In Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen's "Charlie Among the Elves" and George MacDonald's At the Back of the North Wind, the authors artfully blend elements of fairytale and social realism to create narratives that transcend mere escapism; instead, storytelling and fairytales manifest into a conduit for recovery and renewal. Through the texts themselves as well as the embedded stories contained within them, Knatchbull-Hugessen and Macdonald advocate for reclamation of clarity and perspective, not merely by presenting a mimetic reflection of reality, but by engaging with the world as it ought to be perceived– imbued with wonder, beauty, and truth. An amalgamation of the fantastical with philosophical underpinnings and the depiction of the playful with …show more content…
In doing so, Knatchbull-Hugessen and MacDonald underscore the inherent value of storytelling as a means of entertaining, educating, consoling, and ultimately fostering a process of recovery. For one, both texts implicate the audience through authoritative measures; in doing so, Knatchbull-Hugessen and George MacDonald address adults while substantiating the truthfulness of fantastical realms and whatever they might implicate. The role of story-telling, in this light, is bridging the child-like appeal to stories with the sophistication of adults, wherein adults are encouraged to embrace the child-like mind. Knatchbull-Hugessen directly asserts children in his narratives, such as in the preface of Moonshine, in which “Charlie Among the Elves” was first published. “My dear children,” he states; “at all these times we know that the Fairies are abroad, tender and sprightly little Elves, who put merry thoughts into our hearts, tempered always by kind and loving feelings. Let us love the little Elves still, my children, and keep our childish fondness for them as long as we may” (Knatchbull-Hugessen, …show more content…
The song emphasizes the pointlessness of human endeavours, comparing them to "empty bubbles," transient and unsatisfactory. The radically different Elfin life is devoid of the unending conflict and trivial goals that define human society. Insisting that readers consider what genuinely makes a meaningful existence, the poem criticizes materialism and the unrelenting chase of status. While the song is presented as a playful and whimsical interruption to Charlie and the child reader alike, the embedded verses might garner more attention from the adult reader. By alluding to the flaws of the human world and substantiating the allure of the fairy world, Knatchbull-Hugessen encourages readers to reconsider their perceptions of reality and fantasy, inviting them to find value and meaning in the imaginative and the magical as a way to enrich their understanding of life and its possibilities. Moreover, Charlie experiences a profound sense of peace and tranquillity as he listens to the song, finding himself in a unique state of being simultaneously asleep and awake. This delicate balance allows him to remain cognizant, for he is “awake enough to understand perfectly well all that was going on” (Knatchbull-Hugessen ch. 10. The aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid
Ownership is a symbol of control. As human beings, we tend to put labels on things, believing that everything must belong to someone or something. This issue of ownership does not exclude the world of fairy tales. Fairy tales, much like birds, follow no rules and are free, but can be over ruled by potential superiors. In Donald Haase’s essay entitled, “Yours, Mine, or Ours?” and Lawrence R. Sipe’s case study, “Talking back and taking over: Young children’s expressive engagement during storybook read-alouds”, both scholars claim that children holds the baton of ownership over fairy tales. Although Haase and Sipe lay out an appealing theory and practice for children’s literacy, a story like “The Juniper Tree” by the Grimms brothers suggest skepticism
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.
Though the evils of the world may discourage us from reaching our full potential, fairytales such as Little Snow-White by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm teach us that good will always triumph over evil. As many tales of its kind, Little Snow-White uses a number of literary devices to attract a younger audience and communicate to them a lesson or moral that will remain with them throughout their lives. Since children have such an abstract stream of thought, it is vital to use language and devices that will appeal to them as to keep them interested in the story.
Tatar, Maria. Off with Their Heads!: Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1992. Print.
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.
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...
It has always been amazing to realize how well the literature I read as a child has stayed with me through the years. It takes an exceptional writer to compose a narrative that maintains a storyline on the same level of a child's understanding; it takes everything short of a miracle to keep a child's interest. However, that undertaking has been accomplished by many skilled authors, and continues to be an area of growth in the literary world. Only this year the New York Times has given the genre of children's literature the credit it deserves by creating a separate best-sellers list just for outstanding children's books. Yet, on another level, children's literature is not only for the young. I believe that the mark of a brilliant children's author is the age range of those who get pleasure from the stories; the wider the range, the better.
The Chronicles of Narnia are veritably the most popular writings of C.S. Lewis. They are known as children’s fantasy literature, and have found favor in older students and adults alike, even many Christian theologians enjoy these stories from Lewis; for there are many spiritual truths that one can gleam from them, if familiar with the Bible. However, having said this, it is noteworthy to say that Lewis did not scribe these Chronicles for allegorical didactics of the Christian faith, but wrote them in such a well-knit fashion that young readers might understand Christian doctrine through captivating fantasy and thus gain an appreciation for it. With this in mind, and in the interest of this assignment, the purpose of this paper is an attempt to analyze one of the many doctrines of the Christian faith from The Lion, The Witch, And, The Wardrobe (LWW), namely, temptation and how Lewis illustrates it through an individual character, Edmund.
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.
..., Maria. “An Introduction to Fairy Tales.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Toronto: Longman, 2013. 230-235. Print.
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...
“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
There are various indigenous people existing in the world. They have lived with their own culture for long time. It is well-known that indigenous cultures are often changed because of the impact of outsider’s culture. In Australia, there are two indigenous groups, Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, from the long time ago. In the history, many Aboriginal people were killed by people from Europe since British began to colonise Australia.
Supernatural elements – religious figures and activities, ghosts, witches, and anthropomorphized animals among others – have been used throughout the history of literature from its origins in oral folktales to Shakespeare’s plays to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. Throughout the history of literature, supernatural elements have been useful in developing themes that reflect the nature of humanity. Supernatural elements are often used to outline and comment on conflict and power struggles: both within the plot of the work and within society at the time of the work’s publication. These otherworldly components are also commonly used to adapt, expand upon, and make a work of literature more applicable to its settings. Supernatural elements also play a r...