Preview

The Ugly Duckling

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
752 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Ugly Duckling
Paper 2-Draft 2

“The Ugly Duckling” was a short story written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1844. Although it is nearly 200 years old, the story is still one of the most popular retellings within modern culture. The question, of course, becomes “why?” We all know the story: a fowl is born to a duck family, shunned by its family and community because of its looks, and later develops into a beautiful swan that is envied by everyone for its beauty. Why would this story stand the test of time to not only still be heard on the lips of storytellers around the world, but to also be retold and reinvented through modern day translations? To answer this question, we must first look at the story itself in order to first understand its literary value and then to evaluate its impact on our popular culture. Many would first assume, by its presentation, that “The Ugly Duckling” can be considered a good example of a fairy tale. Bruno Bettelheim, a noted educator and scholar on the role that fairy tales play, has stated that in fairy tales, there is typically a battle between good and evil. Characters are absolute...either good or evil. He also goes on to say that the goal is not to impart a moral, but rather to show that one can overcome any obstacle (Bettelheim 216-217). Based on this criterion, “The Ugly Duckling” falls short of what could be called a fairy tale. Other than the anthropormorphisizing of the animal characters, there is no magic that is done in the story. The characters are not absolute. For instance, the main character’s mother was quite loving and protective of him in the beginning of the story, and she also defended him against both family and outsiders who made fun of him. As time progressed, however, her feelings towards him changed, and she became one of his detractors. Also, as Bettelheim has mentioned, fairy tales usually do not try to convey a moral lesson to the reader. However, by the end of “The Ugly Duckling”, the reader is left with the sense



Cited: Bettelheim, Bruno. “Fairy Tales and the Existential Predicament.” Dreams and Inward Journeys. Ed. Marjorie Ford and Jon Ford. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2004. 216-217. “Fable.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fables. (Accessed on 3/13/06) Jung, Carl. The Portable Jung. Ed. Joseph Campbell. New York: Penguin Books, 1976. 5.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    For my Rhetoric-In-Practice (RIP), I decided to write fracture fairy tales on "Hansel and Gretel", "The Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Ugly Duckling". I take upon the role of Rory Madden, an experienced children's author promoting his newest book The Modernize Collection of Fairy Tales on his website. In my book, each fairy tale is revamped to target a modern audience and to address a specific issue with children and modern technology. My collection of fairy tales targets two audiences, my primary audience is third and fourth graders; meanwhile, my secondary audience is parents.…

    • 1384 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and the “The Raven” are both captivating pieces of literature because they capture the imagination and illuminate the mind, while creating darkness. Meanwhile decades later, both stories continue to captivate readers all over the world earning the reputation of being two of the best American folklore stories. Although Washington Irving and Edgar Allen Poe in their respective works “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Raven” use protagonists to describe events of the story, Irving’s text is the better of the two because his protagonist, as the underdog, is able to overcome physical and emotional abuse while becoming a legend.…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Bettelheim reasoned, the child can identify with the good character, not because he values goodness per se, but because he identifies with the situation the character is placed in and wants to see her escape or triumph. Nevertheless, the morality of the situation is not lost on the child and he or she learns to value good over evil. In Charles Perrault’s version of Little Red Riding Hood, we are introduced to the main character portrayed as an innocent girl living in a small village. As was stated by Perrault, “Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl”(Perrault 63). This quote shows the presence of the simply drawn character Bettelheim looks for in a successful fairy tale. In the Grimm Brother’s version of Little Red Cap, the reader is once more introduced to what is believed to be a sweet innocent girl also living in a village. As was stated by Grimm, “Once upon a time there was a sweet little girl”(Grimm 65). Both stories although both having different tones, contain the same aspect that is needed for a story to qualify as a fairy tale according to Bettelheim, simply drawn characters. Although Perrault’s version is more friendly compared to the more darker version of the Grimm Brothers’, both contain simply drawn characters in…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    general basis of this theory, believing that inner conflicts will normally arise from childhood and…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fairytales: when someone says that word, the first thing that might come up in your mind is probably kid’s reading Cinderella. Fairytales’ simplicity and accuracy in delivering a moral to young kids and adults is wonderful. We’d give an adult a eerie look if we caught them reading a kids book on the train to themselves. The reason behind our thought is cause it’s a kids book why would an adult read it but behind all this is the difference of interpreting stories for adults and children. Stories like Juniper Tree, Snow White, and Little Red Cap include hidden messages through violence and imagery and dialogue. Fairy tales teach children how to grasp the meaning and power behind storytelling. In this paper I will discuss the vast ways in which a child and adult interpret fairytales. Its…

    • 1983 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Visual composition of the real and fake ducks shows that they seek to but do not belong, a bird’s eyeshot on the 2 ducks emphasises they are lost. The ducks are then captured and placed into a new pond, the blue, green colours and descriptive language from the beginning is repeated. Their journey is complete and they have found a place where they are safe and accepted.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mrs. Le Anna Ficks

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The fairy tale that I have chosen for my essay is one that is about a duckling that wasn’t the prettiest thing ever. This poor duckling had people picking on him left and right and no one would even want anything to do with him, he was all alone and never knew what to do. This duckling thought that he was going to be like this forever and thought that he was always going to be all alone. Then one day he grew up and turned into the prettiest swan in the world. The other animals that use to pick on him no longer wanted to and were amazed at what had happened and were sorry they ever made fun of him.…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bettelheim Paper

