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Characters metamorphosis in literature
Characters metamorphosis in literature
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In most fairy tales, there is a quest structure that the protagonist follows through. The typical quest structure is as followed: an ideal happiness, disruption of the ideal happiness, tasks to reinstate happiness, and finally the reinstating of happiness. The cycle is never broken. In Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, this quest structure is abandoned. Unlike the typical quest structure, the protagonist, Coraline, undergoes a coming of age quest in which the quest structure deviates from the typical structure. Coraline’s quest signifies her coming of age when she overcomes what Freud calls her “infantile complexes,” which then allows her to break the typical quest structure by abandoning her childhood and embracing her adulthood.
The typical quest structure that protagonist follows in the majority of fairy tales consists of distinct stages. The stages (the ideal happiness, disruption of the ideal happiness, tasks to reinstate happiness, and the reinstating of happiness) are cyclical. The quest narrative is always present in some form and the cycle is never broken. The typical quest structure allows the story to reach an absolute resolution to the threat of the happiness. The cycle allows for the return to the “original status” which is the ultimate goal for the protagonist. It allows for a victory without significant change and the return to the ideal happiness. In Coraline, it becomes apparent that Coraline’s quest structure does not follow the typical structure form the beginning based on the relationship between Coraline and her parents.
In Coraline, Neil Gaiman makes it clear that Coraline’s family is anything but the ideal, happy family. Gaiman states, “both of her [Coraline] parents worked, doing things on computers, which meant...
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...o adulthood and how they have led to her inner change, which deviates from the typical quest where the protagonist does not change and simply returns to the “original status.”
In essence, Coraline is presented to be the polar opposite of the typical quest structure. Coraline begins with an unhappy family, disruption in the form of desire (Coraline’s ideal happiness), and the return to Coraline’s world with significant character change. Not only does it contradict the typical quest structure, but also Coraline’s quest focuses on the character changing aspects of the quest. The coming of age quest is used to emphasize the changes Coraline goes through during the quest. As a final act of releasing her childhood, Coraline buries the hand of the other mother in the real world. Coraline finally cuts all connection with her childhood and the other world with this act.
In conclusion, the story describes that life changes, and nothing stays the same throughout it. It is in the hands of the people to decide that how they want their life to be. They can make it as beautiful as they want to and they can also make it worse than it has ever been
Her call was a hand made doll made by “the other mother” that was able to spy on her life through its eyes and see she was unhappy. “The other mother” then lured her in with a jumping mouse, something that was new and vibrant in Coraline's life. At first Coraline refuses the call to adventure by telling herself that the other world is just a dream, which is understandable considering that it is nearly an inconceivable thought to even dream up, a whole other world that is the exact same only better in every way, plus she only visits there at night. But she then accepts her call to adventure once she realizes her parents have been stolen and the other world is
...inds love along the way. She makes rash decisions in bad situations, faces the truth that she has been avoiding, and finds her place in the world. While her journey takes some unexpected twists, Lily learns to make the best of what she has, and go for what she wants. She learns to move on from the past, and make a brighter future. But most importantly, Lily learns to accept that life is unpredictable and that by doing her best Lily is living life the way she wants to.
absence of parental guidance in the novel and in which she explores the individual’s search for
A fairytale is a fictional fantasy fable that passes through generations of children as source of interest to them. Though used for the intent of entertainment, fairytales often indirectly advocate a moral or message to readers (whom are usually children), in hopes that they will grow up to apply these ethics and lead a righteous life. This criteria, however, often originates from the occurrence of a magical transformation; it is this paranormality that introduces the characters of the story to a side of life far from what they have grown to know and learn to adapt to the dramatic amend in their life. This is evident in the characters in world-renowned tales such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
the life style she lives. In the beginning of the novel nicks conflicts is intersecting. While
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.
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 John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
In her famous short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates shows the transition from childhood to adulthood through her character Connie. Each person experiences this transition in their own way and time. For some it is leaving home for the first time to go to college, for others it might be having to step up to a leadership position. No matter what, this transition affects everyone; it just happens to everyone differently. Oates describes Connie's unfortunate coming of age in a much more violent and unexpected way than the typical coming of age story for a fifteen year old girl.
influence all her life and struggles to accept her true identity. Through the story you can
The fairy tales that we have become so familiar with are embedded with love, imagination and enchantment. In truth, these are just common archetypes; originally fairy tales had a much darker backdrop. They were once symbols of sexualisation and brutality as not everything ended happily ever after. Deriving from promiscuous and overlooked on goings from the 19th century (such as molestation), these ideas were later suppressed when they became children’s tales. John Updike described traditional fairy tales as ‘The pornography of their day’, hence they contained elements of wish-fulfilment and gratification such as rape, pleasure and attainment. This is true to a certain extent but they also consisted of violence, mutiny and injustice. An exploration
Similar to the above conversation, one must take these tales with a grain of salt, and keep in mind the time period in which they were written. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will only be on what the tale is striving to teach those who read it. Similar to Lurie’s opinion on “The Light Princess,” readers of “Sleeping Beauty” may come away from the story thinking the best was to grow up or be helped is to fall in love; let the man (prince) solve the problem (Lurie 360). This thought is further echoed by Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek, the authors of “Folk and Fairy Tales,” as they describe the story “as a metaphor for growing up: the heroine falls asleep as a naïve girl and awakens as a mature young woman on the threshold of marriage”
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.
Throughout the history of folklore and fairytales, many interpretations of tales have been created and introduced. When exchanged, many details have been lost in translation, only to be redistributed as a similar tale following a certain moral. But throughout the life of the tale “Cinderella,” one objective has never been misconstrued; the social structure and the status Cinderella falls and rises to. Many fairytales display a rise and fall of a protagonist, often in the case of social classes. The many versions of “Cinderella,” including Ever After, exhibit a definite, strong, monarchical settlement with a defined arrangement of classes that create and develop the beloved character of Cinderella, or Danielle De Barbarac, herself.