Analyzing Childrens Fairy Tales English Literature Essay

I think most of us know the story of Robin Hood. Little Red Riding Hoods grandmother is ill so Little Reds mother sends her to take her a cake (because cakes usually make ill people feel better?) Red meets a wolf in the forest and tells him where she is going. The wolf gets there before Red, pretends to be Red’s grandmother and eats both Little Red Riding Hood and the Grandmother. Here are your lessons to learn:

Hansel and Gretel is another well known fairy tale. Hansel and Gretel are the children of a very poor wood cutter. Their mother tells the wood cutter they don’t have enough money to feed the whole family so they take Hansel and Gretel and leave them in the middle of the forest. While the parents are taking Hansel and Gretel to the forest Hansel leaves a trail of bread crumbs to follow home but birds eat the bread. Hansel and Gretel are stuck in the woods and stumble upon a house made of candy. The house of candy is owned by a witch who lures children there and cooks and eats them. One day while preparing the oven Gretel says that she doesn’t know how to turn it on. The witch decides to show her but Gretel tricks her by pushing the witch in the oven and killing her. Hansel and Gretel find the witch’s treasure, run away from the house, find their ways home and live happily ever after. Hansel and Gretel provides us with some great lessons:

This fairy tale is about a farmer that sends each of his sons to cut wood in the forest. The first two come back because they ran into a troll who threatened to kill them. The third son, Boots, is then sent to chop wood. He runs into the troll but being quick on his feet he pulls out his cheese he brought with him and squeezed it until the milk ran out. Boots threatened to do the same thing to the troll so the troll helped Boots cut wood instead. When they were done cutting wood the troll invited Boots back to his home where he had porridge. They decided to have an eating match but the boy put more porridge in his satchel than into his stomach and cut a hole in the bottom. Meanwhile the troll kept eating and eating until he was full while Boots was not. Boots then suggested that the troll cut a hole in his stomach like Boots did to his satchel, that way the troll could eat more. The Troll cut a hole in his stomach and died then Boots took all his treasure. Boots teaches us many things.

1. It is always the best to be the third person to be sent to do something. The first two are always made examples of.

2. Always keep your wits about you in danger.

3. Trolls, witches, monsters, leprechauns, or any other monster you run into ALWAYS have treasures. So if you can figure out a way to kill them you’ll be rich.

The Gingerbread Man

In the Gingerbread Man an elderly couple decides to make a cookie that is shaped like a person. When they go to eat it the Gingerbread Man runs away. The Gingerbread man runs through the forest and along the way he meets a pig, a cow, and a horse that all chase him because they want to eat him. He’s still being chased by the elderly couple, the pig, the cow, and the horse when he comes to a river. He can’t cross the river because he knows that he’ll get soggy and fall apart. A fox then offers to carry the Gingerbread Man across the river. As the fox swims across he tells the Gingerbread Man the water is getting deeper and the Gingerbread Man will have to stand on the fox’s head to stay dry. Once the Gingerbread Man is on the fox’s head the fox tosses him up in the air and catches the Gingerbread Man in his mouth and eats him. What lessons does the little Ginger Bread man teach us?

1. When you are making baked goods do not give them legs.

2. Nobody likes a soggy cookie.

3. If you ever see a baked good running through the forest you are more likely to get to eat him if you pretend to help him rather than chase him.

Three Billy Goats Gruff

Three Billy Goats were on one side of a stream eating grass. They look to the other side of the stream and think the grass is greener and more delicious looking. They decide to cross the bridge to the other side even though a troll lives under the bridge. The first goat crosses the bridge and the troll stops him. The goat explains that there is a bigger goat coming next and he’ll be a bigger meal. So the troll lets the first goat continue. The second goat comes and again this goat is stopped by the troll. The second goat explains that the third goat is the biggest and will be a bigger meal. The troll lets the second goat continue on. The third and biggest goat crosses the bridge next. The troll stops the goat but the third goat is so large that he is able to butt the troll in the head and the troll falls into the stream and drowns. The Billy Goats teach us many things.

