MLA Research Paper

Introduction

Fantastic fiction has been out of latest trend for over a years now. The attacks it bears now were currently being made in the nineteenth and early twentieth century—causing G. K. Chesterton to write his well known essay on fairy tales. They were being made in the time of Tolkien, who furthermore tried to set the record straight with the wonderful term paper "On Fairy Stories". The dismissal of fairy tales, myths and fantastic fiction as "sentimental" or "merely escapist" is not anything new. Jane Yolen's book is one more attempt to display how these marks don't do these stories any sort of justice—and how the decrease of customary tales may have genuine consequences for up to date children.

In the book's unfastening essay, “How Basic is Shazam?” Jane Yolen devotes four causes why fantasy, mythology and folk and fairy tales are significant for children. First of all, she states, myths and customary tales are deeply ingrained in our heritage, and, if children augment up without them, there is a entire variety of culturalreferences whose meaning they will not be able to appreciate. They will lose a common heritage that is a fundamental part of what it is to be human. Secondly, knowing the myths and folktales of another culture is a way of getting to know it better, of looking at it from the inside. Thirdly, stories provide us metaphorical tools with which to deal with reality, and in doing so they help us heal. And finally, the symbolic language of stories can often help us understand ourselves better. What actions are good and what actions are bad are clearly displayed. By means of these stories cultural beliefs can be passed on from generation to generation. However, this imparting of societal rules through fairy tales can be used to manipulate and brainwash children into continuing the dominance of a group. One such group that is afflicted with the lessons of fairy tales is women.

This is, of course, just a very rudimentary summary. Jane Yolen's essay interprets these points in great detail. The pitch of these term papers is exceedingly smart, but also conversational. You get the feeling you are in the presence of somebody who is wise and knowing, but also very approachable and warm. Jane Yolen uses examples from her own know-how as a mother and as a storyteller to show her points, often to poignant effects—like the article of how the Grimm's fairy tale “The Goose Girl” assisted her young son deal with the family cat's brutal death.

Two of my preferred essays in the book were “Fabling to the beside evening” and “Killing the Other”. In the first, Jane Yolen examines the scarcely disguised prejudice that can be found in the work of beloved children's authors like Roald Dahl or E. Nesbit. In the second, she examines the questionable principles of such fairy tales as “Puss in Books”, that appear to tell children that it's okay to murder Ogres just because they are ugly and ...