Childrens Fairy Tales
...r forget. In “The Ugly Duckling” they duckling goes “into the woods” until he grows into his true form, a swan. In the beginning, he is unwanted and is sent away. He wants to belong to his family, but they do not want him because he is ugly. During the winter, the duckling meets a few different people but still is not wanted because he is still not in his true form. He sees a group of swans flying and falls in love with them. It is not until springtime when the duckling is finally accepted. In the spring, the ugly duckling finally turned into a beautiful swan, and the same swans that the duckling had seen flying were the same swans that came to bring the new swan home. This story shows a child that he may not be accepted by all at first but as soon as he finds someone else like him, he will be accepted. In the story of “Snow White,” Snow White is kicked out of the castle by her stepmother and lives in a cottage. After she is poisoned and is lying in the coffin, we can see that Snow White needs to learn a few things before she can become a woman. These things are represented by the three visitors that she has while in the coffin. The owl brings her wisdom, the raven brings her the knowledge between reality and fantasy and the dove brings her innocence. Snow White does not awake until these things are learned and then she can be married. In “Hansel and Gretel” they had to leave home and go “into the woods” a few times. Their stepmother wanted them dead so the parents would not have to worry about feeding them. The first time they are brought to the woods, Hansel and Gretel find their way home by leaving a trail of small stones. Hansel seems to be the one who is taking care of Gretel but in the end it is the opposite. When they meet the witch in the woods, it is Gretel who saves Hansel by pushing her into the stove. This was a great achievement for the children and when they finally returned home after a long time in the woods, their stepmother had passed away. When Gretel pushed the witch into the stove is where the change in character occurs. In “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” the situation is a little different. In these stories, the parents have a much more direct influence on their children. Sleeping Beauty, for example, was raised surrounded by people who adored her and loved her, including her parents. Her parents were a king and queen who never had children so when Sleeping Beauty was born, they would do anything for her. When Sleeping Beauty turned 15, she, along with the rest of the kingdom, fell asleep. This represents that she should have been at the age to start getting ready for marriage and becoming a woman. However, she was not ready. So, she slept until she was ready, and the woods grew around the castle to protect Sleeping Beauty for anyone who would try to wake her too early. Her parents were so extremely happy to finally have a daughter that they did anything for her. Sleeping Beauty was perfect. She was sweet, kind, gentle and of course beautiful, mostly due to her parents’ affection and appreciation for her. In “Cinderella” Cinderella’s mother died when she was young and was buried in the backyard. Cinderella’s mother had a lot of influence on Cinderella, even after she died. Cinderella would often go to the place where her mother was buried to communicate with her. When her father went out of town, he brought her a twig that she asked for and planted it where her mother was buried. It grew into a tree, nourished by her mother, which later on protects and hides Cinderella. Cinderella’s father truly loved Cinderella but his actions were dominated by her stepmother. Later at the party with the prince, Cinderella runs away and hides. She is not yet “ready.” The second night, she runs away and hides in the pear tree. Her father goes and cuts down the tree, representing that Cinderella is now “ready.” The next night Cinderella loses a shoe and the prince comes to her house to see who fits the shoe. Both stepsisters try but it does not fit. The stepmother does not tell the prince about Cinderella; she tries to hide Cinderella. Her father is the one who finally brings Cinderella to try on the shoe and it fits. This shows ...