The Language of Fairy Tales

What are fairy tales? Fairy tale is a fanciful tale of legendary deeds and creatures, usually intended for children because it contains a fictitious, highly fanciful story or explanation. It is also a belief that has become associated with a person, institution, or occurrence, especially one considered to illustrate a cultural ideal. To me, fairy tales contain not only imaginative stories but also the wishes, dreams and hopes of ordinary people. Although people from variety backgrounds have different points of view, they share the same wishes and dreams, values and beliefs. Therefore we often encounter similarities among fairy tales from different cultures. If we only talk about fairy tales, they mostly have the same meanings or values. If we go into details, however; we will recognize some slight differences among them. This is clearly reflected in "Tam and Cam" and "The Politically Correct Cinderella". In "The Politically Correct Cinderella" by James Finn Garner, we see all pictures, which strongly show the western culture.

Tam Cốc

Tâm

Beside that in "Tam and Cam" (VietNam), it demonstrates another aspect of the Eastern culture. In "fairy tales", we can find many distinctive elements, values, beliefs, and norms of culture.

There are many similar beliefs in different cultures. For example, every culture or society emphasizes that people should always live with a good heart. When we treat others well, we receive back the same things. If we treat other badly, we receive awful things. This is the exact meaning of "what goes around comes around." ("List of English proverbs"). In return, both stories are built on the same concept that good will deserves prize and hard working will be paid. Tam and Cinderella have the same situations. Their mothers died and their fathers go on getting married with other women. Their stepmothers and stepsisters treat...