Good vs Evil in the Wizard of Oz

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.

A parent will never know what goes on in the mind of their child, all a parent can do is shield the child from the negatives of life and hope negativity never enters their mind. Author Bruno Bettelheim wrote The Uses of Enchantment, published in 1976, the book contains an essay called “Fairy Tales and the Existential Predicament,” in which Bettelheim presents a psychological perspective of the impact that traditional fairy tales have on children. Bettelheim begins his essay with personal knowledge, rhetorical appeals (pathos and, logos) and textual evidence. In his essay, Bettelheim sets the stage by reaching out to to his audience, he writes “overcoming narcissistic disappointments, oedipal dilemmas, sibling rivalries; becoming able to relinquish

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.

Many children grew up hearing stories about fairies and dragons. The stories involved a Knight in Shining Armor and a princess in need of being saved. The knight would then risk his life to save the princess in danger. These stories affected these kids and gave them imagination. Without some of these stories, kids would have grown up not having an imagination or dreams. Dreams gave kids joy and made them want to become a princess or a prince who slays dragons. In Shrek Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio make fun of fairytales through parody, irony, reversal and exaggeration.

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

In the modern world, children’s literature, fairy tales, and fiction books influence our childhood and early development. In the 1500’s and 1600’s no children’s literature for entertainment existed, they had educational books. As babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, my parents and teachers read us books after books. It is proven that reading to young kids is important for their imagination, vocabulary, and communication skills in early life.

“I’ll get you my pretty! And your little dog too!” These are the famous words of one of the world’s most iconic villains, the Wicked Witch of the West, the antagonist of the classic film The Wizard of Oz. She appears to be the epitome of villainy: purely evil and selfish. There is no ambiguity in the Witch’s ruthless evil. Within the movie, she was stooped, green-skinned, and dressed entirely in black. In many people's minds, this representation of The Wicked Witch has become an archetype for human wickedness.

“Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope,” said Mufasa, a supporting character in the film depiction of Walt Disney’s: The Lion King (1994). The Lion King is a timeless archetypal work that time after time has given youth hope and has shown them that courage is not always innate, but can be learned from just living life with a little “hakuna matata”. The Lion King, through the use of classic archetype, vivid surrealism, and iconic symbolism, shows a coming to age story that shows children that life is an adventure worth the trouble.

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).

As a first argument, supporting that fairy tales should be read to children, it must be mentioned that fairy tales and

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.

"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.

It is adventurous story because the character shows shifting of place and defeating of unnatural enemy. Moreover, the story gives a greater lesson in every reader. It is the valuing of friendship. Also, searching of one's identity. Unconsciously, we have investigated ourselves through knowing our strengtha and weaknesses.

Although many view children's fiction as suitable only to children, and an embarrassingly immature pursuit for a serious person, children' stories mold the way we think. They allows us to look at very complex and difficult issues in a safe and playful way, and they give us the freedom to imagine the unimaginable.