Fairy Tales Have a Negative Impact on the Development of Children

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Recommended: Analysis in Cinderella

According to Bruno Bettelheim in “The Uses of Enchantment,” he talks about how fairy tales present life's problems to guild children's development. To grow safely into maturity, a child needs to be given guidelines about how to deal with unjust hardships or obstacles they encounter on the way to adulthood. Bettelheim says that fairy tales offer solutions in ways that a child's level can understand. Fairy tales state existential dilemma briefly and pointedly, which permits the children to see the problem. Bettelheim points out that characters in fairy tales are either good or bad, nothing in between. That way, it is easier for a child to comprehend the difference between the two. I disagree with Bettelheim's ideas about the value of fairy tales because the outcomes usually are not realistic. The classic fairy tale, Cinderella is an example of having a negative influence on child development. When the father dies, Cinderella's wicked stepmother turns her into a virtual servant in her own house. Cinderella is a beautiful women, Will the prince still marry her? This would lead girls ...

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