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Miguel Diaz
English-1-101-38
Culminating Assignment 1
The Snow white and Her Lovely Brains
Once upon a time exactly in the middle of the blistering cold, when snow
flakes fell continuously from the sky and impacting the fluffy ground, a queen was
sewing and accidently pricked her finger with her needle while look outside at the
beautiful winter day. Three red drops of blood fell onto the white snow; the red
looked so beautiful to her that she thought to herself: “If only I had a child as white
as snow, as red as blood, as black as the wood of the window frame, and as smart as
any other being.” A couple months passed and her wish had come true. The queen
had given birth to a little girl, who was as white as snow, as red as blood, as black as
ebony, and finally as smart as any other being of their time… Her name was Snow
White. The queen died soon after the birth to her baby girl.
One year later the king remarried to another woman who would now become
the new queen. She was a beautiful queen with so much intelligence, but she also
had her down falls. The new queen was arrogant and could not bear to be second
smartest to anyone. She had a huge magical mirror that she would stand in front of
everyday and ask:
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who’s the smartest one of all?”
The mirror would respond:
“You, oh queen, are the fairest of all.”
Then she was content, for she knew that the mirror could never lie and so
always spoke the truth.
Snow White was growing up and becoming smarter and smarter every single
day. She was not just beautiful but an absolute genius. When she was seven years of
age, she was smarter than anyone in her classes and even smarter than people on
grades higher than her. She must have been smarter than the queen herself. One day
the queen asked the mirror:
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
who’s the fairest one of all?”
The mirror replied:
“My queen, you are the most beautiful one and the smartest here,
But Snow White is a thousand times smarter than you are!”
When the queen heard these words she was happy that she was the most
beautiful of the land, but she trembled and turned green with envy when she heard
that she was not the smartest anymore. From that movement on, she hated Snow
White for all her brains and beauty as well. When she would set eyes on her, her
brain turned as hot as lava. Envy of her skills and brilliance grew like weeds in her
mind. Day and night, she never had a moments peace for she was not the smartest
ever seen anymore. One day she was so outraged that she summoned the principle
of the only school in the kingdom. Snow Whites was to be expelled or else she would
destroy the school. The principle was to bring her brain back to her so she could
analyze it to see how she could become as smart as Snow White. The principle was
disrupt with this and knew he must expel Snow White forever from school and
return with a brain. So one day at school Snow White was attending to her work and
the principle came up with a ridiculous excuse to expel Snow White so that she
would first never return and secondly would never learn anything for the rest of her
life. He told her to leave, other wise he would have to take her life and give the
queen her brain. He knew he could not kill such an out standing student, so he killed
a cow and returned to the queen with its brain.
Snow White was so upset about the principles lies of her life that she ran
away from school to never been seen again.
She ran into the forest where she ran into nothingness. The poor girl was left
all alone in the vast forest. Snow White was lost and just wanted to come back home
now. Knowing she could not return due to her situation, she simply forced herself to
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keep heading north to find shelter and a new education. Finally she ran into a small
house. Snow White knocked and knocked on the door but no one answered, so she
invited herself inside. The first thing she noticed was that everything was tinny and
very neat. She sat down at the table to begin doing the work and research that she
was doing before being expelled from school. Snow White did not have anything to
write with so she took a pen, a calculator, reading glasses, and paper from around
the house. After a couple hours of attending her work she began to feel very tired, so
she went to the beds. “The first was too long, the second too short, but the seventh
one was just right”, and she stayed in it. She said her alphabet counted to a hundred
and fell fast asleep as she did ever night.
After it was completely dark outside, the owners of the small house had
returned. They were seven dwarfs who spent their days in the mountains mining
ore and digging for minerals. They lightened their seven little lanterns, and when
the cottage brightened up, they saw that someone had been using their equipment.
The first one asked: “Who’s been using my calculator?”
The second asked: “Who’s been using my pen?”
The third asked: “Who’s been using my reading glasses?”
