Blog 5

Unfortunately, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the Disney adaptation of the Snow White fairy tale is very different from the original tale by the Grimm brothers. In the Grimm's fairy tales the princes never play a major role, they come in at the end and that's it. In Disney movies, the princes are always introduced pretty early and their characters are developed much more than in the original tales. In the Snow White movie, the prince is introduced very early and he even sings with Snow White. In the fairy tale, the prince comes in at the very end and he just happens to be in the forest where Snow White is lying in her coffin. Disney also developed the Dwarves characters much more than the Grimms did. In the movie, the dwarves all have names and those name correspond with their personalities. In the fairy tale, the dwarves aren't given names and they mostly save Snow White when her stepmother tries to kill her and they go to work. The dwarves in the fairy tale don't sing and dance and spend fifteen minutes learning how to clean themselves. One of the most major differences between the movie and the fairy tale is that the evil queen tries to kill Snow White not once, but three times. The queen tries to kill her by lacing her too tight, with a poisoned comb, and with a poisoned apple. The other major difference is that in the fairy tale the prince comes along and he thinks Snow White is so beautiful that he asks the dwarves if he can take her and her coffin home with him. When his servants are carrying the coffin they stumble and this causes the piece of apple to dislodge from Snow White's throat and she wakes up. In the movie, Snow White is awoken by the prince kissing her.

There are some similarities between the movie and the fairy tale, obviously, but there are definitely more differences. In both the movie and the tale, the queen commands a huntsman to take Snow White into the forest and kill her. The queen asks for the man to bring back organs as proof that Snow White is dead. However, the huntsman takes pity on Snow White and he allows her to escape and run away into the forest. In the fairy tale, the man brings back boar lungs and liver as proof and in the movie, the man brings back a pigs heart as proof. In both, the Dwarves warn Snow White not to talk to strangers and not to let anyone into the house. But the queen disguises herself as an old peddler and Snow White talks to her anyway. The movie only used one of the queen's methods for killing Snow White: the apple. And after she died the Dwarves in both the movie and the tale agreed that Snow White was too beautiful to be buried, so they made transparent coffins for Snow White.

Disney made changes to the storyline to make it more entertaining and to insert his beliefs into the movie. Disney took out the references to Christianity and added in songs and made the Dwarves into major characters. Snow White was made into the perfect housewife and she settled into her role very easily, until the prince came along to save her. Falling to your death is a gruesome way to die but Disney probably thought it was better than dancing in hot iron shoes until you drop dead. I think many of the changes were made because of the time period that the movie came out in.

Blog 4

I think it is possible for someone to reach riches through marriage, but I don’t think it is really possible to reach success through marriage. And magic isn’t going to help you reach success or riches unless you are a magician. It is definitely possible to become rich through marriage. People are always saying “I’ll just marry someone rich”, and people actually do that. Sometimes it’s older men looking got younger wives to hang off of their arm. Sometimes it’s older women looking for younger men. Sugar daddies literally pay people to keep them company, this isn’t marriage but it is an example of the idea, some people marry only for money or companionship. I think in some cases you might be able to reach success through marriage because maybe you were trying to start a business and your spouse had the funding or gave you the support you needed. But other than those cases success is achieved through hard work. Magic can’t help you reach either because it doesn’t exist. Magic always helps the main characters in fairy tales but that isn’t how real life works. We don’t usually get to meet princes that swoop us off our feet and into a life of splendor in a castle. It is possible for people to meet their prince or princess that swoops them off their feet, but not may are going to be rich or live in a castle. It is possible for people to reach riches through marriage and maybe reach success through marriage, however it is not very common. 

 

Blog 3

What is a fairytale?

The word fairy tale is an English translation of the French words “conte de fée,” a form of oral narrative. According to Stith Thompson, a “Märchen” (fairy tale) is a “tale of some length involving a succession of motifs or episodes. It moves in an unreal world without definite creatures and is filled with the marvelous. In this never-never ending land, humble heroes kill adversaries, succeed to kingdom and marry princesses” (The Folktale, 1977, 8). Fairy tales are written works, with sophisticated language and creative storylines. The characters in fairy tales are complex and they might not necessarily get a happy ending. Tales could have magical creatures, princesses, or animals that can talk.

Oxford defines a fairy tale as “a children's story about magical and imaginary beings and lands”. There is one thing wrong with this definition, fairy tales aren’t only stories for children. Fairy tales are timeless, this is a reason why the stories written hundreds of years ago are still read and loved today. Jack Zipes says, “Unlike any other art form, the fairy tale stays with us from infancy into old age” (63). This is very true, we hear the stories as children and we remember them as we grow and then we pass the stories onto our own children. Just like any other story, fairy tales allow readers to escape into other worlds and use their imaginations. Max Lüthi says, “The fairy tale portrays, in a wider sense than is generally realized, a harmonious world. The confidence from which it flows is transmitted to both those who tell it and those who hear it… It gives not only pleasure, it gives form and inspiration…” (57). Reading can change and help mold people's lives. Fairy tales help people grow and reading them brings people pleasure. Another reason why old fairy tales are still read today is that reading the stories makes people happy and they want to share this happiness with others so they pass the stories on. If someone loved listening to a fairy tale when they were a child then they are going to share that story with their own children and the stories will continue to be passed on. 

Fairy tales shape people and affect everyone in many different ways, as described in this quote, “Fairy tales in their oral, literary, and mass-mediated forms have enabled children and adults to conceive strategies for placing themselves in the world and grasping events around them. Imbibed and learned in infancy, fairy tales provide the means for structuring and giving shape to people and incidents that children encounter on a daily basis. The acquisition of words and the capacity to narrate endow children with a powerful feeling that they can determine the course of their lives” (Zipes 62). Fairy tales help children understand the world around them and they help children deal with basic human conflicts, desires, and relationships. Fairy tales can also be therapeutic. They can be used to address painful or unsettling issues in a non-threatening, playful manner (“The Positive Impacts of Fairy Tales for Children” Leilani VisikoKnox-Johnson). Fairy tales help mold people’s lives and give them the strength to make their own destinies.

Fairy tales are magical stories set in imaginary places and even though they are fictional they have a major impact on people. Fairy tales have been around for hundreds of years and they are still read today because they influence many people and they make anyone that reads them happy. Reading is necessary for child development and fairy tales help children learn to write their own stories (the ones of their lives) and grow.

Blog 2

The opening scene of the movie shows a poor family living in a small, rundown house and there is truth in this scene. The Grimm family was poor and they moved to a smaller house after their father died. This scene also has a little girl in it and this is true, Jacob and Wilhelm had a sister. The other truth that this scene shows is the brothers stepping up taking care of their family. The brothers took responsibility for their family after their father died and this is shown subtly in this scene. Another fact about the movie that is true is that Germany was occupied by the French and Jacob and Wilhelm didn’t like the French. In the movie they were reluctant to work for the French and in real life, they wanted the German principalities to be free of the French and to become one unified Germany. The movie shows Jacob writing stories and it is true that he wrote stories, but Wilhelm wrote stories with him and this wasn’t shown in the movie. 

Although the movie was interesting and entertaining most of the plot was fictional. Even the setting of the movie, Marbaden, is fictional. The Grimm brothers did not hunt the supernatural or pretend to hunt the supernatural. There may be witches and magic in their stories, but there aren’t any witches in real life and the magic shown in the movie doesn’t exist in real life. Jacob and Wilhelm weren’t tricksters or con-artists, they were scholars and they took their work and studies seriously. The movie shows them going out to a bar and celebrating but in reality, this is what their classmates were doing, as shown in this quote: “... most of the students from wealthier families received stipends, while the Grimms had to pay for their own education… This inequity made them feel more compelled to prove themselves at Marburg, … a small university with 200 students, most of whom were more interested in the social activities at fraternities and taverns than their studies” (Zipes 6).