Fairy Tales and Modern Stories
Fairy Tales and Modern Stories
By Esther Hamilton
English 100
The author Bruno Bettelheim is telling us in the first two paragraphs how a lot of parents have replaced fairy tales with more realistic stories like “The Little Engine That Could.” This story encourages children to believe that if they try hard and does not give up, he will finally succeed. (Bettelheim) (Sims) When I was a child I was read many fairy tales as well as modern stories. My grandmother told me the story “The Little Engine That Could.” I thought that it was silly. How could you succeed by saying “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can?” (Piper) Then one day I was with my cousin and we got lost in the woods, I started to think about the story “The Little Engine That Could” that grandma had told me. I started to think to myself “I think I can find my way home, I think I can, I think I can.” We finally succeeded and found our way home, all because I believed in the story. According to Bettelheim a young woman was convinced that one’s attitude does in fact affect one’s achievements. If she would approach a task with the conviction that she could conquer it, she would succeed. (Bettelheim) (Sims) When a child encounters a situation that is challenging, just like when I was a child, and does not give up because of the story “The Little Engine That Could” tell us that this is an encouraging story. This is a modern story that gives children the mindset that they don’t have to have magic, super powers, or anything else to succeed in life. They only need to believe in themselves. In the next two paragraphs Bettelheim talks about the story “The Swiss Family Robinson.” This story had a completely different effect on another little girl. She read the story to escape the reality of her life, her father was away a lot and her mother was sick. “The Swiss Family Robinson” is a story about a family who is shipwrecked and always together helping each other. In this girls life by reading
By Esther Hamilton
English 100
The author Bruno Bettelheim is telling us in the first two paragraphs how a lot of parents have replaced fairy tales with more realistic stories like “The Little Engine That Could.” This story encourages children to believe that if they try hard and does not give up, he will finally succeed. (Bettelheim) (Sims) When I was a child I was read many fairy tales as well as modern stories. My grandmother told me the story “The Little Engine That Could.” I thought that it was silly. How could you succeed by saying “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can?” (Piper) Then one day I was with my cousin and we got lost in the woods, I started to think about the story “The Little Engine That Could” that grandma had told me. I started to think to myself “I think I can find my way home, I think I can, I think I can.” We finally succeeded and found our way home, all because I believed in the story. According to Bettelheim a young woman was convinced that one’s attitude does in fact affect one’s achievements. If she would approach a task with the conviction that she could conquer it, she would succeed. (Bettelheim) (Sims) When a child encounters a situation that is challenging, just like when I was a child, and does not give up because of the story “The Little Engine That Could” tell us that this is an encouraging story. This is a modern story that gives children the mindset that they don’t have to have magic, super powers, or anything else to succeed in life. They only need to believe in themselves. In the next two paragraphs Bettelheim talks about the story “The Swiss Family Robinson.” This story had a completely different effect on another little girl. She read the story to escape the reality of her life, her father was away a lot and her mother was sick. “The Swiss Family Robinson” is a story about a family who is shipwrecked and always together helping each other. In this girls life by reading
Cited: Bettelheim, Bruno. "Fairy Tales and Modern Stories." n.d. Piper, Watty. "The Little Engine That Could." n.d. Sims, Marcie. "The Write Stuff Thinking Through Essays." Pearson Education, Inc., 2012. p. 247-250.