Assignment on Fairy Tales and Reality

Fairy Tales, although stories, tend to shape the reality. Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty are two fairy tales and even though they are just stories, they teach some important lessons. In this paper, these two fairy tales will be explored and the lessons derived from them will be explained. First of all, three aspects taught in Little Red Riding Hood will be detailed and then the aspects of the Sleeping Beauty will be listed which still affect how we think about the world. Lastly, the essay will be concluded.

Little Red Riding Hood: Following are the three aspects of Little Red Riding Hood that affect how we think about the world:

Not Trusting Strangers: An important aspect focused upon in Little Red Riding Hood is that strangers should not be trusted. In the fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood makes the mistake of trusting the wolf.

“He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, ‘I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother.’”

This aspect continues to indicate that people, especially girls should not trust strangers and it significantly influences how girls continue to view strangers.

Woods are Scary: In the story, Little Red Riding Hood is walking through the woods when she encounters the wolf. It makes us believe that woods are a scary place and there is a significant chance that we might experience danger in it.

“As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest.”

To be Suspicious: When the Little Red Riding Hood gets to her grandmother, she sees that her grandmother has big arms now and she appears strange. It means that if something appears strange then we must be suspicious of it.

“She was greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her nightclothes” (Perrault).

Sleeping Beauty: Following are the three aspects of Sleeping Beauty that affect how we think about the world:

Some Things are Bound to Happen: An important aspect of Sleeping Beauty is that there are some certain things which are bound to happen. For instance, the King knows about the curse but he cannot do anything to stop it. Even though he has every spindle broken, the princess still is able to find a spindle and she falls into a deep slumber. It indicates that some things in life are just bound to happen and they cannot be stopped such as death.

“But scarcely had she touched the spindle when the magic decree was fulfilled, and she pricked her finger with it. And, in the very moment when she felt the prick, she fell down upon the bed that stood there, and lay in a deep sleep.”

Bravery has Great Results: One of the most important aspects of Sleeping Beauty is that bravery had great results. For instance, it is determined in the story that even though many princes attempted to rescue the princess, they were unable to do so and they were unsuccessful. However, the brave prince who succeeded did not allow the failures of others to stop him from advancing and he was able to gain success in the end.

“He had heard, too, from his grandfather, that many kings, sons had already come, and had tried to get through the thorny hedge, but they had remained sticking fast in it, and had died a pitiful death. Then the youth said, ‘I am not afraid, I will go and see the beautiful briar-rose.’ The good old man might dissuade him as he would, he did not listen to his words.”

Patience is Important: In Sleeping Beauty, an important aspect that shapes our thinking is that patience is important in difficult times. For instance, when we experience tough situations, we depend on patience or making it through.

“But by this time the hundred years had just passed, and the day had come when briar-rose was to awake again” (Brothers).

Overall, it can be said that fairy tales greatly affect how we think about the world and perceive reality. As explained above, we consider woods to be a scary place because we are likely to experience danger there as it has been indicated in the Little Red Riding Hood. We believe that courage is an important virtue for achieving success as it is indicated in the Sleeping Beauty.

Works Cited on Fairy Tales and Reality

Brothers, Grimm. Sleeping Beauty. 2020. <https://germanstories.vcu.edu/grimm/dorneng.html>.

Perrault, Charles. Little Red Riding Hood. 2020. <http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/perrault02.html>.