some of the stories that have been told for a long time across many different cultures have effected peoples’ perspectives more than is realized. One of the most popular examples of a fairytale that has been influential in American culture is the classic tale of Cinderella. Though the details of the tale can vary with different authors and cultures, aspects of it have

The Brothers Grimm's version of Snow White starts off so similar in comparison to Snow White the Walt Disney adaptation. I mean it sounds familiar right? Snow

The four themes that Maria Tatar argues in her book The Hard Facts of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales are 1. Rise of national identity and culture 2.Dissolution 3. Political and religious refugees and 4. Change in technology. With all four of these being relevant to the time, it sets up the importance of the remake of the fairy tale. We have to look critically at where we are and where we are going because of our pop culture and politics.

The women are the main focus in this story. Snow White is held to be the damsel in distress in this story. She is a beautiful young woman who wants to live happily ever after. In this story Snow White is taken pity upon. The Grimm’s write, “Because she was so beautiful the huntsman took pity on her…” (Grimm).

For generations stories and fairytales have been read to children all over. These stories that are read to kids often are lighthearted and have happy endings. In contrast, to these typical stereotypes about fairy tales the Grimm Brothers changes the way fairy tales are perceived. Now after reading the Grimm Brothers fairy tales seem a lot deeper and darker than the classics that would be read to kids because the characters are evil spirited, their are unpleasant endings and the mood is darker.

Most modern fairytales are expected to have happy endings and be appropriate for children, nonetheless, in past centuries most were gruesome. Consequently, fairytales have been modified throughout time. The stories “Beauty and the Beast” by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and “The Summer and Winter Garden” by Jacob and Wilherm Grimm share similarities and differences. The two stories are distinct because of the peculiar year they have been written in. LePrince de Beaumont’s story is written in London of 1783 and Grimm’s in Germany of 1812. At the time, wealthy people in London, were educated and had nannies who would read to their children; whereas, in Germany, the Grimm brothers created their own interpretation into a short story.

Over the years, Snow White’s story has been told in numerous different versions then its original version in 1812 by the Grimm Brothers. The main basis of the story has remained the same. Only a few minor tweaks to the story have changed. The three versions of the story that are going to be analyzed are the original story “Little Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Disney, and “Mirror, Mirror” by Disney also. They each were created in very different times and the original story has changed over the years to appeal to the audience of that time. No matter how many versions there are Snow White is considered, one of the most cherished fairy tales of all time. They each use different methods to get their

Who are the Grimms Brothers? Well The Grimm Brothers were two brothers named Jacob and William, and they lived in a family of nine children. They were famous for help writing and improving the beautiful tales known as fairytales. Although they did not write the fairytales, they went to towns and asked the people to tell their stories that have been past down to them. Later after they heard the stories they would write them down and interpret it and make it more interesting. Although the original fairy tales were not at all like the fairy tales today, they still were very interesting.