For this week’s blog post, I’d like you to think both of your personal experience with children’s stories and about these stories’ significance as literary products. As you start to think about which fairy tale you would like to adapt for your final project, consider the historical and cultural relevance of these fairytales and their wider societal implications. As you write your response to the below three sets of questions and prompts, try to establish a logical flow to your thoughts, rather than writing three separate and isolated answers. Remember, these questions are meant to guide and prompt your thinking. Take them as points of departure rather than questions fixed in stone.
- What are some of the stories you grew up reading or hearing? Who would read these stories for you? Do they have any cultural significance in relation with your upbringing? What language were they told in? Do you know their history?
- What fairy tale are you thinking of adapting for your final project? Have you read it/heard it before? Where does your interest in this story come from? What aspects of this fairytale are you interested in maintaining/translating into your own version? Why? Keep in mind that this is the initial brainstorming for your project. The final version of your assignment might change in focus–or you might end up writing about a completely different fairytale!
- Have you read or encountered Little Red Riding Hood and Bluebeard before? Do you remember them any differently to your reading of them for this class? Were you surprised or struck by anything in particular reading them for today? Why do you think these tales have endured for so long? As you think and write about these two fairytales below, what are some aspects of these fairytales that you would like to discuss or bring up in class (themes, patterns, motifs, problematic aspects, etc)?
I don’t remember which exact fairytales I heard as a child since it was a long time ago but usually my parents or grandparents read it to me. I do recall watching Little Red Riding Hood since we mentioned it. The significance of fairytales I’d say is to make your childhood more fun and tell you unrealistic stories that you can then think of and become more creative. When it comes to language, it was simple so the child could understand it easily. I recall watching fairytales more compared to reading.
I don’t have an idea which fairy tale I could use for my final since there wasn’t much time to think about it from yesterday until today, but Cinderella sounds the most appealing at the moment. I remember watching it and it was fun. The way birds would make her dresses and she was getting ready for the ball and had to go back before the magic would stop… it was a fun one. I’d probably translate this into my own version of this part and the part when she meets the prince.
Bluebeard I haven’t heard of, but Little Red Riding Hood I’ve watched and probably had it read to me too but I don’t remember so I can not speak of differences between them and the class material…
Take some time to reflect or even ask your family members what they would read for you!
You bring up an important point when it comes to the simplicity of the language of fairytales; that’s expected since they’re meant to be for children. However, what makes them so popular with adults too? There are full university courses about fairytales, scholars who specialize in them, writers, like Carter, who adapt them into versions that would be highly unsuitable for children. Try to revisit the questions posed in this prompt after reading Little Red Riding Hood and Bluebeard; what is at the heart of them that makes them more than just children’s tales?
I believe it’s the hidden meanings they contain that make them more than children’s tales. So, to pass a message onto readers and to make them think more deeply about some topic? To some extent, it’s open to the adults to find the meanings depending on the ways they interpret things while some other messages the writer might make obvious on purpose.
I spent nearly my whole life in Senegal, where I lived with my siblings. I can say that Senegalese children’s culture includes storytelling. Every night before going to bed, all the kids gather in the backyard where our grandfather tells us untrue stories that we, the younger generation, find very interesting and convincing.
He used to tell us that the lion is often seen as the king of all animals in the jungle. It is his strength, power, and leadership qualities that make him king. For my project, I would like to write about the black Panther movie or book. It is similar to the lion in many ways, including strength, power, and leadership abilities.
The lion stories give us valuable lessons, such as bravery and intelligence, even if they may not be true. These were stories my grandfather used to tell us, and they had a major impact on me. I haven’t read “Little Red Riding Hood” or “Bluebeard” yet, but I’m curious about them. They must have their own lessons and ideas that I want to learn about.
Hi Abdoulaye, I would love to hear more about some of these Senegalese tales and to see how their moral/lesson compares with the two fairy tales we are reading now. You highlight in your response a few aspects of these lessons: strength, courage, leadership. After having read Little Red Riding Hood and Bluebeard, do you think there are any lines of similarity between the tales your grandfather would read you and these two? Were these tales meant to teach both young boys and girls about courage, or just boys, for instance? This might be an interesting line of discussion given that both Little Red and Bluebeard are meant to be cautionary tales told to young girls in order to warn them against curiosity and disobedience and, for the latter, emphasize the importance of obeying one’s husband…
As for your final project, if the themes of leadership, power and strength interest you, why don’t you adapt one of the Senegalese tales you grow up listening to? As a film and a book, Black Panther doesn’t fall under the category of fairy tale. We can talk more about what is categorised as a fairy tale in class, but for now, try to think of an alternative option. Black Panther can certainly still influence the type of fairytale you end up writing.
Growing up, I heard many stories, and most of them were told throughout my elementary school years. My teachers would love to include a wide variety of fairy tales ranging from folklore to many more. Some of the fairy tales I grew up reading and hearing are the “Princess and the Pea” and “The Three Little Pigs.” In terms of cultural significance, these fairytales always had an underlying theme and messages that we were raised with. For example in, “The Three Little Pigs” a message that was presented was being able to take your time and put in your best effort in a task. This really helped kids like me growing up because this notion of working hard does really pay off, as this fairytale demonstrated. I don’t really know the history of these tales but it would be interesting to know where these stories are derived from and how they transformed throughout the years. The language it was told in is folktale to make it much more engaging and entertaining, which helped keep these stories very memorable.
The fairy tale I am thinking of adapting for my final project is either The Three Little Pigs or the Princess and The Pea. I have read these tales in elementary school and it was often presented and told by my teachers. My interest in these stories comes from their message that they give and the way the stories are told. These messages, although they are not evident at first seeing the characters’ experiences like the three little pigs, brings about the theme that they are trying to portray. My interest in these stories and most fairytales comes from that they all have a message to teach of what is morally right and wrong. But, I am still looking at other fairy tales which are a bit longer because this assignment is about a few pages long. The aspect of these stories that I am interested in changing in my version are the characters and maybe making them more modern. As well as changing the context of the story to something more relatable to our society. I am still not sure on how I want to go about it because I am still not settled on which fairytale I want to do.
I have encountered Little Red Riding Hood before, but not Bluebeard. As for Little Red Riding Hood from what I remember reading it as a little kid it pretty much sounded the same to Charles Perraults version. The only difference I would say in this version is the ending; in other versions I have read, she and her grandmother were saved, but in this version, it ends tragically. I was not really surprised as much because they sounded similar to the ones I have read in elementary school. On the other hand, Bluebeard was quite different from other tales I have read. It seemed more tragic and brutal, which was a very unqiue style given that fairy tales are more humane and gentle. One thing I would say about these stories by Charles Perrault is that they are much more descriptive and bring the moral of the story more clearly. Charles Perraults ways of portraying the tale was quite interesting which I would like to incorporate in my adaptations. I really liked the description and the tragic ending which made it quite different from the ones I have read in the past. He kept the theme and main aspects of the story the same which is important and I would probably do the same. As stated before fairytales, such as little red riding hood and bluebeard last this long because they are unique ways of portraying messages that we can relate to in our daily lives. Lastly, they further demonstrate our human nature in which it delves into different ideas like trust and curiosity which makes them more than just children’s tales.
Princess and the Pea just woke up some memory in me and I remembered how much I liked that story! Not sure where was she sleeping and why someone decided to put a pea in her bed, but I do recall that she felt that pea, and it was proven to them she really was a princess, something like that right, she wasn’t pretending? I am not sure now what the hidden meaning behind that story was but I remembered it as an interesting one at that age.
I agree the tragic ending of this version of the little red riding hood was very interesting. It really was a unique touch form almost every other fairytale. It truly showcases what consequences can look like which I believe is very important.
When I was a little girl, my mother sometimes read Chinese translated version of western fairy tales like “The Ugly Duckling”, “The little Mermaid” and “The Frog Prince”. But more often than not she would tell me traditional Chinese fables and idioms. Some of the stories explain origin of some festivals or customs in China, and others may praise some good character such as piety, perseverance and bravery. Compare to western fairy tales, Chinese traditional stories often set in ancient times and focus on expression of specific moral concepts with a strong educational role. While fairy tales are more interesting and attracts the kids more, some stories are in more fantastical setting and may have some magical elements.