The fourth asked: “Who’s been using my paper?”
The fifth and sixth asked: “Who has messed up my sheets?”
The seventh asked: “Who’s laying on my sheets?”
The others quickly came running to see what was going on. When they all
looked at the seventh dwarfs bed they noticed that Snow White was laying there,
fast asleep. All seven of them came closer to see.
“My goodness, oh my goodness!” they exclaimed. “If this is Snow White then we have
one of the most beautiful girls in our house but most importantly the smartest girl in
the world staying here.”
They were so delighted being seven small geniuses that they let her sleep the whole
night at there small comfy little home.
In the morning, Snow White woke up. When she saw the dwarfs, she was not
frightened because she was brave and had read and so had know of them. They
were friendly and asked if she really was the all so smart Snow White that everyone
knew about. Snow White responded with a grin.
“My name is Snow White,” she replied soon after.
Then she went on in explain how she has been expelled from school from her
very own principle because he was only obeying the new queens laws. She told the
dwarfs how she was almost killed because of her intelligence, so she ran away as
fast as she could disappear from the queen and the kingdom until she ran into their
beautiful small little home.
The dwarfs told her: “If you will keep house for us, cook, make the beds,
wash, sew, knit, and keep everything neat and tidy, then you can stay with us, and
we’ll give you everything you need.”
“No, I will not do that,” Snow White replied. Out raged she told the dwarfs, “I will not
do any of those things, but I will do your heavy labor at the gold minds in trade for a
stay at your home here and for you to do your own chores.”
The dwarfs upset and frightened agreed to do there own chores and stay at
home while Snow White worked at the gold minds. The next day Snow White early
in the morning got ready for work at the gold minds. Since the girl was by herself
during the day, the good dwarfs gave her a strong warning:
“Beware of your stepmother. She’ll know soon enough that you’re here. Don’t let
anyone too close to you.”
After the queen had finished analyzing what she thought were Snow Whites
brain, she was sure that she was once again the fairest of all in the land. She went to
the mirror and said:
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall
Who’s the smartest of them all?”
The mirror replied:
“Here you’re the fairest, dearest queen,
But little Snow White, who plans to stay
With the seven dwarfs far far away,
Is now the fairest ever seen.”
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When the queen heard this she was horrified, for she knew that the mirror
could not tell a lie. She realized that the principal must had deceived her and that
Snow White must still be alive. She thought long and hard about how she could kill
Snow White. Unless she herself was the smartest in the land, she would never be
able to feel anything but envy. Finally, she came up with a plan to end Snow Whites
life. The queen decided that it would be best if she herself went to accomplish this
task. She was to transform into a man, go to the coalmines, and finally trick her to
get lost forever down in the caves were they mine to never be found again. So after
staining her face, dressing up, and putting coalmine equipment on she traveled
beyond the seven hills to where Snow White now mined in that disguise.
Snow White woke up the next day as if it were any other day of the week. She
knew she was to go eat breakfast that the seven dwarfs made for her and then rush
to the coalmines for work.
Rushing, rushing, rushing she quickly grabbed all her gear for the mines and
left to work. It was a normal day at the coalmines: hard labor after hard labor, with a
lot of dirt and dust, and much to do. Snow White had lots to do at the coalmines that
afternoon and was begging to become tired; she knew she needed help. The queen
knew and could see that Snow White was having a difficult time doing her work, so
she came over to help.
Snow White peeked over her shoulder: “Good day, old man, what is it that
you need?”
“Oh, I just saw that you are becoming weak and tired after all this work and
wanted to provide you with some help.” The Princess said.
Snow White replied: “Yes, I am become oh so tired due to this labor and
would not mind a hand, Thank you so much!”
Snow White knew that something was a little stranger from this mans
random interest in helping her, and remember what the seven dwarfs were
preaching to her before she begun working: “Beware of your stepmother. She’ll
know soon enough that you’re here. Don’t let anyone too close to you.” So
remembering this she looked over at the strange man to take a closer look at him.
