Mythology
There are few things that are more complicated than a human being. The way our brain is able to tell us what to do in fractions of a second, how all our muscles and tendons are able to work in unison, and how we act in certain situations. But if we were to factor out what set us aside from everything else, we would find ourselves to be an empty vessel. We would be a race with no diversity and no conscience. We would not be able to make choices, but instead do what instinct tells us to do. However, we as humans have experienced this before. It was when we were babies. As babies we are completely blank and completely oblivious to right and wrong. We have no ability to do anything except sleep, breathe, and use the bathroom which is part of our autonomic nervous system. The benefit to this stage, however, is we are gaining information at an incredible rate without realizing it. By this I mean that our surroundings make us who we are. Whether it be our parents, friends, entertainment, and even fairytales.
As children we are intrigued by all that is not reality which is why we are so attracted to the stories we are told as children. In Bruno Bettelheim’s “Uses of Enchantment” Bettelheim argues that fairytales are very important in a child’s life and could be potentially devastating if
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the child is denied the fairytales. Bettelheim uses certain fairytales as examples of how they help a child’s development, some examples are Cinderella, Snow White and Hansel and Gretel. In the said children stories, Bettelheim argues why children need fairytales in order to grow up as functioning human beings in society. He states that children have a missing piece in their personality or character and they need the made up...
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...ng cycle. The only thing Bettelheim should be none for is his infamous reputation to lie and plagiarize his concepts (http://journalism.nyu.edu/portfolio/books/book411.html 13).
Work Cited
1. http://www.JamesPMercurio.com/review_enchantment.html
2. http://www.librarything.com/work/432
3. “The Norse Myths”. Holland Crossley ,Kevin. The Creation
4. http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-the-uses-of-enchantment
5. http://www.thenextlayer.org/node/206
6. Louis Macneice, poet
7. Maria Tartar, psychologist
8. http://www.Freudlife.org
9. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/mental-health-autism
10. “The Uses of Enchantment”
11. http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/freud.html
12. http://todlertime.com/interests/bettelheim.htm
13. http://Journalism.NYU.edu/portfolia/books/book411/html
14. http://pep.net/document/php?Id=psar.087.0385a
Children can identify themselves with fairy-tale characters; they imagine themselves as heroes, who are capable of killing dragons, or simpletons, who demonstrate the superiority over clever people. Fantasies based on the fairy tales are extremely important part of the children’s lives, and this is not only because they describe threatening situations that resemble main fears of a young child such as the fear of getting lost, fear of wrong decisions, fear of monsters or evil animals. Happy endings, which are always present in fairy tales, give children the confidence that despite all their fears they will be able to win in the end. This knowledge helps them to prepare for the difficulties of life, regardless whether they are real or imagined (Doughty, 2006).
Katelyn Matroni Professor Torrence English 102 February 12th, 2014. Meaning of Life According to Bruno Bettelheim, in Introduction: The Struggle for Meaning taken from The Uses of Enchantment, the use of fairy tales in a children’s life allows them to deal with their fears in a symbolic way. In order for a story to hold a child’s attention, it must “help him to develop his intellect and to clarify his emotions”(263). The use of fairy tales in Burn Your Maps, by Robyn Joy Leff, portrays the subtle but important influence of fairy tales on a child.
We all grew up hoping that we were the princesses who met the dreamy prince and lived ‘happily ever after’ like in a fairytale.People debate over whether or not Disney fairytales are beneficial for children. Like Melissa Taylor the author of the piece ‘10 reasons why kids need to read non disney fairy tales’, I am against disneyfied fairy tales. In this essay I will argue on why kids should not only watch disney fairytales but also the real versions.
I believe that fairy tales are a big part of child’s life and they can make his or her childhood memorable. These fairy tales usually have a positive moral that teaches a lesson like the ones I was told as a child. Most tales teach against dangerous behavior. A good story teller, like the ones who passed down the tales and my grandparents, can really have a positive impact on a child. These tales were also a big source of entertainment, both in the present and in earlier days. Hearing stories as a kid taught me important lessons like not to talk to talk to strangers from “Hansel and Gretel”. These fairy tales are also very memorable part of my childhood with my grandparents.
As children grow up, they are exposed to the “perfect” fairy tale, portraying the roles of the perfect man and woman, according to Andrea...