As for now, I prefer to adapting“The little Mermaid”written by Hans Christian Andersen. When I first read the stories, I found that the ending is quite pathetic for the little mermaid. She saved the human prince’s life and does almost everything she can to pursue human love, but she just turn into a puddle of bubbles. I would like to change the ending to a different version that the prince realize it was the little mermaid but not a human girl to save his life. This way, it seems that the little mermaid wouldn’t be an image of a reckless pursuit of ideals. And the prince could become more three-dimensional, he would able to search for the truth and feel grateful for it.
I have read “the Little Red Riding Hood” but haven’t read “Bluebeard” before. I think the version I read today of of “the Little Red Riding Hood” is part of the original one, in the original one the hunter kill the wolf and it is a happy ending. But I am surprised by the plot that bluebeard kills every woman who open the forbidden door, and I wonder if there is some metaphor of that door. I think one of the reason that these stories can be spread such a long time is that the theme are quite universal. Like in “the Little Red Riding Hood”, kids can be told that they should be careful when facing the strangers.
Hi An, I would love to hear your Chinese traditional stories! Learning about different cultures is so interesting and hearing about past fairytales I have never heard before is fascinating.
The only fairy tale I recall being told to me was The Three Little Pigs. I believe it was in a picture book style. I do not think it has much of a cultural significance, but the moral of the story was to be intelligent and hard-working to survive. This message was delivered in an easily understandable manner for children, such as myself, as it was distinct which pig would succeed and why. Due to my lack of knowledge on fairy tales, I may adapt either Bluebeard or Little Red Riding Hood since we are reading them in class. I feel that The Three Little Pigs is too weak of a fairy tale to adapt, but I may take the idea of being hard working and detail oriented from this tale if I choose to adapt it. If I do choose to adapt this story, I will probably try to develop a more comedic feel and build on the somewhat amusing part I found as a child when the pigs used such comically weak materials to build a home.
The story of Little Red Riding Hood sounds familiar, I may have heard it at a young age in school. I do not remember if the story I have came across differs from the version we are reading in class. From reading these fairy tales, I can see why they (and others) have lasted to modern day. I think that the teaching of lessons through fictional stories is a captivating, indirect way for people to learn these important aspects of life. The addition of the “moral of this story” part of the text proves the importance of each of the fairy tales.
Growing up, I wanted to be a princess. My two sisters and I loved Disney princess and the fairytales behind it. It was always our weekend plan to watch one of the princess movies, each one even had a favorite princess or character. My old sister loved Ariel, the little mermaid, and she dreamed to one day she could find her princes Eric. My younger sister she didn’t have a favorite one, she would rather be one of the funny characters, like Flounder. For me, it was Bella, I related with her, I loved books and hoped to one day found a princess as she did. We had a hard childhood, and for us the princess where a scape from our reality. We knew one day we would the main character of our story and be brave as the princess and choose our destiny.
As a child I didn’t know the story behind the princess, when I was 18 once I heard the real story behind “Beauty and the Beast”, it shocked me. I didn’t know that the fairytale was inspired in the life of a men who had a condition called Hypertrichosis, a excessive hair grown all over the body including the face, and his wife; they didn’t have an happy ending as Belle and her princes. There were not curse to the man and his servants. The man was treated as an animal, people thought that he was kind of as beast and when he was a boy he even was given as a gift to one king in France. People did studies on him when he was just a little boy. The French crown tread him badly even when they married him with one of their servants just to see what kind of kids he would have. They had 7 kids and 4 of them had their fathers’ conditions, those kids were treated by the crown as pets. It is so sad that this is the base of one of my favorited fairytales.
For the creative project I am thinking on using the fairytale of the Beauty and the Beast and do an adaptation without discredit the real history behind the fairytale. Regarding the Little Red Riding Hood and Bluebeard, I had read the kids version of Little Red Riding Hood, but I haven’t never read Bluebeard. Both fairytales have a tragic ending. It surprised me that Red Riding Hood had a realistic ending, not like the one that I remember as a child where she and her grandma where ok at the end.
