Writer’s Block: A Comparative Analysis Focusing on Rhetor

1606 Words4 Pages

Once upon a time there was a young maiden named Cinderella who lived with her wicked stepmother and two ugly stepsisters. There was a ball where the Prince danced with a beautiful maiden. However, at the stroke of midnight, the young woman fled the ball, dropping one of her glass slippers along the way. The next day, the King proclaimed that the Grand Duke visit every house in the kingdom to find the girl who fit into the glass slipper, so that she can be married to the Prince. When the Grand Duke arrives at Cinderella’s house, her stepsisters try on the slipper, but it does not fit them. Then, Cinderella appears, tries on the slipper, and it fits. Soon after, Cinderella is happily married to the Prince (Cinderella). This is Disney’s 1950’s account of the classic fairy tale Cinderella, which greatly differs from the Brothers Grimm retelling. The Brothers Grimm story is filled with violence and misfortune, not with fairy godmothers and singing mice, as in Disney’s version. In the Brother’s Grimm account of Cinderella, when the first stepsister’s toe is too big for the slipper she cuts it off. Similarly, when the second stepsister tries on the slipper she cuts off her heel to make her foot fit. However, the Prince realizes each of the stepsisters has deceived him and does not take them to be his wife. Then, Cinderella tries on the slipper, it fits, and the Prince takes her as his bride. At the wedding, pigeons peck out one eye of each of the stepsisters for their wickedness and falsehood (“Cinderella”).

Throughout the years, the story of Cinderella has changed as different authors, including the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney have weaved their perspectives, morals, and agendas into their retellings. Just as varying rhetors can ha...

... middle of paper ...

...individuals to become complex thinkers and form ideas of their own. With a broad range of ideas and opinions, these individuals have the power to change their attitudes, lives and ultimately, they can change the world.

Works Cited

“About TED.” TED. TED Conferences, LLC. Web. 23 April 2012.

“Biography.” Joel Kotkin. Joel Kotkin. Web. 23 April 2012.

“Boilerplate Bio.” James Howard Kunstler The Personal File. James Howard Kunstler. Web. 23 April 2012.

“Cinderella.” Cinderella. San José State University. Web. 23 April 2012.

Cinderella. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske and Wilfred Jackson. Perf. Ilene Woods and Betty Lou Gerson. Walt Disney, 1950. Film.

Kotkin, Joel. “Suburbia’s Not Dead Yet.” Latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. 6 July 2008. Web. 23 April 2012.

“The Tragedy of Suburbia.” TED. TED Conferences, LLC. May 2007. Web. 23 April 2012.

Open Document