What the Cinderella Story Has to Teach Young Girls Essay -- Literature

At first glance, what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale may seem obvious—some kind of magic, hidden symbols, repetition, and of course it’s evident it’s fiction—but fables are more than that. As Arthur Schelesinger puts it, it’s about â€Å"[expanding] imagination† and gaining understanding of mysterious places (618). While doing this, it also helps children to escape this world, yet teach a lesson that the reader may not be conscious of. A wonderful story that achieves all of this is Cinderella, but not the traditional tale many American’s have heard. Oochigeaskw, or The Rough-Faced Girl, and Ashputtle would be fitting for a seven-year-old because they get the gears of the mind turning, allowing for an escape on the surface, with an underlying enlightenment for children of the ways of the world. The Rough Faced Girl is the Native American variation of Cinderella. It was originally told in the language of the Algonquin, who resided in the Eastern Woodlands of the United States and greatly differs from all the other stories of Cinderella. This tale’s focus is of an invisible man who will marry the woman who can see him. His sister, who has the ability to view him, cares for him and brings different woman to the wigwam to test their sight of the â€Å"Invisible One† (639). Many woman tried as they might, are unable to see him except one, Oochigeaskw. This woman is the youngest of three siblings, and is treated the poorest—scars covered her body from where her sisters burned her (640). I prefer this story to the rest because there isn’t the use of magic†¦or magic for the woman’s own benefit. Instead, once the sister proves The Rough-Faced Girl can see her brother, she bathes her and all her scars disappear. My interpretation of this is tha t Ooch... ...on. Works Cited Behrens and Rosen. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum 11 ed. Longman, 2011. Print. Bettelheim, Bruno. â€Å"’Cinderella’: A Story of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts†. Behrens and Rosen 651-657. Cullen, Bonnie. â€Å"The Rise of Perrault’s ‘Cinerella’†. Behren and Rosen 645-650. Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm. â€Å"Ashputtle.† Behrens and Rosen 628-633. â€Å"Oochigeaskw – The Rough-Faced Girl (A Native American ‘Cinderella’). Behrens and Rosen 639-640. Orenstein, Peggy. â€Å"Cinderella and Princess Culture†. Behren and Rosen 670-673. Panttaja, Elisabeth. â€Å"Cinderella: Not so Morally Superior†. Behrens and Rosen 658-661. Poniewozik, James. â€Å"The Princess Paradox†. Behrens and Rosen 666-669. Schlesinger, Arthur Jr. â€Å"What Great Books do for Children†. Behrens and Rosen 617-618. Thompson, Smith. â€Å"Universality of the Folktale†. Behrens and Rosen 619-622.