Analysis Of ' The Fairy Tale '

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.

Throughout history, many stories are handed down generation to generation. When the brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, started to publish a different type of story that depicted ordinary characters that overcame tough situations through supernatural and violent means, it caught attention among the people. These stories portrayed characters that not only possessed abnormal characteristics, but also had the lives of their adversaries end rather abruptly. The Grimm brothers collected extensively on fairy tales depicting violent behavior that were directed to be read to the children of that time which in turn gave a whole new meaning the term “fairy tale.”

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

Triumphant reward in spite of unjust punishment is a universal sentiment that transcends languages and cultures. There are thousands of folktales and fairy tales that are firmly rooted in individual cultures, yet the tale of Cinderella has been told through many centuries and throughout the far corners of the world. With thousands of versions of this classic tale in print worldwide, the tale is believed to have originated with the story of Rhodopis, a Greek slave girl who is married to an Egyptian King. The story of Rhodopis, which means rosy-cheeks, dates back to 7 BC and is attributed to a Greek geographer named Strabo. The Chinese variation of this fairy tale is named Yeh-hsien. The Chinese version is traceable to the year 860 and appears in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang by Duan Chengshi. Yeh-hsien is a young girl, motherless and in the control of her stepmother, who befriends a treasured fish. The jealous step-mother kills the fish, but it’s bones provide Yeh-hsien with magical powers, eventually enabling Yeh-hsien to escape the control of her step-mother for a royal life. The Story of the Black Cow which is found within the pages of Folk Tales from the Himalayas by John Murray, published in 1906, the child who is mistreated by a stepmother is a male and the role of savior is portrayed by a snake, with a cow serving as the moral of the story, faithfulness. These two versions of Cinderella carry many common threads that are

Fairy Tales are not just stories that parents tell to their children, but stories with hidden valuable messages which are mostly left on a side. In the article “An Introduction to Fairy Tales,” Maria Tatar clearly explains how people need fairy tales in their lives. Tatar also states how fairy tales have the ability to take the listener, especially children’s, into a journey in which they can play with their imagination so that they can discover their deepest fears and wishes. Personally I agree with the author, because of the fact that in an individual’s lives as they get older, they will try to define themselves, sometimes comparing their own life with a character from their favorite story or Fairy Tale.

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, folk tales, and fables are commonly used as lessons for individual growth. In European tales, an emphasis is place on the importance of good behavior for the individual. The reader sees how negative behavior inhibits personal growth, while positive behavior improves it. Material wealth and riches are often the reward for good behavior, and there is a strict barrier that separates the social classes. In contrast, tales from Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific have an overwhelming concentration on positivity for public good. A stronger focus is placed on how one can serve his or her community rather than how one can serve him or herself. Characters in these tales seek resolution through peaceful or neutral means, often to keep

Fairy tales, beyond their value as charming escapes into realms of fantasy and wonder, are meant to teach children morals and demonstrate to them the traits they need to successfully function in society. These tales are sustained, generation after generation, in our collective consciousness as literary manifestations of our values. But to what extent is this consciousness collective? Are these morals consistent globally or do they vary from culture to culture?According to Bruno Bettelheim, morals are universal and fairy tales are the ultimate means of teaching them. However, in Harold and the Purple Crayon and The Frog King or Iron Heinrich—both are fairy tales but from different cultures—disparate cultural morals collide, simplified

Throughout the first few paragraphs of Maria Tatars introduction to fairytales, she explains how these influential stories help shape individuals from a young age. As Tatar points out in her introduction, fairytales take children on an adventure where they can explore their imagination, and uncover their own fears and desires. Fairytales also corrupt the innocent minds of adolescents as they demonstrate, that the world can be unfair, and people can be cruel. This imaginary world [similar to life] can be a roller coaster ride of emotions; which can substitute as either an escape from reality, or a model for everyday struggles. Tatar explains that even though people grow up reading the same classic stories, like for example Cinderella, each one

"Once upon a time," the most used introduction phrase in common fairy tales used to start an adventure. These adventures have been around for years. The importance of some tales might be more significant than others, also based on culture. My goal for this paper is to educate my readers with the importance of fairy tales, especially for younger children. Fairy tales have been around for centuries from generations to generations. Different cultures, such as the Japanese and Western, have also expressed them differently. All these fairly tales teach children different aspects of life, which make these tales so important.

Our culture is full of fairy tales. These fairy tales started out as entertaining stories, but as they were handed down from one generation to the next, they slowly became more than that. They became bedtime stories for children, and as such, they have great importance because they teach children how to be in the world. One such fairy tale is Cinderella, and a look at a storybook for children, Disney’s Cinderella, adapted by Lisa Ann Marsoli, demonstrates that, whatever the intention of its makers, modern day fairy tales function in our society as hidden instructions for morals and behaviors that we give children. On the surface, it seems to be a simple story about a young woman whose wishes come true. However, the story also reflects cultural expectations of women’s behaviors and goals and defines expectations of “goodness” for women.

Did you know that your favorite fairytales were once violent? Originally, Grimm’s Fairy Tales were intended for children to read. However, because they contained remarkably dark elements, parents soon believed these stories were too violent for their children. Eventually, only adults read the tales. In the 1950s, Walt Disney created a non-violent version of the classic Grimm fairytale, Cinderella. Walt Disney’s cinematic version is more accessible to a wider audience than the Grimm tale because Disney removed most of the violence and simplified the tale while maintaining the original story.

Classic literature will always be remembered and retold over the generations as life lessons and morals that we try to live by. These morals are often used to help children learn these guiding values and morals. These lessons are presented to us as fairy tales and movies or cartoons for children. We never realize or ponder, “where did that moral come from?” or should I say, “who originally created this fable and life lesson that I am watching unfold in a Disney movie?” A fable is short and witty written piece and is deeply riddled with certain messages or lessons using, but not limited to, tales of animals. Fables were for adults but through time have been woven into everyone’s’ childhood. Fables, ghost stories, and urban legends are modern day fairytales or fables. Just as “The Grasshopper and The Ant” and “Tortoise and the Hare” were spread by oral tradition, urban legends and morals are spread in the same manner; thus creating contemporary folklore often with a moral sting in the tail. While it’s true that urban legends are still told while sipping hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows at a campfire, others are spread through classics movies like Walt Disney animation.