I am shocked by your explanation of the real story behind the Beauty and the Beast. I always assumed the original story had something to do with stockholm syndrome because Belle did fall in love with her capturer which I still think is an odd love story. I am curious to see how you will change the story of Beauty and the Beast. Will you add something from your own culture or change the plot etc?
When in elementary school we would hear about Disney princesses like Snow White and Cinderella. A favorite of mine was the story of Rumplestiltskin it was the most interesting and made me want to start writing my own fiction.
The books were always available in the classrooms and we learned a lot about Walt Disney. As I got older I got to watch a show called Once Upon A Time which gives them a twist that made me fall in more love with the fairytales.
For my final project I would like to adapt the story of Alice and Wonderland. This story is the most creative piece of literature that I’ve read. The ideas in the book about going into a new world are very intriguing and I already have ideas about how to make it my own. The movies really solidified my excitement for the story. In my version I would like to keep the aspect getting to a new world and learned a life lesson with humor and irony. I have read Little Red Riding Hood before which are more like Charles Perraults version. The endings were drastically different no one gets hurt in the stories I was told. In Bluebeard he kills the women who open a forbidden door. Bluebeard was not like a story I had read before. It was different because it wasn’t happy ending or suitable for the build up of a sad tale. The reason that these stories are still listened to in the contemporary society is because of the lessons that can be learned.
Honestly, Rumpelstiltskin was an interesting story for me too as I really enjoyed reading it more than reading I have watched the story multiple times.
I also watched One Upon A Time and it was such an interesting show and made me more interested in fairytales since they managed to connect every fairytale into one universe. My favorite storyline was when they incorporated the Wizard of Oz.
Stories I grew up hearing were mostly Mexican folklore, such as la Llorona, and religious stories from the bible. Most of these stories were told to me by my grandmother, mother, and aunts in Spanish. I do not know their history but I have seen adaptations of them in mainstream media La Llorona was turned into a horror movie produced by the same people that did The Conjuring which I thought was cool.
For the fairytale, I would like to adapt I am thinking of Sleeping Beauty. I have watched the Disney movie growing up but I have yet to read the Grimm Brothers’ version. I think I will read that to gain a new perspective on it and find inspiration since their versions of fairytales have dark tones. I think Aurora being asleep for so long is an interesting aspect and leaves open a lot of potential for storytelling. For example, she could wake up in a dystopian future or she somehow survived the end of the world and is dealing with being the last person left in the world. I’m curious as to how I can incorporate the three fairies into the story or if they would even be in my adaptation.
I have read Little Red Riding Hood but not Bluebeard. I was surprised by Bluebeard because of the reference to domestic abuse, it seems like a cautionary tale to me. I was curious as to why no one suspected anything after all his wives went missing but others could have overlooked that because of all the material items he owned. Another thing is why Bluebeard’s wife is not given a name but her sister is. Is it to put more focus on Bluebeard or to focus on the message of the tale? The theme of curiosity also stood out to me and reminded me of how in the Bible, Eve was instructed not to eat the apple. I think these tales have survived so long because they were sending messages to children, although they might not realize these messages until they get older.
I also agree that the moral of the Bluebeard story reminded me of the the story of Even in the Bible. I noticed a lot of people are writing there stories on a story by the brothers Grimm. I like you idea of having sleeping beauty wake up to a dystopian reality. I am curious what moral or lesson you want to convey in your story though.
Even after speaking with my dad, I didn’t really find that he read me many fairytales as a child as opposed to general children’s books. I had read Rapunzel, The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling, and Jack and the Beanstalk, which are some that I remember reading on my own, but for most of the typical fairytales, I watched movie/cartoon adaptations instead. There are many that I heard being told in school or spoken about in daily interactions, but the movies that I would rewatch constantly involved Disney adaptations of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, The Little Mermaid, and Sleeping Beauty. They don’t have much cultural significance in my upbringing, and all of the stories I read were in English. However, I do know the history of some, later on in my life I found that many of the Disney and children’s fairy tales were based on dark versions of the well-known stories.
