SJNY100-Fairytales/Folk Tales

Thanks to this class, I have come to the conclusion that fairytales do matter and teach plenty to people of all ages. Although many view them as stories that simply entertain children, they also educate them on matters such as proper behaviors and how to treat others, and makes them more aware of their emotions. Fairytales go through human feelings and experiences in a magical world which has solutions and answers, and allow listeners and readers to figure out how to solve their own problems or make their situations better. In the past, they helped form a community, with storytellers speaking to family members of all ages, and this ensured that adults too could take away the meaning and lessons of the tales. Even after growing up, people remember the plots of fairytales and what they took away from them, proving that they leave a lasting impact. I think it is interesting to see how people take what they learned from them into their own lives.

One theorist I personally enjoyed was Maria Tatar, and I felt she did a great job on educating people about the importance of fairytales on the developing minds of children. She went over how they give kids freedom and choices, which helps them gradually mature. Tatar demonstrates that fairytales can be highly educational by making children use their imagination and recognize the importance of language- how words can cause emotions and be actions. Learning how to properly use language makes them more capable, which aids them in growing into smarter people. I felt that her exploration of these ideas helped me better understand why fairy tales continue to matter and how they shape young minds.

I was surprised at how differently fairytales were interpreted and meant to be presented, such as “Little Red Riding Hood.” When I was young I never thought that there would have been a much darker perspective on this tale, with a man seducing a young girl and taking away her virginity. Erich Fromm viewed it as a girl’s confrontation with adult sexuality, and Bruno Bettelheim viewed it as a story about a girl’s sexual awakening and coming-of-age. I think rereading it now in this class made these themes more apparent, but it was surprising to see the things you miss as a child when reading fairytales. This also helped me better understand how they were originally made to entertain adults, not teach children.

I was most interested in learning how distinct the literary versions of fairytales by authors such as the Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault were from the Disney movies, which I had mostly associated them with. For any fairytale we read that I had watched the movie of, I sought the difference between each take of it and how it evolved into its typically twentieth century edition that was made into film. For example, I thought it was interesting to read that Cinderella went to the ball on multiple occasions, that she forgave her evil stepsisters, and that she even married them off to noblemen in Perrault’s version. This differs from the Disney version where she only attends the ball once and is not seen forgiving her stepsisters towards the end of the film.

I think it would have been nice to go through all of the fairytales in our textbook. I found the articles to have been helpful in understanding the importance of fairytales as a whole, but would have preferred seeing the themes and lessons portrayed in each one available to us instead. I found that the tales themselves did a better job at teaching than some of the articles since we could see the examples right in front of us instead of reading about them in general. I also feel like they were much easier to read than the articles, which sometimes overcomplicated concepts and had difficult writing to understand. I think doing this in the future could help students comprehend the importance of fairytales more while simultaneously keeping them engaged and interested.

Fairy tales matter greatly because they are more than just children’s stories. Their magical elements are entertaining and support children’s imaginations, but they also teach children important life lessons. Fairy tales bring people together as well. These stories are passed down through generations and shared among families and communities. Anyone you meet will probably have knowledge of at least one fairy tale in common with you, and that is something that can be used to form a connection. Fairy tales are a very important part of our lives. The stories we read as children can really impact our lives and stay with us forever. 

I thought Bettelheim was the most interesting theorist we read about. His writing helped me better understand fairy tales because I agreed with what he was saying. I appreciated his explanation of how fairytales help children find meaning in life by using them to fulfill wishes and express fears. They also help children process their emotions in a way that is easy to understand by teaching them that life is not perfect and we will face difficult times, but we can overcome them. 

Something I learned that surprised me was how dark some fairy tales originally were. Some of these well known childhood stories have disturbing histories that were not child-friendly. In the past, it was common for these fairy tales to include murder, cannibalism, and rape. There are versions of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty that were very disturbing, but I found it even more shocking that some of these dark stories are still around today. For example, Bluebeard was very different from what I would expect to read in a book of fairy tales. 

What interested me the most about our topic was finding out that there are different versions of the same stories all over the world. It’s so interesting to think about how similar stories emerged in different cultures that otherwise have no connection to each other. I grew up reading some fairy tales, but I remember Disney movies the most. I found it very interesting to learn about the history of Disney stories and how some of them trace back to oral and literary traditions.

Something that I think would be worthwhile doing with the next class is reading a couple different versions of the same fairy tale to really understand the history of it. It would be interesting to analyze the similarities and differences between the versions. You could also learn about the context of each story (when and where it was written) to see how it affected the tale.

Throughout this semester I have come to the realization that fairytales are more than just stories for children. I believe that they are tools to people’s imaginations, help shape moral values, and give deeper insight to people’s own emotions. Fairytales help people to understand themselves. A lot of times, the stories are examples of human experiences with things like fear, courage, and hope distilled in them. Fairytales figure into people’s lives by modeling different behaviors like kindness and love. I think that they are symbolic and can relate to people’s lives and are stories that people can live out. 

