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Cruelty In Beauty And The Beast

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Pardoned or Punished?
“We don’t like what we don’t understand, in fact it scares us,” is a disturbing, yet unfortunately (occasionally) true line from “The Mob Song” in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. While it is sung by a group of fearful townspeople, this has been known to ring true in everyday life. Thankfully, the people behind Disney’s classic, Beauty and the Beast, tried to teach a generation this lesson through the protagonist, Belle. Through her caring nature, Belle drives the movie’s theme of not judging a book by its cover.
In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Belle is misunderstood, kind, and perceptive. Belle is shown to be misunderstood when she is walking through the streets, reading her book. The other townspeople remark, “that girl is strange, no question” (Beauty and the Beast). With the simple act of reading a book, the townspeople are quick to cast her out. At no point do any of the townspeople learn more about her to fully understand her. Even though she is misunderstood, Belle is also kind. After being taken prisoner at the castle, she helps the beast relearn several basic life skills, like how to use utensils and how to read. After reading him Romeo and Juliet, Beast makes the request that she read it again. She turns it back on him and asks him to read. When he hesitates, she realizes that he has forgotten how, and she says, “Here, let me help you” (Beauty and the Beast). Through helping him instead of questioning or taunting him, she shows the kind and

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