An Introduction Of Fairy Tales By Maria Tatar

There are numerous genre’s in literature, but the level of importance and influence on an individual will differ. Exposure to books and stories is especially important for children because it their chance to acclimate themselves to written language and in turn create their own visuals for the toneless words. “Why Fairy Tales Matter: The Performative and the Transformative”, by Maria Tatar contains an ample amount of textual evidence from author’s research into fairytales, as well as writer’s personal experiences with fairytales. Although Tatar supports her claims with evidence, her resources are not concrete, and seems excessive at times. Also, her assertions are weakened by her failure to defend her conclusion against competing beliefs.

Maria Tatar’s “An Introduction to Fairy Tales” discusses the impact on how the stories help guide the children from their younger age. The first five paragraphs of the article mentioned about how the children can overflow with imagination, and can vividly see their reality of desire and also, fear. The fairytales can also corrupt the naïve minds of the child in a way of making them realize the reality of the world is unjustified, and people can be harsh. Moreover, Tatar gives an explanation on how people grow up with the same fairy tales with different versions; which gives an entirely different personal idea. Fairy tales also develop the child’s intellectual mind by reading various kinds of genre.

The fairy tale helps the child to understand a balance between the good and the evil; it gives him a hope for a good future.” Fairy tales assure the

In his evaluation of Little Red Riding Hood, Bill Delaney states, “In analyzing a story . . . it is often the most incongruous element that can be the most revealing.” To Delaney, the most revealing element in Little Red Riding Hood is the protagonist’s scarlet cloak. Delaney wonders how a peasant girl could own such a luxurious item. First, he speculates that a “Lady Bountiful” gave her the cloak, which had belonged to her daughter. Later, however, Delaney suggests that the cloak is merely symbolic, perhaps representing a fantasy world in which she lives.

In Tatar’s article, An Introduction to Fairy Tales, she draws us in by describing childhood books as “sacred objects.” She takes a quote from Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. describing how the stories give lessons about what a child subconsciously knows - “that human nature is not innately good, that conflict is real, that life is harsh before it is happy - and thereby reassure them about their own fears and their own sense of self,” (Tatar 306). She describes how many adults long for the simplicity of enjoying those stories in their childhoods, only to realize that they outgrew them, and instead have been introduced to reality. The original stories were more for adults rather than for children. Nowadays, stories have been adapted to be more suitable for children. Fairy tales may allow a kid to wonder due to their charm, but they also can

The tradition of telling fairy tales to children effects not only the listener but also the reader. Maria Tatar, in her book Off with Their Heads!, analyzes how fairy tales instill and reaffirm cultural values and expectations in their audience . Tatar proposes that fairy tales fall into three different tale-types: cautionary tales, exemplary stories, and reward- and- punishment tales. These three types portray different character traits as desirable and undesirable. Due to the tale’s varying literary methods it can change the effectiveness of the tale’s pedagogical value. In Tatar’s opinion, all of these tales are similar in the way they attempt to use punishment, reward, and fear to encourage or discourage certain behaviors. In the cautionary fairy tale “The Virgin Mary’s Child”, the use of punishment and fear to discourage certain behaviors is enhanced by the Christian motifs and values employed by the tale. These literary devices encourage the audience to reflect on and internalize the lessons that are presented in the fairy tale.

There is nothing more precious and heartwarming than the innocence of a child. The majority of parents in society want to shield children from the bad in life which is appreciated. Within human nature exists desires of inappropriate behavior; envy, deceit, selfishness, revenge, violence, assault and murder. The most well-known fairy tales depict virtue and the evil in life. Even more important, the form and structure of fairy tales suggest images to the child by which he can structure his daydreams and with them give a better direction to his life. (Bettelheim).

Fairy tales picture a world filled with magic, love and the triumph of the good over the evil. Fairy tales are a window to other worlds where the wildest dreams can come true and the hero always lives happily ever after preferably paired with his loved one. Although some people argue that fairy tales are full of stereotypes, filled with frightening monsters and promote racism and sexism I believe that they are wrong because fairy tales provide valuable moral lessons to children, teach them other countries' cultures promote the imagination and the cognitive development and therefore they should be read to young children.

Maria Tatar, renowned author, folklorist, and Harvard University professor, explains in an introduction to one of her collections of fairy tales that “most important[ly],” “fairy tales…[tell] about the quest for…a way out of the woods back to the safety and security of home” (230). Tatar’s “woods” are not meant to be literal; they stand in for any dangerous or unsolicited scenario. Likewise, “home” is just that in many cases, but can also be also be any location offering sanctuary from an undesirable predicament. Tatar’s generalization is the very essence of self-preservation, as Merriam-Webster defines it: “the protection of yourself from harm or death” (“self-preservation”).

Reading fairy tales or seeing them represented has become part of an everyday routine for children. As Baker-Sperry states, “Through interaction that occurs within everyday routines (Corsaro 1997), children are able to learn the rules of the social group in which they are a part” (Baker-Sperry 717-718). For example, through Red Riding Hood, children learn to listen to their parents and to be wary of strangers. Some of these messages are harmful though; not all girls have to be naive and weak while boys are predacious wolves. Not everyone has to play the role that society assigns them.

Growing up most of us were tucked into bed and our parents read us a story before going to sleep, fairy tales in most cases. I personally remember hearing all about princess , dragons and cute mystical creatures that always had a happy ending no matter how much they went though to get there. After reading the fairy tales in our text book i initially thought they were a little too grusm and inapporpiate for children but after analyzing them and thinking things through i concluded that fairy tales are more appropiate for children rather than adults. I believe fairy tales are very benifical for kids because they teach children right from wrong , help children build emotional resiliency and lastly they help them develop critical thinking skills.

It might be surprising that fairy tales can be dangerous, but children are susceptible to being influenced easily by misleading information. Fairytales do teach some good lessons, but the exposure has to be accompanied by explanations and discussions with the children that read them. Fairy tales also provide enchanted stories for children to expand their imagination at a young age. It is imperative that children also need to be exposed to and learn that women are also strong, brave, and capable of saving themselves at the same time it is acceptable for men to depend and rely on a women. Learning lessons from those heros and heroines in fairy tales and what is realistic, achievable, and common in today’s society allows for a well rounded informative impression. In conclusion, The effect fairy tales have on the development of young readers is impactful, so maybe we should take another look at them before we expose our children to what most of us would call ‘childhood stories’. Because of these points and more, Pre-modern fairy tales support the groundwork of gender stereotypes for both men and

Children have always looked up to disney. They found that fairy tales are interesting or taught them a lesson. We read fairy tales because it expands our imagination and it teaches conscience and moral. We read these fairy tales to children because it teaches structure of creating a story. Albert Einstein once said, “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.¨

Fairy tales make an important part of cultural prophecy, because they contain wisdom which is passed from parents to their children. They contain basic moral and ethical guidelines for children. Images and symbols used in fairy tales can help to judge about cultural, ethical, social and moral values popular in the contemporary society. Changes and similarities, which can be found in the popular fairy tale Cinderella by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, version of 1812 and the Disney version of Cinderella (2015), can help to realize the changes in cultures and historical epochs.

In the early developmental stages for kids, fairy tales teach children how to get a hold of the meaning behind storytelling. Learning about the history of a fairy tale came to be illustrates how stories are told, passed down, recorded, and told again. Hearing a fairy tale over and over again will give your child their own storytelling skills—like telling a story in correct order and paying attention to