The Little Mermaid Book Vs Movie

While reading Roxanne Gays essay “The trouble with Prince Charming or he who trespassed against us”; I learned that she had her own definition of the common fairytale or at least what she thinks as one. “There is a man and a woman – who must overcome some obstacle to reach happily ever after.” Which is true in some cases, but depending on what side of the story your reading you can make it out, happily ever after or not. They’re plenty of real tales that don’t end very happy. You probably know Disney’s The Little Mermaid, which side do you know? Not to ruin your childhood, but the original tale wasn’t so happy after all. In Hans Christian Anderson's original story the prince marries someone else and the little mermaid throws herself into the

Ponyo and The Little Mermaid have reflected important societal views on the individuality and standards for women during their time period. Both Ponyo and Ariel display promising female characters within a society where they did not value the individuality of women. The Little Mermaid (by Disney), and Ponyo (by Hayao Miyazaki), share similar storylines. They are both about women trying to become a part of the human world in order to be with the men they love. In order to do so, they make some mischievous and dangerous decisions.

Our society, as a whole, has its fair share of strengths and weaknesses, literature tends to reflect these standards. In general, most works of literature almost seemingly emulate the situations and viewpoints of our culture at a particular period. The Little Mermaid, a Danish fairytale written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837, exhibits multiple examples of the general paradigms society was facing at the time. In the early 19th century women were expected to obey their husbands, have children, do household duties like cleaning and cooking, and find work as laundresses, dressmakers or nurses. Although Andersen uses a relatively progressive feminist view in his writing of the Little Mermaid, there are some dominant ideas of typical gender roles ingrained in the text. One quote from the novel reads, "...his old mother kept house for him." This excerpt implies the traditional, passive role of housekeeping for women while men occupy all noteworthy positions in society. Another passage states that Ariel and her sisters would not do anything productive but that "The whole day long they used to play in the palace."

The little mermaid original story is dark and intended for a more mature reader than the disney movie the little mermaid. The original l story is sad and gruesome while the disney movie is full of cute sea animal and singing. In the disney movie ariel is naturally beautiful and has everything she could ever want, while in the original story she has to work for it, her grandmother quotes ‘’you must put up with a great deal to keep up appearance’’.

Later, the little mermaid learns from her grandmother, the only way to gain a soul is to find a man and have him fall in love with her, so much that he would choose her over his parents, and marry him which would allow her to gain a soul. But this was impossible considering she has a tail and a man would not understand and would not find attractive (“The Little Mermaid”). The little mermaid was saddened by this and had wished she could be human, so she could be with the prince. Later, the little mermaid went to the sea witch, and was told she can get legs, but there were consequences. The sea witch warned the little mermaid that this was a foolish idea, but it was possible. She told the little mermaid that she would make a drought for her and when she goes above water, she must sit on a rock and drink the drought, thus eventually shrink her tail and give her legs. The sea witch told the little mermaid that when she gets her legs, it will feel like as if she were treading on sharp knives every step she took. The other consequence was the little mermaid had to give up her voice, which was done by having the witch cut her tongue off. The witch also warned the little mermaid that if the prince marries another woman, her heart will break, and she will die and turn into the foam that floats on the surface of the water (“The Little Mermaid”). The little mermaid agreed to all of this and allowed her tongue to be cut off and

One condition of this deal was that if the prince married another woman, the little mermaid would die. The biggest difference between the original and the Disney version is that the tale tends to be more vivid and violent. In the story, the little mermaid describes her new feet in saying that they leave a trail of blood as she walks

In the movie, Ariel seeks out Ursula asking her to help her meet Prince Eric. This is a relatively painless ordeal, she is magically turned into a human and the only problem is that she realizes she cannot breathe underwater. In Andersons story, she is making a much larger sacrifice. The witch tells the young mermaid that every time she walks it will feel like, "treading on sharp knives..." (pg. 8) and her tongue must be cut out, meaning her voice may never return. In the Disney universe, there is a happy ending. Ariel and Eric beat Ursula and all is well in their world, they even go on to have a child in the next movie. Sadly, that is not the ending of the story originally. The young princess does not end up marrying the prince, he ends up with another. The agreement with the witch was that if he marries another than she will die and turn into sea foam. When he marries the other, her sisters go to the witch and ask to spare her. They tell the princess the only way she will not die is by piercing the heart of the prince with a special knife from given to them by the witch. She could not bear to hurt the prince in that way, for her good deed she became a daughter of the air instead of the sea

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.

Written in the early 1800s in Denmark, “The Little Mermaid” is an excellent display of a mix of Danish mythology, beliefs, and society. Denmark is a country that has always been heavily reliant on water, as it and its surrounding lands are surrounded by it. Thus, a large portion of their mythology revolves around the ocean and its creatures, such as mermaids. In the beginning of the 19th century, a public education system was set up in Denmark, which prompted an enormous influx of literature and philosophy. Among such literary works came “The Little Mermaid”, written by Hans Christian Andersen. Andersen is known for his writing style and the way characters act and respond. “His very first tale, ‘The Tinder Box’, opens in a

The idea of a happy ending, to the common person, is the cliche ending of a story in which the protagonist gets the damsel, saves the world, and survives near death. However, this is a very simple way to look at the concept of a “happy ending” and neglects the grand scheme of things, just as there are more complicated equations in mathematics as one progresses in school, there are more complicated elements in a story as we look to dig deeper into literature. A story that has a complex happy ending is Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the story of a man seeking revenge on his family that has caused him much despair. If we look at this play in a simple manner, we will probably not look at the ending as happy ending as our beloved characters die,

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

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 Little Mermaid is a story about a young girl who is not afraid of trying new things because she is willing to get out of her comfort zone to try new things. There is this specific quote that say the following; “Children have got to be free to lead their own lives.” (Korman, Cuddy 1994) The life lesson here is that we must not be afraid to try new things so that good things can happen in our life’s. One must not be afraid of new changes and must be willing to adapt to new and unknown situations. The Little Mermaid was not afraid however there was the situation that her father would now allow her to leave the sea which was there home and were he would be able to keep her safe. That would not stop her from going out of her comfort zone and wanting to try new things. Many of us especially adults will give in to being comfortable with what we have and will not want to go out and try new things. Life is full of adventures and I believe that we have to be more like the younger children and be willing to try new things because if we don’t then we will never leave that comfort zone to be able to move on with our lives. I will finish with this quote which

wants to go up to the surface in order to see the people who make the treasures she finds under

“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.