Final Exam
Luethi's elements of style - ANS-Definition: Idea created by Max Luethi that fairy tales
have a style that includes hope, action, extreme contrasts, and concreteness. Hope
includes the use of "Once upon a time" which entails that this story happened once and
could very well happen again, Action occurs with very little contemplation on actions;
short and efficient. Extreme Contrasts include good vs. evil. Concreteness is shown in
structure "third times the charm." No "if" or "perhaps", but very clear grounding.
· Example: Brier Rose
Hope: Story starts with once upon a time
Action: there is not much detail in the story, mostly action. King and Queen have
daughter. They have party. Uninvited Guest gives curse. Etc, etc. There is no
description of the characters other than saying brier rose is beautiful.
Extreme Contrasts: Maleficent is all bad, the princess is wholly good.
Concreteness: Each of the 12 fairies gives a gift. Maleficent also gives a curse. (here
instead of the rule of three, we see the unlucky number 13). Also the use of time in the
story. The hero prince comes at exactly 100 years. Just when the curse is lifted.
No "if" or "perhaps": After being awaken, Brier rose and the prince are in love, get
married and live happily for the rest of their days. There is no reason according to the
telling that would lead the reader to question this.
Law of Self Correction - ANS-• A theory created by Walter Anderson that states that
stories told orally, even though they may change from person to person, end up
eventually in their original state.
• Example: Cinderella- what changed and came back to original state?
• How example illustrates the concept: Cinderella has been modified over the ages such
as when the step sisters did and didn't have their eyes pecked out, Cinderella has been
a burned child, Cinderella has been a child that went out into the woods to escape her
father and mistaken for a woodland creature and all renditions have retained the rags to
riches motif.
Genre Cues - ANS-
Disneyfication - ANS-• The Americanized sanitization of fairy tales. A focus on
techniques over the actual story line including spectacle and totality of images. No
character development.
• Example: Mary Poppins
, • How example illustrates the concept: Techniques used in Mary Poppins added magic
(cartoons and humans together). Songs add to spectacle, but decrease time for
character development
National socialism and Fairy Tales - ANS-• : it was a cultural policy of the Nazi party
that's main purpose was to control and bring the German community together. It
proposed concepts such as social Darwinism and racial purity. National Socialists
thought the Grimm's tales were valuable because they promoted obedience and
authoritarianism.It can be argued that Grimm's tales promoted German purity and
anti-Semitism. Their tales contributed to a national consciousness. There is also
evidence of anti-Semitism in stories like "The Jew in the Brambles" which showcases
stereotypes of Jewish greed, eventually resulting in his being hanged.
• Example: Cinderella
• How example illustrates the concept: the fairytales taught children proper morals, it
helped with propaganda, the Nazi's liked how black and white everything was, the
concept of the stepmother was the "other" and was symbolic of the struggle between
Aryan race and the alien "others". Cinderella was the German people who suffered
unfairly on their own landThe concept preached obedience, submission, and prize at the
end "genetic inheritance" but in this case it was marriage and a family
Fairytales and Structuralism - ANS-• : fairytales follow specific similarities either in
characters or overall order in which the story follows. An analysis of human behavior,
culture, and experience that focuses on relationships of contrast between elements in a
system that reflects underlying patterns
• Example: Cinderella, Blue Beard, Little Red
How example illustrates the concept: they follow specific character archetypes, tropes,
and expresses repetitions. Such as the three nights for the ball in Cinderella and the
three sisters Blue Beard. Cinderella and the final sister in Blue Beard in both tales are
the Princess/Prize. In Cinderella, we have a donor/ help character which is the fairy God
mother and the help in Little Red its the Huntsman.
Feminist Theories and Fairytales - ANS-• : occurred in three phases: 1st was a critique
of passive heroines, 2nd was an attempt to get women authors included on the Cannon
and a belief that they were superior to men, 3rd was the belief that men and women are
separate and men could be as good as females if they tried. Saw a transition from
passive to aggressive female characters. The goal was to have a feminine voice make
other things important other than power, money, and social class rise. Prince charming
seen as damaging for perpetuating passivity of females,
• Example: Pretty Flower, Finette, and Tiny Ears
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