Paper Option

Paper topics may be chosen from the following options; in all cases, papers should be 8-10 pages in length, using standard (1") margins, line spacing, and 12 point Times New Roman font size. Papers should have a descriptive title – NOT “Fairy Tale Paper” but something like “The Role of the Slipper in ‘Cinderella’.”

Whatever option you choose, be sure that you argue a specific thesis. That is, there should be a point to the paper beyond the simple fact of analysis - it should not be “I am going to analyze ‘The Three Little Pigs’ from an anthropological approach” but rather something along the lines of “‘The Three Little Pigs’ symbolically re-enacts the fears of subsistence-level farmers faced with a hostile world.” In this hypothetical analysis, the wolf would be interpreted as all of the hostile forces in the world (and why should these forces be embodied in a wolf?) and the pigs as the vulnerable country folk.“

Option 1

Select a tale from your course text that we have not discussed at length. Analyze the story by first identifying prominent motifs and then discussing their significance in terms of:

The appearance of similar motifs in other tales (i.e., a formalist approach, like those of Propp. Specifically identify which characters or events in the folktale correspond to which formalist functions; or

Possible psychological significance of the tale, e.g., a psychoanalytic approach, relating events and characters to psychological needs. This need not be a formal Freudian approach - i.e., you do not need to relate everything back to childhood sexual development - but it should emphasize what the tale tells us about individual human psychology; or

The way in which the tale reflects the particular culture and , to the extent possible, time from which it is taken e.g., a sociological or anthropological approach, interpreting it in terms of what it tells us about class or gender relations in that culture. Again this need not be a formal discussion of mode of production etc.

Option 2

Some tales seem to preserve the out-of-date values of past times (e.g., wifely obedience taken to extremes, child abandonment, etc.). Insofar as we no longer hold to some of the values held in tales, is it appropriate for children to read such tales? Argue for or against children reading tales based on the values that they illustrate, using one specific tale (either one assigned for class or another one from the course texts) to make your case.

Option 3

The Walt Disney Company has hired you to help decide what tale to use for their next animated feature film. From the tales in our course texts, choose one to recommend to Disney. Explain why the story is typical of the (Disney) tale tradition and why you think it would make a good animated feature. Note that this means you should address specific issues of adaptation to film, not simply argue that it fulfills formal requirements of tales and/or teaches good lessons.

Option 4

Come up with your own idea for a paper topic that has not bee discussed here. Let me know what it is before you start.