Fairy Tale Analysis

1647 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Grimm brothers research for 10 page essay

Comparing the elements of William Goldman’s abridgement of The Princess Bride, to the classic tale of “Little Snow-White” by The Grimm Brothers’ allows the audience to determine that The Princess Bride does not meet those set fairy tale standards. Elements of a fairy tale are crucial in whether the story can be classified as a fairy tale or a work of fiction. Setting plays an important role in allowing the story to relate to multiple audiences in various cultures. Generally the numbers three and seven are popular and symbolic in fairy tales. The protagonists and antagonists of a story are clearly established. Love at first sight is an essential feature that all fairy tales have and would not be complete without it. Without meeting these elements There are many variations of this phrase, but they all portray the same idea. Fairy tales have no specific setting because they are make believe stories so there is no need for historical connections. Having no specific setting allows the story to relate to different children in different cultures (McCarthy). “Time becomes timeless so that the protagonist can create his or her own time” (Zipes, "The Revolutionary Rise of the Romantic Fairy Tale in Germany" 101) allowing the audience to adapt the tale into their own settings. In “Little Snow-White,” the Grimm Brothers’ clearly state that the setting is “in midwiter”(Grimm et al 170) and that is just about it. The only type of setting in “Little Snow-White” is when the Queen asks a huntsman to “take Snow-White into the woods” (Grimm et al 171). Other than that, the time and place is not defined leading into the make believe Fairy tales are meant to have a clear message for the younger readers comprehend and apply to their own development in the real world. These tales do not have a concrete setting for the reason of applying to multiple cultures and children. The numbers presented in fairy tales all can be interpreted in multiple ideas, all in relation to the reader 's personal beliefs. Without the precisely defined characters the message cannot be interpreted as wanted by the author leading to confusion and mixed messages. The intention of love at first sight lets the readers know that love is powerful and can dictate fate. Fairy tales impact cultures by giving a moral lesson and teaching children valuable life lessons. From all these years, stories are passed down to teach a lesson, and a specific type are fairy tales that embody aspects of royalty, love, hard work, and

Show More
Related

  • The Witch Wins in Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...seems to have endured the most in his life. Not only did he spend his youth caring for his sick mother and then wife, but he now must live in the painful memory of how his life could have been if the accident never happened. The end of the book leaves the readers saddened and frustrated. Though the novella began with a plotline seemingly leading to an ending as cheery as that of Snow White, in the end, this beautiful maiden turned sour. In this storybook tragedy, “the lovers do not live happily ever after. The witch wins” (Ammons 1).

    Read More

  • The Satirical Theme of The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through his portrayal of characters and unorthodox style of writing throughout the fairy tale, Goldman pokes fun at the literary process and ordinary fairy tales. Through his fairy tale, The Princess Bride, Goldman ridicules numerous tropes of fairy tales and simultaneously critiques overdone expositions. Every character represents an archetype of a common fairy tale, but they all have glaring flaws that directly contradict how they are supposed to act. William Goldman sets forth his satirical theme that the literary industry’s rigid rules reflect its inability to adapt in an ever changing society.

    Read More

  • Fairy Tales by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    read through the article I had to pick out ten important facts about the fairy tale genre and its origins. Collecting my facts was difficult because there were many writers that changed the audience for fairy tales. I didn’t want to just write down 10 authors and their works t...

    Read More

  • Comparing Two Versions of Cinderella

    446 Words  | 1 Pages

    Over centuries of children have been enjoying the classic fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault. The fanciful plots and the vivid details allow children to be entranced by characters and adventures that can only be found in these stories. One of the most beloved fairy tales, which both the Perrault and the Grimms have their own separate versions of, is Cinderella. Cinderella is able to show how both versions are able to feed off the same plots while personifying the century and social economic situation in which they have lived.

