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[daric103-blog]

The Darkness of Stockholm Syndrome.

As this assignment approached I treated it as something of an easy task. I knew my topic, pointing out Stockholm Syndrome in Beauty and the Beast, and thought it would be fairly easy to carry out because well, it’s there. The tale is essentially the textbook definition of Stockholm Syndrome. A girl is taken prisoner, given the chance to escape, but refuses because of an emotional bond that has developed between her and her captor. What I didn’t expect to find while doing my research was the grisly reality behind the fairy tale comparison. I looked at many modern day cases of Stockholm Syndrome and was both horrified and taken aback by what I found. These stories are dark and heart wrenching, to the point where I seriously considered changing my topic. I very quickly realized that though the story of Beauty and the Beast is alright to poke fun at, the real thing is no laughing matter.

[without-opress-of-toll]

That’s really interesting. I mean, really the only thing I’ve ever seen about Stockholm Syndrome has been in connection with Beauty and the Beast. I’ve never really thought about its implications in the real world.

[aldarrow4-blog]

I find it interesting how your research topic changed your opinion of the story. It changed so much you almost changed research.

[kemcc103-blog]

I feel like this is a really interesting topic that you would learn a lot of new things from. I never thought about what a real life “version” of Beauty and the Beast would be like.

[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.

[kemcc103-blog]

I have always wondered why stepmothers are made out to be the bad guy in practically every fairytale. It seems weird that this is a recurring theme when in real life theres really no link between stepmothers and evil.

[kemcc103-blog]

The classic version of “Cinderella” that we all know so well has many apparent themes relating to family relationships due to the abuse and neglect by her step-mother and step-sisters. In the French version of the tale, “Donkeyskin”, we see an even more disturbing familial relationship when the king announces that he wants to marry his daughter. This type of familial intermarriage is a taboo in most societies today. As you could imagine, Donkeyskin was terrified of this idea and ran. Researching this social issue is interesting because it has given me a better understanding of the situation and an explanation of how this idea may have come about.

[aldarrow4-blog]

Writing an Annoted Bibliography

I feel that creating an annotated bibliography was a quite a bit of work. The first part was finding the sources. This part was not my favorite. It involved scrolling through hundreds of scientific journals to find the one or two that actually apply to my research question. The next part was reading through each journal and article. This was interesting to me. At times, the words were a little over my head but I enjoyed learning about past experiments and research. The final part was writing about each source I found. This did not take me as long as I thought. Hopefully, the annotated bibliography will set me up well for my research paper.

[kemcc103-blog]

I feel the same way about the process of this annotated bibliography. Although finding the sources seems tedious at times it’s really interesting to read what you find.

[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. 

[kemcc103-blog]

I agree that this is a great way to get the right information for the research paper without being overwhelmed and unorganized. 

[kemcc103-blog]

So far I’ve really liked writing this annotated bibliography. It’s a a nice change from the typical essays we write. Although it can be frustrating at times to do research and find exactly what you’re looking for, I find myself being more excited about the research because we got to choose a topic that sounded interesting to us instead of just going off of a prompt. I’ve been shocked by  how many articles there are out there pertaining to my topic. Some of the information overlaps, but each source has something unique about it. I wish I had the time and patience to read some of the lengthier articles because they seem really interesting and useful but I just can’t bring myself to read 50+ pages of one source.

[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.

[kemcc103-blog]

I agree that this retelling failed. There was very little resemblance between this story and Cinderella. You had to look much deeper into it to find similarities.

[mabig103-blog]

Into the Woods: Typical Cinderella?

In Into the Woods we get a classical representation of the typical Cinderella as told in Grimm’s version of the tale. There is a common girl who is covered in ash being mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, fairly typical. She continues on to sneak out to the festival and every night steals away and hides from the prince. Everything goes as is expected until the third night of the festival where she gets stuck on the stairs of the palace and we are finally able to see the thoughts upon her decision. We know in this version that she purposefully left her shoe for the prince to find because of her own uncertainties. This addition to the regular story line allows us to see into Cinderella’s mind and have a better feel for the character. Although she is still the same in many ways I believe this retelling gives us a better sense of who Cinderella is.

