Reference no: EM133306710

Assignment: Fairy Tale Analysis of "Little Snow White," by the Brothers Grimm

Read the fairy tale "Little Snow White," by the Brothers Grimm, provided in the following link:

I recommend the above link because it has page divisions, which are useful for your parenthetical citations.

This is the link I used in class, but it does not have page divisions:

Assignment Instructions

Write an analysis of the fairy tale "Little Snow White," by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, from either an Archetypal, Feminist, or Post-Colonial perspective. Please write the analysis in the form of a 5-paragraph essay:

Par. 1- Introduction which includes thesis statement

Par. 2- Point #1 with examples/quotes

Par. 3- Point #2 with examples/quotes

Par. 4- Point #3 with examples/quotes

Par. 5- Conclusion

Length: The essay should be approximately 500 words.

Due: Thurs. Nov. 24, 2022.

Your aim is to point out an interpretation of the text that might not be obvious to readers without applying this particular perspective.

You may begin your analysis with a thesis statement like this: "When examining "Snow White" from a __________ perspective, it becomes clear that...." Finish the statement with an insightful "big-picture" comment about what you will be proving. You may also include a brief summary of the three key points that you will be examining to support your thesis. This would all be done in your first paragraph.

In the next three paragraphs that follow, you will support your thesis statement by examining each key point (one per paragraph) with at least one specific example and supporting quote for each point.

Your fifth and final paragraph will be your conclusion. Do not just repeat the same wording you used in your introduction. Your conclusion should make final, insightful, overall comments that connect back to your original thesis, but go a bit beyond and use different words in order to bring closure to your discussion in a thoughtful and effective way.

Please plan and outline your essay before writing it, and submit your outline to the same dropbox as your final essay.

Please read the following exemplar (written from a reader response perspective) and review the rubric for the assignment before submitting your analysis. The rubric is available in the relevant assignment drop box area.

Note: this example is written from a reader response perspective which necessitates use of first person. The other theories do not, since they are not based on your own experiences.

Also note that this example does not contain parenthetical citations. Your essay MUST include parenthetical citations for all quotes from the story that you include within the body of your essay. For a parenthetical citation, all you need to include is the last name of the two authors and the page number where the quote is found.

You must also attach a Works Cited list on a separate page at the end of your essay, which would include reference information for the online version of the story that you are using, as well as any secondary sources you may have consulted. The use of secondary sources is not required, but if you do feel you need to use some, you must document them in your Works Cited list, as well as include parenthetical citations for any ideas or quotes borrowed from them and used within the body of your essay.

Please make sure you follow the required format for all assignments (i.e. double-spaced text, 12 pt Times New Roman font, indented paragraphs, numbered pages, title page. Please note that the example below does not conform to the required format).

A Reader Response Analysis of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale "Little Snow White".

When examining "Snow White" from a reader response perspective, it becomes clear that Snow White serves as a warning to children (specifically girls) about the dangers of vanity. Although Snow White's goodness is tied to her beauty, her desire for beautiful things nearly kills her. As for the Queen, her vanity literally kills her. Unfortunately, neither the Queen nor Snow White are portrayed as capable of learning to make better, independent choices. Snow White remains dependent on male authority figures to rescue and protect her, and the Queen is subjected to the full force of powerful male authority.

I read many fairy tales as a little girl, and the one message that I received over and over was that good people are beautiful and bad people are ugly. When I now read "Snow White" or any other fairy tale as an adult, I still expect that the beautiful people will be good and the ugly people will be bad. However, in this story, the queen is both evil and beautiful; her vanity and desire to be "fairest of all" turns her into a hateful would-be murderer and cannibal, as is evident when she thinks she is eating Snow White's heart and lungs. She never develops any guilt or remorse for her awful actions.

Snow White herself is depicted as a good girl because she is willing to be a good housekeeper for the dwarves. I disagree with this estimation of goodness because as a modern woman, I don't like the idea that women are only valued for their domestic skills, and I think the dwarves should be willing to protect her even if she is not a good housekeeper. However, although she is "good", she is also vain. When the wicked queen tries to trick her, she doesn't tempt her with goods that will make her housekeeping job easier; she tempts her with trinkets: pretty silk bodice laces, a comb, and a "beautiful apple." In spite of the dwarves' warnings, she falls for the queen's tricks and "dies" from eating the poisoned apple. It appears to me that she is being punished for her vanity and desire for things that are not "domestic." She also never seems to develop the ability to make wiser choices to protect herself.

After the prince rescues Snow White, they punish her evil stepmother by forcing her to dance to death in hot iron shoes. I am, of course, horrified by how gruesome this punishment is. I realise that children in the time of the Brothers Grimm would have been more accustomed to death, pain, and the general brutality of life, but I still find the punishment shocking given the fact that I was raised to believe that children should be sheltered from violence. This suggests to me that the evil queen's punishment is not just a horrifying lesson for children about the dangers of vanity, but a warning for Snow White as well.

The conclusion of this fairy tale does not strike me as a "happily ever after" ending, despite the fact that Snow White is marrying the Prince. It troubles me to consider what the Prince may be capable of doing to Snow White if she ever does anything to displease him when we see the extent of the cruel and violent punishment he inflicts on the Queen. This story implies that women who give in to weaknesses such as envy and vanity deserve to be punished by male power and authority, robbing women of the opportunity to independently understand and rectify their own mistakes. I am glad I live in a more enlightened, liberated age than that of the Brothers Grimm.