This week I read the Hans Christian Andersen unit. In it
were several stories I remember from my childhood; The Princess and the Pea,
The Emperor's New Suit, and of course The Little Mermaid. The Disney version
of Andersen's most widely known piece was quite different from the original.
The other two stories were essentially the exact same as what I grew up
reading. Looking back on these stories I find it comical that such dark and
terrible stories become beloved children's books or movies.
The Princess and the Pea is such a terrible story for
children because it has no meaning to it. Its sole purpose is about finding a
true princess and the only way to do this is to have her sleep on 20 mattresses
with a single pea beneath them. This essentially teaches kids that to be a
princess and get everything you want out of life you need to be a spoiled brat!
In The Emperor’s New Suit all of the town’s people fall
victim to the trick of some swindlers. They do this simply because they don’t want
others to think they are not worthy of what position they hold or that they are
stupid. Even the Emperor falls victim to the trick. He pretends to see a set of
clothes when in fact there is nothing there. In the end only a child stands up
and points out the fact that the Emperor isn’t wearing any clothes. It does
teach the moral of thinking for yourself and not succumbing to peer pressure
however, it is such a ridiculous story!
Lastly is The Little Mermaid. It’s a story we all grew up
loving because of Disney’s rendition of it. This however, is far from what was
originally written. Ariel doesn’t get her happy ending with the prince in
Andersen’s version. The story was sugar coated to make it more suitable for
children. While I do love the movie and I think it is great for children I also
think it would be good for kids to hear the original. It would teach them that
life isn’t fair and we don’t always get what we want in life.
Overall it was really neat reading stories that I grew up
knowing. They don’t make the best children’s stories but they will always be
classics!
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