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Analysis of Children's Fairy Tales
Week 1-Fairy Tales
I was fascinated by reading fairy tales, especially the ones by the
Brothers Grimm. By analyzing them according to the protagonists, settings ,
themes, and occurrences I have noticed many similarities in the fairy tales.
I found the protagonists of all the stories to be mystical and
mysterious. Many of the protagonists tended to be characters such as Kings
and Queens and other authority figures. Perhaps this was so the children
could look up to them. Second of all I noticed that there was always
something unique about the protagonists that made them different from
people in the ordinary world. I read a variety of protagonists such as
hunters, poor peasants, a lazy girl, three little men, and a Miller and his
wife. I did not read one fairy tale that had a plain and ordinary type of
protagonist.
In the way of settings I again noticed that most of the settings were
peculiar in some way or another. Rarely would I read of a setting of an
ordinary place such as what you and I may live in. they always had
something mystical about them. Only places that children dreamed about were
used. These were places such as palaces, and Kingdoms, mystical forests or
a witches castle. One story was of a lonely cabin located in a mystical
forest. I suppose places like these were used to provoke the children
imagination.
Many of the themes I found to be quite common. I quite often found them
to be about a boy and a girl and them getting together. There was also
usually some sort of a competition were the protagonist would win and get
the girl. The boy and the girl were often a prince and a princess. In
almost all fairy tales the protagonist was put in a situation where there
was a problem. In Cinderellas case she had no money and three wicked step
sisters. How was she to get the prince to notice her. In Snow white, her
beauty was the problem as the wicked witch grew jealous. In some of the
stories by Grimm such as "Thousandfurs", the king had to marry someone as
beautiful as his deceased wife. The only one beautiful enough was his only
daughter. This posed a problem for his daughter. The journeys were usually
of mystical places. Some of them were journeys that used a great deal of
imagination. They were often journey's that occurred in dreams. One journey
that really caught my attention was the one that occurred in "Darling
Roland". It was about a witch that wanted to kill her step daughter because
she possessed a beautiful apron that the other daughter envied. By accident
the witch killed the wrong daughter and ended up chasing the other
daughter through the country side. Both possessed special powers and were
using them in the chase. At one point the step daughter turned herself
into a duck and her darling Roland ( the apron ) turned into a lake. Talk
about strange. The story went on and on with strange journey's such as
this. Many of the journey's that I read about were quite out of the
ordinary. I also wanted to note that I found that there was a lot of
violence in these childrens stories. In the " Darling Roland" the wicked
witch "...gripped the axe in both hands and chopped her own child's head
off."
A fairy tale is a simple narrative that usually deals with supernatural
beings, such as fairies, magicians, ogres, and dragons. Fairy tales are
generally of a folk origin and are written or told for the amusement of
children. The more sophisticated narratives contain supernatural and
sometimes highly improbable events, scenes and events. They often have
whimsical, satirical, or moralistic character. They are usually a story
that is implausible, incredible, or a lying story that was designed to
delude or mislead.
Fairy tales are very important in the way that it is a way to get
through to children. Because of the way that fairy tales are presented they
became easy for the child to pay attention to. Fairy tales become a
learning medium that children are interested in. Writers take advantage of
this learning medium to try and get through to the children. They try to
employ learning experiences and lessons within the stories. Often the hero
of a fairy tale can leave a strong impression on the child and imprint
morality on him. Fairy tales are a way to get ideas through to the children
as well as a way to get the children to willingly use their brains and
apply their imagination skills.
Interviews Alison-Age 8 Favourite Fairy Tales- memorable details Three
little pigs -huffing and puffing at the pigs door -everyone ended up in the
well built house of brick.
