In the story, Cinderella, translated by David Walser, there is a young girl who is made to be the servant for her evil step-mother and step-sisters. She is given the named Cinderella by her step-sisters who called her Cinder-Wench because she would sit down among the cinder and ashes after she finished her chores. Cinderella's step sister were very excited because the king's son was throwing a ball and he was inviting all the fashionable maidens. On the night of the ball Cinderella was sad that she was not attending with her step sisters. She went out to the garden and started to cry. After a minuet, her fairy godmother appeared made her a beautiful gown and a horse and carriage to ride in. At the ball she was the envy of all the other girls and the prince was completely taken with her. The next night at the ball had to leave in a hurry because the clock had stuck midnight. Without hesitating she began to run home leaving behind one of her glass slippers. The next day the prince proclaimed that he was going to have every girl try on the shoe and marry the girl the shoe belonged to. When one of the prince's men came to Cinderella's house he tried the slippers on her step sisters. When it didn't fit them, Cinderella asked if she could try it on. When she did, she had a perfect fit and she pulled out the matching glass slipper. She and the prince were married a few days later and they lived happily ever after!
I think the story Cinderella is the perfect example of a Traditional Fantasy. This story has been passed on for centuries. It is one of the most famous stores of all time. Something that makes Traditional Fantasy's different from picture books is that they can be told without any accompanying illustrations. The story of Cinderella that I read had very few illustrations and most of the time I didn't even look at them! Another aspect of Traditional Fantasy's is that they always have a main character that is an underdog but in the end they prosper.
I think the story of Cinderella has the underlying meaning that even if you are against all odds and don't think your life can get any worse something can happen to change everything for the better. Overall I really enjoyed the Cinderella story and I think it will continue be a classic story to be told for generations to come!
Wasler, David (translator/text writer) Pienkowski, Jan (Illustrations) The Fairy Tales. New York, New York: Penguin Group, 1977, 2005. *Jan Pienkowski is an award winning illustrator. (Which exact awards he has won is not stated)
No comments:
Post a Comment