Essay #2: Morality and Fairy Tales
Purpose: This essay asks you to use all you have learned throughout this semester, including rhetorical analysis, modes of argumentation and persuasion, and the practice of discovering and conveying your own style. In addition, this essay asks you to avoid using logical fallacies in your composition.
Primary Readings: “Beauty and the Beast” by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont “Little Red
Riding Hood” by Charles Perrault, “Snow White” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm “Bluebeard” by Charles Perrault and one fairy tale of your choosing (a classic Perrault, Grimm or Disney version).
Topic: Fairy tales are so old that they date back to the oral tradition when stories were told by word of mouth instead of paper and pen. This is why there is no one main version of a fairy tale; each version differs depending on the region, the audience, the translators, and so on. Despite their differences, there is one goal that classic fairy tales have, which is to represent the fundamental flaws of human nature and create morals to teach audiences (particularly children) to avoid those flaws. It is this element that is most interesting for critical thinkers, who work to scrutinize truth, identify discrepancies, and avoid logical errors. Therefore, addressing these morals as arguments is what we will do for this essay, and our job will be to determine the strength and/or weaknesses of these arguments.
Writing Task: Choose one of the three options below and construct a well-developed and well-argued essay:
CHOICE #1: Many classic fairy tales often depict female characters in very primitive and basic ways, denying them any access to individuality or basic intelligence (some examples include the wife with no name in
“BlueBeard” or Snow White in the Grimm Brothers’ version of “Snow White.” As fairy tales progress and evolve, so do some of the female characters. Choose a modern version of any fairy tale, and in comparing it to a classic tale, analyze how the evolution of the female character in the modern version attempts to empower the heroine.
Purpose: This essay asks you to use all you have learned throughout this semester, including rhetorical analysis, modes of argumentation and persuasion, and the practice of discovering and conveying your own style. In addition, this essay asks you to avoid using logical fallacies in your composition.
Primary Readings: “Beauty and the Beast” by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont “Little Red
Riding Hood” by Charles Perrault, “Snow White” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm “Bluebeard” by Charles Perrault and one fairy tale of your choosing (a classic Perrault, Grimm or Disney version).
Topic: Fairy tales are so old that they date back to the oral tradition when stories were told by word of mouth instead of paper and pen. This is why there is no one main version of a fairy tale; each version differs depending on the region, the audience, the translators, and so on. Despite their differences, there is one goal that classic fairy tales have, which is to represent the fundamental flaws of human nature and create morals to teach audiences (particularly children) to avoid those flaws. It is this element that is most interesting for critical thinkers, who work to scrutinize truth, identify discrepancies, and avoid logical errors. Therefore, addressing these morals as arguments is what we will do for this essay, and our job will be to determine the strength and/or weaknesses of these arguments.
Writing Task: Choose one of the three options below and construct a well-developed and well-argued essay:
CHOICE #1: Many classic fairy tales often depict female characters in very primitive and basic ways, denying them any access to individuality or basic intelligence (some examples include the wife with no name in
“BlueBeard” or Snow White in the Grimm Brothers’ version of “Snow White.” As fairy tales progress and evolve, so do some of the female characters. Choose a modern version of any fairy tale, and in comparing it to a classic tale, analyze how the evolution of the female character in the modern version attempts to empower the heroine.
Directions: This essay should be at least 4 pages in length and it should have at least 2-3 credible sources. The first source is your primary text (the fairy tale(s) you will be focusing on), but the other source must be acquired through research. I recommend you look for critical and scholarly articles from books or academic journals/credible websites. If you are not sure about a source, you can of course ask me. As usual, essays must be in MLA format (12pt, Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins, and double spaced) and should have a
Works Cited.