So far I have not been able to decide on a fairy tale. I don’t want to do one that is extremely well-known, but I also do not want to make it more difficult to do research on it. I’d love to find a fairy tale that has since been adapted for children but originally was pretty dark. I think it would be interesting to put my own spin on such a story. So far, I have found a Grimm story called “The White Bride and the Black Bride”, a simple yet strange tale. My interest peaked while reading because it involved the idea that women who were not fair-skinned were ugly and that it was considered a curse to have darker skin. I thought that this would be something that I would turn into an important lesson in my story or I would change to give my own version of a “curse,” as I don’t particularly like the message that it sends. The rest of the story is pretty similar to Disney princess fairytales, if not darker, in which a beautiful girl is desired by a king and her step-sister wants to marry the king instead. The overall moral was about being a morally good person who treats other people well, however, if I chose to adapt this story I would have to do more research on it for sure, which may be difficult since it is a less-known fairytale.
I have definitely encountered both Little Red Riding Hood and Bluebeard before. Little Red Riding Hood I have read (though I am not sure where I officially first heard it), but more so, I have watched many adaptations of the story. Some were cartoons for children while others were movies that were intended for a more mature audience due to any gore. Bluebeard on the other hand I had never read explicitly, but I have heard the name many times in different media. Little Red Riding Hood is just as I remember it, except that the girl spoke to the wolf in the woods before meeting her grandmother, for some reason I just don’t remember that happening. However, reading it this time around I was truly confused as to how the wolf could have looked; how did the girl not realize that he wasn’t her grandmother let alone that he wasn’t even human before he revealed himself? It is strange to me, even with the innocence of a child it doesn’t seem like they wouldn’t question such things. Bluebeard, since I hadn’t read it before now, completely surprised me. I wasn’t expecting such a gruesome scene (the room with the past wives), and it was a pretty tense moment leading up to the current girl being saved by her brothers. I think tales such as these endure for so long because they are tales that are short yet powerful for our minds. They all have some kind of lesson to learn or simply a pivotal point that gets stuck in our memory. Additionally, I think that nostalgia plays a role when we choose to pass on these stories to our own children, where the cycle keeps going.
Growing up I was in love with fairytales, I still remember hearing various fairytales from my grandma. She would tell me the Pakistani version of little red riding hood, from what I rememeber everyone in my village loved. One of my core memories from my childhood was a performace I did back home when I was in kindergraden, I was little red ridinghood but in a blue fairy dress. This story was told to me in my native language urdu and I performed it also in urdu. There was not really any cultural signifigance or a particular historical aspect of this fairytale.
For my final project I was thiking to adapt this particular fairtale of little red ridinghood from my childhood. In this fairytale instead of her wearing a red cloak she had on a colorful dapatta, which is a traditional scarf worn by girls in Pakistan and other south Asian countries. In addition, in this version of the story she would be roaming around Lahore, a city in Pakistan, rather than the orginial forest. Her main purpose is to deliver vital messages to the Pakistani people. Her main message remains the same as the orginal version which was learning the importance of listening to warnings. My main reason for choosing this fairytale for my final project is because I grew up loving this story and I always look back at my poctures from the performace. I think it is a beautiful and very colorfull version of the orginal story.
I am very familiar with the fairytale the little red riding hood, however blurbeard I have heard of but never read it myself. The fairytale little red ridinghood sounded identical to the ones from my childhood, expect for the cultural difference. Another difference was that the version we read for in class did not have the happy every after, it ended in a tragadey which I was not expecting. I was surprised to see how even with the cultural change the moral of the story had remained the same. The reason why these tales have been endurded for so long is because it is a beautiful way of spreading a very meaning full message. That tale of little red ridinghood is how I learned to follow directions. The tragic eneding of this version is a great way to show the consequesnces of our actions.
I remember also reading Little Red Riding Hood as a little kid growing up. I really like the idea of your final project it would be lovely to read it. I also agree that fairytales are unique ways to portray moral messages that stick with individuals for many years.
it’s very interesting to know that everyone has their own version of fairytales that they have heard and I really like that you picked Red Riding Hood for your final project as they way you explained you have a totally different version while including the culture and cities of Pakistan.
