Eve Sorin English 103

This account is to discuss different ideas and themes that come up in my English 103 class at the University of Alabama. 

[trtay103-blog]

but... What is beauty?...

Fairytales bring joy to children and adults alike while transcending the boundaries of time. Many fairytales have far deeper lessons hidden within them than meets the eye. Some authors of fairytales use their characters and storyline in an attempt to prompt change within their society. Jeanne Beaumont excelled in writing tales that promote change. In her work, “Beauty and the Beast,” Beaumont uses the interaction of the main characters to stimulate the mind concerning the definition of beauty. Living in a world in which  I am surrounded by pressures from society, I find these fairytales to be very effective at encouraging me to look outside my original understanding.

[mabig103-blog]

I find it very interesting that authors may have underlying issues with their characters that are not essentially mentioned but can be inferred. While many of the characters in my story may just seem cruel or depressed when in reality they have other issues that cant be seen at first.

[maces103-blog]

I think its interesting when authors use their writing to influence readers. Whether that means a social issue that they feel strongly about or just a issue common at the time. Especially since fairy tales are written for all ages so it can affect many different peoples opinions.

[xxxxly333-deactivated20181030]

I found your perspective on Beaumont’s point in “Beauty and the Beast” to be very interesting and though provoking. The personal connection helps to add meaning to your perspective, while also giving a basis to form your essay around. I think targeting the perception of beauty is a great topic, and is addressed frequently with the vastness of social media.

[evsor103-blog]

I like that you talked about how fairy tales have deeper meanings. Obviously, after four months of studying fairy tales, we are all well aware of that. Fairy tales are just as complex, if not more, than long novels. There is so much that goes into these short stories and so much to be learned.

[without-opress-of-toll]

What's the deal with fairytale stepmothers?

So I’ve wondered for the past few years about stepmothers in literature, and why they’re always evil. And I have come to the conclusion that the patriarchy is solely responsible. The stepmothers in literature are evil because they are not as desirable as the heroines they oppose. The stepmother in Cinderella has daughters of her own, meaning that she is impure, or “damaged goods.” And the only other possibility of a stepmother in fairytales is one who was previously unmarried, thus implying lack of appeal. Taken all together, the vilification of stepmothers clearly comes from the patriarchal obsession with youth, beauty, and the social construct of virginity.

[evsor103-blog]

Our subjects are very similar, so this intrigued me. We both wrote about stepmothers in different fairy tales. I guess that a stepmother is known to be a wicked character so they are put into the stories as the antagonists.

[evsor103-blog]

Research and Fairy Tales

In the classic fairy tale of “Snow White,” Snow White and her evil stepmother, the queen, have an exceedingly violent distaste for one another. The queen was the most beautiful woman in all the land until Snow White grew up to be even more beautiful than her step-mother. The queen was very unhappy about this and attempted to have Snow White killed. This aspect of the story can also be studied in terms of social science, as many mother-daughter relationships, as well as those between stepmothers and stepdaughters, have their fair share of conflicts.

[courtneymelvinuaenglish103-blog]

Cinderella Annotated Bib

Writing an annotated bibliography on Cinderella has been actually a very interesting experience. I have loved analyzing the story and looking for deeper psychological, social, and familial issues that are incorporated into the story. It has raised many interesting possible theses that I’m interested in finding the answer to. Through looking for the articles, I have begun to find answers but I would like to find maybe two more articles that can clear up more questions I have on my topic, which is "What effects does childhood neglect and familial abuse have on people as they grow up?” Making the annotated bibliography itself is helping a lot to organize my thoughts for this research paper, and I’m excited to see how the paper turns out.

[evsor103-blog]

I actually really enjoyed studying the scientific aspect of “Snow White” themes as well. It was fun to learn about because it was all very relatable and modern. These social issues have been prevalent from the time Bothers Grimm wrote the original tale all the way to now. It is human nature, and that never changes. 

[trtay103-blog]

So. Many. Articles.

After finding countless unless articles on varying subjects slightly related to my topic I find myself exhausted. How many people spend their every waking moments devoted to writing these things? I found a 488 page article on the effects of makeup on mans understanding of beauty… like… Who writes that? This is indeed a struggle. I finally find myself citing experiments full of math. Including an equation  “N of beautiful people X percentage of opinion= amount of beauty”… How does one derive this? It is a strange world out there folks. 

[mabig103-blog]

I found a lot of the same issues when researching for my annotated bibliography. There were so many sources that I went through and I also saw the authors putting quantitative qualities on personalities, I still don’t understand how no matter how many times I reread.

[evsor103-blog]

This was an issue for me as well. However, I found that the more I really read and loved for the right articles, the better readings I found. I believe that because I spent this time and effort looking for articles, I was able to find the perfect ones for my topic. 

[evsor103-blog]

Writing an annotated bibliography is very different than writing a reflection or analysis. It is much more scientific and factual. I personally enjoy studying these topics. They are very interesting to me. I am studying intergenerational conflicts between women, especially mothers and daughters. This idea stems from the evil step-mother in “Snow White.” She has issues with Snow White and is jealous if her beauty. She is willing to do anything she can in order have her killed. This is how desperate she is to be the most beautiful woman around. This is not the only case of intergenerational conflict in fairy tales. This is why I have chosen to study it for my social science topic on my annotated bibliography. 

