Blog Number Two

A fairy tale is commonly known to have happy endings, a princess in distraught, and a charming prince that saves the day. Walt Disney is the one who has put this picture of a fairy tale into our minds.  But fairy’s tales have many elements that make them up besides the Walt Disney characteristics.       

 

                Fairy tales have elements of magic and fantasy. When reading a fairy tale we know it’s not real and we accept it. When reading Little Red Riding hood for example we don’t question when the wolf talks, we read it and accept it like it happen every day. This is one point that separates fairy tales from myths, and legends.  There are fairies, elves, witches, trolls and giants. They all have special powers and make wishes come true. It wouldn’t be interesting or a fairy tale if there weren’t these magical creatures. One of the main reasons I read fairy tales is because of the magic.

                Myths have to do with god and religions, and legends have saints and deal with real facts that are made more humanistic. Animals can talk in a legend but people question it, the characters in the story question it, it’s not just simply accepted. Some people actually believe local legends too; unlike in fairy tales where the reader, or viewer, knows it’s not real.

                Fairy tales are also a universe in miniature.  They have all the elements and they teach morals. They also have no character development.  You don’t know much about characters or who they really are unless they are the main characters. Like in little red riding hood the grandmother is simply the grandmother… there isn’t much character development.

                Fairy tales also have no sense of time. Once upon a time is how they start. There is not direct time as to when that is or where it even occurred. Age is doesn’t really exist either, when sleeping beauty falls asleep for “100 years” when she wakes up she is just as young and pretty as she was when she fell asleep at the age of 16 or 15. Fairy tales simply just ignore time, it doesn’t matter to them and that’s another element that makes them so interesting and magical.

                To me fairy tales are also a way to disconnect from the real world. When reading a fairy tale I don’t question things and I get lost in magic. It’s nice to read about once upon a time and not worry about when it actually was or the history of that era. It’s nice to read about finding true love and having a prince charming come into your life and sacrifice his own life for yours. When I was younger it gave me hope these things would actually happen, and that I would have fairies come grant all my wishes. Now that I’m older it’s a way to escape from the real world and get lost into a fantasy world.