Between Reality And Illusion In Terry Pratchett's Witches Abroad

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem was a book written by Rosalyn Schanzer. The book covered a set of trials that took place in Salem. Many people accused twenty other people of being witches or wizards. There were even some people who were executed for being witches. It was a time full of hatred, heartbreak, and unfairness. Speaking of unfairness, there was a lot of it in the questioning and trials. The Salem witch trials were unfair because of the lack witnesses in court, the way that spectral evidence was used, and the defendant not having any protection.

When I was younger, fairy tales were always my favorite movies to watch. From Cinderella to Snow White, I was glued to my TV screen watching them all day. As I have gotten older I have realized that there are certain patterns that show up in every short story. In “Cupid and Psyche” and “Ashputtle” one narrative pattern shown is things that come in threes.

The highlights of The novel boldly interweave the past and present, of storytelling without hiding the universal truth and unravel the cruel beauty of and reality which is told in a brilliant but modern retelling that undoubtedly has its roots firmly based in the dark secrets of the Holocaust. This story is told in a beautiful, haunting and tragic way and manage to be able to weave a unique web of symbolism that offers a direct beginning-to-end storytelling technique.

Alice Walker’s Everyday Use (rpt. in Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine’s Literature Sound and Structure 11th ed [Boston: Wadsworth, 2012] 166-173) is a short story told by the mother of two daughters, Mama. The story tells the tale of the return of Mama’s oldest daughter, Dee, and the problems that Dee’s return causes for Mama and her youngest daughter, Maggie. This short story includes humor and irony, displays detailed characterization, and portrays a very effective point of view. These three literary elements contribute to this story by giving insight into the past and the true personalities of the characters, and the way the characters have changed over time.

The argument of Annie Pfeifer and her article “Let It Go: Making Peace With Princesses” describes the importance of many stories for fairy tales. Pfeifer explains her claim that different stories in fairy tales are important by using pathos, ethos, and her own personal stories. Pfeifer exclaims “In it, little Gerda journeys to the ends of the earth to save her best friend, Kai...Without the help of any man, the fiercely independent and eloquent Gerda manages to persuade both robbers and ravens to assist her quest. In ‘Frozen,’ Anna’s plot to find her sister Elsa is set in motion by her overdetermined, chocolate-fueled boy-craziness and depends on men to be executed.” This quote shows Pfeifer using pathos by suggesting Gerda to be “independent and eloquent” meaning she was able to venture alone and confidently while also having the ability to fluently and expressively persuade different people.

The early 20th century was filled with many altering events that shaped America in both positive and negative ways. From The Great Depression to World War 1, the American life had been changed. Throughout the novel, many characters fill archetypal roles that are shown through Dorothy’s coming of age. As her dream takes her away from her beloved little farm in Kansas with her Aunt and Uncle, she embarks on a journey that ultimately changes her perception of life, as she longs to find stability in her ideal world with no flaws. Along her journey to return home, she acquires real life situations that shape the once innocent Dorothy and return her home with a better sense of who she really is.

Fairy Tales interpreted by some intellectual and thinkers as something that offer into human mind and human emotions, other look to fairy tale to illuminate the aspiration of non-elite people in the pre modern age and some focus on the way in which fairy tales reflect and shape gender roles and

Fantasy and reality are drawn on a fine line. In “Harlyn’s Fairy” the significance of fantasy within reality is not to embellish in ignorance or expectation to believe in the fantastical element of the narrative, rather to distinguish significance from allegorical themes and translate the messages into reality. Through Yolen’s short story, the characterization of the protagonist, Harlyn, her mother and Aunt Marilyn, display conflicting opinions on fantasy. The characters contrast each other’s point of view to further the significance in the influence of fantasy and imagination has on the mind. Aunt Marilyn defines the fantastical as empty make-believe. Harlyn’s mother uses fantasy as a crutch in replacement with reality, ignorant and distant to

Sarah Orne Jewett’s works show her deep understanding of life and the value of the small things. She writes narratives of small characters with personal struggles that help expand on what it is to be human. Jewett does not explain the human condition, but she expands our understanding of it by her ability to press meaning into any object. Her works are riddled with symbolism and her work “A White Heron” is no different. The main character Sylvia is given the choice of either to give up the white heron’s location for ten dollars to a collector who wishes to stuff it or keep the location a secret and spare the bird. Sylvia’s internal struggle is given greater meaning through Jewett’s extreme use of symbolism.

Ella Enchanted is an interesting and fanciful take on the fairytale Cinderella that is adapted to suit modern gender attitudes. The tale unfolds in a fanciful medieval world filled with ogres, elves, fairies, and giants. The primary conflict of the story centers around Ella’s curse of obedience and her journey to break the curse. While there are some similarities between the book and movie versions of Ella Enchanted, the many differences are far more significant and include differences in tone, character, and climax.

“Fairy tales were not my escape from reality as a child; rather, they were my reality -- for mine was a world in which good and evil were not abstract concepts, and like fairy-tale heroines, no magic would save me unless I had the wit and heart and courage to use it widely.” These words of Terri Windling, an American editor, offer an insight to the idea of fairytales in society. A fairy tale can be both a unique source of knowledge for children and an effective educational material. In his novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory Maguire portrays the traditional fairy tale, with certain

Once upon a time fairy tales were born. Many of the fairy tales we have learned were first written between 17th and 18th century, even though their real origins could be traced further back1 in myth, stories, and legends passed down orally. Some first known authors are Giambattista Basile in Italy, Charles Perrault in France, and the Grimm Brothers in German. The two last authors being considered more collectors or such stories2. Interestingly each one created their own versions based on their reality and the audience they were writing for, and such tales had a content highly politic and violent in some cases. Nevertheless, such tales were not the sweetened version we have been exposed to because they were created in a different time in which

Literary Analysis Beauty and the Beast depicts the story of a merchant with three young daughters. The man went on a journey but not before speaking to his children. The merchant requested each of his daughters to state the gifts they would like him to bring. The eldest girl wanted a

In reflecting on the idea behind Cinderella and knowing that thousands of versions of the story have been created since Ancient Times, I found many interesting cultural perspectives on the story of Cinderella (Mascarenhas, 2014, p.1). More than 500 versions have been discovered in Europe alone (Northrup, 2000, p.1). There are even male versions of Cinderella (Northrup, 2000, p.1). It appears that “almost every culture seems to have its own version” that reflects their “the local culture, customs and values” (Northrup, 2000, p.1). In French culture she is referred to as Cendrillion (Mascarenhas, 2014, p.1). In Germany, Cinderella is Aschenputtel and in Italy she is Cenerentola (Mascarenhas, 2014, p.1). In Thailand, the Cinderella story is called Kao and the Golden

Existentialists forcefully believe that one defines their own meaning in life, and that by lack of there being an upper power one must espouse their own existence in order to contradict this essence of ‘nothing-ness’. Absurdist fiction is a genre of literature which concerns characters performing seemingly meaningless actions and experiences due to no found meaning or purpose in their lives, and this prospect of uncertainty is key in both plays Waiting for Godot as well as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Writers Samuel Beckett and Edward Albee use different perspectives on truth and illusion in order to communicate a message to their audience and to make them question the society in which they live in.