Analysis Of Bruno Bettelheim 's ' Beauty And The Beast '

Throughout history, the use of subliminal messaging has been highly prevalent within various forms of media consumed by the human race. Using it allows authors to influence their political or societal viewpoint through implicit methods. Even stories as rudimentary as those produced for the entertainment of children, contain hidden messages deeply imbedded within them. Marxist theory, the analysis of the role of politics, money and power within literary works, allows readers to examine principles promoted by the author; these can be especially demonstrated in Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast. These themes are exemplified through the bourgeoisie mindset of the elder sisters, the proletariat mentality of Beauty and the direct influence of wealth on the prominence of the merchant.

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 story of the Beauty and the Beast is well known amongst all ages. Though the story they portray in the Disney version is much different than what they have portrayed it in France. La Belle et la Bête has been produced twice, once in 1946 and again in 2014. These two movies tell the same story but in very different ways. The perception of this story has changed between the different time periods.

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 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

Bruno Bettelheim, the author of the article “‘Cinderella’: A Story of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts” expresses his opinions on how the fairytale Cinderella causes the views of sibling rivalry and also displays oedipal conflicts. Bettelheim argues throughout his article that the tale Cinderella leads children to feel emotions such as jealousy and envy towards their siblings. He also depicts the belief that the story Cinderella leads children into oedipal jealousy and makes them feel that they need to get rid of the parent of the same sex. Bettelheim expresses his opinions and beliefs to uncover the secrets held within the fairytale Cinderella.

Many parents read fairy tales to their children. Young people are able to use their imaginations while listening to these fantastical stories. Filled with dragons, witches, damsels in distress, and heroes, these tales stay in the mind children for years to come. However, these young listeners are getting much more than a happy ending. Fairy tales such as "The Goose Girl", "The Three Little Pigs", "Cinderella", and "Snow White" one can find theories of psychology. Erik Erikson's theories of social development as well as Sigmund Freud's theory of the map of the mind and his controversial Oedipal complex can be found in many fairy tales. Within every fairy tale there lies a hidden lesson in

If great writers are able to escape the influences of their era and write in a timeless fashion, then Jeanne Marie LePrince de Beaumont is certainly not a great writer. Beaumont wrote Beauty and the Beast in eighteenth-century France during the reign of Louis XV. It was a time when the enormous bourgeoisie population was slowly growing in independent wealth, yet remained grossly overtaxed and starved. These peasants were systematically excluded from the aristocracy and the workings of government. France was a stronghold of the dying feudal-influenced monarchy system, in which the king declared himself an absolute monarch with the divine right to rule as

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).

Another way of learning is introduced by an entry entitled "Fairy Tales" included in an encyclopedia which mentions that fairy tales can teach a child about other cultures and civilizations and therefore teach it that apart from it's own country and culture there are also many other people and cultures throughout the entire world. This can help children to overcome the egocentrism and selfish thoughts, which are very common in those ages, and make them realize that apart from them , billions of other people live in this planet and hundred of other nations exist apart from their own. Also fairy tales can introduce children, who are relatively powerless in most areas of their lives, to a world "where the smallest animal, the poorest peasant, the youngest daughter often prevails over those larger, richer, older, and more powerful." Thus, in the words of writer and child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim: "fairy tales can help children confront and resolve conflicts in their own lives" Therefore, we can easily conclude that, fairy tales, by portraying a world where it is possible for the weak to prevail over the strong, can give hope to children and make them confront their own problems with courage and self-esteem.

“Beauty and The Beast” is a classic well known romantic Disney movie that depicts the gender role of men and women in society. The film is based upon a smart young female protagonist named Belle who is imprisoned by a self-centered young prince after he has been turned into a beast. They both learn to love each other in the end and throughout the film there are several examples shown portraying the roles of gender. In the film the main characters Gaston and the Beast portray themselves as rude, conceited and more important than the woman even though the main character Belle is a woman whom is considered odd, yet smart, and unrelated to most women in society.

Bettelheim insists that fairy tales bring awareness, expand a child's imagination, and offer solutions in a way that a child can understand. In Bettelheim’s views, “Fairytales are unique, not only as a form of literature, but as works of art which are fully comprehensible to the child, as no other form of art is. As with all great art, the fairy tale’s deepest meaning will be different for each person, and different for the same person at various moments in his life.” Bettelheim emphasizes that fairy tales have important meanings but the personal meaning will be different ass it applies to a person's

When it comes to talking about theories of communication, it is easy to overlook the impact they have on our day-to-day lives. Often times when people think of theories they think of long boring explanations that have little meaning or pertinence to their lives. This, however, is not always the case. It may surprise some to find out that the interactions they have whether at work, with their loved ones, or even with a stranger all relate back to theories that explain why they do the things they do. This not only includes the face-to-face interaction we have in real life, but also through the relationships we see portrayed in television shows and movies. An example of this is how the uncertainty reduction theory plays into the relationship development between Belle and the Beast in the newest movie version of Beauty and the Beast.

There are many different versions of Beauty and the Beast; It is a magical story of unconditional love. It teaches children that beauty is much more then skin deep. In this assignment I am to compare two, Beauty and the Beast stories; one by the renowned, famous Grimm Brothers as presented by Disney. The other called Beastly by the modern author Alex Flinn. The two versions have many similarities but still quite a few differences.