    • 1073 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Bruno Bettelheim’s “The Uses of Enchantment”, Bruno describes how fairy tales are adapted to realistic, everyday problems to guide children’s development to proper decision making as they grow up. As children transition from adolescence to adulthood, they are generally given advice and morals about how to handle the hardships that the world delivers to grown up adults. Bettelheim claims that fairy tales offer solutions to challenging situations, at a level that a child can comprehend and understand. Fairy tales deliberately state a dilemma briefly so the child can fully understand the problem in the tale. Bettelheim also believes that there are no gray areas for people who are good or bad, meaning you are rather a good person or you are evil. This, according to Bettelheim, makes it less difficult for a child to understand the difference between the two. I don’t agree with Bettelheim’s ideas about the value of fairy tales because the outcomes usually are not realistic. Although Bettelheim makes valid claims when he talks about how these stories are to teach young children good morals, there’s some uncertainty that support his claim where misinterpretations of the text in some fairytales clouds Bettelheim’s statements.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Clad in a “shawl and poke bonnet,” (Potter) Jemima Puddle-Duck is determined to lay her own eggs. The fact that she dresses, in what humans associate with mother goose, acts as a link between gender roles and Jemima’s apparel; that is, children might not be able to tell the difference between a male or a female duck, so the picture book accentuates gender to guide the child’s understanding that female geese lay eggs. Thus, reiterating the concept that biological facts are present and beneficial within the…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, all who are deemed these qualities are the villainesses of the stories. When the beautiful damsel is placed in distress, it is always the ugly villainess who places her there. Thus, as stated by Grauerholz there becomes an “ association between beauty and goodness and then conversely between ugliness and evil..” (qtd. in Hanafy). When a villainess acts out against the heroine, as seen in the characters of Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, and the Evil Queen in Snow White, they do not act from any intelligible source of anger but rather from jealousy (mostly stemming from beauty) and pure malice, therefore furthering the reader and/or listeners disdain of powerful women, and instead reinstating one’s compassion, and reliability for the distressed heroine. Furthering dissuading people from connecting with the powerful women of the fairytales are that they always are punished in the end. No fairy tale ends with the villainess winning, she always gets her compuence. However, not all female characters fit between the dichotomies of malicious and good. There are a select few characters, particularly the fairy godmothers and the dwarves of Snow White, whom are portrayed as not only genial, powerful, and wise, but also help guide the heroine on her journey to find her Prince. Without the Fairy…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most Americans could say that they have at least heard of Cinderella and her fairy godmother. In the German Version of Cinderella, “Aschenputtel,” there is no Fairy godmother. In “Aschenputtel,” Cinderella’s mother tells her “Dear child, remain pious and good, and then our dear God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you." Later in the story Cinderella asks her father to bring home the first twig that brushes his hat. When given the twig Cinderella takes it to her mother’s grave and it grows into a magnificent tree. Cinderella then prays under the tree and pigeons and turtledoves bring Cinderella anything she wishes. These birds represent Cinderella’s mother’s spirit watching over her poor daughter. Animals, such as birds and mice, also appear in the Disney classic, but are more aides then guardians to Cinderella. These animals are introduced as humorous instead of saviors in the Disney version. The animals help her clean the house and do chores. Later on they also are transformed into steeds and drivers to take Cinderella to the ball. These differences give each story its lighter and darker feelings and dynamics affecting the readers’ emotions towards the animals and Cinderella.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The introduction of the book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim focused on the benefits of fairytales on child development. Bettelheim talks about how important developing the child's imagination is. Developing the imagination allows children to process what they see in the world and process what they hear in stories. This gives them a good grasp on their conscience (11-12). Fairy tales allows for children to learn about problems in the real world and ways to deal with them. Bettelheim says that there is a fine line between a story holding a child's attention and not; the story must be entertaining but by arousing their imagination…

    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Magic

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A child’s imagination is the start of their learning. Creativity is the key for the child there are lessons to be learned in some of these fairytales. For example, the boy who cried wolf lesson was, its not good to lie because in the end if you lie to much no one will believe you when you’re actually telling the truth. Goldilocks and the three bears lesson was don’t break into people houses and touch they’re belongs without permission. And little red riding hood lesson was don’t talk to strangers. Every fairytale has a lesson that we don’t know about as a child but when it comes to parents, they should understand that it’s a great tool to use. In a way fairytales talk to children giving them a sense of understanding. Fairytales also gives an understanding of life. The cruelties and struggles and even deaths that children aren’t able to fully understand. By keeping that magic apart of the child’s life, they will be able to cope with the things in his or her life.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sleeping Beauty Stereotypes

    • 2340 Words
    • 10 Pages

    common in most fairy tales. Surprisingly, “Sleeping Beauty” is also a good example of bad…

    • 2340 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fairy tales picture a world filled with magic, love and the triumph of the good over the evil. Fairy tales are a window to other worlds where the wildest dreams can come true and the hero always lives happily ever after preferably paired with his loved one. Although some people argue that fairy tales are full of stereotypes, filled with frightening monsters and promote racism and sexism I believe that they are wrong because fairy tales provide valuable moral lessons to children, teach them other countries' cultures promote the imagination and the cognitive development and therefore they should be read to young children.…

    • 2132 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays