Davis, Alliah


Contact Info: alliah.davis@wayne.edu

Major: Nursing

Interest Pertaining to this Course: Fairy Tales of a wide variety, Folk Tales.

Fairy tale Analysis of: Rapunzel

Rapunzel3

 

I would like to use these two pictures for my analysis in some way I'm just not sure how to yet. Any suggestions??

 

Analysis Paper

 

FINAL PAPER

An entire new piece on "Hansel and Gretel".

     Three Secondary Sources: Hensel and Gretel

      Topic: I'm still a little unsure on what topic i plan on using that's why i haven't posted anything. That's another reason why I haven't posted a thesis yet either but, I will psot them really soon I'm working on them at this moment. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINAL PAPER 

 

Alliah Davis

FRE 2991

04/21/2014

As you read this paper it will begin to assess the different roles each character takes on as the story changes hands. Meaning how the story changes as it is being told by different people, in different times and to different audiences. I will be analyzing the difference between the story that the Grimm brother’s tell and the story that Disney tells/portrays. Now I won’t be able tell you everything on the subject because let’s face it this will go from being a paper to becoming a novel. So in the next few pages I will tell you who’s version I relate to more, who’s I believe is better and why, and why I believe the story has changed so much is the past few years. Hopefully by the end of this paper you’ll understand my position on this subject and begin to take your own. If not at least you will walk away from this paper having learned something new or at least knowing something or thinking about something differently than you previously have.

However here’s a brief description of the Grimm brothers version and of Disney’s version……

In the Grimm’s version the mother figures is actually a step mother. Whereas in the Disney version it’s actually their real mom. Also in the Disney version they are sent into the woods for berries to eat. In the Grimm’s version they are taken into the woods and abandoned. In the Grimm’s version they find their way back the first time and are taken back into the woods. In the Disney version they do not find their way back. In the Grimm’s version the stepmother is seen as mean and selfish but, in the Disney version the mother is sought as only trying to feed her kids and makes a mistake by sending them into the woods and not going herself. That in itself shows you that “real mothers are innocent and had no intension of getting rid of her kids she only wanted them to replace the berries”. On the other hand “stepmothers are evil, devious, and selfish and wanted to get rid of her step children once and for all”. As you can see both versions of this is very different and is told by two different people. This brings me to first topic.

First I will start off by explaining why different people feel the need to tell the same story over and over but changes minor details of the story. Think of it like this, humans are sort of like printer information goes they feel the need to let that information out. Get it? If not here’s another way of thinking about it. When you were a kid and your playground friend would tell you a story you would feel the need to tell someone else what you know. The thing is as you told the story you would only tell parts that mattered the most to you or interested you the most. That’s how a person who writes or tells fairy tales for a living feels. They become so wrapped up in these stories they start to want to tell the story themselves. Only thing is they really only want to tell the parts they like. So this may mean changing a few of the details to fit a new genre, a new group of people, or a new place better than the old story did or could. This brings me to my second topic.

Changing the details may not only be for them, it may also be for their audience. See as years past people change. Kids become more and more interested in fairy tales they can relate to or that can keep their interest for more than five seconds. So if this means allowing the kids to find their way back home the first time (Grimm’s version). Or not sending them into the woods but making it seem as if went into the woods as part of a chore (Disney version). Than that’s what you have to do. Changing these stories weren’t only for the benefit of the children in the audience but, also for their parents and making a profit. This is because parents call the shots if they don’t like the moral of a story or the message behind one then most likely they won’t take their kids to see it thus sales go down and no money will be made in the process. So you find a way to appeal to them as well. That’s why you make the movies/ story more modern that way they don’t feel as if they are wasting their money on the same story/movie. This brings me to my third topic.

No two versions of the story are the same. Meaning the version told in the 1800’s is way different from the version being told in 2014. I believe this is because the generation of people has changed dramatically. As a whole we have been through a lot so we don’t want to hear the same ole stories from way back when. I know I personally don’t even like to watch old movies so there is now way I want to hear an extremely old version of Hansel and Gretel. Plus as the years go on the younger generation grow up and become the ones telling the story. Meaning the setting, plot, and over all moral of the story changes with them. This may happen for the simple fact that has human being we go through different things at different times. Thus the stories that are being told changes as well to fit the people it is being told to and the time it is being told in. Now I was born in the 90’s meaning so the version that was being told then is completely different from the version of 2014. The reason I’m telling you what year I was born in is for the simple fact that in the early 90’s a lot was still going on when it came to power and race. Meaning I don’t really care for stories that are strictly made for making money and have no type of message behind it what so ever and if it does I want the message to make a statement.

With all of this being said the version I relate more is the Grimm’s version. This is because it’s a little more original. Now I know they changed some parts but the way they went about doing this made it almost unnoticeable. As a child this is the version that is closes to the version I remember hearing. Some may think the Grimm brothers are to cut throat for most children stories but in reality they just say the things that everyone is think about the stories but won’t say. You don’t really have to use context clues when it comes to them because they just put it within their story. That’s one of the problems with Disney they sugar coat everything. Leaving you guessing about what’s going on within the story. This is also one of their ploys in order to get you to buy into them and whatever else they have planned. Because let’s face it Disney is known for their sequels. Now as far as I know they haven’t made a sequel to Hansel and Gretel but, who’s to say they don’t have their hand in the made for theaters version of Hansel and Gretel.

That brings me to my next topic. As you can tell by now I like the Grimm brother’s version better and I’m going to tell you why. The reason I like the Grimm’s version better is for the simple fact that Disney takes everything and turns it into a commodity. Meaning they take everything and change it and turn it into something they think will really sell. In other words they commercialize it. Some stuff isn’t meant to be commercialized. When you do that to some stuff you take the value away from it, you take the meaning out of it. Now I know some may think “how can a fairytale story have value or meaning?”. They can have both of these by their context. It doesn’t matter how old they are or who told them but, they are a part of our child hood. Fairytales are those things that our parent told us, they are that special moment we had as children. They also helped us create a special bind with our parents, friends, and other loved ones. Grimm brothers may have put their own little twist on the stories but they didn’t change the moral of the story or the underlying message. Disney on the other hand only thinks about how they can make a quick buck off of a story. That’s why they are so big on selling the story to children as a wonderful and exciting story they make children want to buy everything about this story. Instead showing these children the true meaning behind these stories.

This brings me to my last topic. Over the past few years stories like Hansel and Gretel has changed a lot. The reason being I believe is for the simple fact like I previously stated is because of the people who are telling it, the audience it’s being told to, and how it’s been adjusted to the times over the years. But there’s one reason I believe it has changed that I did not previously motion and that is the original story itself could just get out dated. This makes it where the person writing about it or telling it has to change it in order to make it back relevant again. Fairytales are like clothes they get reinvented ever year to fit the newest trend. Whether this trend is a child audience or an adult one.

In Conclusion I know that either way it goes fairytales has to change. I may not be a big fan of the updated versions but I know if they aren’t updated these tales wouldn’t get passed down and they may strive up and fade away. And honestly I don’t want that so if Disney has to commercialize these stories to keep them alive then so be it. We all know that Disney isn’t going anywhere so they mine as well entertain our kids while they’re at it.

 

 

Work Cited

"FROM GRIMM TO DISNEY Fairytales and All." : Hansel and Gretel. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

"SurLaLune Fairy Tales: The Annotated Hansel and Gretel." SurLaLune Fairy Tales: The Annotated Hansel and Gretel. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Zipes, Jack. Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion: The Classical Genre for Children and the Process of Civilization. New York: Wildman, 1983. Print.