Snow White noticed that the man had a feminine approach to his drilling technique.
She noticed this from seeing all the other men working and knowing how she had
learned from them not to have such a beginners and feminine approach to her
drilling. Knowing this she knew it was not just a man but also someone else. Snow
White quickly asked the man knowing it was the evil queen that she had done
enough work and that it was time for her to leave. The queen was confused at this
point and looked at Snow White, as this happened Snow White grabbed her drill and
killed the evil queen.
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Reasoning Behind: “Snow White and Her Lovely Brains”
Reading and or watching Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs can at first be
simply just a story to pass some time or just for enjoyment. In this case you will see
only that Snow White is simply a young beautiful girl that has an evil and very
envious queen coming after her who has plotted and has committed different plans
to kill Snow White. Snow White attempts to run away so that she can stay alive. At
this point she ends up running into seven dwarfs. Snow White turns into a
homemaker who has no choice but to cook, clean, and to take care of the little seven
men. Originally, the seven dwarfs only decided to keep Snow White because of these
qualities that she had, “but as time proceeded they soon grew to love her as a kind
mother figure.” One day she is at home making a pie, cleaning, and attending the
house, the evil queen shows up in disguised. The queen proceeds to trick the stupid
and helpless Snow White several times before feeding her a red apple. Snow White
falls very easily into her trap and is put into a spell that causes her to fall asleep. The
seven dwarfs build a glass coffin to place her into thinking she was dead, and leave
her peacefully outdoors in the beautiful woods. Until, one day, a prince fortunate
enough to run into the coffin asks the seven dwarfs to hand him Snow White for he
shall praise her for she is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. The prince takes
her and then Snow White awakens. They live happily ever after together and invite
the queen to die on the dance floor for attempting to kill Snow White.
These gender roles are rather black and white in this story written in The
Classic Fairy Tales written by Maria Tatar. In this fairy tale a women is considered to
be a homemaker, as well as, naïve and lacking a common sense. Snow White’s name
can even be considered a terrible stereotype, because of snow being considered to
be pure, white, whimsical, beautiful, and easily push aside. Also, the Seven Dwarfs
are strongly placed in their gender roles. They are all manly men, who do not cook,
clean; take care of each other or themselves in that aspect. They go to work and take
advantage of Snow White’s abilities to appear to be a homemaker. The evil queen is
even placed in some kind of stereotype. She is evil, but also beautiful. Her looks are
not only abrasive, but as she turns into an elderly woman she is trusted more. So in
my remake of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” I make many different changes so
that these stereotypes are taken care of for the most part and replaced with a firm
female model.
To begin with changes it is best to start with understanding The Second Sex
introduction by Simone De Beauvoir on page xxi, as well as, text from Rachel Blau
DuPlessis in Writing beyond the Ending on page two. In Simone De Beauvoir writing
she says, “In actuality the relation of the two sexes is not quite like that of two
electrical poles, for man represents both the positive and the neutral, as is indicated
by the common use of man to designate human beings in general; whereas women
represent only the negative, defined by limited criteria, without reciprocity.”
Reading this text you run into two main points: “sexes is not quite like that of two
electrical poles” and “without reciprocity”. These lines explain and sum up what
Simone De Beauvoir has to say about sex genders. What she is attempting us to
understand is that in our lives today people judge women different from men and so
men and women are not exchangeable in their places. They are very different
because men are better and greater than women and can do so much more. While
women are wrong and cant do much but the minimum. This ties into what Rachel
Blau DuPlessis writes about in Writing beyond the Ending. Rachel Blau DuPlessis
says, “Romance plots of various kinds, the iconography of love, the postures of
yearning, pleasing, choosing, slipping, falling, and failing are, evidently, some of the
deep, shared structures of our culture. These scripts of heterosexual romance,
romantic thralldom, and a telos in marriage are also social forms expressed at once
in individual desires and in a collective code of action including law.” This little
paragraph is structured around what Rachel Blau DuPlessis calls a “script”. This
“script” tells us what we should and shouldn’t be doing in our lives. Not only does
this script impacts us individually though, but tells us what should happen and tells
us what to do. This is a plot that is not in novels but in our real lives and reflects
what is going on in our cultures. This involves Fairy Tales such as “Snow White and
The Seven Dwarfs. Where Snow White is used for labor at the house of the Seven
Dwarfs, is fooled several times by the queen, and finally falls in love with a man.
