Charles Perrault's Puss in Boots
Charles Perrault's version "Puss in Boots" is a simple enough tale, in which the cleverness of the small prevails over the merits of size and strength and the lowly thirdborn son of a miller transcends his own expectations to achieve personal success. A major part of the tale is the archetypes used within, those easily recognisable symbols of common association and subconscious significance. Among these are symbols standing for the boy's transformation into self-determined adulthood, others associated with the miller's son's growth and achievement, and Puss himself, by whose characteristics and machinations the boy achieves his success.
Like so many other fairy tales, "Puss in Boots" recounts the progression from one stage of life to another, in this case from a child's dependence on his parents for shelter and guidance to a separate existence as a self-sufficient adult away from the childhood home. This development is reflected in
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When the cat first speaks up and requests a bag of the miller's son, the bag becomes as an inanimate helper the means by which all other events are started, to which the cat's cunning is applied for the clean capture of his prey - without it, the story would have played out very differently, if at all. As a lure into the bag, Puss uses bran, which is a by-product of making flour and connects again to bread, laying the groundwork for the boy's independence with a piece of his childhood. The next stage of life the miller's son aspires to is personified in the princess, in which he becomes the supporter rather than the supported and forms a family of his own. To show the miller's son's progression, the cat 'convinces' the peasantry to claim their fields belong to the Marquis of Carabas, though it also serves to remind the boy of just what awaits him when he completes his
In “The Company of Wolves” Carter employs conventions of gender construction and didacticism, which help establish a fairy tale space (Koske 323). Carter presents a world in which fairy tale notions of gender are upheld. In her paper, “In Olden Times, When Wishing was Having: Classic and Contemporary Fairy Tales”, Joyce Carol Oates explains that the girls and women in fairy tales “are the uncontested property of men”. Carter alludes to this male dominated reality in her tale (99). When the girl, Carter’s Red Riding Hood, insists on venturing into the woods, the narrator says that “[h]er father might forbid her, if he were home, but he is away in the forest, gathering wood, and her mother cannot deny her” (1224). There is perhaps no gendered element to a parent preventing his child from wandering into the wilderness, b...
A comparison of Old World and New World storytelling styles is outlined by Lindahl as a gateway to understanding how Jack found homes in certain communities of North America. The typical märchen is woven around a conflict between home and the open road. The tales start in an ordinary place where Jack and his mother worry about the source of their next meal. Only after Jack takes to the open road to provide for his family does the story change to involve magic. Usually, the further Jack ventures from home, the more magic he encounters. In European portrayals, Jack’s return to home results in an ordinary life without magic, now enhanced by his found wealth. Linda Degh recognized that the great European storytellers were not homebodies,
Ziolkowski, Jan. M. "A Fairy Tale from before Fairy Tales: Egbert of Liege's 'De puella a lupellis seruata' and the Medieval Background of 'Little Red Riding Hood'." Speculum 67:3 (July 1992): 549-575. JSTOR. Penn. Coll. Kib., Williamsport. 23 July 2004. <http://www.jstor.org>.
The film Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol is a science fiction that discovers the overall effects of genetic engineering. This is shown through the idea of a imminent society compelled by eugenics, where hypothetical children are conceived within a world of genetic manipulation. By doing this, it ensures that the upcoming generation posses the finest hereditary traits to benefit the future.
Warner, Marina. From the Beast to the Blond on Fairy Tales and Their Tellers. New York: Chatto & Windus, 1994. Print.
Parents play an important role in a child’s life so it is only natural that these roles are portrayed in fairytales meant for children. This is evident in the tale Donkeyskin by Charles Perrault and Cinderella by the Grim Brothers. The differing roles of the fathers in these tales, along with the similar roles of mothers, establish two different beliefs to impart on a child. Donkeyskin reminds a child that his/her parents love is undying and wants what is best for them; while Cinderella stresses the importance of becoming independent. Both of these beliefs recognize and address a child’s simple desires and fears.
