My Mermaid Story

“You wish to bare a child. You have shown compassion to me, and in a year it shall be that you will have a daughter as you wished.” Then the fish disappeared under the water. My oldest sister Talia heard of this and came across as the social butterfly of the family. Holding her status of popularity among commoners, the news traveled through the kingdom quickly. It threw the place into an uproar. The thought of the king and queen finally having a child of their own lit everyone up. The pair came back to life. It was something we had not seen in years. There was great rejoicing, and everyone threw all of their energy into planning for the birth of a little princess. My sisters and I were all given the opportunity to grant blessings to the baby upon her arrival. I felt happiness to finally be put to use. No more being cut-out and placed last in order of relevance. I was being recognized and appreciated.

In our modern society parents want to know who the best role models are for their children; especially parents of young girls. Most girls are introduced to Disney Princesses at a young age, but what most parents don’t know is that not all Disney Princesses are positive role models of modern society. The princesses were amazing role models for their time but since then many opinions have changed on what is expected of women and what is not some; people in society today can argue weather certain qualities that the princesses posses are acceptable for today’s youth. The most famous princesses are the “Original Disney Princesses” :(in chronological order) Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan.

His word stated in the American Museum of Natural History, said that the creatures are not beautiful at all, despite they look like a man.

A little girl sits on the floor with her gaze fixed on the television screen in front of her, watching magical images dance before her eyes and catchy songs flow through her ears. Even though she had seen it at least twenty times before, she still loved The Little Mermaid just as much as she did the first time she watched it. As she watched it, she longed to be a beautiful mermaid with a curvy body and wonderful singing voice like Ariel. She longed to be saved by the handsome Prince Eric, and fall in love and live happily ever-after like Ariel did. In today’s society, women strive to achieve equality between the sexes. Despite the tremendous steps that have been taken towards reaching gender equality, mainstream media contradicts these

When the little mermaid went to the sea witch to be changed into a human, she told her, “How stupid of you! Still, you shall have your way, and it’ll bring you into misfortune, my lovely Princess” (Anderson 226). The sea witch had already warned the little mermaid even before she made the potion that it would not go as she planned. The little mermaid, being young and foolish about love, did what she believed was right. The tone here spoken by the sea witch gives caution towards the mermaid. Anderson uses the witch as a way to portray to the reader how it is easy to make mistakes in the matter of love. This example is given when the witch informs her that, “… and if you don’t win the Prince’s love, so that he forgets father and mother for you and always has you in his thoughts and lets the priest join your hands together to be man and wife, they you won’t get an immortal soul” (Anderson 226). The author uses a reproving tone to demonstrate to the reader how the little mermaid is foolish, carried away in her childish dreams. Anderson characterizes the sea witch in such a way that her dialogues warn women to be careful when it comes to sacrificing themselves for anyone.

Disney directly exposes the idea that young girls should make their main goal in life to find their prince charming, fall madly in love, and live happily ever after. Making young girls’ aspiration in life revolve around finding a man of their dreams “transfix[es the] audience and divert[s] their potential utopian dreams and hopes through the false promises of the images [Disney] cast[s] upon the screen” (22). Disney tells the audience that women need a man to be happy. Disney presents the idea that women are dependent on me. Just like in The Little Mermaid, Ariel goes as far as surrendering her voice, to a witch named Ursula, and abandoning her family in order to be with her prince. Ariel also trades in her life as a mermaid, drastically changes her body, and sacrifices her greatest talent all in order to win her prince. Disney sends the message that girls need to give up their talents and lives in order to be with a man. Disney suggests that a woman’s main priority is her lover, no one or nothing else. Disney effectively portrays women in a negative way, depicting them as weak and needy. No attempt to break the stereotypical gender roles of women are evident however, these stereotypes are growing as Disney instills this image of women in the minds of viewers.