Jason-Age 6 Jack and the beanstalk -Jack climbing up to take back the
things that the giant stole form them. Jack chopped the stalk and the
giant fell to his death. Snow White -He remembers the seven dwarfs and how
they were helping Snow White. -The wicked witch that gave the apple that
put snow white to sleep. -Mirror mirror on the wall -The prince that awoke
snow white
Mandy-Age 10 The sleeping Beauty: -She pricked her finger on a spindle -The
wicked witch that poisoned the spindle -The vines that grew around the
sleeping castle -The Prince that awoke the sleeping beauty
Cinderella -Wicked step sisters, and step mother -Bibbity Bobbity Boo -The
grand ball -Fairy God Mother and how she turned the pumpkin into a coach -
Had to be back by midnight -Prince came around looking with a shoe
I noticed that the children seemed to notice all of the mystical and
unnatural things. This proves that it is good to employ this into a story
because this is what the children remember.
Fairy Tale Outlines
Jasper the Unicorn
-There once was a unicorn named Jasper -Used to run through the forest
playing with the others -as they grew so did their horns only Jasper's
didn't -others had horns 3 feet long -Jaspers was only six inches long -all
laughed at him -the girls didn't even talk with him -he was an outcast -one
day the unicorns were cloud hopping -one of the older unicorns slips and
passes out- he is falling -jasper flies up and rescues him. -everybody was
thankful -he gets accepted -judge by what's inside
Robby Robin
-Gold breasted robin -can sing more beautiful than anything -only 2 in the
world-one male one female -when they sang-flowers and trees grew all around
-When little Robby Robin was born he was to carry on the tradition but when
he sang, only horrible sounds came out -tries and tries until one day he is
finally successful -never give up
Cocky Peacock
-There once was a cocky peacock -had the most beautiful feathers and he
knew it -he believed that he was not only the best looking but he was also
the best at everything else. -He used to brag to everyone -no one liked him
-one day when he was bragging one of his tail feathers lost all of it's
colours -he bragged again and the same thing happened -soon had only 3
coloured feathers left -he had little to brag about -realized what was
happening -stopped bragging- began growing coloured feathers again -never
bragged again- and had all the friends in the world
Jasper the Unicorn
Long, long ago unicorns one\ce roamed the earth. They could often be
seen playing in the grassy fields or prancing among the clouds.
The younger ones used to stay on the ground. Now and then they would
take flight in the air but for only short periods of time as they were
unsure of themselves. They would play games all day long while the female
unicorns looked on. Sometimes a female unicorn would step into the grassy
meadows with hope that some young children would come talk with her. A
young unicorn named jasper was always eager to go talk with the ladies.
As the years went by the younger unicorns began to mature. They got more
muscular and their horns began to grow at a rapid pace. Some had horns that
were three feet long. The longer and better that the horns were, the more
that the male unicorn was liked.
At this point Jasper was really depressed, Jasper was the same age as
all the other young unicorns but his horn had not developed yet. It
remained only a foot long. Whenever any of the unicorns passed him they all
seemed to stare at him. When they played their unicorn games and the
females walked out on to the grassy meadows, Jasper as always tried walking
towards them. Only this time when they saw Jasper they turned away. Soon
the other unicorns wouldn't even allow jasper to play with them.
Now as the unicorns continued to get older they began to get more daring
and moved their playing grounds to the sky. Their favourite game was to
cloud hop. Because Jasper didn't feel accepted he used to sit under a large
oak tree and watched the other unicorns as they cloud hopped.
One day when Jasper was watching on he noticed that one unicorn wasn't
jumping as high as the other unicorns. Jasper thought maybe he was just
tired. He continued watching, only more intensely. This time he saw the
unicorn slip and he had started falling towards the earth. The unicorn had
passed out. Jasper wasted no time and quickly got to his feet. He leaped
into the air and raced after the falling unicorn. He reached out and caught
the unicorn by the back of the neck with his horn and gently brought the
unicorn to safety on the ground. The unicorn awakened and thanked Jasper
gratefully. All of the other unicorns raced down to see if Jasper and the
unicorn were alright. They all thanked Jasper. They were grateful too.
Then one of the unicorns stepped forward.
"Would you like to join us in our cloud hopping?"
Jaspers face lit up. He didn't even hesitate. As all of the other
unicorns leaped into the air, so did Jasper. He was finally being accepted
for who he was and not by the size of his horn.