    Read More

  • Brothers Grimm

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    When the word “fairytale” is mentioned, nearly everyone thinks of light-hearted stories with friendly characters and happy endings. However, these are not the ideas that classic fairytales originally sparked. In fact, numerous modern Disney movies were based off stories that were not so sugar coated. In the 19th century, the Brothers Grimm were responsible for multiple of these popular children’s tales. The Disney remakes of classic fairytales such as Cinderella, Tangled, and Snow White exclude the dark, twisted themes that are significant in the Brothers Grimm fairytales, because society tendencies continue to evolve toward sheltering and overprotecting young children.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Jack Zipes Competitive Brothers And The Four Skillful Brothers

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fairytales share similar themes in the manner in which they approach storytelling for the individual. In “The Great Fairy Tale Tradition”, Jack Zipes has selected and edited stories and categorized them by their respective themes, illustrating the different thematic elements found in each story. Every chapter includes a short introduction to the literary history of the selected stories and their themes. In the “Three Brother’s Who Become Wealthy Wandering the World”, “The Three Brothers”, and “The Four Skillful Brothers” each story explores the adventures and pursuits of brothers who venture into the outside world and are later faced with a test of skills in which they must prove their worth and courage. Although the three tales are incorporated into the thematic chapter of “Competitive Brothers” and share similar characteristics, there are contrasts between their respective stories.

    Read More

  • Princess Bride Characters

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    An expectation of how fairy tale stories should be and how typical characters should act is deeply engrained within all of us from childhood. It all begins with classic stories like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White. Sometimes though there are stories that completely turn around our view of how things should be. The Princess Bride by William Goldman is one of these stories. In it, our normal view of a princesses, heroes, and villains is greatly changed.

    Read More

  • The Perfect Moral Example

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • What the Cinderella Story Has to Teach Young Girls

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Zipes's View on Fairytales

    1969 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Religious Symbolism in Grimm's Rapunzel

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    A fairy tale is seemingly a moral fiction, intended mainly for children. A lesson in critical analysis, however, strips this guise and reveals the naked truth beneath; fairy tales are actually vicious, logical and sexual stories wearing a mask of deceptively easy language and an apparent moral. Two 19th Century writers, the Grimm brothers, were masters at writing these exaggerated stories, bewitching young readers with their prose while padding their stories with allusion and reference: an example of which is "Rapunzel." Grimm's "Rapunzel" is packed with religious symbolism, which lends a new insight to the meaning of this classic story.

    Read More

  • Differences Between the Grimm Brother's and Disney's Cinderella

    1372 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fairytales, the short stories that most children heard as they went to bed, are actually folktales from previous decades. The fairytales today are primarily adaptations of older versions recreated by Disney— the pioneers of this generation. With that said, the modern versions consistently display good triumphing over evil, a prince charming that constantly came to the rescue, and a happily ever after ending. However, the original folktale version didn’t always come with fortunate events, but often were more violent and gruesome. With the fairytale Cinderella, Disney maintains a similar theme as its Grimm version; however, the conflicts, events, and characters that support this idea are rather different.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Fairytales

    1612 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Cinderella

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    The classic tale of Cinderella is well known for the fight of overcoming great obstacles despite great odds. However, there are always a few ill-hearted people who go out of their way to cease any competition that they might face, as seen with Cinderella’s step-sisters. Samuel Jackson says is his distinguished quote, “The hunger of imagination…lures us to…the phantoms of hope,” to help develop a more defined view of a fairytale. The story of Cinderella fully embodies the ideals of a true fairytale by encompassing magic, hope, and struggle between good and evil throughout the duration of the plot.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Little Briar Rose

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The fairy tale, which to this day is the first tutor of children because it was once the first tutor of mankind, secretly lives on in the story. The first true storyteller is, and will continue to be, the teller of fairy tales. Whenever good counsel was at a premium, the fairy tale had it, and where the need was greatest, its aid was nearest. This need was created by myth. The fairy tale tells us of the earliest arrangements that mankind made to shake off the nightmare which myth had placed upon its chest.”(Walter Benjamin). For generations fairy tales have brought happiness to hundreds of people. Through childhood to adults, people still enjoy the mysteries of fairytales. In society, fairytales are a great way of connecting

    Read More

More about Fairy Tale Analysis

Open Document