The Little Mermaid is a fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The tale is about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a merperson to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince. The tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media including musical theater and animated film.The standard of this classical story has been set to be the Disney Movie titled the same

Today, the total percentage of forest cover of the earth is approximately thirty percent (“Deforestation”). That is about nine percent of the world’s total surface. The largest rainforest is the Amazon River Basin, located in South America. The Amazon is home to many species of animals, insects, plants and trees. Many of the trees and plants in the Amazon produce about twenty percent of the oxygen on earth, and absorb carbon. However, the Amazon is decreasing in size every day due to the ongoing deforestation of the land. Deforestation is when the forest of the land are cleared or destroyed, in order to be used for other actions (“Deforestation”). The Amazon is twenty percent less than it was about forty years ago (Wallace). In just about

From the moment the world introduced us to television, we have been bombarded with images of fantasy and “happily ever after’s.” Perhaps the most well known corrupter of reality lies within the Disney franchise. Disney’s, The Little Mermaid, follows a typical fairy tale format in which all goals and dreams are achieved. Its counterpart, however, moves to the beat of a different drum. Hans Christian Andersen’s, The Little Mermaid, portrays a more serious plot much different from Disney’s loveable adaptation. One may conclude that the most these two stories have in common is their titles, but a deeper theme runs throughout both of these fictional plots. Despite these two stories’ conflicting agendas and the

The mystical maidens of the sea, better known as mermaids, have been featured in everything from the folklore of the past to the fiction of the present, but what do we really know about them? Legends of these half-human, half-fish creatures exist all over the globe, and even if they are merely legend, they’re a pretty fascinating manifestation of what the human imagination can produce. Here are six things you might not know about these mythical creatures.

“Mermaids, it seems, are as changeable as the sea — serene one moment and tumultuous the

Hans Christian Andersen’s story, “The Little Mermaid” talks about a girl who saves a young man from drowning and falls in love with him, and she later learns that the young man she saved was a prince. In this world women believe that they are not capable of doing nothing or being nothing without a man in their lives. Disney’s film, “The Little Mermaid”, by Ron Clements and John Musker, present a version that makes an appearance for children, so it is harder to catch on where a woman needs a man in her life whether it is her father or a husband. In the Disney film the director makes the mermaid (Ariel) look so vulnerable and weak for a young woman. Women now these days say that they were made to believe that they have to depend on a man because they will not make it without them. In the story the author made it seem like all women cannot do want they want or that they are limited to do and say certain things because they are women. Women grow up to believe and to think that they need a man because that is how many men and society made women and young girls look like. So, part of this faulting it the men because they beliefs are that women cannot do what they do or that women and young girls belong at home to behave right and look pretty for the men. Andersen is a good example of Feminist and Gender criticism because women should believe that they can make it without having to rely on a man. Women should start believing that they are as equal as a man whether it’s at a job, relationship, at home, and in society because we are not meant to be looked at as a fragile and weak woman, we are supposed to show everyone that women should be equal to men on all types of levels. Andersen examines representation of gender, dependence, and cultural stability to explore notions of equality in gender.

I'm sure you've heard the story of Ariel, the little mermaid with crimson hair, a captivating voice, and mesmerizing blue eyes, and of how an evil sea witch stood in the way of her and the love of her life. However, you haven't heard my side of the story—the story of what truly happened, I am this so-called villain; I am Ursula.

“The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen is one of the worlds most cherished fairy tales. Through the years, this story has inspired its fair share of different adaptations and spinoffs, as well as intertwined itself in popular culture. Although it is widely considered a children’s story today, upon close examination, we can find various elements of literary devices and themes, all of which provide the seasoned reader with a deep connection to the story. To honor the tradition of story-telling, it is essential that a short summary of the story be given.

In my dreams a mermaid comes to me. She is not like the little mermaid or aquamarine, she is much more than just a human with a fin instead of legs. She has long hair tangled with sea weed, her face is beautiful yet is not the face of a human. She has gills on her neck, and from her chest down she is covered in beautiful shiny scales which flow gracefully over her long green tail. She's more fish that human, and unlike these other famous mermaids she never dreams of leaving the ocean. To her, land is an unnatural combination of man made works; she has no desire to leave the wide, beautiful ocean. She comes to me in my dreams and calls me to the sea. When I’m far from the ocean her song gets quieter, but it is always there. I believe that she is a part of my soul, and without her I am not myself. She is the side of me that