5. Why fairy tales?
Fairy tales give a chronological order of events which tell the readers the
consequences of each actions which gives them an easier understanding and
allow them to apply these to real life.
It is easily accessible, and allows teenagers to pick up a fairy tale anytime they
want.
Fairy tales are usually short stories, and thus even if a teenager has a busy
lifestyle, he or she still can make time to read them.
6. Reasons for the use of fairy tales
Fairy tales are linked to our everyday lives. We learn from characters in the
story, even as adults, dreams, anxieties, and consider what we would do in
their shoes
It develops a person’s critical thinking skills, and fairy tales often include
different cultures and ways of doing things
Emotionally prepare teenagers for the real world as not all fairy tales have happy
endings
Many of the fairy tales promote hope, hope for the good, hope that evil will be
vanquished
7. How will this project be done?
Analysis of different fairy tales will be made, then from there, we will create a
product of our own
The product will be an original fairy tale written by us. The product will include
some of the values that we have picked out from other various fairy tales, and
will be written in a way such that it will appeal more to our target audience
(Teenagers).
We will also provide choices that the reader will have to make at certain parts of
the story. These choices will change the storyline and will ultimately lead to
different endings based on the choices made.
8.
9. A brief history about fairy tales
The oral tradition of fairy tales was around long before the written fairy tales.
These tales were usually reenacted dramatically, and passed down from
generation to generation.
The first the written version of fairy tales dates back to the 2nd Century, when
Apuleius wrote Cupid and Psyche, which is believed to be the first literary fairy
tale.
The Panchatantra, which was a Hindu collection of tales, was written in the 3rd
Century.
In the years 850-860, the first literary version of Cinderella was written in China
10. A brief history about fairy tales
In the years 1550 and 1553, Gianfrancesco Straparola was released in two
volumes, Le Piacevoli Notti, or The Pleasant Nights, and The Delightful Nights.
In 1740, Madame Gabrielle de Villeneuve wrote the original novella length
version of Beauty And The Beast. It is not meant for children with its many
storylines, length and subject matter.
A simplified version of it was created by Madame Le Prince de Beaumont in
1756. This is the most well known version and was later used as the basis for
many interpretations of the tale. It was the first example of a literary fairy tale
written for children.
11. A Brief History About Fairy Tales
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty premiered in St Petersburg,
Russia on January 15, 1890
In 1937, Walt Disney’s first feature length animated film, Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs was released.
14. Some interpretations of the story
Folklorists and cultural anthropologists interpret that the Little Red Riding Hood
being swallowed by the wolf could represent the bright sun which is ultimately
swallowed by the night (the wolf) when the sun sets, and the variations in
which she is cut out of the wolf's belly represents the time the sun rises,
depicting its escape from the darkness.
Some see it as a puberty rite, where she leaves home and as the tale
progresses, she matures after she is saved from the wolf’s stomach as she
would have learnt from her mistakes
Bruno Bettelheim shows us how fairy tales educate, support and liberate the
emotions of children. In the story of the Little red Riding Hood, he interpreted
the act of cutting open the wolf’s stomach as a ‘rebirth’
15. A paragraph of the popular version by
Brother Grimm’sParagraph Four
When he had made two snips, he saw the little red riding hood shining, and then he made two snips more, and the little girl
sprang out, crying: 'Ah, how frightened I have been! How dark it was inside the wolf.' After that the aged grandmother came
out alive also, but scarcely able to breathe. Red Riding Hood, however, quickly fetched great stones with which they filled
the wolf's belly, and when he awoke, he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he collapsed at once, and fell
dead. Then all three were delighted. The huntsman drew off the wolf's skin and went home with it; the grandmother ate the
cake and drank the wine which Red Riding Hood had brought, and revived. But Red Riding Hood thought to herself: 'As long
as I live, I will never leave the path by myself to run into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do so.' It is also
related that once, when Red Riding Hood was again taking cakes to the old grandmother, another wolf spoke to her, and
tried to entice her from the path. Red Riding Hood, however, was on her guard, and went straight forward on her way, and
told her grandmother that she had met the wolf, and that he had said 'good morning' to her, but with such a wicked look in
his eyes, that if they had not been on the public road she was certain he would have eaten her up. 'Well,' said the
grandmother, 'we will shut the door, so that he can not come in.' Soon afterwards the wolf knocked, and cried: 'Open the
door, grandmother, I am Little Red Riding Hood, and am bringing you some cakes.' But they did not speak, or open the door,
so the grey-beard stole twice or thrice round the house, and at last jumped on the roof, intending to wait until Red Riding
Hood went home in the evening, and then to steal after her and devour her in the darkness. But the grandmother saw what
was in his thoughts.
