Fairytales: The Elements Of A Fairy Tale

Improved Essays
Fairytales create a world rather than an echo of a world, making it easier for any person to follow along to the storyline. Each one has a different aspect in its writing style that makes it develop its own significance and a desire to be read to a diverse audience. Because of this, Kate Bernheimer states that in order for a fairy tale to be created, it must have the elements of flatness, abstraction, intuitive logic, normalized magic. In each fairy tale, they must obtain at least one or more of these elements to captivate the reader to the story.
For a story to have the element of flatness, the characters were developed in the story, which makes them silhouettes of the fairy tale. For instance, in “The Little Red Riding Hood”, it is told
…show more content…
Intuitive logic occurs when a character or a situation is disregarded. Usually with this element, one situation or a character appears and another situation happens or a character with disappear, both with no explanation of why it happened. Normalized magic is possibly the biggest element that a writer can add to fairytale. It gives the story an enchantment feeling, and there “is no need for a portal because it is normal.” In a wizard story, there is usually a magical door that leads to a magical land; however, in comparison to other stories, there is no need for that extra aspect. In most fairytales it is common for animals or objects to talk naturally to the human characters. In Beauty and the Beast, the clock, the teacup, and other common items had a casually conversation with the beautiful human woman, yet she did not question why or how they were talking to her. Not only does this element have objects portraying humanistic characteristics, but normalized magic also falls into the category of spells, poisons, and spontaneous …show more content…
In the “The Mermaid in the Tree”, it contained the element of normalized magic since it was common for mermaids to appear and interact in the human world. Because the mermaid was an important of the whole story, normalized magic took on a major role as the center of the entire story line. Without the magic mermaid appearing on the beach, the story would be much realistic instead of a fairy tale. On the other hand, it did contain intuitive logic. For example, Axel was a few seconds from proposing to Desiree, a mermaid in distress appeared on the beach, and then they ran off together to start their lives. It never said why they ran off together or why Axel left Desiree. Another thing people notice in this story is that Axel is attracted to her beauty. We are told that the mermaid is beautiful with long, blonde hair; however, the flatness left the readers questioning is that the only that is significant about the mermaid is her beauty. Other fairy tales we have read in class, such as this one, forces the reader to examine fairy tales in a closer light with a better depth of understanding. Because of these element, it makes the story distinguish itself from other non-fictional stories by having different alternative conclusions, making it easier to be drawn into the story and follow the storyline

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Fairy tales grow from the life experience and the imagination of a particular group of people. They meet four basic human needs; explain mysteries, articulate fears and dreams, impose order and also entertain. Each tale consists of a theme that goes beyond the scope of the story while using the story as a foundation and a motifs or subject matter. Within the Little Red Riding Hood tales the motif of naivety or the loss of naivety prevails. In three different versions of the tale, the Little Red Riding Hood characters naivety is developed in three very different ways. In the Perrault version, the protagonist exhibits naivety from start to finish with no middle ground. The Delarue tale presents a protagonist that loses her naivety through the…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Fairy tale” is the term also used to describe something containing unusual happiness, like “fairy tale ending” a happing ending, or “fairy tale romance”, though not all fairy tales have a happy ending. According to Arthur Schlesinger, classical tales “tell children what they unconsciously know-that human nature is not innately good, that conflict is real, that life is harsh before it is, happy-and thereby reassure them about their own fears and their own sense of self” (229). Despite the fact that both Perrault and the Grimm brothers versions of Cinderella are fundamentally similar to each other, but the differences between them show two different moral universes.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fantasy is the genre of many books, and fairy tales can introduce children to it. Fairy tales can also expand a child’s imagination. The expansion of imagination can expand creativity, which can allow children to discover more options and ideas. People who are against fairy tales can’t find a argument to help them here一 you can’t argue against a introduction to fantasy and an expansion of imagination. When children find out that fantasy characters aren’t real (I argue they are--how do you know they aren’t?), they are simply growing up. As a result, children get introduced to the genre of fantasy, grow-up and get a bigger imagination due to fairy tale…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the Middle Ages, “all social classes believed in magic” (Zipes 53) but, primarily the “rise of the Christian Church” (Zipes 53) began the rise of magic in fairy tales. Christians exploited magic in fairy tales to codify what would be acceptable in their society. Magic emerges in fairy tales to give a mythical feeling throughout the story. In the fairy tale “Cinderella”, Cinderella would express a wish, and a bird would give “her what she wished for” (Grimm). To give the story an enchanting perception, a magical bird is granting Cinderella what she wishes for. Repeatedly in the fairy tale, the birds “gathered all the good grains” (Grimm) for Cinderella when she calls for them. The magical birds are in the fairy tale to give the story a mystical…

