Brothers Grimm

Why does everyone yearn for their own version of "happily ever after"? As toddlers, we're fed fairy tales that present a one-dimensional view of falling in love with your prince charming and everything naturally falling into place after that. As we grow up, social media continues to feed us the fantasy that it's an achievable goal. Lydia Davis' "Break It Down" utilizes money as a means of attempting to measure how much he's invested in romance. On the other hand, Anne Sexton's "Cinderella" puts…

Whilst The Hobbit offers a Western interpretation of good and evil, Le Guin’s The Wizard of Earthsea propose an alternative perspective of what good and evil entail. These two worlds differ in many different ways. For example, the landscape of the Hobbit tends to resemble that of Europe and all the characters tend to be described with European colouring. Whereas Earthsea is a mixture of islands that house “isolated communities”, the cultures and people of each islands ranging from “pale haired…

It was Halloween night when my twin cousins, my sister, and I all went trick or treating but came back with no candy. The four of us decided to all dress up as skittles. I was the green skittle, my sister was the purple skittle, my cousin, Addie, was the red skittle, and my cousin Lanie was the yellow skittle. The only bad thing is that the four of us all live out in the country away from the city, so we have to go to random neighborhoods. Every year we try to go to a different neighborhood so…

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey took place in Alaska during the 1920s. Initially, life in Alaska was strenuous for Jack and Mabel because of the harsh weather conditions and the cold lifeless days. Loneliness crashed down on them once the realization of how isolated living in the homestead is. Only through help of one another could Jack and Mabel survive in Alaska. Whether it is Jack Mabel depending on each other or friends they had made, most actions require the help of other characters in order…

Disney princess films are popular, especially among little girls. There are entire lines of toys and clothes that use the images of the princesses. Children have been enjoying Disney princess films for many years. Snow White is considered to be the first Disney princess film; it was released in 1937 (imdb.com). Many of the early Disney princess films star female protagonists who have extensive relationships with wild animals, but very negative relationships with their mother or step-mother, if…

Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family. As the pages of my favorite childhood story flutter through my fingers, memories of fantastical worlds flood my mind. I begin to read aloud about the four children, sent away to a mysterious house and the wardrobe that transports them to a magical new land. The tale is just as enchanting as I recall, but this time through the story, the magic…

In addition, when animals are represented as transfigured humans, both Disney films and oral folktales highlight the superiority of humans in relation to animals by conflating happiness with the restoration of the human condition. In The Emperor's New Groove, Kuzco regains his human form, is reinstated as emperor, and shares his wealth with Pacha and his family. In The Princess and the Frog, Navene and Tiana regain access to the human condition because of Tiana's new status as a princess, and…

Dear Lucy, Anne Sexton’s “Cinderella” is not like the classic fairytale we all know and love. In this version, Cinderella is portrayed as a beautiful young girl; however, she is impoverished. Ever since she was little, her father, stepmother, and stepsisters treated her with brutality. Later on, with the help of her magical dove, Cinderella gets her wish of going to the ball, where her and Prince Charming meet. In contrast to the original fairytale, Prince Charming has an absence of…

life snatched away her last breath without being offered a meagre gift of hopefulness. Ofelia is seen as the inventive but also courageously faithful girl who is eager to sacrifice her life as well as her mythic destiny for love of her infant half-brother. The Housemaid and surrogate mother of Ofelia, is in secret, a guerrilla soldier rebelling against a despotic political regime; her idealism and optimism allowed her to endure the indignities in life. Captain Vidal regards her as “just a…

Fairy tales are considered works of fiction because of the fantastically unrealistic locations, characters, and events. However, I know of a place that is equally utopian, yet deemed to be a part of our shared reality. I’ve even been there. I’ve seen nature at its purest, met people at their kindest, and experienced a kind of personal growth that has changed the course of my life forever. This Shangri-la is not found in a James Hilton novel, but rather in Wake Forest, North Carolina. While its…