Jane yolen america's cinderella

Journal Entry: The Writing Process of “America’s Cinderella” The process of writing the essay has been relatively exciting and effective. Through the provided steps, I have managed to dive deep into reading and analyzing Yolen’s story to the extent of understanding it well. Although the process may seem slow, I believe it is indeed right and carefully outlined. This is because one needs to take the process of reading and analyzing the work slow thus grasping all the important concepts as required. A different approach would certainly make it difficult to digest and internalize Yolen’s argument as well as understanding her perspective. For instance, before reading the work, I was never aware of this dimension of perceiving Cinderella, and I did not understand the impacts of pursuing commercialization of the character over maintaining the elements critical to the original version. Besides that, I think I have come to truly comprehend Yolen’s argument after giving the work enough attention as outlined in the process. Therefore, I think the process is simply just right. America’s Cinderella Jane Yolen’s “America’s Cinderella” authored in 1977 and published by “Children's Literature in Education” explores the attributes of the American version of Cinderella, constantly drawing significance and relevance from the traditional version of the folktale. As an acclaimed author of both children’s and adults’ books, she seeks to address interested readers by arguing that America’s Cinderella has taken a huge diversion from her primary path following the immense commercialization and customization of the character, a trend responsible for eroding most of the critical attributes projected by the original Cinderella such as restoration of power and class. Yolen supports her argument with various examples drawn from Disney’s Cinderella version, a comparison with the original version, and the aspect of mass marketing scale as evidence of the extent to which America’s Cinderella has departed from her original trail. Yolen's argument is effective because it paints a distinct picture of the impacts of commercializing and customizing the American Cinderella, and it demonstrates elements from a variety of reliable sources to comprehensively explain the points and opinions. Rapid #: -15609082 CROSS REF ID: 340400 LENDER: LUU :: Main Library BORROWER: ABC :: Sterne Library TYPE: Article CC:CCL JOURNAL TITLE: Children's literature in education USER JOURNAL TITLE: Children's literature in education. ARTICLE TITLE: America's Cinderella ARTICLE AUTHOR: Jane Yolen VOLUME: 8 ISSUE: 1 MONTH: March YEAR: 1977 PAGES: 21-29 ISSN: 1573-1693 OCLC #: 44111672 Processed by RapidX: 1/8/2020 7:31:57 AM This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code) Jane Yolen Jane Yolen is a prolific creator of fiction and nonfiction books for children. Her titles have been regularly placed on the Notable Books for Children lists prepared by the Children's Services Division of the American Library Association as well as nominated for the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. She is the recipient of the Golden Kite Award presented by the Society of Children's Book Writers. 1Elizabeth Cook The Ordinary and the Fabulous America's Cinderella It is part of the American creed, recited subvocally along with the pledge of allegiance in each classroom, that even a poor boy can grow up to become president. The unliberated corollary is that even a poor girl can grow up and become the president's wife. This rags-to-riches formula was immortalized in American children's fiction by the Horatio Alger stories of the 1860s and by the Pluck and Luck nickel novels of the 1920s. It is little wonder, then, that Cinderella should be a perennial favorite in the American folktale pantheon. Yet how ironic that this formula should be the terms on which "Cinderella" is acceptable to most Americans. "Cinderella" is not a story of rags to riches, but rather riches recovered; not poor girl into princess but rather rich girl (or princess) rescued from improper or wicked enslavement; not suffering Griselda enduring but shrewd and practical girl persevering and winning a share of the power. It is really a story that is about "the stripping away of the disguise that conceals the soul from the eyes of others . . . . ,1 We Americans have it wrong. "Rumpelstiltskin", in which a miller tells a whopping lie and his docile daughter acquiesces in it to become queen, would be more to the point. But we have been initially seduced by the Perrault cinder-girl who was, after all, the transfigured folk creature of a French literary courtier. Perrault's "Cendrillon" demonstrated the well-bred seventeenth-century female traits of gentility, grace, and selflessness, even to the point of graciously forgiving her wicked stepsisters and finding them noble husbands. The American "Cinderella" is partially Perrault's. The rest is a spun-sugar caricature of her hardier European and Oriental forbears, who made their own way in the world, tricking the stepsisters with double-talk, artfully disguising themselves, or figuring out a way to win the king's son. The final bit of icing on the American Cinderella was concocted by that master candy21 Children's literature in education 22 maker, Walt Disney, in the 1950's. Since then, America's Cinderella has been a coy, helpless dreamer, a "nice" girl who awaits her rescue with patience and a song. This Cinderella of the mass market books finds her way into a majority of American homes while the classic heroines sit unread in old volumes on library shelves. 2Rosemary Minard Womenfolk and Fairy Tales 3There are a number of stories about Ash-boys. , For this study, only tales with the heroine have been considered. 