Then Jasper saw one of the girls walk out towards the edge of the cloud.
Jasper hesitated and then began walking towards the female unicorn, only
this time she did not turn away.
Childrens Reactions
I read this to three of my younger cousins when were over. There were
three boys and one girl aged six to nine. At first when i started reading
they were a little distracted but as I got into the story they were very
attentive. They seemed to be enjoying it. When the unicorn started to fall,
David (the youngest, age:6) yelled out Oh Oh! This proved to me that they
were really listening to what I had to say. I believe I was successful in
getting my story across.
Wizard of Earthsea by: Ursula Le Guin
Imagery of Light and Dark
poem in the beginning
only in silence the word,
only in dark the light,
only in dying life:
bright the hawks flight
on the empty sky
-The creation of Ea
p14-"Smoke spread and filled the darkness of the hut".-witches hut".-
witches hut-evil-dog was black
Then the water thrown on the fire. Smoke clears. The true name of the
falcon taught. Clear room-goodness
"hunt a shadow over land and Sea to the lightness coasts of deaths kingdom
-dark and death
First steps on his journey " bright road"-hope
"fog that hid distances and dangers..." grey and bright
-white hallows flowers-healing flowers
-The innocent daughter of the old Lord of Re Albi wore a white shirt-white
skinned-black hair-1/2 witch
p34 reading a spell and opens his eyes- everything is dark- evil sensed
p35 "danger surrounds power as shadow does light"
danger--shadow
power---light
p43 "I saw no light" -no hope
ship named "shadow"-evil ship
p48 Archnage Nemmerle- hair, beard + robe white -years leached out the
darkness-wisdom-goodness
p92 Needs to gain strength but does not want to be sent out in the dark...
p98 "...terrible power outside the laws of the sunlit world." goodness,
safety, tranquillity
p112 "White dusk Ged's uneasiness always grew". Darkness associated with
fear.
p113 Dead of Hode- "Day break makes all earth and sea, from shadow brings
forth form, driving dream to the dark kingdom.
dark soul-weakness, uncertainty, fear
p132-Serret's face was bright and shadowy from the candle
p134 "...the unborn and the undying, the bright world and the dark one...
unborn(still innocent)--bright world
undying (evil)----------dark world
p156 darkness--terror--desolation -goat hide now tatters and black grease
cirle were light
p163 "We had left the sunlight of the new day behind him on the open sea.
All was dark here.
The Shadow-a quest.
p180 Light is power -sunlight and starlight are time, and time is light
p198 terror through the dark twilight
p195 Naming the shadow of his death with his own name
-Service of ruin, or pain, or hatred, or dark
It was quite obvious the imagery that was being used in this story.
Often talked about was light and darkness. Darkness seemed to represent
evil and most of all, danger. The light was used to represent goodness and
power. The whole book was packed with the imagery of light and darkness on
every page. I wasn't able to record even a quarter of the light and
darkness imagery used. I recorded the most important of the imagery used.
Treasure Island
This was an exciting adventure about Jim Hawkings, a young boy who
accompanied Long John Silver (a pirate with a wooden leg ) to find a buried
treasure on a desert island. The only problem was that Long John Silver and
his pirates that became the crew of Jim Hawkin's boat turned on them so
that they may get the buried treasure. Most of the pirates ended up dead.
All but Long John Silver who remained captive. Due to the bond that built
up between Jim and Captain Silver Jim set the Captain free. Long John
promised that if Jim set the captain free. Long John promised that if Jim
ever wanted to go back to search for the rest of the buried treasure than
Long John would gladly accompany him.
I thought this book was great. Even though I know that pirates do not
exist, in the story I almost believed that they did. Parts of the story
were very moving as Jimmy and Long John built their bond. This book gave me
an idea about the capabilities of greed and what they can do to people. In
most cases the result was death.
The Jungle Book
This was an enchanting story about a boy named Mowgli. He was a boy
that was raised by wolves. He learns the ways of the animals. The book
opens with an old story teller reminiscing of a time years ago when a young
child from the village wandered into the jungle pursued by a cruel tiger.