1. The grass is always greener on the other side. So much greener that you should even be willing to cross a bridge with trolls underneath.

2. If you’re a bully like the troll then be satisfied picking on (or eating if that is your thing) the smaller people.

3. If you’re traveling with friends always travel with someone bigger than you. Monsters will want to eat them instead of you and they are big enough to take on the monsters.

With these six fairy tales I have taught you many valuable lessons that you should take to heart. So if someone ever tells you to do something always make two people try first. And when you do attempt your chore take someone bigger than you with you. And if you see a Gingerbread Man running through the forest, offer to help before eating him. But if you see an entire house made full of Gingerbread Men then run far, far away! Man I should get paid for all this great advice.

How can the lessons learned from fairytales can be implemented in life?

Good vs. Evil: The implied Morality in Fairy Tales

Good vs. Evil is a theme often used to relay lessons of morality. Because the moral lessons in fairy tales are easy to comprehend, fairy tales are considered appropriate for children or young readers. Fairy tales especially use the good vs. evil theme to demonstrate morals to young minds. The Grimm’s “Snow White”, and Perrault’s “Cinderella”, and “Sleeping Beauty”, are some of the best examples of the theme of Good vs. Evil in fairy tales. Children and young readers are at an impressionable age and are intuitive learners. Therefore, exposing them to right and wrong can help them to develop a proper moral conscience. Teaching younger people proper morals through lessons learned in fairy tales and other areas helps society as a whole. These three tales have excellent uses of the classic good verses evil theme. This theme is relevant in relaying these important moral lessons to the reader, because good and evil is a topic which is instilled in everyone from a very young age.

Good, first is represented through the protagonist in these tales. All three characters not only have their stories named after them, they are the main focal point in their stories.

The evil represented in Sleeping Beauty is portrayed by the old Fairy bitter from not being invited to the christening, not being asked to be a godmother, and having not received the gift of the solid gold casket. That contained rubies and diamonds and other extravagant items. She shows her evil side during the story when she presents her gift to the young princess: “It was now the turn of the aged fairy. Shaking her head, in token of spite rather than of infirmity, she declared that the princess should prick her hand with a spindle, and die of it. A shudder ran through the company at this terrible gift. All eyes were filled with tears.” (p. 26 F&F Tales) The evil of course aimed at the female protagonist out of revenge towards the king and queen. The threat of death is a popular approach to take towards the princess type characters as seen in Snow White. Also the death of the protagonist is important in order for the Prince to rescue the princess and to give the tale a happy ending. Sleeping Beauty’s lesson has much to do with waiting for love, but has a moral lesson of working with a bad situation and making the best out of it. This is what the good fairy did when confronted with the curse bestowed upon the young princess. By allowing Sleeping Beauty to Sleep rather than die she not only saves her life but sets her up to be awakened by the prince. It is important to remember that fairy tales although glorified and fantasy do have relevance to our lives in that the lessons and morals do mirror life. With good must also be evil with life must also be death.

In contrast to the evil represented, Cinderella is portrayed as having all the characteristics of being “good”. Not only is she beautiful and kind, but forgiving as well, which is shown during the scene where everyone finds out that she is the beautiful girl and that the prince has been searching for her. Her two stepsisters throw themselves at her feet, begging forgiveness for the way they have treated her: “Cinderella raised them, and declaring as she embraced them that she pardoned them with all her heart, bade them to love her well in the future” (p. 44 F&F Tales). Cinderella’s forgiving nature allows her to overlook the mean and evil things that her step sisters have put her through in the past. This is an example of how the female protagonist has an overwhelmingly kind persona.

With good also comes evil and in these stories plenty of evil is represented. Evil in Cinderella comes about when Cinderella’s step-sister shows true distaste and condescension towards Cinderella during the story. This becomes evident when upon hearing how much fun the ball was Cinderella asks: “Oh please, Javotte, lend me the yellow dress which you wear every day.” To which her stepsister responds: ‘Indeed! … That is a fine idea. Lend my dress to a grubby cinder-clod like you-you must think me mad!'(43).