The study of psychology began as a theoretical subject a branch of ancient philosophy, and later as a part of biological sciences and physiology. However, over the years, it has grown into a rigorous science and a separate discipline, with its own sets of guidance and experimental techniques. This paper aims to study the various stages that the science of psychology passed through to reach its contemporary status, and their effects on its development. It begins with an overview of the historical and philosophical basis of psychology, discusses the development of the various schools of thought, and highlights their effects on contemporary personal and professional decision-making.
Rowe Karen. “Feminism and Fairy Tales.” Folk & Fairy Tales. Matin Hallett and Barbrar Karasek. Canada: Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication, 2009. 342-358. Print.
The presence of the two cats in the tale allows the narrator to see himself for who he truly is. In the beginning the narrator explains that his “tenderness of heart made him the jest of his companions”. (251) He also speaks of his love for animals that has remained with him from childhood into manhood. However, Poe contradicts this description of the narrator when he seems to become annoyed with the cat that he claims to love so much. While under the influence of alcohol the narrator is “fancied that the cat avoided his presence”(250) and as a result decides to brutally attack the cat. This black cat symbolizes the cruelty received by slaves from whites. The narrator not only “deliberately cuts one of the cats eyes from the sockets” (250) but he also goes on to hang the cat. Once the narrator successfully hangs the cat the tale begins to take a very dark and gothic-like turn. The racism and guilt of the narrator continues to haunt him once he has killed the black cat. Th...
The relationship between the narrator and the narrator’s first cat, Pluto, is representative of human nature. He is the perfect picture of an average man during his time, which sets Poe’s scene well. The narrator has an ongoing obsession with animals, starting at a
Their child is disable and has a delayed learning in physical activities. Brother nicknames him Doodle because he crawls like a doodle bug. Doodle learns to crawl at three, at age six Brother teaches him how to walk. To motivate Doodle brother says, “You can do it. Do you want to be different from everybody else when you start school?” Doodle replies, “Does it make any difference?” Brother responds, “It certainly does” (182). This shows how determined Brother is to make Doodle normal and avoid embarrassment at school. This also shows the standards of society and how it puts pressure on kids to be normal and fit in. Society puts pressure on everyone, it’s impossible to go somewhere and not be judged for not fitting society’s standards. Some people, like Brother will go to extremes to not stand out. Brother eventually teaches Doodle how to walk and on his sixth birthday they reveal Doodle’s walking abilities. Brother explains, “Everyone began to hug me, and I began to cry. “What are you crying for? Asked Daddy, but I couldn’t answer. They didn’t know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (180). This shows how Brother’s pride is taking over him, the only thing that matters is fitting in at school. He is crying because he is ashamed that he has no power over his pride. Brother explains how he is a slave to his pride and that he has no control over his actions regarding the protection of his pride. All of this leads to Brother pushing Doodle to his limits. Brother and Doodle are running home in the rain, Doodle can’t keep up with Brother and Doodle falls
The simplicity of fairy tales and non-specific details renders them ideal for manipulation allowing writers to add their own comments often reflecting social convention and ideology. Theref...
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage, 2010. Print.
For centuries, fairytales have been used for instruction; to teach children what is expected of them as they age and what terrors behold them if they do not comply with the guidelines laid out for them by their culture/society. Many of the tales were purposely frightful in order to scare children away from strangers, dark corners, and traveling off the beaten path into the dark thicket. Charles Perrault first began writing fairy tales in the late 17th century to educate his children. The morals of those tales often center on what is expected of young women; that they should remain ‘pure’ and ‘docile’. He wrote the tales in a time period when fairytales or ‘jack’ tales were looked at as instructional lessons. They were also widely told around the fire, as entertainment, for adults. Angela Carter adapted Perrault’s classic tales in the 1970’s; changing the victim...
This article, is arguing about the cultural history on how the poor and the lower class would tell stories. These stories still affect our society today. This article states that fairy tales at first were meant for adults because children could not read. An example is Brothers Grimm, where “Weber argues that fairy tales can tell us a great deal about the real conditions in the world of those who told and those who heard the tales” (344). It also explains how the Grimm’s brother changed society with their stories of cruelty.