...Fairy tales are more than just stories read to children before bedtime. They contain valuable messages commonly overlooked. In Maria Tatar’s piece, “An Introduction to Fairy Tales,” she explains how powerful these messages can be. Fairy tales often imply life lessons and incorporate them into their stories. These messages mold and make people into who they are today. As time goes on people forget about the fairy tales read to them as children, but some continue to keep the stories with them. Fairy tales help to build children’s imaginations and also build a sense of character, even at a young age. As adults fairy tales incorporate extreme power. As a person grows and matures they start to realize how fairy tales relate to the real world. Adults also comprehend messages in a fairy tale a younger child does not fully understand. They can see in a fairy tale what makes sense and also what is impossible in real life. Fairy tales cannot only bring you peace, happiness, joy and comfort, but also bring back many memories. If an adult read a fairy tale that was once read to them as a child, most of the time, a thousand memories would come flooding back to them. This could be very pleasant experience but could also be upsetting, especially if a person experienced an unpleasant childhood. It is important to keep fairy tales alive because they are a major part of who people are today. They are a very important part of culture because fairytales have been around since the ancestors...
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...Fairy tales, whether written or visual are used as a medium to teach children morals, life lessons and social etiquette. From interpretations, a fairy tale can be defined as a story that has fictitious and folklore characters which displays the message for every action there is a reaction whether it be positive or negative. These fictitious characters influence children and help them to understand the messages so that children can be socially accepted (Hohr). The origins of fairy tales can not be narrowed to a specific time line but they were once old wives tales which were passed on from generation to generation which writers have modified to become or claimed as their own. Although fairy tales are useful to teach children morals fairy tales are inappropriate for children because of the psychological effects, presentation of the content and morals. This has given reasons for the modifications of fairy tales although these modifications are believed to be better both traditional and modern fairy tales are in somewhat way unsuitable for children. The early versions of fairy tales are not filled with the sanctified, altruistic images seen today but are filled with gory and sadistic images. In an attempt to understand these reasons for modifications of fairy tales we must understand the journey which the traditional writers took. Thomas O'Neil senior writer at the National Geographic and Maria Tartar the chair for program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University both go...
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...Tungalag Ganbold English 314 Julie Booche April 4, 2012 Villains in Fairy Tales Research paper All children love to listen to fairy tales. When we were young, we ask our parents to tell us stories. People are not sure why fairy tales are so interesting and why every children love them. While it is entertaining, it is also moral lesson to young children. They learn from the fairy tales about good and evil. They learn how to distinguish good and evil, wise and foolish, and moral and immortal. Children learn many lessons from the characters of fairy tales and it is very interesting to see that they love heroes in the fairy tales and do not like the bad guys in the stories. When I was thinking about the research topic, the one thing pulled my attention was why there are villains in almost all fairy tales. It is very interesting to think that all fairy tales have villains. In this paper I am going to talk about who the villains in the story are, why authors talk about villains in their stories and what readers learn from them. I will use mostly about fairy tale villains such as my favorite fairy tale’s villain, Cinderella’s stepmother. When we read the stories, we can tell who the villain in the story is. They are usually described as stepmothers, witches, monsters, sneak, thief, robber and traits. For example, in the Cinderella story, Lady Tremaine is a villain. In the article “Top 10 Most Evil Disney villains”(Antonia) the author described the Lady Tremaine as self centered...
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...reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. CHAPTER ONE Once There was a Time An Introduction to the History and Ideology of Folk'and Fairy Tales To begin with a true story told in fairy-tale manner: Once upon a time the famous physicist Albert Einstein was confronted by an overly concemed woman who sought advice on how to raise her small son to become a successful scientist. In particular she wanted to know what kinds ofbooks she sll ould read to her son. "Fairy tales," Einstein responded without. hesitation. "Fine, but what else should I read to him after that?" the mother asked. "More fairy tales, "Einstein stated. "And after that?" "Even more fairy tales. " replied the great scientist, and he waved his pipe like a wizard pronouncing a happy end to a long adventure. It now seems that the entire world has been following Einstein's advice. By 1979 a German literary critic could declare that fairy tales are "fantastically in."\ In fact, everywhere one turns today fairy tales and fairy-tale motifs pop up like magic. Bookshops are flooded with . fairy tales by J.R.R. Tolkien, Hermann Hesse, the Grimm Brothers, Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, a myriad of folk-tale adaptations, feminist and fractured fairy tales, and scores of sumptuously illustrated fantasy...
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...person’s life. During this time children absorb in all the information they receive from their surrounding environment which mold the personality/behavior they will have once they grow up. Fairy tales is one of the effective strategies utilize by many adults in order to inform and educate the children, which assist in shaping of the personalities a child may have in the future. With...