    • 1580 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Orenstein, in the original Cinderella story, Prince Charming falls for Cinderella’s gown and slippers but fails to recognize her face (285). Society’s expectations on what love and romance should be contradict the original fairy tales’ meanings. Orenstein backs her argument by referring to the “Mother Goose Tales,” and how cruelty, deceit, greed, murder, and nasty in-laws were present (285). Orenstein mentions these ideas because people saw these marriages as ideal when they were far from it.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is unassailable that Fairy tales are some of the most influential pieces of literature among children. Ever since the Renaissance, Fairy Tales have impacted Children by showing how to handle problems, by developing a child's imagination, and by teaching children how to develop emotional resilience. With their appeal to both adults and children and interesting themes, it is easy to see why various fairy tales have withstood the test of time. One of the iconic fairy tales that has truly withstood the test of time is “Beauty and the Beast”.…

    • 147 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    For instance in Yeh-Shen the old man/sage showed her the power of her deceased fish which lead her to the party. Also in Aschenputtel the hazel tree gives her the courage (throw her outfit and new appearance) to go to the three day festival. Many fairy tales have a significant magical elements that make the story whole. Still there are numerous differences in the tale.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fairy tales originally were used as a means to pass the time for adults doing tedious manual labor all day long. In that context, it is then understandable that there would be adult themes throughout the story to entertain the workers. By passing down tales such as this one through oral tradition, the folklorists “preserve[d] the flavor of narratives as they circulated”. (4) The “Little Red Riding Hood” story…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Growing up, almost all children were introduced to at least one of the many engaging fairy tales. If you pay attention, you will notice quite a few similarities in the classic tales and modern-day works. For example, Cinderella and Harry Potter both feature a child who was treated poorly by their step family. Cinderella finds an escape in communicating with nature and Harry Potter finds an escape in practicing magic. The story is ironic because Cinderella finds herself living happily, meanwhile Harry never quite finds his happiness.…

    • 87 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While many people think of fairy tales as a way of teaching kids different life lessons, and those people are not wrong, but fairy tales hold much deeper meaning and scripts that kids might not understand. This leaves the job to the adults to decipher and learn the story and see what the author had intentionally put there and in many cases unintentionally leave clues and behaviors that can be used to analyze the culture and people of that time era of the author. And of course, behind every great story there is an equally great teller/author; still no matter how great the author might be, there still is a singular point of view in which the reader…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Children expects that realistic story to reflect the workings of the actual world. Fairytales, on the other hand, are a mixture between realism and fantasy. The fantasy side of the story can’t be applied in real life but the lesson learned can be. Bettelheim believes, “fairy stories do not pretend to describe the world as it is, nor do they advise what one ought to do . . . the fairy tale is therapeutic because the patient finds his own solutions, through contemplating what the story seems to imply about him and his inner conflicts at this moment of life”…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Myths on the other hand, are tales that provide relatable heroes, who are able to achieve fantastic feats. Fairy tales are also a source of entertainment for young child, but they also provide a foundation that can open and stimulate a child’s imagination as well. Many fairytales, such as Sleeping Beauty help children develop strong intellect while clarifying a child’s emotions.…

    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For a long time people have been using fairytales to teach valuable life lessons. Naturally there are many different accounts of each fairytale, but the majority of people usually divide them between the traditional and modern versions. Referring to the traditional often means the harsh lesson connected to the works by The Brothers Grimm while modern refers to the happy animated Disney interpretations. Looking past the differences in how The Brothers Grimm and Disney like to mood their stories they both share the similar themes of what jealousy and cruel acts can lead to, the envy of the evil Queen in Snow White, the rage and vanity of Gothel in Rapunzel, and the greed of Cinderella’s stepmother and sisters; however, there seems to be a controversy…

    • 2031 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since most children can tell the difference between what is reality and what is fantasy they know fairy tales are fictional. Fairy tales are fun and exciting for kids to read because they show a fantasy world to the kids with princesses, mermaids, and many different mythical creatures. Without fairy tales children would probably not have as active of an imagination. With little imagination there would be less creativity in the world which could make for a boring future. The fantasy world of fairy tales inspires a child’s creativity and keeps them open-minded. As a child I loved being able to read and watch movies involving fairy tales, and I am a more creative person because of it. Taking the experience of enjoying fairy tales, and becoming more creative because of them, away from children today would be wrong because you never know what their creative minds could invent or write one…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I’ve always had the impression that fairytales were innocent stories of finding true love and living happily ever after, like the way Disney depicted them to be. I never thought about where these stories came from and the different themes and symbols that were relevant of that time. Some of the things I’ve learned about fairytales have not only shocked me, but has also made me reevaluate everything I know about fairytales.…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays