Elaine Cates  Tragedy 4533 Summer 2002  

Fairy Tales

Definitions: 

·        Story involving fantastic forces and beings as fairies, wizards, and goblins marked by unreal beauty, perfection, luck or happiness. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition

·        Simple, narratives, typically involving supernatural beings or improbable events, settings, or characters, either of folk origin or individually authored in a style reminiscent of the folk tradition.  Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence

Example:

·        Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone J.K. Rowling, 1998

Representational genre: 

·        Drama or dialogue

Narrative genre: 

·        Tragedy- Harry and his friends venture to discover the truth about Snape.

·        Romance- Harry’s parents have died and he is left to live with his muggle aunt and uncle.

Subject genre/ audience appeal:

·        Drama, fantasy

·        All ages

Identifiable highlights:

·        Magic, wizards

·        Tragegy- discovering truth

Harry finds out Snape, Voldemort and his father.

·        Romance- happily ever after ending

Harry discovers he is a wizard and enters the world of wizards and goblins.

Alternative names/related genres: 

·        Theatre, ballet, musicals

Additional examples:

·        The Frog King, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast

Questions

·        How does time affect the changes in fairy tales?

·        Do you believe fairy tales are an important or influential asset in teaching literature to young children?

Response to Question 1:

Jennifer stated that as time goes on, fairy tales are more updated. They are more modern. You find more independent women, i.e. Cinderella vs. Shrek. Aimee stated that you find a lot more humor, adult humor i.e. Cinderella vs. Pretty Woman (presenter).


Response to Question 2:

Aimee stated that fairy tales are a way to get literature in. You can understand the basic premise. This is one way to start students on literature. "My class would fight over Harry Potter books. Those types of books they really latch on to." Kelly stated that even reluctant readers, older students get into this story. It's incredible. This is a kind of a non-specific gender Cinderella story.

Janet stated that kids have vivid imaginations. This kind of fairy tale with wizards, heroes, fairies, etc., appeals to them. This is something we lose sight of as adults. Prof. White stated that this story had a dark side to it. "The suspense draws you to the second movie, second book, etc" (Presenter). Prof. White stated that "Snape" is an embodiment of evil. "I'm intrigued by the possibility that it gets more tragic as it goes on. Sometimes you get people into the story by highlighting its romantic aspects. In a lot of fairy tales/myths, you have heroes growing up in world without real parents, such is true with Oedipus. Why do children have idea, these aren't my real parents?"