All thought that the child was lost, but after many years, he returns as a
boy of twelve. His name is Mowgli, "The little Frog". he quickly learns the
ways of the village, but mowgli is of the jungle, having a special
relationship with the animals there and knowledge of the jungle's secrets--
one of which is the location of the fabled city of kings and its lost
treasure. Buldeo, the wise man of the village, and his cohorts try to force
Mowgli to take them to the treasure, but their greed leads them to their
eventual down fall.
I loved the way that the characters came to life: Bagheera, the
practical clever panther; Baloo, the old bear and the wisest of the
animals; Kaa, the rock-python, crafty and devious; and the fearsome Shere
Khan, the killer tiger and Mowgli's sworn enemy. I enjoyed the different
setting which triggered my imagination such as the mysterious, dark-green
jungles to the ancient, ruined city of Kings, to the peaceful Indian
Village where Mowgli is adopted. This book leaves loads of room for
imagination which is essential for every childs mind development. I
recommend this book to any child.
Charles and the Chocolate Factory:
It all started as Willy Wonka offers a grand prize of a guided tour of
his factory and a lifetime supply of sweets that was to be given to five
lucky winners. The winners were decided by the placement of five golden
tickets inside Willy Wonka's famous chocolate bars. Charlie bucket and his
Grandpa Joe were of the five lucky winners. Lots of mischief happens as
Willy Wonka gives his tour of the chocolate factory which reveals his many
secrets. Willy Wonka attempts to single out the most honest of the winners
by misleading the dishonest to get rid of them. Charles and his grandpa
were the only ones left. It turned out that it was just a scam so that
Willy could find someone to give the business to. He chose Charlie Bucket.
This was a fantastic book for young readers. There is loads of
excitement and keeps to the intended lesson that all childrens books seem
to have. The lesson was that honesty is everything. The quote that the book
uses is "sweetness of the heart surpasses that of a candy bar and honesty
is more important than the inventions and the products of a zillion candy
wonderlands."
Week Three: Heroes and Heroines
Jim Hawkins- Treasure Island
-scared
-brave- untied the ship
-honest- couldn't break his promise
(even to Long John Silver)
-Trusting- believed in Long John Silver
-would have believed any one
-Gullible- fell for every one of Long John's lies
Long John Silver- Treasure Island
-dishonest- pirate
-brave- leader
-willing to break a contract as soon as it is possible to break
them
-untruthful- threw every lie at Jimmy
-nice at heart- would have done anything so that Jimmy Hawkins
wouldn't think that he was dishonest- could not even steel
in front of Jimmy
-ruthless
Willy Wonka- Charles and the Chocolate Factory
-childish
-intelligent- in his methods to find the right child to take
the business
-perhaps lonely
-independent- had his workers only
-enthusiastic
-rude to the people that were rude to him
Mowgli- The Jungle Book
-quiet
-childish
-thinks like an animal
-cunning
-playful
-exciting
-daring
-courageous and brave
Thousandfurs- Thousandfurs
-from Rare treasures from Grimm
-determined
-beautiful
-mysterious
-princess personality
-passionate
-polite
Clever Daughter- Peasants Clever Daughter
-from Rare treasures from Grimm
-smart (clever)- figures the riddle out
-peasant
-Loving -Loves the King.
-Likes to help people- helped another peasant with a good come
back for the king
Week 3- #2
I have noticed that male characters had extremely strong character
traits. They usually had something about them that distinguished them from
all other people. This enhanced the male protagonists strong qualities. On
the other hand I noticed that the female protagonists all possessed strong
characteristics but they weren't nearly as strong as the male protagonists.
