Intro to Fairy Tales What is a fairy tale? With a partner, come up with a list of fairy tale titles you remember. Then, list common patterns/ traits that are found in most fairy tales. After you’ve listed the traits, try to come up with your own definition of a fairy tale. Ex: Rule of 3’s 3rd time is a charm 3 wishes 3 attempts 3 questions What is a fairy tale? A fairy tale is a story of marvels and magic often including stock characters. It is a story of the adventures and trials of a protagonist who usually ends up living happily ever. Fairy tales were told through the oral tradition, and were eventually written down only in the last few hundred years– and have been changed and adapted across all cultures. What is a fairy tale? Originally, fairy tales were intended for adult audiences. With no electronics and social media to entertain them, adults told each other stories. Fairy tales were frequently told by women sitting around a loom/spinning wheel. Many fairy tales contain violence or mature themes. Eventually, they were censored and sanitized and became associated with children’s literature. What is it not? Legend-- a story that combines real events with an exaggeration on heroic actions that we associate with stories of heroes and great national events. Grimm brothers defined legends as folk tales that are historically grounded. (Example: King Arthur, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Urban legends--Bloody Mary, vanishing hitchhiker) Myth– a story told in order to explain a natural phenomenon or promote a specific behavior. (Example: Helios pulls a chariot and that is why the sun rises and sets) Fable– a story that has a moral and usually contains nonhumans, animals, or inanimate objects as characters. (Example: The Tortoise and the Hare) Nursery Rhyme– a simple, traditional song or poem for children. (Example: Hickory Dickory Dock, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) Folk tale– a narrative prose which has been transmitted orally, and only recently written down. Folk tale is a broad category that includes fables, fairy tales, legends, and myths. Fairy Tale Authors Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm German Charles French Hans Christian Anderson Danish Lewis Perrault Carroll English What is a fairy tale? Read “Super- Mini, One-Size- Fits- All Fairy Tale” and identify as many fairy tales and traits as you can that are mentioned in the text Check off common traits and fairy tale titles from the list you generated in your notes or add anything else you notice Archetypal Characters Familiar faces! Archetypal Characters Directions: Look through the images of characters and lay them out on your table. Discuss traits of your characters, situations they are involved in, how they treat others, etc. Determine what your characters have in common and which definition they fit on your note sheet. On a shared piece of paper, write with your group: At least 3-4 shared personality traits of these characters 1-2 goals or motivations for these characters 3-4 shared life experiences Archetypal Characters: The Hero The Temptress The Mentor The Damsel in Distress The Devil Figure The Sidekick The Outcast The Creature of Nightmare Intro to Archetypes & The Human Myth Warm Up Identifying Archetypes: Each group will be assigned a common fairy tale. Cinderella Sleeping Beauty Red Riding Hood The Frog Prince Hansel and Gretel Rapunzel Your task: rewrite the story as best as you can from memory. What is a myth? Myth– a story told in order to explain a natural phenomenon or promote a specific behavior. Common perception: Lie, misconception, etc. What are some examples of myths that you have heard? Romans– Sunset: they believe that a god in a chariot pulled the sun across the sky That the sun revolved around the earth That the earth was flat… What is a myth? Although we know that those stories are not true, was there a time that these people actually believed these stories? What is a myth? A myth is NOT a lie, a myth is an understanding. YOUR myth is how YOU understand the world and universe… If you could leave earth or this universe, what do you think you would find? Is there proof that your understanding is a lie? Or the truth? What is a myth? So.. IF people who subscribe to the same myth as you are “right” THEN, people who don’t subscribe to your myth are “wrong”… right? During Chinese New Year, on the stroke of midnight, all windows and doors need to be opened to let the old year out…is this a lie? Are they wrong? Then do people with other myths think I am “wrong?” Friday the 13th, walking under ladder, black cat, yellow lights, chain emails, etc. There are two kinds of myths… Conscious and Cultural myths: Santa Claus Easter Bunny Tooth Fairy Remember, these are all true to a child.. And WE promote that truth, just as our parents did. Two kinds of myths cont’d.. Unconscious and universal myths: As a human race, we all share something in common.. The fact that WE are all human.. We have a human race memory or a collective unconscious So.. What does that even mean? Human Race Memory “Wooden Hawk” explanation: Chickens have been living domesticated for thousands of years, safe from the threat of predators. Psychologists took newborn chicks and passed wooden replicas of different birds overhead. Chicks ran for cover ONLY when the hawk replica passed overhead. Carl Jung called this a “human race memory”: there must have been some “code” imprinted on the chicks brain, a survival mechanism, that prompted them to act this way. Human Race memory, cont’d In the wild, Ferrets prey on rats. Amberly has a pet rat, Salem. Salem was born a domesticated animal, and has always lived in a cage as a pet. When Amberly gets a pet ferret, Zuko, Salem instantly starts acting different. She won’t eat, she starts biting, and is always shaking as if she is scared. Salem has never had an encounter or had contact with Zuko… why does Salem act this way? Human Race Memory As humans, we follow this same pattern.. Hunting (thrill of the hunt) Why do we hunt when food is so readily available in today’s society? Sports: Football, soccer Territorial struggle Art, music, literature When you are struck by something that you really like, it has struck a chord in your collective unconscious Archetypes Carl Jung referred to these “deep chords” as archetypes. What is an archetype? Universal symbol imprinted upon our “human race memory” Consistent for all time periods and races Important in a natural and ancient way Archetypes cont’d Archetypal critics have studied literature over the years and have found patterns of repeated human experiences. This literature comes from all different cultures and societies, and what has been found is that these patterns occur in all of them– no matter where they come from. Essentially, we all have deep memories of humanity’s past, so these memories exist in the form of archetypes. Archetypal Symbols: The Threshold Light vs. Darkness The Underworld Wilderness or Forest The Tower The Crossroads Colors Numbers Other Common Symbols: The prize/talisman Roads/crossroads Keys/doors Monsters Magic weapon/item Your Rewrite Go back and read your fairy tale rewrite from memory. How many archetypal patterns did you automatically include? Symbols? Characters? Tale of the Three Brothers Tale of the Three Brothers Discussion Character Archetypes? Symbolic Archetypes? Moral? Types of Heroes Subcategories of archetypes Willing Hero Committed to the adventure Without doubts Always bravely going ahead Self-motivated Unwilling Hero Full of doubts Hesitant Passive Needing to be motivated or pushed into the adventure by an outside force Usually change at some point and become committed to the adventure Anti-Hero Specialized kind of hero May be outlaws of villains Audience is in sympathy with them They may win in the end over society’s corruption Rebels Group Oriented Hero Are part of society at the beginning Journey takes them to unknown land far from home Separate from group – have lone adventure in the wilderness away from the group which they eventually rejoin Loner Hero Story begins with the hero apart from society Natural habitat is the wilderness Natural state is solitude Journey is one of re-entry into the group, an adventure within the group, then a return to isolation Tragic Hero Flawed heroes Never overcome their inner demons Brought down and destroyed by inner demons May be charming Their flaw wins in the end What type of hero are you? Every extended experience is a journey. What journeys are you currently on? Consider: School Family Friends Romance Sports Hobbies Moral journeys (who should I be, what should I do) Etc., etc. In that particular journey, what kind of hero are you (you are ALL heroes in your own story). Be sure to include details that demonstrate your understanding of this variety of hero. You may also consider what other character or symbolic archetypes are present in your journey.