16. Character Analysis (based on above paragraph)
In the story, she decided to listen to the wolf, who was to her a stranger, and had strayed off
the path, showing her naiveness. After she made the mistake, she and her grandmother was
devoured by the wolf. This was the outcome of her mistake. After she was saved by the
huntsman from the wolf, she said 'As long as I live, I will never leave the path by myself to
run into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do so.' Before this incident, she was
naive and gullible and thus was easily tricked by the first wolf. Towards the end of the
paragraph shown earlier, she realized her mistake of not listening to her mother’s advice to
not leave the path and therefore, wanted to change. This may allow some teenagers to
understand that mistakes or failures, whether in academic or social ways may not mean that
all is lost, as they can choose to change and pick themselves up again, starting over and
learning from their past mistakes.
17. Analysis of other characters
Huntsman
The huntsman was shown as a vigilant and smart character. When he passed by
the grandmother’s house, he heard the loud snoring of the wolf and decided to
check if the grandmother was alright. This shows he is alert as he would not have
checked if not for the unusually loud snoring from the house. Before killing the
wolf he thought of how the grandmother might be in the wolf’s stomach and did
not shoot to prevent killing her. Thus, being aware of this allowed him to save the
Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother.
18. Character development
Little Red Riding Hood
At the start of the story, little Red Riding Hood gave readers a good impression, as she
greeted her Mother politely and also agreed to bring some cakes to her grandmother. This
was shown again when she met another character, the first wolf. Even though the first Wolf
was a stranger to her at that time, she still greeted her warmly and thus readers would
picture her as a kind and respectful girl. However, this also showed her lack of experience
outside. The Little Red Riding Hood did not know that the wolf was an evil creature, and so
she treated him like she would normally treat a person, thus showing her naiveness. As the
story progressed, she learnt from her mistakes and realized that she should not trust
strangers. When the second wolf appeared, she made use of what she learnt from this
incident, and thus was not fooled by the second wolf when he tried to trick her.
19. Themes of the story
One of the themes of the story is that one should not judge a book by its cover.
This is portrayed via the main antagonists, the wolves. At the start of the story
when the first wolf appeared, he was seen as a character with a good personality,
and the Little Red Riding Hood had the impression that he was a nice person.
However, he then showed his true colours as a cunning character when he went to
the Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother’s. Pretending to be the Little Red Riding
Hood, he tricked her grandmother into letting him into the house. From this we can
infer that the wolf is an evil and cunning character, and not the kind and caring
character he appeared to be.
20. Values
Respect
In the story of the Little Red Riding Hood, there is portrayal of respect. When Little Red Riding Hood’s
mother asked her to bring a piece of cake and a bottle of wine to her grandmother, she responded, “I will
take great care”. This means that she respected her parents and would do what her parents told her. This
allows the reader to feel that they should respect their relatives/parents. In the story, she also
demonstrated her love and respect for her relatives. When she went to pick flowers, she was thinking
'Suppose I take grandmother a fresh nosegay; that would please her too’. This means that she was
thoughtful about her sick grandmother and would like to do anything to make her feel better.
Another case of this is when Little Red Riding Hood first met the wolf. When the wolf greeted her, she
replied, “Thank you, kindly wolf”, meaning that she respected the wolf even though it was the first time
she had met the wolf. This enables the reader to see that they should treat strangers with respect.
21. Glimpse of our product
Story type: Fable
Setting:
Where: Local setting
Characters: Animals, Mark (human boy), Humans
Summary of story:
Humans attack animals as they believe animals are dangerous
Animals and humans in conflict
Mark, with the view that animals are not dangerous at all, approaches the animals despite
warnings from his parents
22. Glimpse of our product
Instead of having the linear story, we will create an interactive experience for
the readers where they will have choices to make.
These choices alter the storyline as the story progresses and at the end of the
story, there will be different endings depending on what choices the reader
made.
The summary shown earlier can be considered a good ending, should the reader
make the right choices
23. Timeline of this project
After Prelims
Complete analysis of 3 more fairy tales
Identify values, how the plot is crafter and how the characters are created of
these fairy tales and link them to real life situations
Identify the features of Fairy Tales
June holidays and before Semi-Finals
Finalise storyline of final product (original fairy tale)
Start on final product
24. Timeline of project (con’t)
Before Finals
Complete the final product (fairy tale)
Consult mentor often for feedback on final product
Analyse final product
Identify values and link these values to real life situations
T3W8 (Finals) - Final product completed
25. Bibliography
Brother’s Grimm. Little Red Riding Hood. Retrieved from http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-
stories/UBooks/LittRed.shtml
Anne Heiner, SurLaLune (2014, June 14). Fairy Tale Timeline. Retrieved from
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/introduction/timeline.html
Kathryn Lechler (2015, March 28). Fairy Tales : A Timeline. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/kfduk2bvtokf/fairy-
tales-a-timeline/