Examples Of The Traditional Fairy Tales

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.”

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

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.

As a child, I was told fairytales such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs every night before I went to sleep. Fairytales are an adventurous way to expand a child’s imagination and open their eyes to experience a new perspective. Modernizations of fairytales typically relate to a specific audience, such as adolescence, and put a contemporary spin on the old-aged tale. Instead of using whimsical themes heavily centered in nature, the contemporary poems connect with the reader in a more realistic everyday scenario. Also, many modernizations are written in poetic form to help reconstruct a flow in the piece and to develop or sometimes completely change the meaning from that of the original fairytale. Comparing Grimm’s Fairytale Snow White

Bruno Bettelheim and Maria Tatar both composed articles on the effects that fairy tales have on people’s lives. Bruno Bettelheim wrote the article “Fairy Tales and Modern Stories.” In that article he believes that fairy tales are considered “safe” stories and provide mental stability to children when they find themselves in tough situations. When Maria Tatar wrote her article “Introduction to Fairy Tales” she also elaborates on his point, but also explains these fairy tales have different effects on all ages. While both authors agree that fairy tales have mixed effects on people, they also have many disagreements in between. Both authors do ultimately believe that fairy tales are important in children’s lives, but there are similarities and differences between these two articles that need to be established.

Unlike any other form of literature or entertainment, Fairy Tales help children to discover their identity and suggest experiences needed to develop their character. In Bruno Bettelheim’s “Life Divined from the Inside” Bettelheim states that “Fairy Tales intimate that a rewarding, good life is within one’s reach despite adversity-but only if one does not shy away from the hazardous struggles without which one can never achieve true identity (Bettelheim 106). Anne Sexton’s “Cinderella” is a perfect example of Bettelheim’s definition of a Fairy Tale.

A Critique of Maria Tatar’s “An Introduction to Fairy Tales” Maria Tatar, a folklorist from Harvard University, explains the importance of fairy tales in her essay, “An Introduction to Fairy Tales”. She believes that both the good and bad in fairy tales help shape young children’s future by allowing them to learn right from wrong. All throughout her essay she provides details with clear reasoning, to inform her reader why she believes fairy tales are sacred objects that teach life lessons and behavioral codes for young children. Tatar starts her first section of her essay off by referring to famous scholars’ opinion on fairy tales.

Once upon a time, didn’t happen the way everyone was told as a child. Though out time and cultures, the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales children have grown up with, have been changed to fit the needs of individual cultures and families. Their influence stretches over geographic and linguistic boundaries leaving a mark on cultures around the world. The tales of damsels such as Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White are ones that are known by every generation, in almost every cultures around the world. These stories that are told now are not the ones told long ago in their home country of Germany.

The story of Cinderella can be traced back to a time before books, to the time of oral tradition. Although there are many versions of this story, the main purpose of the story stays the same; it is to teach a lesson about goodness. If you are good, then great things will happen to you, but if you are bad then you will be punished. There are two versions of this story that this essay will look at, the Disney’s version and Grimms’ version. Although there are many similarities, the differences between the two versions are striking and deserve to be addressed.

Fairy tales possess the ability to last throughout the decades. The stories are passed down from generations and teach valuable lessons in extraordinary ways. In fact, most fairy tales began with oral storytelling. However, The Grimm Brothers made multiple editions of tales that they claimed as their own. With over 200 fairy tales, not all of their stories gained the same amount of popularity. Their more prominent stories, such as “Cinderella” and “Snow White,” create a sense of whimsy with talking animals and love. In contrast, “The Robber Bridegroom,” a lesser known fairy tale, focuses on dark ideas: cannibalism and murder. The Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale “The Robber Bridegroom” did not reach the same level of acclaim as other Grimm stories

Imagine a young girl playing “dress up” in reenacting her favorite fairy tales such as Cinderella, who marries the prince who rediscovers her by her small shoe size because of this plot they lived “Happily Ever After”. However, not all fairy tales are innocent like Walt Disney created them to be for modern society. In fact, most original fairy tales have gruesome and tragic plots such as the Gimms Brothers version of Cinderella. Where her two step sisters cut a part their feet to fit the small glass slipper of Cinderella. The scene is gruesome for there is blood everywhere and in the shoes because the girls desperately want to become princesses (Pullman). In order to understand the important influences of the Grimm Brothers fairy tales, it is vital to know their backgrounds to compare and contrast the phycology of fairy tales.

Fairytales and folktales have been told around the campfire, in the living room, the class room, and before bedtime for centuries. First told orally, the “… stories had to have remarkable features in order to remain memorable (Nodelman 246).” These stories were passed down from storyteller to audience until they were eventually written down and collected for consumption by the public. Due to the passing of time and fallibility the stories have changed throughout the years and slightly differ from culture to culture, however, “Stories similar to “Cinderella” can be found in historical records from as far back as the seventh century, and from a variety of places around the world (Nodelman 246).” Although the classic tales differ in various

In the article “Grim Variations from Fairy Tales to Modern Anti-Fairy Tales”, the author Wolfgang Mieder identifies that fairy tales has a quite significant value in people’s life. The author argues that fairy tales are not only just meant for children, but they are also meant for adults, even though fairy tales may be refer to as children stories, according to scholars these tales are traditional narratives for adults. Within these tales there are lessons on how people should behave and other aspect of life, which only adults can understand. The fairy tales contain the hidden frustrations of adults and their longing for a perfect world. Mieder present the readers with examples of why these tales are also for adults and the hidden meaning they have within them. Mieder states “fairy tales present the world in black and white, but in the end of this conflict is resolved (Mieder 91)” and the belief that there is always good in humanity and the longing for a utopia plays a significant role for adults. The concept of hope for fairness and equality allows these tales to last for centuries among children and adults. Mieder then states many adults today do not accept the value of the benefits that these tales contain, and are too focus by real-life problems. The adults of today’s society are realist and do not see the good meaning behind these tales, deeming them to be far-fetched, unlike the adults in the past who create these stories as a form of escape from the cruel reality.

Fairy Folk Tales are the most popular types of literature. The tale is an orally transmitted tradition by generations through the time; some events are changed to fit reality and society. Folk fairy tales deal with the dualism of the good and the evil. They are basing on a conflict between the good and the evil forces. The conclusion comes from aspirations of the human desire to achieve the justices. There are no known authors and sources for ancient’s literature. We have many versions of the story; they are credited by many authors later. Each tale is very like some other culture’s tale. Each culture has own tales, but all the tales are similarities and differences in some points. This essay will compare between two fairy tales, “Cinderella” and “In the Land of Small Dragon”. The tale of Cinderella is a French tale. It is credited by Charles Perrault; it is published in 1697. The in the Land of Small Dragon is a Vietnamese folktale; it is told by Dang Manh Kha in 1979.

Fairy tales are something that everyone has read or seen, they all seem to have important lessons at the end of each one to teach young children some of the lessons they need for life. These fairy tales when we were younger all seemed innocent and something we all hoped that would happen to us. Little did we know as we got older that the fairy tales we all knew and loved when we were younger, weren't as innocent as they seemed.