Instead of being strange and weird and sometimes strong, the female
protagonists were often beautiful and well mannered. The males were the
attention grabbers and the females were the type that your imagination
wanders in to. Females were usually more dreamy such as princesses
Personally Created Characters:
Male Character:
The Good Troll -ugly -wants to be liked but is too ugly -good with his
hands -creative -intelligent dexterous -quick and agile -kind -loving to
forest creatures -nervous/ paranoid -kind
Female character:
The stuck up princess -beautiful -demanding -snobbish -deceitful -selfish -
spoiled -cold hearted -capable of obsession -dishonest -untrustworthy -loud
-blunt
Life Like Animal:
Weasel Detective -Smart -Sly -Good Instincts -intimidating -cool -laid back
-willing to be dishonest -anything to solve a case
week 3- #4
The trees began to get more dense and the sun was starting to go down as
the three female hikers continued their journey through the hill side.
"It's getting dark. I think we better set up camp," said Jean. She was
tired from the long days walk.
They had started to set up their tents and things were starting to get
darker.
"It also might be a good idea to start up a fire", Jean said as she
tripped over a log.
Leanne started picking up some fire wood just outside the camp when she
noticed a slight glow off in the distance. She decided to check it out. She
began walking towards the glow. It was a fire. As she got closer she
noticed that there was no one sitting around it. She began to walk closer
when she felt something cold grab her hand. A loud shriek came from Leannes
mouth as she turned around.
There standing about four feet high was a troll.
Leanne jumped back, only this time she did not scream. She was too
afraid.
He was the most ugly thing she had ever seen in her life. He had warts
all over his face. She wasn't sure whether his skin was really dirty or it
was naturally an earthy colour. By the smell of him she concluded that it
was dirt. All he wore was a rag. His hair was dry and rug-like. Then she
noticed something really peculiar about him. He had a yellow flower on the
front of him. When she looked into his eyes she did not see a fierce angry
creature but rather a gentle one. He almost gave a hint of sadness. A soft
smile drew upon the trolls face as a chipmunk scurried up onto his shoulder.
He reached out his hand but she didn't know what to do. Finally she reached
out hers and he helped her up.
Week 4- Changing Times
There are many similar qualities that can be found in many of the
traditional stories for children.
First of all I have noticed that the purpose of these childrens books
are not really to tell you a story but to rather teach children. Today's
childrens books make learning much more interesting than listening to a
teacher. When they try and sound out the words they can see the picture
that the words are describing. The pictures may give them an idea of what
the words are. These books help them to learn as well as teach them to read.
I also noticed that instead of teaching lessons they are trying to teach
the more basic things such as simple reading. It also helps the children to
recognize different things and animals after they have read the word.
I also noticed that many of the animals have been brought to life in
order to catch the children's attention. Sometimes even objects like cars
and trucks came to life. These books were packed with pictures. There were
plenty more pictures than words. When there were words they were printed
with huge letters which takes the stress off trying to figure out what the
words say. If the children see lots of words with small letters they get
discouraged.
Old Stories ³New stories
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
-teaches ³-teaches
-how to do things ³-how to do things
-cleaning habits ³-cleaning
-things not to do ³-coloured pictures
-colourless pictures ³-lessons in life
-lessons in life ³-extra characters
-objects come to life ³-imaginary characters
-very simple stories ³-more imagination
-repetitive ³ needed
-boring ³-interesting
³-parents telling children what
³ to do
³-guidance
³-do chores
³-more description
³-repetitive
³-complex stories
³-more story line
³-action
³-excitement
³
³
The world is changing quickly. There is so much happening and so much
excitement in this world and so many distractions. Children have been
spoiled with excitement and new technology. It takes a lot now a days to
keep a child occupied. They would rather play with a computer. Writers had
to compromise with the changing times. They had to make their writing more
interesting to keep the children reading. The writers had to use their
imagination more so that the children can use theirs. I am glad that the
lessons are still being taught in the modern books. I have also noticed
that there are also a lot of violence and things in books that are not good
for impressionable children to be reading. In one of the presentations in
front of the class, I believe it was Joe's, he spoke of the modern version
of "The three pigs". Only in this version the wolf was lying and saying
that the pigs have their story all wrong. What kind of impression of a
lying wolf going to have on the children. I prefer the old childrens books
for when ever if ever I have children. They are perfect for the
impressionable children.
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