Hansel and Gretel Fairytale
Throughout time, people have used folk tales, fairy tales, fantasy,myth, and other types stories to make sense of the world around them. Forgenerations these tales were passed along orally, changed according to theimagination, memory, or teaching needs of the current storyteller.Eventually, many of these tales were catalogued, recorded, and writtendown, permanently setting down for all time the tales that have influencedchildren, and adults, for generations. As Datlow and Windling note, "fairytales speak in a deceptively simple, [yet] richly archetypal language,[and] their symbols have proven to be [] potent" and are still being reusedand retold by modern writers (Datlow and Windling 2). This paper willexamine the fairytale, "Hansel and Gretel," a tale of two childrenabandoned in a wood who are able to make it home only after severalterrifying experiences, discussing its history and how it has influencedthe way characters are portrayed in horror and dark fantasy tales. It is generally acknowledged that the popularity of cataloguing andrecording fairytales first occurred during the seventeenth century inFrance, "where Charles Perrault created a genre and set
This family is on thebrink of starvation and the stepmother, taking a practical stance (they arenot her children, and they cannot yet work for a living or earn their ownkeep), urges her husband to abandon them so that they (the adults), maylive a little longer ("Hansel and Gretel" 58). There is no ambiguity in the original Grimms' tale. Additionally, even though the Grimms' goal was to faithfully record andcatalog folktales and fairytales from around Europe, they also made majorchanges in the editing process. As Kingpoints out, children are resilient: "We start kids off on things like'Hansel and Gretel,' which features child abandonment, kidnapping,attempted murder, forcible detention, cannibalism, and finally murder bycremation. Rowling's series, the Baudelaire children inthe Lemony Snicket series, and the Grace kids in the Spiderwick Chronicles. In horror, the quest is about the confrontation ofthose characters with fear and death (Roberts 31). This cautionary tale has influenced generations of children, adults, andelements have been used and retold repeatedly in more modern tales as well. For such a potentially nightmarish tale,"Hansel and Gretel" displays a very upbeat ending, which appears to rewardHansel and Gretel for their determination and bravery as well as for theircleverness. These innocent, yetintelligent, children must survive in extremely harrowing circumstances,including traveling through a dark and threatening forest in a quest tofind their home.
Common topics in this essay:
Hansel Gretel,
Additionally Grimms',
Introduction Throughout,
Datlow Windling,
Charles Perrault,
Stephen King,
hansel gretel,
Spiderwick Chronicles,
Harry Potter,
Grimm Zipes,
Lemony Snicket,
hansel gretel tale,
baudelaire children,
children's literature,
datlow windling,
harry potter,
able home,
fairy tales,
grace kids,
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king http//galenetgalegroupcom/servlet/src,
children adults,
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Acceptance Essays
