Octavio Martin

Jacqueline Way

Writing 39B

4 October 2015

Critical Reading 2: The Moral Conflict

I shall proclaim that while fairy tales delineate subtleties that pertain to the moral code of humanity, we must also consider the standards at which we measure this moral code. If we study fairy tales for their moral behaviors, we cannot only regard their good aspects without analyzing them as a whole. I mean, Cinderella’s tale contains the idea of survival, but to do so, our protagonist must steal food and throw in a couple of lies here and there. Within this context, how do we determine these moral standards; do we implement that stealing is wrong or do we advocate the opposite, and while doing so a human’s life must be adjacently harmed due to its consequences. Obviously children might not detect these complex ideas, but if they can’t, then fairy tales might simply not be the best moral compass. Confined to the variables of Cinderella, we also encounter this recurring pattern of lying in order to remain hidden from danger. This, once again, brings up the same idea that if you do something that society has condemned as “wrong,” it might create self-conflict: Do we commit an impure act to save our lives (if the stakes are that high) or do what society has dictated as morally right? This can undoubtedly create turmoil within children if they were to analyze fairy tales for their moral teachings.

If children were to read Perrault’s “Donkeyskin” or the Grimm brother’s “Cinderella,” they would have to do it without societal influence in order to synthesize the lessons that these tale proclaims as morally right. That is why fairy tales serve a better purpose for children. Within the world of Cinderella, there is no tangible societal repercussions like the one we live in, and thus children can deduct this “moral behaviors” and implement as their own. For instance, we can extract the idea that one must strive to survive as an individual against the hindrances that life throws our way. Perrault explicitly draws us to this idea by creating a harsh environment for Donkeyskin and forcing her to flee away from a misfortunate future. The development of such events are constructed by colorful language, a parade of emotions, character development, and viscosity in the flow of events that drive children to tolerate what’s right and wrong. It’s simple for children to follow the story line and denote the injustices and adversities that Donkeyskin goes through. The tale also has fairies which not only enlighten the tone of the situation, but also make the tale more compelling toward children. Overall, “Donkeyskin” highlights aspects of fairy tales and manages to disguise it gruesomeness under nice words and well-rounded characters. 

While the Catskin version of Cinderella wields a more complex harshness, the typical Cinderella version uses a tone of serenity to depict similar lessons. Globally, the arc of the stories are extremely similar, but “Cinderella,” by the brothers Grimm, uses a friendly approach by exemplifying a more luminous tone. The Grimm brothers’ Cinderella displays a lower level of gruesomeness and focus more on the virtue of happiness. This version also omits the aspect of revenge, which says a lot about the message that it can convey. Overall, this version paints a more vivid image as in the way that Cinderella sings to the birds and calls upon them for help. In a way, it has a more direct correlation between humans and the environment. Through complementary application of such details, this version would be more attractive for younger generations because of its light-heartedness and details that conceal the more serious aspects of the tale and only portrays its innocence towards children.

The encapsulation of my thoughts are meant to reflect how fairy tales must be considered 360 degrees to regard them for moral development and that both types of the Cinderella tale are guided to emit a synonymous lesson: self-esteem and self-growth through severe experiences. The executions, however, of each type are similar, and thus authors manage to stabilize the effectiveness of their works and allow kids to learn applicable lessons.