Jack Zipes helped us to better understand fairytales because he showed us a more human charm to them. Instead of solely having these stories for entertainment, Zipes tried to explain why they were created and what they may have been trying to teach to their cultures and societies. He proves that these tales are created with real peoples hopes and fears in mind. He includes warnings about real world dangers and brings attention to the struggles of women and peasants. Jack Zipes helped his readers to understand that fairytales are more than simple tales. They are stories that shape and reflect the different societies and generations that tell them. 

I was extremely surprised to learn about all of the different versions of each fairytale. For my research paper I examined the different versions of the story Cinderella. I learned that in Europe alone, there are over 500 versions of the story. Cinderella is a popular tale but I can’t help but wonder if there are other fairy tales with even more. I also found it captivating to see how the tales vary based on who is telling the story, where the story is being told, and when the story is being told. I noticed that things like that can make all the difference in what version you receive. 

I found it most interesting how fairy tales were not originally written down. Each tale was passed from person to person through oral tradition. Because different people told the tales, they would all be slightly altered. Endings would be different, characters would be added, and details would be changed based on the storyteller’s style. The tellers of these stories would make changes unintentionally and make changes purposefully to adapt to the audience they are being told to. Although things differ from version to version, each one reflected values and fears of the societies and generations that had told them. Later on, some collectors, including the Grimms Brothers, put pen to paper and wrote them down. This made the tales more set in stone or fixed. This also made tales that were told in several different forms, become a single version. 

Finally, I think it would have been worthwhile to read more tales than articles. Personally, I really enjoyed reading the fairytales and diving deeply into them. I found a lot of the articles to be unengaging and tedious. I also think that future students would find it interesting to look into more parallels between the different versions of the stories. For my research paper, I investigated the different types of Cinderella stories. Although they were all relatively similar, I found it fascinating to see how each version differed. I would have loved to see how other fairy tales differed from version to version and find more parallels. I also would have liked to explore some more symbolism from the tales. There were a few things throughout the semester that I noticed and I am curious to see if my classmates saw the same or other symbolic pieces in the readings. 

Isabel Weiss 

In my opinion, fairy tales matter greatly. I feel as though fairy tales matter because they allow for us to take a step back from reality, and to fall into a world where anything is possible. They allow for us to experience the unthinkable, and for us to imagine all sorts of things, and bring those things to life. I feel that fairy tales figure into our lives because they are some of the first lessons we are taught. As children, we often read many fairy tales, and through that, we learn all of the great morals and lessons that fairy tales have to offer. At the young age we are when we read fairy tales, we are easily shapeable, and due to that, fairy tales often stick with us through our lives and the lessons they teach are often reflected upon as we continue to experience the world around us. 

One of the theorists we talked about was Bruno Bettelheim. He introduced the psychoanalytic way of reading fairy tales.  I feel as though he helped me better understand the concept that fairy tales help children grow emotionally. He believed that fairy tales confronted children and gave them a safe way to confront good vs evil, danger, jealousy and more. He also went over how fairy tales are necessary for child development. This helped me as this was the topic I chose for my final paper. Finally he helped me further understand the way that fairy tales allow for people to see the world around us.

Something I learned that surprised me was that fairy tales weren’t originally made for children. I thought it was interesting that they were originally made for adults. I also thought it was interesting that they were originally oral tales, and that they weren’t officially written down for years after that. Another thing that surprised me was that the versions of fairy tales we know changed a lot over time before they ended up the versions they are today. I think it’s cool to see how many generations the stories fairy tales went across, and to see all the different ways they told them. 

One thing that interested me, similar to above, was how much fairy tales changed from their original versions. I think it’s interesting how we changed a lot of our fairy tales from their very harsh, and gruesome versions, to more child friendly versions with happy endings, and happily ever after. The one that interested me the most was the original Little Red Riding Hood, versus the version we know today. Most of the parts that contained violence, and things young children should not hear, were taken out, and put into more simpler, and appropriate terms. We see one version that was more sexual, and violent, and another version that was simply innocent, and child friendly. It’s also interesting how when you read a fairy tale as an older version of yourself, you catch onto things you wouldn’t have noticed as a young child. It shows how the young mind of an innocent child works. 

Finally, I think it would be fun to include more video aspects in the class. I think it would be cool to watch some of the older versions of these tales, and if they weren’t filmed, maybe videos that exemplify the older version. I personally feel that watching something, and seeing images, helps me learn better. Another thing that could be brought into a future class could be an activity where you create your own character, or maybe modernize a fairy tale that we know into more recent terms. I also think it could be cool to work as a class to create one big in depth fairy tale. I know we did this here and there, but I think it would be fun to create a full fairy tale with lots of detail, and to come up with a lesson, characters, and plots together as a class.

