In both versions of “The Little Mermaid”, the role of the mermaid is depicted as a strong willed character who faces the problems of being a rebellious teenager and struggles to procure what she desires most in life. In my personal opinion, Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid has a greater plot. Because of its theme good vs evil, Disney’s The Little Mermaid has an expanded storyline and extra characters, including Ursula, a villain which Hans Christian Andersen’s story lacks.
Anderson’s version of “The Little Mermaid” is mostly to the point. He has no added accounts or extended plot. The little mermaid dreams of going to the surface, but must wait until she has come of age. Her sisters tell her all about what they have seen in their journey’s
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The sea witch in this story is not particularly evil, seeing as how she has no ulterior motive. True, she does take the little mermaids tongue as payment, but the sea witch gets nothing out of whether or not the prince falls in love with the young mermaid. On the other hand, in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, there is clearly a villain, without whom there would be no theme of good vs evil. Ursula is clever and uses magic to take the Little Mermaid’s voice, so that if things go awry she can take matters into her own hands, which she does. Her ultimate goal is to rule the ocean and she knows Triton wouldn’t hesitate to hand over his power if it means saving his youngest daughter, who is clearly his favorite. On the wedding ship we see her in her disguised form singing into the mirror, “Things are working out according to my ultimate design. Soon I’ll have that little mermaid, and the ocean will be mine!” Without Ursula, the movie lacks the climax that it needs. She definitely adds a commercial aspect to the movie. Not only is she a villain for children to root against, but she adds some amusement for adults as well. If we pay close enough attention, we notice that she adds a little bit of adult humor. Not only that, but she is a villain in other ways than just what the kids will see. She tells Ariel “boys aren’t that impressed with conversation” and continues to explain how they would much rather prefer to look at her pretty face and figure. In other words, she is encouraging Ariel to use her body to get what she wants, which isn’t exactly advice we want our children following, one day. Nonetheless, good always triumphs over evil and Eric falls in love with Ariel for who she is and realizes that it was her all along who saved him and who he wanted to be
The Trojans and Greeks fought a frivolous war that began with a golden apple and a trio of precarious goddesses. It initiated when Prince Paris was given an apple from the “evil goddess of Discord, Eris,” and told him to choose the fairest goddess between three. Paris ludicrously chose the goddess who offered him the most beautiful woman. This woman was Helen, queen of Sparta. But Paris stole her from her husband and refused to give her back to Menelaus.
There is a universal ideology that suggests that each gender plays their specific, individualized roles in society: men acting as independent, powerful alpha males, and women being their dutiful submissives. Contemporary narratives depict women as such whereas mythology is rich with goddesses and other female figures who are brave and powerful warriors equal to men. So if mythology can be overflowed with stories about female leaders, how come contemporary narratives have derived from that viewpoint? Sirens in Greek Mythology are a perfect example of the derivation to the new idea of women in society: weak. By examining the myth of Sirens through a feminist critical lens, the question of whether society is “concerned with the ways in which literature and other cultural productions reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression”(Brizee Web) will be answered. The mythological legend of the Sirens highlights the superiority of these figures who could destroy by temptation through their melodic voices; modern interpretations of sirens- as in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989)- reduce the feminine power of the siren to a contemporary stereotype of the powerless, dependent, subservient woman.
In the story, “The Little Mermaid” there are demonstrations that describe what a heroine is. A female character that is noted for special achievements represents the heroine in a story. Therefore, the youngest mermaid “Little Mermaid” represents the heroine throughout the story. The Little Mermaid is a mystical creature that longs only to seek the handsome prince she laid eyes on. “Once she became human, the witch said she could never become a mermaid again” (Anderesens 185). This is an example of how the Little Mermaid chose to do something incredible and dangerous just to accomplish something she only dreamt of. Not only is the Little Mermaid the heroine of the story, but she also exemplifies other archetypal characteristics. An
Ponyo and The Little Mermaid have reflected important societal views on the individuality and standards for women during their time period. Both Ponyo and Ariel display promising female characters within a society where they did not value the individuality of women. The Little Mermaid (by Disney), and Ponyo (by Hayao Miyazaki), share similar storylines. They are both about women trying to become a part of the human world in order to be with the men they love. In order to do so, they make some mischievous and dangerous decisions.
The purpose of this essay is to watch a movie and try to view the main character from three personality theorists perspectives. In the movie The Little Mermaid, Ariel is a mermaid princess who makes a deal with an evil sea-witch to meet a human prince who lives on land (Clements/Musker, 1989). In this essay, I will analyze the movie The Little Mermaid through Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, Carl Jung’s theory of Archetypes, and Erik Erikson’s Stages of Development. While these theorists have much in common in terms of self-concept, their views on the main issues at hand vary accordingly.
When the little mermaid went to the sea witch to be changed into a human, she told her, “How stupid of you! Still, you shall have your way, and it’ll bring you into misfortune, my lovely Princess” (Anderson 226). The sea witch had already warned the little mermaid even before she made the potion that it would not go as she planned. The little mermaid, being young and foolish about love, did what she believed was right. The tone here spoken by the sea witch gives caution towards the mermaid. Anderson uses the witch as a way to portray to the reader how it is easy to make mistakes in the matter of love. This example is given when the witch informs her that, “… and if you don’t win the Prince’s love, so that he forgets father and mother for you and always has you in his thoughts and lets the priest join your hands together to be man and wife, they you won’t get an immortal soul” (Anderson 226). The author uses a reproving tone to demonstrate to the reader how the little mermaid is foolish, carried away in her childish dreams. Anderson characterizes the sea witch in such a way that her dialogues warn women to be careful when it comes to sacrificing themselves for anyone.
