Cinderella Sleeping Beauty Snow White Analysis

Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White – fairy tale princesses we all know and love, but not all versions of these timeless stories are created equal. Authors of fairy tales use literary devices to convey their message, and while many do so expertly, some are merely subpar. Parents often struggle to choose which stories they should read to their kids, and for good reason. It is difficult to know which stories will teach children to have a strong moral code, and which will be forgotten by the next day. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s version of Cinderella has long-lasting educational and therapeutic value through teaching children the influence people can have on others, the transformative nature of words, and, as Arthur Schlesinger is quoted as …show more content…
In the absence of her mother, Cinderella’s father remarries with a cruel woman with two equally cruel daughters who ridicule Cinderella and constantly give her an unfair number of chores, especially during the king’s ball. Pigeons flew in the windows every night to help Cinderella with her chores and remind her of the tree on her mother’s grave, which gives her beautiful clothes and a horse drawn carriage to ride to the ball. Cinderella’s mesmerizing beauty captured the eyes of all who beheld her. At midnight she rushed out of the ballroom because the magic that gave her beautiful clothes had begun to wear off. One of Cinderella’s golden slippers fell off and was left behind. Since the prince was so enamored with her, he traveled around the town to personally see to it that each and every woman try on the slipper, in his quest to find its rightful owner and marry her. Cinderella’s stepsisters followed the advice of their mother and used knives to cut flesh from their feet in hopes of being able to fit in the enchanted slipper. Their plan was foiled when the pigeons who helped Cinderella flew down and warned the prince of the blood oozing from the wounds on the stepsister’s feet. Finally, the prince allowed Cinderella to try on the slipper and it fit “as if it had been poured over her foot.”
Despite it’s dark tones it is safe to say the Grimm brothers’ Cinderella has more than a few positive effects, whether you’re interested in instilling benevolent values in children, or simply wanting to share an enjoyable story about good overcoming evil. At its core, Cinderella is a story of triumph that teaches children kindness always wins, even when they find themselves up against a frightening