Moral Story Of Cinderella

The Disney version of Cinderella was raised by her stepmother who mistreated and bullied her as well as her two older stepsisters. Cinderella was friends with animals such as rats and a dog. Cinderella didn’t become a princess until she redeemed herself with the fit of glass slipper. She also had a fairy godmother.

The commonly used saying, “they lived happily ever after,” originates from early fairy tales. Fairy tales are stories that feature fanciful characters that convey a moral to teach children lessons and values that they will keep for the rest of their lives. The original story of “Cinderella” by the Grimm Brothers and the later Disney version Cinderella (1950) are both descriptions of a legendary fairy tale of a kind and gentle girl who overcomes the rancor of her stepmother and stepsisters and ultimately finds a happy ending. Although both stories have the same plot, the overall messages that they deliver are different.

In Peggy Orenstein’s article, “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”, she analyzes the obsessions young girls have for stereotypical feminine products and toys, such as princesses and the color pink. Orenstein claims that such obsessions have negative effects on girls as they grow into women, restricting them into playing a specific role in adulthood. Although the author expresses much bias, she effectively supports her claims through her positions as a feminists and parent.

Have you ever had a dark and gloomy day? Imagine having that feeling every single day. The Grimm’s Cinderella was written in 1812. 1812 was one of the harshest years for America. An event that formed it was the war against Great Britain and the United States. Not only was there a war, but there was also a series of disastrous harvests. Taxes got higher, and more than twenty people who were involved with a Luddite Act were hung. In 1812, there was also the only assassination of a prime minister, who was shot dead in the House of Commons. The Grimm Brothers have put the dark times of 1812 into their stories. Some of their stories contain violence, child abuse, and wicked mothers. They came up with these types of stories after their father died, and when they struggled out of school. That gave them enough time to research and put together a collection of folk tales. Now you can see why the Grimm’s Cinderella was dark and gloomy. Although the plot stayed the same, over the years, the story did get lighter. Disney’s Cinderella came out in 1950. In 1950, learning information was not by fear, but by engaging happiness. Disney’s Cinderella transforms the Grimm’s Cinderella into a happier atmosphere. While some similarities between Disney’s Cinderella and Grimm’s Cinderella are noticeable, the differences are pronounced, especially when referring to the slippers, her father, and the ball.

The Grimm Brothers version of Cinderella is a written down oral story that people passed down from generation to generation, meant to teach a lesson about piety and good behavior. Before the Grimm Brothers ever wrote it down, the story had been told several times by memory. It is thus not surprising that the descriptions of certain events in the story, such as the way Cinderella went to the Ball, are lacking in details. It is obvious that these parts of the story are unimportant to the overall message of the story. Instead, it focuses on the piety of Cinderella and the wickedness of the step-sisters. Through the events of the story, it becomes obvious that the goodness of Cinderella is justly rewarded, and that

What people see is not necessarily all they get; there are more significant aspects that encompass what people use, hear, or see, besides the obvious messages employed throughout popular culture. It is not uncommon to find hidden messages within our culture today, especially in the context of movies. One movie in particular, the newest Cinderella, is full of these hidden messages. Besides the common message that is employed throughout Cinderella over and over again, the message to “have courage and be kind”, there are several hidden meanings that are often not discovered by viewers. These messages include “being a light” when surrounded on all sides by darkness, believing in the unbelievable, recognizing the fact that parent’s greatly influence their children, and seeing that it is okay to want a happily ever after kind of love.

The story that most of us know as “Cinderella” actually has a lot of different versions. These different versions contain several elements that are similar, but yet even more elements that differ from one another. The three main difference between all the different versions of this story are the characters, how others treat the main character, and the setting in which these stories take place.

Cinderella is innocent just as the child, and this allows the child to not feel guilt about his jealous judgements towards siblings. Cinderella’s story helps the child realize how terrible things could be for them and to appreciate how lucky they are instead of looking at the negative side of their life.

In the story Cinderella, we see Cinderella as a kind and loving character. Her mother dies and her father remarries a scornful woman with two daughters. After her father's untimely death, Cinderella is forced to succumb to her cruel stepmother's rule. Her evil stepmother despises Cinderella's goodness and natural beauty because it points out her own daughters' weaknesses and ugliness.

When she was young, she was told by her mother to, “Have courage and be kind.” It is a repeated theme that is important to the structure of this film. If anything, this is what the viewer should be taking away from it. Compared to the original 1950 Cinderella, it is a shared theme, but not as evident. It is interpreted that Cinderella responded with kindness through her actions since it was the way she was brought up.

Even though Cinderella was being mistreated she remained kind-hearted and sweet and held out hope that she would one day find happiness. Perrault wrote, “And now her two sisters found her to be that fine, beautiful lady whom they had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet to beg pardon for all the ill- treatment they had made her undergo. Cinderella took them up, and, as she embraced them, cried: That she forgave them with all her heart, and desired them always to love her”. Even after gaining her prince and happy ending she still shows kindness and forgives her step-sisters. In the end Cinderella finds happiness with her Prince and good prevails over evil.

All of the Disney Princesses had times when they thought they would not get their happily ever after, but it was there friends that reminded them that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Bruno Bettelheim is an educator and therapist who wrote the “Struggle for Meaning”. In Bettelheim’s paper he discusses how children grow throw their experiences that their childhood literature brings them. Some of the main points are a child’s psychological problems, finding a deeper meaning to life, and keeping a reader entrained. Bettelheim’s points can be seen in Brothers Grimm’s “Cinderella”.

The two stories of “Cinderella” are “Tam and Cam”; and “The twelve Months: A Slav legend adapted by Alexander Chodzko. These stories have similar ways in portraying the hard working Cinderella including her suffering, but they are different in Cinderella’s motive of rescue one tale use violence if necessary; the other just more of a genuine resourceful approach. This means this character isn’t relying on a prince charming to be her rescue, so this makes the concept different from the other because “Tam and Cam” Cinderella lives forever happy with her lover, while “The twelve Months: A Slav legend adapted lives by herself and then a farmer she likes shows up. These tales went for a more sophisticated setting, each displaying the peasant overcoming the struggle; in which she is set free from all of her hurting. Throughout each story Cinderella is taking and caring she always seemed to get the short end of the stick. But, when the odds back fired on the step-sisters and step-mother the karma was naturally set upon to benefit Cinderella in her favor “Tam and Cam” or set in motion by her as payback to get even with her rival characters of a family in “The twelve Months: A Slav legend adapted lives.

Many traditional fairy tales have been remade into Hollywood movies. The fairy tale of Cinderella has been produced in movies many times such as Ever After (1998) and A Cinderella Story (2004). A Cinderella Story (2004) has an interesting storyline, cast, themes, and appeals to teenagers and young adults.