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...Fairy Tales have been labeled with a positive connotation since as long as people could remember. Parents read fairy tales to their children to bring them to a state filled with imagination and magic. Kids love the fact that fairy tales let them venture off into a creative world where anything is possible. We like to think that we know how these stories go, but in reality, we do not. Fairy Tales have been written ever since the 1800s, and if we told our kids the original fairy tales, instead of a state filled with imagination and magic, it would be a state filled with horror and fear. Fairy Tales may have withstood the test of time by continuously being told generation by generation, but that does not mean that these fairy tales have not been...
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...have been for centuries in the beloved fairy tales we enjoyed reading as children. In source B the author, Andrea Dworkin discusses “Onceuponatime” fairytales which many regard as a model for living and which carry a unique structural pattern. They begin with the famous “Once Upon a time” line and end with the ever so popular “happily ever after.” Many, if not all of these story types are about adventures that involve princes and princesses. There is also the themes of beauty, magic and love. Over the years, fairy tales such as Snow White and Cinderella...
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...You Teach Your Kids Parents in modern day society love to scream about what people can and can't teach their children. After all, children are highly impressionable, and monitoring what one's kids see and hear is a crucial part of being a parent. It is this concern that causes numerous angry parents to show up at every school PTA meeting and yell at that the schools complain that they shouldn't be teaching their children subjects such as sexual education and evolution. While some may find these parents reactions ridiculous and bizarre, it is well with in their parental rights to protest. Although, what many of these parents fail to realize is they are teaching their children many of the the same things they are protesting using fairy tales. Nobody ever stops to think about the true meaning behind fairy tales, after all what harm can come from reading a bed time story, but the truth is that many of these stories have subliminal messages. Cinderella, for example, seems like it's just about a hard working girl who perseveres, though suffering, is payed off by her living happily ever after with a prince, right? One could not be more wrong, Cinderella contains messages which teach kids a sense of entitlement, vanity, and to not stand up for ones self. Children are constantly asking their parents for toys, junk food, and money. Parents should just be able tell their children yes or no when they make such requests, but sadly thats not the case. When a parent tells their kid no quite...
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...In our world today, people happily expose children to fairy tales, but as those kids grow up and discover the hidden messages inside the stories, they are often provoked with different emotions. I recently experienced this when reading Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s “Little Red Cap,” and Charles Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood.” Due to my new maturity and knowledge, I was able to interpret the author'sauthors’ pieces of work in new ways. Their strategic use of pathos led me to be overcome with a feeling of worry, disappointment, and frustration. Despite the fact that they both induced me to experience similar emotional responses, I found myself responding more strongly to one than the other. In both fairy tales Red Riding Hood is described...
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...Disney and the American Princess: The Americanization of European Fairy Tales [pic] Marina Alexandrova Student number 3021874 MA Thesis, American Studies Program Utrecht University Course code 200401064 23943 words 12 August 2009 Contents Title page………………………………………………………………1 Contents……………………………………………………………….2 Introduction……………………………………………………………3 Chapter 1: European Fairy Tales and Values about Gender and Class………………………………………10 Chapter 2: Disney Animation and American Culture…………………24 Chapter 3: Disney Animation and (Gender) Commodification…………………………………………..55 Conclusion…………………………………………………………...73 Bibliography…………………………………………………………78 Introduction Among the various aspects which define contemporary life, popular culture – and in particular, American popular culture – is undoubtedly one of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting. Throughout the twentieth century, people around the world have enjoyed film, music, animation, and written works by various authors and artists. One of the most famous and significant American entertainers of the lot has been Walt Disney, introducing millions of children and adults to his world of limitless (or so is widely believed) imagination and magic, from the earliest short cartoons produced in the 1920s, to full-length feature animations such as Snow White and the Seven...
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...concludes that “American viewers have spent more than three decades watching male heroes and their adventures, muddied visions of boyhood adolescence repete with illusions of women as witches, bitches, mothers and imps “. All researches about the media influence give the same conclusion that the mass media is a powerful resource through which viewers develop their identity and come to understand the role that gender plays in the real world. Disney is one of the largest media corporations in the world and it is a very powerful force in creating a child culture. It “merges the corporate power and entertainment “(Dr Henry Giroux, Pennsylvania State University) based on images of innocence, magic and fun. “The majority of children had been raised...
