Snow White Response

When comparing the two versions of “Snow White” as illustrated by Walt Disney and Brothers Grimm, it is obvious after reading Brothers Grimm to say which version is the darker one. Personally, after reading the different versions of all these common fairytales I find myself liking the scarier versions more because of how exhilarating they are! I recall my mom and older sister telling me when I was in middle school that Disney’s “Snow White” was not the original version, and that the original was much scarier, which definitely rings true. I just wish I had the opportunity to gain the perspective I have now from reading these classic fairytales. Actually, I find it wildly appalling that many high school students are not exposed to the distinct, yet related fairytales told around the world until much later in life. Based on the discussions we’ve had in class such as how themes of these stories relate to the present, I think it would be beneficial to promote such form of higher order thinking to high school students. Especially for stories like “Little Red Riding Hood”, where the lead female character is innocent and naïve in one story, then calm and cunning in another. I see it as an opportunity for young minds to really re-build their own ideas of what a fairytale is supposed to entail. However, that may be easier for the next generation to do when considering the radical changes in the common Disney animated fairytales such as “Brave”, “Frozen”, and “Maleficent” (the new version of Sleeping Beauty). Reading multiple renditions of the same tale also keys students in on how students their age in a different country were influence by their culture’s rendition. For example, the Chinese interpretation of “Red Riding Hood” is far different from the American interpretation. Questions such as, “Was the author of culture A attempting to convey a different message than culture B?”, or “Do you think a different version of fairytale ‘X’ should have been told in our culture, and why?”, would be interesting to see in a high school English course.