[maces103-blog]

Successfully shedding a new light onto a well-known story intimidates many writers, as it should, but James Lapine the Writer of Into the Woods took this challenge on. He even went a step further and made adaptions to four well known fairytales into a musical and then a movie. The musical was an adaption of some of the Grimm’s brothers stories combined, it included Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel. These characters stories developed separately to start, then they intertwined with each other to play off of their plots into a single story. Although there was many characters involved in the movie the main ones for Cinderella were, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, and Chris Pine as Prince Charming.  James Lapines adaption of Cinderella in Into the Woods was somewhat successful because it followed the general story line but gave modern twist, however it neglected to address Cinderella’s father and mother before the stepmother.

[evsor103-blog]

I completely agree with your first sentence, and I love the way you brought that up. I find it interesting that you brought the actors and actresses into this. That is really cool. I also like that there is some success to this adaptation, as most retellings are much more different from the original than this one, especially because these are all tied together

[courtneymelvinuaenglish103-blog]

Cinderella vs. A Case Study of Emergency Room Procedure and Risk Data Management by Hospital Staff Members in the Urban Facility

Stacy Richter took her story “A Case Study of Emergency Room Procedure and Risk Data Management by Hospital Staff Members in the Urban Facility” in a completely new direction from the Grimm brothers’ “Cinderella,” incorporating bizarre new aspects into it including the shocking new themes of drug addiction, imprisonment, and legitimate danger, in contrast to the original Cinderella where all the princess really had to endure in terms of mistreatment was a life of servant-hood and an unpleasant step family. Still, this story ultimately failed as a retelling. The characters were unrecognizable apart from the nicknames of “Prince” and “Princess,” which caused the story to lose all of the original and respectable elements that make it such an alluring and beloved fairy tale.

[evsor103-blog]

I think that the way you noted these new themes is very cool. I like that the themes in the modern retelling are more socially acceptable to be discussed in modern times. However, this has nothing to do with the original tale of “Cinderella.” I wonder how the stories compare. 

[evsor103-blog]

Contemporary Retellings of Fairytales

The classic fairy tale of “Snow White” was originally written and published by Brothers Grimm in1812. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were brothers from Germany, and were both nationalists. When “Snow White” was published, many German stated had recently become allies with Napoleon, thus becoming a part of his wars and confederations. Unlike the Disney version, Snow White is a very young, innocent teenager. She is afraid of her stepmother, as in this  time, stepmothers were a very rare occurrence. Elaina Smith wrote a contemporary retelling of the classic fairytale entitled “Dead Apples.” This story is about a town by the name of Dunlath that had solely a male population; no females in the whole town. One day, a young woman moves to the town. All of the men in the town were astonished at the presence of a woman and would follow her around and stare all of the time. The town grocer, however, stayed away. He was very shy around the woman, for he loved her. One day the woman choked on an apple core, and then remained unconscious for weeks. The grocer came and visited her every night. She started to die, and the grocer saved her. Eventually, when she woke up, he professed his love for her, and she screamed at him and ran away. Although the content of Smith's "Dead Apples" deviates somewhat from the Brothers Grimm version of "Snow White," it does include some similarities, however the story completely fails to effectively resemble any of the original themes or ideas from "Snow White.”

[mabig103-blog]

Cinderella: Damsel or Fighter

Often in the tales of Cinderella that are dispersed throughout our media we see a fair maiden who works hard for her family but is passive. She runs from the ball and waits for the prince to find her. This could cause misconceptions about the strength and will in Cinderella’s heart. In many different versions of this story the young girl endures punishments and judgements and only runs so she is not caught. Later she finds her own way of showing her prince who she is, often by some sign or token. In Lin Lan not even death keeps the maiden from being near her love and taking back what her sister took. Cinderella is often misunderstood as the damsel who needs saving, but in reality she is just afraid of her consequences, if not for the cruelty she often endures I have no doubt she would never run. Cinderella is a fighter, she is just passive in her techniques.

[evsor103-blog]

This is very interesting. I have never read or heard of this version of Cinderella, so I have never gotten to see this side of her character. Cinderella is truly a strong character who can fight for what she wants and believes, and most audiences do not get to see that very often. 

[zovil103-blog]

The Beast Inside (and Out)

The world, as I’m sure we have all been told, is a balance of good and evil. Everyone’s innate flaws, though usually invisible to the naked eye, are subject to judgement the moment it is brought into the light. Whether we are desperately trying to fit in or desperately wishing to stand out, the ability to pick and choose which aspects of our personalities we want to incorporate into our outward appearance allows us to more easily become acquainted with one another. Imagine the difficulty faced when all of these flaws are made public and unable to be hidden. A similar problem is faced by the beast in Beauty and the Beast. The lonely beast waits for someone to see that, though his outside appearance seems abrasive and unappealing, on the inside he is a handsome, sweet prince who only wants someone to love. In a way, I believe that we all have difficulty translating our feelings into actions and words, but that it is made a lot easier when someone is willing to listen.

[evsor103-blog]

I agree with this. Especially with our recent study of fairy tales, which we have always thought of as these magical happy stories, it is becoming more and more apparent that there is a dark side to every story. Appearance is always judged too harshly. Outside appearance says nothing about one’s personality. 

[evsor103-blog]

The Truth About Fairy Tales

As a child, my favorite stories were fairy tales. When my parents asked what book I wanted them to pull from my bookshelf at bedtime, the answer usually included a tale filled with fantasy, enchanted places, heroes, villains and, of course, an ending that taught a life lesson. I always related best to the main character or hero in each story. For instance, I used to dream that one day I would get to live the life of Cinderella, Snow White, or Ariel. Good would defeat evil. Love would win out over hate. Those who had wronged me would be punished, or would at least see the error of their ways. In other words, everything would turn out all right. And, as the stories go, we would live “happily ever after.” Unfortunately, only some elements of fairy tales reflect everyday life.

[demo]

Passing through Times Square by Mareen Fischinger