Growing up I really enjoyed when my teachers would sit all the students down on the rug and read us picture books. Although they were not exactly fairy tales, reading the classics, the Rainbow Fish, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Corduroy were all core-memories of my childhood. My mother would also take me to “toddler time” at our local library where a Librarian would read fairytales and other picture books to young kids. However, stories that had more cultural weight to them I learned from Dhamma school growing up. Growing up Buddhist, Sri Lankan Aunts and Uncles in my community came together to teach their kids about our culture and religion. At Dhamma school my friend’s mothers would read us stories about Lord Buddha’s childhood and life that often had strong moral meaning to them. Although the stories read to us were translated versions in English, the original stories of Lord Buddha were written in Pali and old Sanskrit language, which was then translated into Sinhala, the most popular language in Sri Lanka and then to English.
For the project I am interested in writing a retelling of Repunzel. I know that Repunzel is originally a German fairytale written by the famous Brothers Grimm. I had read the original tale when I was younger, and of course seen the Disney movie multiple times as Repunzel was one of my famous Princesses. I feel I could rewrite the fairytale with south asian influence, similar to Bride and Prejudice compared to Pride and Prejudice. I feel I can connect the way Repunzel was sheltered to how south asian daughters are often sheltered and protected from the outside world. In South Asian culture women often grow their hair out and brides braid their hair with flowers just like Repunzel in the movie. The lyrics of the Song “Monks” by Frank Ocean also inspired my idea. The lyrics “Indian girl sleeps above the temple,Planning a run away young at heart, You found a boyfriend, And now you wanna get away” always reminded me of how Repunzel ran away with Flynn.
I have read Little Red Riding Hood before but was not familiar with Bluebeard. I was surprised by how grim the original Little Red Riding Hood was and did not remember it ending the way it did. I didn’t expect both the Grandmother and Red Riding Hood to get eaten. With an ending that gruesome I understand how the story was supposed to scare young girls from speaking to strangers. Contrastingly with BlueBeard, the story became more and more familiar to me as I read it. The plot of a secret locked room with dead bodies is popular in horror movies. The moral of BlueBeard to me almost seemed biblical. The line at the end of the Charles Perrault version “ The Feminine sex will deny it of course, But the pleasure you wanted, once taken, is lost, And the knowledge you looked for is not worth the cost.” makes me think of how people value a woman’s virtue. The temptation of opening the forbidden door parallels Eve’s temptation to eat the forbidden fruit. Both I feel are related to how women are restricted from and punished for pursuing their sexual desires.
I also enjoyed hearing stories at school. For me specifically, the librarian would read to the whole class. I think it is interesting you connected Rapunzel to “Monks” by Frank Ocean, I love that song and hope you go with that idea!
I don’t have a very good memory of it, but from childhood, I remember my mother reading me mythological stories, especially Heracles and Hercules, and from then on I didn’t like fairy tales and was more interested in myths. There wasn’t any culture involved other than supporting wisdom for me but I have also noticed some hero of myth pictures in my home. The mythological stories of Hercules (in Greek) and Heracles (in Roman) were usually told in Greek, but my mother read to me in English and Urdu.
I was just wondering if I could use Heracles and Hercules’s movie of Sphinx as an inspiration because from childhood that is something I’m more comfortable with. I am very interested in the role of the Sphinx in the Hercules and “Hercules” movie stories. I think it’s fascinating how the Sphinx challenges the hero with riddles. This gives the story a sense of thinking and curiosity. If I were to make my own version, I would definitely add a similar challenge for the hero to overcome because riddles help our minds explore and make us think.
Yes, I read Little Red Riding Hood, but I don’t remember Bluebeard very well, if we are talking about Little Red Riding Hood, I read similar ones, but with a different ending, more than watched this story, many times, but I don’t remember it perfectly either as it’s been a while. Little Red Riding Hood and other stories like it, in my opinion, remain popular for so long because they speak to universal ideas and feelings that appeal to individuals of many cultural backgrounds. These tales frequently address ideas like right and wrong as well as the significance of making moral decisions. We could dig into the repeating subjects of good vs. evil, the power of love and friendship, or the journey of self-discovery.
I like how your fairytales are quite unique, like Hercules. These greek myths and fairytales were very interesting to watch geowing up. I also agree that these tales universally address ideas thay interest and relate to all individuals.