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...never really loved Eric. The Beast was not angry and violent. Mulan never fell in love with her general. At least not in the original versions of the stories; all these changes were added by Disney to make a more interesting movie, or to forward a sexist agenda. A multitude of sexist messages are present in Disney movies teaching young girls that they are expected to fill a submissive role in society. The fairy tales are symbolic of women’s lives being shaped by male influences. Over time, the sexist message in Disney movies has become less apparent, but it has never disappeared; it is merely buried within a classic fairy tale that the “magic of Disney” has transformed into a sexist lesson. Naturally, these movies must not have a traumatic affect on little girls. Parents are not actually harming their daughters by allowing them to indulge their fairy tale fantasies. Not according to Jack Zipes, leading expert on fairy tales and German professor at the University of Minnesota, the movies have “a type of gender stereotyping . . . that has an adverse effect on children, in contrast to what parents think . . .. Parents think they’re essentially harmless – they are not harmless” (Giroux, “Roared” 103). Maria Tatar, Harvard folklorist, also sees harm in the movies since “[Disney] capitalizes on the worst part of fairytales” placing the focus on the material world and removing the cunning and intelligent roles that the females once played (Healy). However, these messages surly...
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...The fantasy literature of Cinderella was introduced by many cultures and every culture seems to have its own version. Cinderella stories date back as early as 850 A. D. with the first written version of Chinese tale yeh-shen (Cinderella: A cross-cultural story by Patricia w. Kite) Even though Cinderella is a fantasy story it shows many meaning to the character that portrays Cinderella. In many cultures there are stories of Cinderella where every girl dreams of having a Prince charming. The story of Cinderella is a fairy tale that is told and read to children of very young ages (ALA American Library Association) Research shows that many versions have been found first in Europe and the story tale origins appear to date back to a Chinese story from the ninth century. (ALA American Library Association) The book Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah is a story portrayed by a very young girl who mother died giving birth to her. Cinderella lived with her family who thought she was bad luck to them, therefore she was discriminated against and treated very bad. In the Chinese culture many Chinese people prefer sons then daughters. In many cultures children look for the love of their parents. The book emphasizes that quote “how you should do your best in the face of hopelessness; to have faith in the end your spirit will prevail; to transcend your abuse and transform it into a source of courage, creativity and compassion.” (by Adeline Yeh Man) In...
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...seminar training hours. Training Module* Listening Comprehension PURPOSE To explore the meaning and importance of listening comprehension as it relates to young children ages two to five. DEFINITION Before we begin, let’s take a minute to discuss the term listening comprehension. This skill can be observed when you read to the children. Listening comprehension can be defined as “the ability to recall and understand information which is presented orally.” This information might be presented through a book, filmstrip, video, or felt board set. EXAMPLES Mr. Fields, the preschool teacher, is reading the book Goldilocks and the Three Bears to the children. After he finishes reading, Mr. Fields asks the children, “How many bears lived in the house?” Rosie shrugs her shoulders and looks confused, but Jeremy exclaims, “Three!” Mr. Fields says, “That’s right, Jeremy. There were three bears in the story. Let’s count them together.” Mr. Fields turns the pages of the book until he comes to an illustration that contains the three bears. The children and Mr. Fields count the bears together. Mr. Fields then asks, “How did the bears know that someone had been eating their porridge?” Albert responds, “Because Baby Bear’s bowl was empty.” Jeremy says, “Because someone told them.” Mr. Fields then uses the book to help the children discover the correct answer. In the above example, Rosie clearly needs more practice with listening skills. Jeremy was able to quickly answer a question concerning...
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...Rudyard Kipling – THE BUTTERFLY THAT STAMPED The Butterfly that stamped is one of the stories from the collection Just So Stories, book written by Rudyard Kipling. The stories seem to be fairy tales but in all of them, we can find something human, something adult and enlightening. The main story is probably happening in the Kingdom of Israel, because of a King named The Most Wise Sovereign Suleiman-bin-Daoud – Solomon, the Son of the David, was a King of Israel around 950 BC . The exposition part is quite confusing because of many foreign-sounding names and without knowledge of some history is almost impossible to understand what the writer wanted to introduce. Soon the narrator changes the mood and one very hilarious story begins. The entire story was written readable, but to understand the message you should little bit think about. On the other hand, thanks to usage of dialogue, I can imagine to tell or read the story to children as a bedtime story. The story is showing us the relationship between men and women. All of the four important characters in this story are showing us something up-to-date. It is unbelievable because the book was written in 1902, the story is set to about 1000 BC and even now, in 2012, we can recognize the symbols and the old facts about people. The main character, the most interesting, and the first person we meet, is the Suleiman-bin-Daoud. We can say that is could be the stereotypical sovereign of this age in this place with magnificent golden...
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