As the
journey of English 575 nears an end, several thoughts come to mind. I am happy to have had an opportunity to get
out of my comfort zone in regards to expanding my knowledge of varying versions
of fairy tales. As far as addressing the
assigned fairy tale readings, I was reminded how my dad would patiently read a
large stack of books to my sister and me every night, bringing back extremely
fond memories. I am happy to have had an
opportunity to read and analyze various versions of the multiple tales.
Last Assignment:
A major
concern of mine since the beginning of the class has been to consider the age appropriateness
of some of the versions of fairy tales, particularly in the area of familiar
classic tales such as Little Red Riding
Hood. Early in the class, after
reading just a few of the unfamiliar versions of LRRHI, I, personally, have gone from being stunned and uncertain if
I actually wanted to read more, to looking for additional tales to examine on
my own. The same question throughout the
quarter continued in my mind as to whether children should read some of the
varied versions of a particular tale, primarily because of my limited
background and thought that fairy tales were “just for children,” proving once
again that one is never too old to learn or to try something new.
As far as a
tale of a work such as Hansel and Gretel,
I now understand that no matter what version of a tale an individual chooses to
read, he or she should be prepared to not only examine that one carefully, but
to be prepared to look for many other versions of the same story. I am now thoroughly convinced that fairy
tales endure, not only because of the adventure and entertainment they provide,
but because of the ability for fairy tales to expand and intrigue the
imagination. Far beyond the basic story,
lies an ability for the tale itself to promote lasting values and a thought
process that has a power and an ability to help even children deal with
internal conflicts which they might have to encounter at certain points in
their lives. How else could one be able
to explain the appeal and countless rereading of Hansel and Gretel in which innocent children are sent into the
woods to die of starvation? Who really
knows just how many children (reading an adventure like this one) have been
shown how to deal with a struggle that may be a part of their daily life?
Because
children often ask questions after reading a fairy tale, they are truly
afforded an opportunity to survive a kind of psychological mission, one that
might surface when inner struggles arise between positive and negative
forces. The young reader is allowed to
not only become sensitive to others, but an opportunity to ultimately become
better adults, convincing me that there must be a place for the continued
reading of not only Hansel and Gretel,
but many other tales as well.
Term Paper:
Debbie
Guidry
Dr.
Rufleth
English
575
13 May
2017
To Read or Not to Read
Many memories of early childhood
readings go immediately to stories with happy endings, including many familiar
well-known fairy tales. While wanting
children to read, “And they all lived happily ever after,” in real life
misfortunes occur, making perfect endings not possible. More often than not, reality and fairy tales
may be miles and even decades apart. Fairy tales have been around for hundreds of
years, with parents telling or reading the tales at bedtime. These same stories were being read in school
and viewed in the movie theaters or watched from a DVD. While adults should be mature enough to know
that what they read and view might be nowhere close to what happens in real
life, young children may not be able to readily succeed at this endeavor. The role of fairy tales in schools has long
been a discussion topic in schools, with some of the exchange of views even
dating back to around 1800. The debate
seems to be reemerging as some parents are preparing to shelter their children
from violence and fears in real life, with some parents even relocating their
families to live in different neighborhoods.
This same mentality appears to be emerging even in literature with
parents choosing for their children to read watered-down, softer versions of
original fairy tales. Fairy tales are
under the microscope, and clearly the time may have come to truly examine the
impact and contents of fairy tales.
While typical tales do, according to
Joseph Campbell, an author who wrote The
Hero With a Thousand Faces, talk about “universal human truth” (Campbell),
characters in assorted tales are usually different in some way, even though their
plots are often quite similar in nature.
In theory, fairy tales stick close to the hero’s journey, especially in
Campbell’s work, and he thinks this might be a desirable thing for children to
hear and or read (Campbell). He thinks
children should be encouraged to not only dream, but to be allowed to dream BIG,
with the hope in later adult life to be able to journey from home and allowed
to fulfill all of those dreams. However,
even Campbell admits that a few tales may actually be too far moved from
reality, and that they may even scare some children. If fairy tales can increase the imagination
of a child, perhaps a child being given a way to remove himself from reality
might also be deemed a good thing. Perhaps additional education at this point may
be necessary so the young reader of fairy tales understands the full picture
and lessons that can be gained from the tale.