4Arthur Waley "The Chinese Cinderella Story" 5Marian Roalfe Cox Cinderella: 349 Variants 6As quoted in Eileen H Colwell "Folk Literature: An Oral Tradition" 7 "Cinderilla: or The Little Glass Slipper" in The Classic Fairy Tales Poor Cinderella. She has been unjustly distorted by storytellers, misunderstood by educators, and wrongly accused by feminists. Even as late as 1975, in the well-received volume Womenfolk and Fairy Tales, Rosemary Minard writes that Cinderella "would still be scrubbing floors if it were not for her fairy godmother." And Ms. Minard includes her in a sweeping condemnation of folk heroines as "insipid beauties waiting passively for Prince Charming. ''2 Like many dialecticians, Ms. Minard reads the fairy tales incorrectly. Believingrightly-that the fairy tales, as all stories for children, acculturate young readers and listeners, she has nevertheless gotten her target wrong. Cinderella is not to blame. Not the real, the true Cinderella. Ms. Minard should focus her sights on the mass market Cinderella. She does not recognize the old Ash-girl3 for the tough, resilient heroine. The wrong Cinderella has gone to the American ball. The story of Cinderella has endured for over a thousand years, surfacing in a literary source first in ninth century China. 4 It has been found from the Orient to the interior of South America and over five hundred variants have been located by folklorists in Europe alone. This best-beloved tale has been brought to life over and over and no one can say for sure where the oral tradition began. The European story was included by Charles Perrault in his 1697 collection Histoires ou Contes due temps pass~ as "Centrillon". But even before that, the Italian Straparola had a similar story in a collection. Since there had been twetve editions of the Straparola book printed in French before 1694, the chances are strong that Perrault had read the tale "Peau d'Ane" (Donkey Skin) .5 Joseph Jacobs, the indefatigable Victorian collector once said of a Cinderella story he printed that it was "an English version of an Italian adaption of a Spanish translation of a Latin version of a Hebrew translation of an Arabic translation of an Indian original. ''6 Perhaps it was not a totally accurate statement of that particular variant, but Jacobs was making a point about the perils of folk tale telling: each teller brings to a tale something of his/her own cultural orientation. Thus in China, where the "lotus foot", or tiny foot was such a sign of a woman's worth that the custom of foot-binding developed, the Cinderella tale lays emphasis on an impossibly small slipper as a clue to the heroine's identity. In seventeenth-century France, Perrault's creation sighs along with her stepsisters over the magnificent "gold flowered mantua" and the "diamond stomacher ''7 . In the Walt Disney American version, both America's Cinderella 8 Frances Clarke Sayres "Disney Accused". The word "lovableness" is Ms Sayres' and terrifically accurate. The article is a classic. 23 movie and book form, Cinderella shares with the little animals a quality of "lovableness ''8 , thus changing the intent of the tale and denying the heroine her birthright of shrewdness, inventiveness, and grace under pressure. Notice, though, that many innovations-the Chinese slipper, the Perrault godmother with her midnight injunction and her ability to change pumpkin into coach-become incorporated in later versions. Even a slip of the English translator's tongue (de vair, fur, into de verre, glass) becomes immortalized. Such cross fertilization in folklore is phenomenal. And the staying power, across countries and centuries, of some of these inventions is notable. Yet glass slipper and godmother and pumpkin coach are not the common incidents by which a "Cinderella" tale is recognized even though they have become basic ingredients in the American story. Rather, the common incidents recognized by folklorists are these: an ill-treated though rich and worthy heroine in Cinders-disguise; the aid of a magical gift or advice by a beast/bird/mother substitute;the dance/festival/church scene where the heroine comes in radiant display; recognition through a token. So "Cinderella" and her true sister tales, "Cap o' Rushes" with its King Lear judgement and "Catskin" wherein the father unnaturally desires his daughter, are counted. 9Marian Roalfe Cox op. cit. Andrew Lang's judgement that "a naked shoeless race could not have invented Cinderella 9 , then, proves false. Variants have been found among the fur-wearing folk of Alaska and the native tribes in South Africa where shoes were not commonly worn. 10Even boys and men share that dream. See Walter Scherf "Family Conflicts and Emancipation in Fairy Tales" "Cinderella" speaks to all of us in whatever skin we inhabit: the child mistreated, a princess or highborn lady in disguise bearing her trials with patience and fortitude. She makes intelligent decisions for she knows that wishing solves nothing without the concomitant action. We have each of us been that child, l~ It is the longing of any youngster sent supperless to bed or given less than a full share at Christmas. It is the adolescent dream. To make Cinderella less than she is, then, is a heresy of the worst kind. It cheapens our most cherished dreams, and it makes a mockery of the true magic inside us all-the ability to change our own lives, the ability to control our own destinies. !lRichard Chase American Folk Tales and Songs Cinderella first came to America in the nursery tales the settlers remembered from their own homes and told their children. Versions of these tales can still be found. Folklorist Richard Chase, for example,