In the essay: “ ‘Cinderella’: A Story of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts”’, Bruno Bettelheim discusses how Cinderella is a story about the difficulties of sibling rivalry and the degraded heroine ending up on top of the siblings that oppressed her. Bettelheim argues that sibling rivalry is created when a child feels that they cannot win their parents love and esteem in comparison to his brothers or sisters. In addition he argues that every child feels that they deserve to be degraded at some point in their life. The concept of Oedipal guilt, his last point, has some intriguing details included in it, concepts of which could be disputed. However, the main focus of this essay is on how children justify the idea that they should be degraded, and because of the hardships they have faced, risen up and exalted like Cinderella was. He states that Cinderella relates very closely to the youth because they feel like they can relate to her situation more than the majority of people could.
For centuries, children stories have been a valuable tool in teaching lessons and morals. Like most stories that one was read as a child, there lies a life lesson that the author is trying to portray. Whether it was told orally like the story Beowulf or written by an author like Chaucer who wrote The Canterbury Tales, there are life lessons that are being taught through the characters and their challenges that they endure.
...im, Bruno, The Use of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (London: Penguin, 1975).
Fairy tales portray wonderful, elaborate, and colorful worlds as well as chilling, frightening, dark worlds in which ugly beasts are transformed into princes and evil persons are turned to stones and good persons back to flesh (Guroian). Fairytales have long been a part of our world and have taken several forms ranging from simple bedtime stories to intricate plays, musicals, and movies. However, these seemingly simple stories are about much more than pixie dust and poisoned apples. One could compare fairytales to the new Chef Boyardee; Chef Boyardee hides vegetables in its ravioli while fairytales hide society’s morals and many life lessons in these outwardly simple children stories. Because of this fairytales have long been instruments used to instruct children on the morals of their culture. They use stories to teach children that the rude and cruel do not succeed in life in the long run. They teach children that they should strive to be kind, caring, and giving like the longsuffering protagonists of the fairytale stories. Also, they teach that good does ultimately defeat evil. Fairy tales are not just simple bedtime stories; they have long been introducing cultural moral values into young children.
At first glance, what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale may seem obvious—some kind of magic, hidden symbols, repetition, and of course it’s evident it’s fiction—but fables are more than that. As Arthur Schelesinger puts it, it’s about “[expanding] imagination” and gaining understanding of mysterious places (618). While doing this, it also helps children to escape this world, yet teach a lesson that the reader may not be conscious of. A wonderful story that achieves all of this is Cinderella, but not the traditional tale many American’s have heard. Oochigeaskw, or The Rough-Faced Girl, and Ashputtle would be fitting for a seven-year-old because they get the gears of the mind turning, allowing for an escape on the surface, with an underlying enlightenment for children of the ways of the world.
Over the years, fairytales have been distorted in order to make them more family friendly. Once these changes occur, the moral and purpose of the stories begin to disappear. The tales featured in the many Disney movies - beloved by so many - have much more malignant and meaningful origins that often served to scare children into obeying their parents or learning valuable life lessons.
I am writing this paper because I was assigned to write it as a class project. Along the way I realized the importance of sharing the real meanings of all these stories. Stories are important because in the society we live in things are constantly changing. Fairytales change but the base of the story always remain the same no matter how many times it has been retold. It’s important to reveal the true meanings of these stories, even with its dark characteristics, because the world is dark .Children need to know that there are people that have told stories relatable to what they are going through. Fairytales help the development of children; it helps their maturity as they confront someone else’s tough situations, instilling hope of a more positive ou...
It is this element of hope in a true fairytale that creates the support for a protagonist to overcome the opposing force that has been thrust onto them. A genuine fairytale is said to have the element of, “A innocent character [placed against] the evil character who normally loses somehow,” (Gokturk) which is seen as Cinderella is chosen by the prince over the evil step-sisters at the ball. As human beings with a developed moral system, it has been seen that the more deserving, mistreated character is favored to succeed in the story. Cinderella is seen as this “underdog” character in her quest to find love with the prince and overcome her step-sisters’ mistreatment. As Cinderella is mistreated by her new family, sympathy is built for the emerging protagonist and hope of her to conquer her situation follows. The underdog of this story grows in favorability to be picked by the prince due to the societal belief that the more deserving candidate should overcome their opposition. If there was no sense of hope thought the story of Cinderella, this story could not be categorized as a true embodiment of a
Hansjorg, Hohr, (2000). Dynamic Aspects of Fairy Tales: social and emotional competence through fairy tales. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, Vol 44, No 1, Department of Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: the Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. Print.