Nielsen was born in 1886 in Copenhagen. Growing up, his parents were actively involved in the theater community, exposing Nielsen to a variety of famous figures such as Ibsen and Grieg. Despite his initial plan to move to Paris, at the age of seventeen he moved to Paris where he studied art for about ten years. Throughout his career, he was commissioned to paint various illustrations, such as “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” and Grimm brothers anthologies. During the time between the first and second World Wars, he worked in set design for the Copenhagen Royal Theater. His style was influenced by British artist Aubrey Beardsley, the Art Nouveau style, and Japanese woodcuts. His illustrations consisted of light pastel color palettes, flat perspectives, and “graceful line work” in “vast, arctic terrains”.

Edmund Dulac was born in Toulouse, France; and became known for his illustrations during what is called know, “The Golden Age” of Children’s Book Illustrations. Dulac was a passionate Anglophile, changing his name from “Edmond” to the more English “Edmund”. His works were mainly inspired by Oriental Designs and imagery.

Some of his well known works are for Sleeping Beauty, The Arabian Nights, Cinderella, Bluebeard, The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen.

His works are characterized by their watercolor nature, where background and foreground blend together just enough to create a unique visual identity, a blend of muted colors featuring a monochrome color scheme in quite a few instances.

This vibrant and dull being of Dulac’s works is what I like about it so much, it feels like it’s up in a museum; that maybe in some shape, way and form, these tales really did happen, maybe one day something similar could happen, and you’d just be whisked away.

Illustration Project, Walter Crane (1)

Isabel Weiss & Connor Scott

One day, a penguin, who was bored of where he lived, and his repetitive life decided to leave the arctic world and travel across the waters in his boat. After long weeks of traveling, he came across a forest. The forest looked very welcoming, and warm. As he exits his boat, he steps foot onto the land and begins to enter the forest. The forest was beautiful. Full of the greenest trees, and most amazing rays of light. As he continued on his journey, he came across a squirrel and a doe. He greets them kindly, and in return they do the same. They question why he is in the forest, and he explains to them how he was looking for a new start. For something more exciting. They give him a warm welcome and follow that with a great warning. They warn him that no matter what he does, he must not enter the large dark rock. The penguin thanks them for the warning, and continues on his way. Soon enough he comes across the great rock. It was magnificent in size, and was more intriguing than he could have imagined. He remembered what the squirrel and doe had told him, but his curiosity took over. He looked behind him to make sure nobody was following, and slid into the tunnel of the rock. When he came to the center of the rock he was amazed to find a cave full of treasure. He began picking things up and exploring all the cave had to offer. All was well until he heard a loud roar. He looked over his shoulder, and to his surprise a huge dragon stood behind him, he was too startled to speak. He began running as fast as he could. He ran and ran and ran until he saw the end of the forest and spotted his boat. He followed the shells back to the arctic and he was so happy to return. He realized that where he lived wasn’t so bad, and that it’s important to be grateful for what you have.

Once upon a time there was a princess seeking a suitor. Because of her beauty and wealth men came from far and wide with gifts to try to win the heart of the princess. First, a handsome prince came looking perfect from head to toe. He presented her with a gold silverware set that sparkled and a songbird with feathers of gold. She accepted his gifts with a soft smile, but something about them felt off somehow. Later, a thief arrived to try to woo the princess. He simply offered a tiny shell and a baby dragon that was no bigger than a kitten. He knew that what he was offering wasn’t much but, it was all he had and his most prized possessions. One morning, the princess noticed that her little piglet companion was missing. The prince simply dismissed her and offered to buy her a new one, but the thief, understood the value of the piglet and offered to help her search. As they ventured through the forest, they came across moose which seemed to protect and guide the princess through the forest. The moose seemed calm and kind and he offered protection to her. The moose led the princess and the thief to the little piglet, who was found safe and sleeping under a great tree. Later, the princess was reviewing each gift she was given by the men and noticed that the silverware was far too tiny to eat with and appeared to be dirty. The songbird with gold feather appeared to be voiceless and could not sing at all. The gifts given by the prince were pretty but held no use or meaning. After taking a closer look, the thief’s gifts held more value than she originally thought. The small shell had the power to eternal beauty and joy to the possessor and the dragon which has already grown to be the size of a table was gifted to her to be her vast protector. These gifts were real and genuine. The princess realized that the prince had only wanted her for her wealth and beauty but the thief, wanted her because of her kindness and desire for a genuine connection. The princess chose the thief not only for his gifts but because of his witty charm and their connection which was the true treasure. From that day on, they lived happily ever after.

I worked with Isabella Harvey