[mahof103-blog]

I also agree; we can see what Cinderella and most modern women stand for.  They have more of a choice of how to deal with their lives and aren’t simply either running away from their problems or latching on to a prince that will set her life up with royals and riches.

[kemcc103-blog]

I thought the same thing after seeing this adaptation. Letting viewers hear Cinderella’s thought process is unique and helpful

[kemcc103-blog]

James Lapine, the writer of Into the Woods, took on the challenge of rewriting not one, but four fairytales. Attempts at this challenge were failed by writers and directors for 15 years. Lapine took “Cinderella”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Rapunzel”, and “Jack and the Beanstalk” and incorporated them into one visual retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ versions of these tales.  He tells the story of Cinderella and her experiences at the Prince’s festival with the exact visuals that the written story gives to readers. He even took dialogue right out of the written version so that no details are left out.  Although he does add his own twist at the end, the version of Cinderella in Into the Woods was successful because it sticks to the general plot of the Brothers Grimm version with very little variation.

[courtneymelvinuaenglish103-blog]

Image

I recently went through one of the largest rushes in the nation for Greek life. Greek life itself has many good aspects of it, as I am finding out more every week—charity, community, and commitment to name a few. On the other hand, Sorority Recruitment struggles to match this depth of meaning. I found much of recruitment to be centered around appearances and image. In the Grimm Brothers’ Cinderella, a young girl, her step mother, step sisters, father, and the prince of the kingdom all play a part in a very interesting, slightly disturbed, and extremely shallow story that strongly depicts the ideals of beauty that dominated the culture at that time. The interesting part was, this story was published in 1857, 1058 years ago, and yet I still see an incredibly strong value placed on beauty and image in today’s society. Humans’ undying obsession with appearances can be seen not only through a week of sorority recruitment and a fairytale story written over a thousand years ago, but in everyday life through the media, the social interactions we have, and even through the thoughts that run through our head on a daily basis, if we’re being honest.

[tuerv103-blog]

Neat ancedote! I never would have thought of comparing Greek life to Cinderella, but it definitely seems to work here. Using beauty image is also a great idea. I can see how that relates to both today’s society and Cinderella. Sounds like you got it all planned out.

[kemcc103-blog]

I love this connection because it’s so interesting to see how some things in society just never change!

[trtay103-blog]

Unknown Yet Beautiful

     While I doubt that many people who read The Tiger’s Bride are at risk of turning into a tiger, the tale poses a very interesting and common situation. Too many times people miss out on something that could be wonderful and beautiful just because they do not understand or because they let fear get in the way. Just as I faced my fear, the girl in the story opened up and let herself see past her predetermined ideas about the monster. As a result, we both found something wonderful. If people would look past their fear of the unknown and allow themselves to be vulnerable they might just find something they never expected. Looking back, the four years I spent in this show-choir were by far the best of my life. These years were filled with new experiences and countless irreplaceable memories, all of which I would have missed out on if I had let myself continue to be blinded by my fear of the unknown. From that point forward, whenever I felt nervous or unsure about a situation or felt scared of the unknown, I simply “shrugged the drops off my beautiful fur”(66).

[maran103-blog]

The quotation you used perfectly ends this  paragraph. I feel it helped to bring the whole thing together, while also adding impact.

[kemcc103-blog]

This is a great point! I have also found that facing your fears and going out of your comfort zone can lead to amazing things.

[kemcc103-blog]

More Than Meets the Eye

It seems nearly impossible for kids these days, or anyone for that matter, to come across something or someone and not immediately start creating mental labels and pretense judgments. Appearance is always the biggest first impression. Sometimes it just takes a quick glance and we think we have the person all figured out. I for one am definitely guilty of jumping to conclusions about people I hardly even know, and I think most of us would have to admit to that too. But, I have learned through my many experiences that more often than not that first impression you create for someone is far from reality. The princess in Donkeyskin is a perfect example of how far off these automatic judgments can be. A girl that was arguably the most beautiful in the land, so beautiful that her own father wished to marry her, was deemed repulsive by everyone in the new town just because of her appearance, even when the prince tries to convince them of her true beauty. Although written so long ago, Donkeyskin shows that society really hasn’t changed and examples why we shouldn’t make these rash and unjustified judgments.