Cinderella Now Research Paper

1403 Words6 Pages
Cinderella Then, Cinderella Now The tale of Cinderella has been told in many ways for centuries. But in the United States there are two versions that every child will become aware of before too long. The earlier version written by the Brothers Grimm in their collection of fairytales managed to make its way to France where Perrault wrote the closest tale to the animated Disney version that many of today’s young adults grew up seeing. The process of examining the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella and comparing it to the Disney version is absolutely fascinating. Disney’s Cinderella has many symbols, or versions of symbols, and themes that correspond with the Brothers’ Grimm Cinderella but the differences are only made to be more shocking for…show more content…
Looking at the tree from a functionality standpoint allows the conclusion to be drawn that the hazel tree may represent virtue. First she promised her mother that she would be pious and good and following her mother’s death she plants the hazel tree on her mother’s grave. Following that the hazel tree grew from a branch that was humbly requested; she requested when her father asked her and her stepsisters what they would like him to return with for them, she asked for the first branch that hits his head while her stepsisters asked for gowns, jewels, and precious stones. As such the hazel tree may represent virtue; in other words it represents Cinderella’s good qualities. From a purely scientific perspective the hazel tree is a hardy tree able to withstand a broad range of climates and depending on the type of hazel tree the nuts can be found in prickly burs encased in their hard shells. Looking at the tree from this perspective brings to light that the hazel tree may have been representative of Cinderella herself; like the hazel tree and its nuts Cinderella had to have strength and had beauty hidden beneath the ashes and rags. If one were to look into the brothers’ Grimm fairy tales a little more there is a tale called “The Hazel Branch” which says that “a green-hazel branch has been the safest protection against adders, snakes, and everything else which creeps upon the earth” which is a clear statement that the hazel…show more content…
Cinderella would be rather stuck during the tale, or have little to no troubles in her life, if the stepmother was nice rather than evil. “At the same time that the witch poses an external threat to the hero or heroine, she magnifies inner flaws and frailties in the reader… In one fairy tale after another, the witch embodies unwholesome aspects of the self that all children struggle against… Very often the witch in these stories takes the form of a malevolent stepmother… She is less an actual person than a representation of psychological forces operating in the child’s psyche.” (17-18, Cashdan) So the stepmother in Cinderella plays an invaluable role: she takes the unsavory things that mothers can do and blows them out of proportion. This causes the sibling rivalry that occurs as an undertone throughout the interactions between Cinderella and her stepsisters to be emphasized. The evil stepmother in Cinderella functions as a symbol for a child’s fears in regards to their mother or as a way to address the actions their mother takes that they deem unfair. While the stepmother and the stepsisters in Cinderella tend to be loathed, they provide an excellent contrast for the reader and help Cinderella develop and strengthen her good
Show More
Related

  • Vasilisa

    1052 Words  | 5 Pages

    Vasilisa the Beautiful and Baba Yaga This paper is on Slavic Mythology which originated in what is now known as Russia. The myth this research and paper is on is known as “Vasilisa the Beautiful and Baba Yaga”. This is one of the most well-known and beloved stories in Slavic mythology. This story comes from a large collection of Russian myths and is number 104 in Alexander Afanaseyev’s book Russian Fairy Tales. The myth originated as an oral story passed down through the years until it was eventually

    Read More

  • Walt Disney Research Paper

    2870 Words  | 12 Pages

    park is not belong to the children, adults and children have a great interest in it. It has become an iconic tourist attractions in Los Angeles, is bound to all visitors to the west coast of the United States to visit, Disneyland benefit is enormous. Now, not only the children, include people from all over the world, know that America is such a perfect place for- Disneyland. In 1937, walt officially launched the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the seven Dwarfs, unprecedented movie came

    Read More

More about Cinderella Now Research Paper

Open Document