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After analyzing these two text from The Second Sex introduction by Simone
De Beauvoir on page xxi, and text from Rachel Blau DuPlessis in Writing beyond the
Ending on page two. I decided to rearrange a lot of things within my remake of
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. To begin I renamed the story to “Snow White
and Her Brains” so that people right off the bat can see that Snow White is not just a
beautiful girl but is in fact intelligent, and to show that Snow White doesn’t need the
Seven Dwarfs. So in the begging of the story everything starts off quite similar
except that not only is Snow White and the queen beautiful but they are also very
intelligent individuals. This is taking them away from the dumb and no clever
stereotype that women have against them. Then the story proceeds to introduce the
mirror that can never lie which now ties in the jealousy of who is the smartest of all.
Next I have the queen ask the principle in charge of the only school in the kingdom
to take Snow White away forever, but as the original did both the principle and the
queens servant disobey what the queen has granted them to allowing Snow White to
run away in to the woods where she finds the Seven Dwarfs. Arriving into the
Dwarfs home Snow White uses their equipment to do her homework instead of
taking care of herself and eating. This further improves that Snow White is stronger
and more intelligent than the original. After waking Snow White begging’s to speak
to the Seven Dwarfs like the original, but unlike the original I have her shut down
the Dwarfs commands of the only way she can stay. So instead Snow White agreeing
to cook, make the beds, wash, sew, knit, and keep everything neat and tidy for them
she says no and tells them to do their own work and that she will go off to work in
the mines like men would do. This flips all the gender rolls upside down because not
only is she not doing what women would normally do but she also goes off to do a
man job. Snow White should be able to work at the gold mines. In reality women
aren’t portrayed working at laborious, dirty jobs. Gold mining is a particular
“manly” job. Finally, trying to come up with an ending where Snow White does not
get trick at any point like in the original, I have Snow White out smart the queen and
end her life right on the spot showing that Snow White is brave, smarter than all
from cleverly remembering things that she has been told or has seen such as a
proper drilling technique and the advice from the Seven Dwarfs.
Stereotypes are primarily present in everyday life, and in this example in
Fairy Tales. This has been shown threw the works of understanding The Second Sex
introduction by Simone De Beauvoir on page xxi, as well as, text from Rachel Blau
DuPlessis in Writing beyond the Ending on page two and reading The Classic Fairy
Tales written by Maria Tatar. These social scripts, and gender roles are destroying
the free minds of how people in our society are viewing the world. No one can say
that they have never read or heard a fairy tale before which implies that almost
everyone has been exposed and most importantly have been affected by these
stereotypes being thrown out there in society. Through my revisions within “Snow
White and Her Lovely Brain”, I have clearly stated changes from the original story to
fix and expose of these social and gender roles to make a completely different
spectrum for any who are being bared by stereotypes threw Fairy Tales. Within this
Fairy Tale not only is Snow White beautiful but she is also the most intelligent of all,
as well as, and improvement in her character which gives her more command of
what she wants which again gives her authority like a man. These changes are very
important for they disrupt the palace of all stereotypes out there within fairytales.
Fairytales are mostly being told to the young, which means they are being exposed
to these stereotypes very early on in their lives. So through these changes the young
will learn not to stereotype others, but to in fact think of anything equal like a man
and a woman.
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Works Cited
Beauvoir, Simone De. The Second Sex;. New York: Knopf, 1953. Print.
DuPlessis, Rachel Blau. Writing beyond the Ending: Narrative Strategies of
Twentieth-century Women Writers. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1985. Print.