I agree most fairytales have similar morals. This is another reason why the one we read for class was very interesting. I now mostly expect a happy ever after ending but this tragic ending caught me by surprise.
The Journey to the West is properly the most well-known story in China across all ages. My father used to read me the story before bedtime. when he read the story, he sometimes forgot the scenes in the story and went creative to fill out the missing gap. I realized it after I grew up and read the story myself, but I like my father’s version more because there is some sort of feeling in it. The Journey to the West is one of the four masterpieces according to the Chinese litterateurs. The story was written in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty by Wu Cheng En. It is about a monk who travels from China to India for a sacred text from the Buddhist, which can bring relief to the soul of the dead.
For the project I’m properly going to retell The Journey to the West because it is what I’m familiar with. In my adaptation, I will maintain the central story line about the mong’s journey. but I’ll take away the magical elements from the story and make it a more realistic version.
I have never read Little Red Riding Hood and Bluebeard before but I did hear about Little Red Riding Hood. I think the piece I read in this class is somewhat different from what I heard because from what I remember in the end of the story a hunter killed the wolf and saved the girl by cutting open the wolf’s belly.
I honestly do not remember any stories from my childhood, mostly because my mom was not a big storyteller. She would make up scary creatures to prevent me from doing bad things by saying they would get me, but that is as far as stories I remember. I am not too sure which fairytale I am adapting. Their are too many to choice from, but I always thought Rumplestiltskin was a good interesting fairytale. I used to watch a tv show named Once Upon A Time and I remember being so interested in his story. TV dramaticizes everything to make good content so his storyline grew into more than what the fairytale is, but he still remained the man who made straw into gold. I think I might focus more on the ending and make it into my own version. I have heard and read of Little Red Riding Hood, but not Bluebeard. I am excited to read that one. I haven’t been able to read the texts prior to writing this post, however, Little Red Riding Hood is a classic and I have read a couple versions of that fairytale. Every single one has the same message, children must be cautious of strangers because they may appear helpful, but can quickly become something else. I would like to discuss the analysis of Little Red Riding Hood because I feel like the meaning behind the fairytale goes deeper and I would love to hear people thoughts.
I will be adapting the “Beauty and the Beast” fairytale. Although I haven’t read the original fairy tale story yet, I’ve become interested in adapting the story mainly because I remember watching and enjoying the animated and live-action Disney adaptation.
In my adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast,” I will be maintaining the core story where a young woman develops a deep connection with a beast by getting to know him better. This leads to the woman helping the beast become a better person. Regarding what I will be translating from the story, I plan on making the story more modernistic and relatable. I’m still in the process of thinking about the specific details.
I’m familiar with the Little Red Riding Hood and Bluebeard fairytale, but I don’t remember the specific details. I believe this fairy tale, like many others, has endured for years due to its flexibility and adaptability. In other words, the story can be adapted to audiences of different ages and times, without the core essence being lost.
Growing up I always remembered watching Disney movies in the auditorium of my elementary school but I do not recall reading or being read any fairytales during my youth. These stories and movies might have had a subconscious effect on my upbringing however I do not believe it has changed any significant part of my childhood in any way. These stories were all told in English and they were the popular fairytales that everyone knows. For my final project, I am thinking of adapting The Three Little Pigs as it is the only fairytale I can vividly recall and still grasp its morals easily and further analyze and elaborate them. Its main idea of teaching children to be more hardworking is an aspect of the story I am interested in and I can adapt them along with the characters as well. The story of The 3 Little Pigs itself is extremely simple and broad. I plan to perhaps change the setting to sort of a Zootopia kind of city, with 3 pigs who are brothers whose work ethics are drastically different. I will delve into the lives of each pig, outlining how each pig lives, etc. The wolf could be a criminal who is hunting them down or maybe the wolf can be a metaphor for climate change and the pig who builds his home the best and puts in maximum effort comes out on top. There are endless possibilities and I can dictate the story as it unfolds. I do vaguely remember reading Little Red Riding Hood but I have not read Bluebeard before. There are many themes and morals that might overlap such as the consequences of one’s actions or the emphasis of caution.