Stories
have been shared through multiple family generations as a way to pass down
information that will put emphasis on values, manners of the time and place in
which they were initially recorded (Zipes, 1988). In general, “Fairy tales are universal and
ageless, most of the time sharing common features and identical themes, whereas
sometimes they differ profoundly from one culture to another (Dieckmann 1971). Bettelheim mentions that because each fairy
tale is like a magical mirror reflecting some aspects of an inner world, the tale
is able to present steps necessary to move a reader from immaturity to maturity
(Bettelheim).
As early as 1903, in a manual for
parents of school aged children, Dr. Karl Oppel was absolutely against telling
fairy tales to children, often protesting against the author’s views (Oppel). She was so opposed that she included some
paragraphs of her own to replace the parts with which she felt not appropriate
for children to read or even have read to them, but that being said, fairy
tales have clearly been being told for hundreds of years. Cinderella
has about 700 versions while little
Red Riding Hood has over fifty-eight popularly read versions. Through the reading of many of these tales
and assorted versions, children are sometimes able to work through struggles
that may come up in their own lives. “A
consistent message from fairy tales that confronts children is that a struggle
against difficulties is unavoidable, but if one steadfastly meets unexpected
hardships and masters obstacles, then, they would be victorious in the end”
(Joyce).
Even though parents may be
encouraged to read fairy tales to their children, they may not fully understand
the importance or the amount of information that a child might receive. According to howweelearn, “Eight concrete
reasons exist that will help children become brilliant.
- Fairy tales teach morals and help children discover right from wrong.
- Fairy tales give adults a chance to introduce critical thinking skills.
- They build vocabulary and introduce children to culturally rich language.
- Fairy tales build imagination.
- While bad things happen in fairy tales, most provide the ideal that in the end,good will win.
- Fairy tales introduce big emotions in a safe environment.
- Fairy tales provide an entire story structure (plot, setting, characters, incitingevents, climax, and resolution) in a relatively short story.
- Above all else, fairy tales open a world of fantasy, adventure, and magic to our children” (howweelearn).
Many
kindergartens across the country, such as Oak Meadow Learning Center, include the reading of fairy tales and the
currently provides prepared curriculums, complete with a resource course book
that is sent home to parents as a guide on how fairy tales can be enjoyed by
the whole family, especially children.
If someone examines an original
Brothers Grimm fairy tale, he may be a bit surprised or even shocked at a
particular tale, as some of the stories show individuals dying, drowning and
even killing innocent people. In the
movie, Ever After, that stars Drew
Barrymore, in the end the story shows that they did live happily ever after,
but more importantly, showing that they did live. As parents, guidance is essential when
reading fairy tales to their young ones, so that the youngsters can understand what
is truly important within the tale.
According to Delaney McKesson, many
negative implications emerge from fairy tales.
She insists, “that fairy tales produce low self esteem, unrealistic
ideas of love, an outdated sense of reality, an extreme misunderstanding of
good vs evil” (McKesson). Further
skepticisms indicate that a woman should not have to be rescued by a prince,
nor should looks and beauty be so strongly brought to the forefront.
According to Bruno Bettelheim in The Uses of Enchantment, he talks about
how fairy tales present life’s problems in order to assist and to guide the
appropriate development of children. As
a child grows to maturity, he or she must be given specific guidelines as to
how to overcome unfair obstacles. As
Bettelheim concludes, “Fairy tales are either good or bad, nothing in between. That way, it is easier for children to
comprehend the difference between the two” (Bettelheim). For example, in Finding Nemo, most children who watch the movie should be able to
understand that they must listen to their parents in order to avoid danger.
Recent headlines from major
newspapers were yelling for schools to get rid of fairy tales within the
curriculum. Now a trending idea
concerning fairy tales seems to be to teach young school aged students how to deconstruct
the stories. Although fairy tales are
sacred to many, and have been handed down, some tales still may not have an
effect on the reader. However, when
children do hear fairy tales, they are frequently able to put themselves in the
place of a character in the work itself.
Is life really so bad if a little girl wishes to grow up and be a
princess?
An individual does not have to have
an affiliation with any particular group in order to have an objection to the
reading of Grimm fairy tales. Sometime
after World War II, a movement began in the United States to put “wholesomeness”
(Acocella ) back into children’s books.
Parents were encouraged to protect the mental health of their children
when they were reading tales to their children by pointing out any “poisonous
stereotypes” (Acocella) that might exist.
Fairy tales, for the most part, have
been considered as fairly simple constructions that will teach that inner
beauty is equally as important outer beauty, not to eat poison apples, and not
to talk with strangers. Adaptations of
fairy tales perhaps are taking a new approach by searching for the real story
behind the fairy tale, which can be totally different from the original version
of the tale. The trend goes a step
farther when a fairy tale is explored for what is meant if this tale would be
in a modern world, creating an interest in teaching fairy tales in today’s schools.