Why should the death penalty be legal in every U.S. state? There are crimes that are so utterly odious that no amount of jail time will be ever punishment enough. Although personally not a fan of the death penalty, these most common arguments in its support might change one’s mind.
Another part of the movie that provides sufficient evidence that a woman’s appearance is all that matters is also stated in the song “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and the concept of what makes a “good” or “bad” woman. For instance, when Ursula begins singing “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, it says, "You 'll have your looks, your pretty face. And don 't underestimate the importance of body language. The men up there don 't like a lot of blabber. They think a girl who gossips is a bore!” (Clements, Musker). The lyrics state that men in the society are not a fond of women who talk but appreciate looks and that if Ariel were to lose her voice it won’t matter. This is important because a woman’s value should not rely on their looks. When the character Ursula is introduced there is a clear distinction of what makes a woman “good” or “bad”. In this case, a “good” woman
Most student will get in trouble for texting in class while class is in session. I remember a time when I gotten my phone taking away for two weeks because I was texting my friend and not focus on the assignment that my teacher was explaining to the class. I was grounded for a week and couldn’t call my friend of text him for two weeks, but is that better than dying in a car crash because I was texting and driving. Driving and talk on the phone is bad enough, but why is texting a bigger problem in the world. Is it because there’s more accidents because of texting on the phone. It can be worst then drunk driving, or it can influence children to text and drive. Texting on the phone while driving should be banned in the United States to keep this country safe from ambitious drivers.
The Little Mermaid is a fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The tale is about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a merperson to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince. The tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media including musical theater and animated film.The standard of this classical story has been set to be the Disney Movie titled the same
I went to watch The Little Mermaid with my parents. The playwright of this story was Doug Wright. We saw the play at Fossil Ridge High School on Saturday November 18th at 2 o’clock. It was an amazing play that gave a fun twist on the movie you know and love. Act 1 was almost completely under water. It introduced you to the setting, which is King Triton’s palace. You see curiosity and wonder in this part. In Act 2, Ariel spends most of her time in Prince Eric’s palace to win over his heart. You get to feel the love between these two at this point. There are also many characters that I fell in love with on the way. Some mains ones are Ariel, Prince Eric, Ursula, Flounder, Sebastian, and Scuttle. There were also some minor characters like King Triton, Ariel’s sisters, the maids, Chief Louis, and so many more. Each one adds something small, but together they create a great play.
Many believe that Ariel is a bad role model for children, especially young girls who look up to Disney Princesses. Many of these people believe that she changed her body for a man, and that no young girl should be taught to do the same. Many people think that the little mermaid is one of the least feminist princesses created by the Disney company, but unfortunately, these views are incorrect, and have weak supporting evidence. Ariel was anything but an anti-feminist, and actually was an advocate for women’s and mer-people’s rights. The little mermaid is the youngest (only sixteen at the time) in her family. While she may be little, but she made a big impact in her world, and is still making an impact on the world around us today.
From the moment the world introduced us to television, we have been bombarded with images of fantasy and “happily ever after’s.” Perhaps the most well known corrupter of reality lies within the Disney franchise. Disney’s, The Little Mermaid, follows a typical fairy tale format in which all goals and dreams are achieved. Its counterpart, however, moves to the beat of a different drum. Hans Christian Andersen’s, The Little Mermaid, portrays a more serious plot much different from Disney’s loveable adaptation. One may conclude that the most these two stories have in common is their titles, but a deeper theme runs throughout both of these fictional plots. Despite these two stories’ conflicting agendas and the
In the song “Poor Unfortunate Souls” that Ursula sings it is telling girls to be quite for men and do what they need, basically telling girls that they are objects. Girls are always shown in movies as someone with no power. They are either cleaning or cooking in the house or they are a damsel in distress needing to be saved by a man. Girls are displayed as objects and there is a certain way they are supposed to look so that they appeal to society’s needs. Ariel fits that description. She is very small and thin, she is pretty, she has nice eyes, and she has very vibrant colors on her. She has red hair, blueish brown eyes a purple top and a green tail. Ariel acts as though she “needs” a man to save her or “needs” a man to be happy.
When first reading “The Little Mermaid”, the reader is sure to notice the imagery painted by Anderson. He finds a way to make a place we see as dark and abysmal, the sea floor, seem bright, vibrant, and full of joy. One sentence Hans Christian Andersen writes, “The most wonderful trees and plants are growing down there, with stalks and leaves that bend so easily that they stir at the very slightest movement of the water, just as though they were alive” (216), perfectly exemplifies this imagery. It is also important to take note of how the imagery changes by location. In the part of the sea where the witch lives, the imagery evokes the feeling of gloom and loneliness that one would naturally expect from the sea floor. Above the surface of the ocean, in the human world, the author uses imagery that quite frankly blows the beauty of our world out of proportion. Andersen writes, “The whole sky had looked like gold, she said, and the clouds—well, she just couldn’t describe how beautiful they were as they sailed, all crimson and violet, over her head.” (218) This makes something we find trivial seem like something everyone must see before they die. While some may view this as odd, it is important to consider that the story centers around a mermaid who has never seen these things before.