“Once upon a time,” the most used introduction phrase in common fairy tales used to start an adventure. These adventures have been around for years. The importance of some tales might be more significant than others, also based on culture. My goal for this paper is to educate my readers with the importance of fairy tales, especially for younger children. Fairy tales have been around for centuries from generations to generations. Different cultures, such as the Japanese and Western, have also expressed them differently. All these fairly tales teach children different aspects of life, which make these tales so important.
Fairy tales, being such a broad topic, and having so many different opinions I broke my paper into different parts that would separately discuss a topic chosen of fairy tales. My first section has to deal with an article online by Lauren Surval, who discusses the hidden meaning in children’s fairy tales. The second idea is by Carrie Hughes, who discusses the deeper meanings that lie in fairy tales. Following with my third section by Donald Hasse, stating that fairy tales are symbolic expressions of the human mind and emotional experience. My next source is by both Kayla Kenney and Melanie Wagner, who state that fairy tales are very important for a child’s imagination and creativity. Following with my last source by an online anonymous stating Japanese fairy tales focus more on the psychological rather than the physical. Most of the ideas are the same because they all fall into the category of the psychological aspect of fairy tales. There is one topic that is actually different and that is the Japanese and Western comparison of the two.
According to Lauren Suval, classic fairy tales are actually not as child-like as we presume. These wise stories are more likely to be infused with meanings and symbols rather than just adventure and pleasure(Suval, “Hidden Meanings”). An example of this would be Alice in Wonderland. This tale illustrated the importance of fantasy as well as adventure. Suval also uses Cinderella as a great example, which signifies personal growth and transformation. In conclusion of Lauren Suval, she states that fairy tales all have a meaning behind them that represents us if is fantasy or even a growth that isn’t physical.
Another idea is by Carrie Hughes, who says there are deeper meanings that lie in fairy tales. These fairy tales have psychological aspects such as, Freud’s suspicions that the dreams and fairy tales stem from the same place in our minds. Jungian, another psychologist that Hughes relates to, studies fairy tales to analyze dreams. Carrie Hughes also has an idea from Bettelheim in her article that states that fairy tales are important for kids to learn navigation in reality, to survive in a world ruled by adults. “Fairy tales are also used as positive roles in the psychological development of children” (Hughes, “Psychology and Fairytales”). In conclusion of Carrie Hughes, fairy tales are an important aspect of dreaming for children, causes these dreams to become a relatable source.
A third article is from Donald Hasse, who states the “premiss’s that the stories are symbolic expressions of the human mind and emotional experience.” This means the psychological approach involves symbolic interpretation. Hasse also talks about Jungian, who says the symbolic language of these tales are composed of symbolic forms. A symbol in a story represents more than what is perceived. This notion caused the study of folk tales. Jungian also stresses that universal myths of higher praise are quasi-religious, or in other words, having something to do with resembling religion. Donald Hasse proclaims that “fairy tales are used as positive roles in the psychological development of children.” (Hasse, “People. Susex Centre.”). In conclusion of Hasse, he states these stories are symbolic expressions of our mind and emotional experiences.
Another idea from Kayla Kenney and Melanie Wagner is that fairy tales are very important for a child’s imagination and creativity. These fairy tales have at least “five different routes taught to children that include how to handle problems, build emotional resiliency, cross cultural boundaries, teach stories and most importantly develop imagination and teach lessons” (Kenney, Wagner, “Why are Fairytales important for Young Children.?”). Fairy tales help children handle problems by showing them how to over come them such as Cinderella solved her bullying from her stepmother and sisters by being kind and knowing good would come. Cinderella is also a good example of emotional resiliency. Cinderella didn’t let the bullying and such get to her emotions. Aladdin is a great example of the cultural cross because this tale being from the Middle East, you see new types of clothing, cultural ways, even down to the food. Fairy tales also teach stories as did Snow White. Her story was of abandonment but, finding true love and a home was never too far away from her. Developing imagination is also a key factor in fairytales. A great example would be Alice in Wonderland, in which Alice develops a type of imagination through reading that sends her to an adventurous dream which almost seems so real it could be true. Teaching lessons is also a part of fairytales such as Tangled. In Tangled, Rapunzel takes the chance of leaving her tower to find a chance to find her floating lanterns. In the beginning she learns mother is always right because of the “monsters” outside of her tower but, she soon realizes that the closets monster to her was her mom, who turns out not even being her real mother. Kenney and Wagner express that these five topics are most important for children to have a healthy mindset. In conclusion, this author concludes that fairy tales have many great aspects and are very important to involve our children or younger kids with.
My last source is by an online anonymous who states that “most Western fairy tales were gruesome in their original forms.” A great example would be Cinderella. In the original story, the step-sisters chopped their toes off to try to squeeze into the glass slipper. An other example would be such of Little Red Riding Hood, in which the wolf, who is our villain, ends up eating the grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood, and the huntsman. Of course these types of tales changed and soon enough became happy endings. On the other hand, “many Japanese tales end with a sad turn of events and un-fulfillment.” (“Comparison of Western and Japanese Fairytales”). Many Japanese tales also have some type of moral, like most Western tales now. A big difference would be that Japanese tales almost always have to do with animals and spirits. Western tales do include talking animals but most aren’t that important. Almost all “Japanese tales are connected to nature” (“Comparison of Western and Japanese Fairytales”), which the Western tales don’t really pay much attention to. You could say that these Japanese tales are very cultural and traditional. This author concludes that the Japanese and Western tales are very different but will always stick with us throughout our childhood and adulthood.
My overall conclusion with all of these sources is that they have proved that fairy tales are very important for the development of children. Without the influence of fairytales to younger children they would loose a type of imagination given by these tales at an early age of life. Without imagination I have concluded that your dreams would also be affected since they stem from the same source of the brain ( Huges, “Psychology and Fairytales.”). Different cultures, either Japanese or Western, also do have their own tales but the significance of keeping children updated and familiar is important. The significance of these tales travel with them through childhood to adulthood, teaching them lifelong circumstances for the real world.