Because many adults still insist on
viewing children as totally innocent and a bit naive, keeping a child a child and
free from worry is definitely important.
However, confusion will surely arise if a fairy tale presents itself as innocent,
but later, when an unexpected twist occurs, the reader may be reeled in and then,
suddenly discover that the expectations of the living happily ever after may no
longer exist. Common wisdom from one
generation to another is still important to be shared. Fairy tales are supposed to be universal and
timeless, and able to share happiness, while still appealing to every age
bracket. According to Bruno Bettelheim,
reading fairy tales is critical to allow children to project, to offer
knowledge of life from the inside, to help dispel fears, and to correspond to
that particular child’s thinking and experience,
A descriptive qualitative study
performed by P. Tsitsani, aims to describe the opinions of parents and
children’s preferences regarding storytelling with the overall majority of
interviewees of the study acknowledging their strong belief in the power of
fairy tales. “According to this detailed
study, most parents used the specific storytelling as an instructive tool, in
order to soothe their children’s anxieties or to or set examples for them (Tsitsani). Of particular interest in the study is that
children seemed to pick classic fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood, to read over the modern ones. The children in the study were mostly
fascinated by a favorite character, and really wanted to talk about that one
individual. All of the parents in the
study seemed to agree that their children were often amused, and even at times,
affected in some way by the particular tale being told. Even when villains were talked about, most
children wanted to punish them and were content that the villains were
punished. From the data, only a few
children stated that cruel punishment of a villain frightened them (267).
Somewhat interesting in this same
study was the structured interview guide.
Questions asked in the guide included:
“Do you believe in the
power of fairy tales?
Do you prefer reading or
narration?
What kind of fairy tales
does your child prefer?
What do you think is the
main purpose of a fairy tale?
Does your child seem
pleased when reading a fairy tale?
What does your child
think about villains?
What does your child
feel when the villain is punished?
Do you consider fairy
tales instructive?
In what ways do fairy
tales affect your child?
When you were a child,
did you listen to fairy tales?” (268).
Further
findings in Tsitsani’s study conclude that fairy tales have long been a part of
children’s day to day lives. Even Zipes
agrees, as he adds, “For children stories represent one of the most important
cultural and social events of their life, functioning as instruments of socialization
and acculturation” (Zipes 1988). Included
in the study is Bettelheim’s strong belief that children’s literature
stimulates mind and personality development, providing young readers with the
mechanisms of coping with their inner problems, life’s stresses, and their
anxieties (Bettelheim 1976). An
additional finding compares fairy tales to a compass, noting that a map exists
to assist children in finding the road to love, power, and privilege, while at
the same time preparing a way for the child to return safely to his or her
home. This is indeed a powerful argument
for allowing children to continue to be allowed to read fairy tales
(Tsitsani). The study even presents the
idea that the reading of fairy tales could be therapeutic tool when treating
children with certain mental health issues.
Overwhelmingly, the majority of parents involved in the study said they
might need to spend more times sharing stories with their children, as they saw
the benefits and knowledge gained by their children merely listening to tales. Most all involved in Tsitsani’s qualitative
study additionally agreed that when fairy tales were read to or by children,
current trends tend to highlight their great significance in children
(Tsitsani). To summarize best the
findings from this study-fairy tales are of great importance in the life of a
child and most parents agree.
Fairy tales remain a staple in many
households. Parents, no doubt, will continue
to read bedtime stories and will continue to take their children to the latest
Disney remake. A little girl will still
dress up like a princess waiting on her Prince Charming to bring the slipper
that will most definitely fit. Lessons
will continue to be learned, and intelligent children will understand that they
must obey their parents, and they will also learn that a book cannot be judged
by its cover. However, many of the fairy
tales carry some baggage with potential negative effects, often leaving out the
many hardships and frustrations that can evolve, for example difficulties in
love. However, as long as the
possibility exists for the prince and princess to wed and never argue, the
desire to live happily ever after will keep children and adults yearning to
read fairy tales. Perhaps instead of
eliminating fairy tales from nighttime reading and school curriculums, the
writers of fairy tales may need to write new ones or modify old versions, while
the movie makers, including Disney, may need to insure that the right moral
lessons are appropriately presented, assuring that the legacy of fairy tales
continues for future generations. Even
the master mind, Albert Einstein, believed, “If you want your children to be
intelligent, read them fairy tales. If
you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
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