Tina Do 301219194 - English 105W Comparison Assignment.docx

8/14/2019 Tina Do 301219194 - English 105W Comparison Assignment.docx

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Tina Do

301219194

English 105WTutorial Group #5Professor: N. Didicher

T.A.: A. McDonald

Apples to Apples: The Changing Methods of Poisoning Snow White

Many versions of Snow White recycle the bound motif of her enchanted death. In

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimms version from 1812/1815, the eponymous character falls victim to a

poisonous apple given to her by her malicious stepmother-in-disguise. In Laurence Anholts

picture book Snow White and the Seven Aliensfrom 1998 (republished in 2004), the heroine

becomes afflicted in a figuratively similar sense. Snow White is poisoned by the cruel words

the Mean Queen (7) spouts, and dies from stage fright. These differences in the manner in

which Snow White encounters her sleeping death in the two tales highlight the shifts and

changes in values between the cultural and social environments of each storys respective time

period.

The Grimm Brothers nineteenth-century heroine is the quintessential image of innocence

and beauty. Unfortunately, because Snow White is beautiful as the day (148), the young

woman rivals the proud and overbearing (147-148) Queen and becomes a point of fixation for

her. The Queen, whose envious heart (152) and narcissism dominate her actions, attempts to

rid herself permanently of her rival but is thwarted by the kind-hearted nature of the huntsman.

Subsequently, she tries to tempt the nave Snow White into death with pretty things (150),

which include enchanted and deadly laces of all colors (150), a beautiful comb, and a lovely

apple (152). In the end, the Queen succeeds, albeit temporarily; Snow White is unable to resist

the lure of the apple and [falls] to the floor dead (152).


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In the early 1800s, Germany, separated and ravaged by wars (Sauders, 23) was still

largely dominated by the power of the church. Though Germany was never completely and

thoroughly Christianized (Pinson, 4) Windling notes that the Grimm Brothers continuously

edited their works over time to emphasize their good Protestant values (Holborn, 386-422,

445) Reflected in Snow White - whose longing for the lovely apple (152) causes her death -

the Grimm Brothers allude to the importance of religion in by casting Snow Whites death as a

representation of Eves original sin in The Holy Bible, and imply that decorum and conservative

interests are integral to a persons identity.

In contrast, Anholts portrayal of Snow White as an aspiring pop star (5), and the cause

of her death reflects the changes in social and cultural values in twentieth-century Britain. In a

society that is no longer dominated by a strong sense of religion (Sauders, 27), Anholts

modern spin on Snow Whites death reflects Hage and Powers idea that knowledge and

technology [are] the dominant social forces shaping society (3), rather than propriety and

scruples. The stepmothers attempts to destroy Snow Whites career in the 1998 re-telling is

characteristic of both the twentieth and the twenty-first century; both knowledge and language

can be easily manipulated and used to cause harm because of the disregard of morality and

ethics. As the Mean Queen spouts venomous words, she plays upon Snow Whites insecurities

and effectively poisons the young girls mind with feelings of inferiority (48-49).

Anholts use of words as the cause of Snow Whites sleeping death also foreshadows

the radical changes in in society with the introduction of new technology in the twenty-first

century. Various forms of social media and concepts such as cyber-bully emphasize the stark

contrasts between the values of early nineteenth-century Germany and late twentieth century

Britain.


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The liberation of society in the twentieth century from being largely dominated by

religion can be seen as positive in the sense that females are no longer confronted by the notion

that they caused the fall of man, but negative in that many young people these days are

poisoned by Mean Queen[s] who manipulatelanguage and use the knowledge of certain

social and cultural contexts to afflict others.

Though the causes of Snow Whites enchanted death differ in the two tales, the

differences highlight and reflect the changing social and cultural contexts in nineteenth-century

Germany and twentieth-century Britain. Whilst most people would view such changes in cultural

milieu as positive, teenagers emerging into the confusing technology-dominated twenty-first

century might disagree. The socio-cultural dynamics of the nineteenth-century may seem

simplistic but at least structured and comprehensible in comparison to the complicated reality of

the world of today.


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Works Cited

Anholt, Laurence, and Arthur Robins. Snow White and the Seven Aliens. Minneapolis, MN:

Compass Point, 2004. Print.

Bynner, John. "British Youth Transitions in Comparative Perspective."Journal of Youth Studies

4.1 (2001): 5-23. Print.

Clark, Beverly Lyon., and Margaret R. Higonnet. Girls, Boys, Books, Toys: Gender in Children's

Literature and Culture. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2000. Print.

Flynn, Stephen. "Analysis of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."Reflections on Psychology,

Culture and Life - The Jung Page. N.p., May 2005. Web. 1 Oct. 2013..

Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm, Grimm. "Snow White." Ed. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek.

Trans. Ralph Manheim.Folk & Fairy Tales. 4th ed. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview,

2009. 147-153 Print.

Hage, Jerald, and Charles H. Powers.Post-industrial Lives: Roles and Relationships in the 21st

Century. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1992. Print.

Holborn, Hajo.A History of Modern Germany: 1648-1840. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1964.

Print.

Pinson, Koppel S., and Klaus Epstein.Modern Germany: Its History and Civilization. ProspectHeights, IL: Waveland, 1989. Print.

Roberts, K. "Same Activities, Different Meanings: British Youth Cultures in the 1990s."Leisure

Studies16.1 (1997): 1-15. Print.

Rowe, Karen. "Feminism and Fairy Tales." Ed. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek.Folk &

Fairy Tales. 4th ed. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2009. 342-58. Print.

Saunders, John Hanson.Evolution of Snow White: A Close Textual Analysis of Three Versions of

the Snow White Fairy Tale.[S.l.]: Bibliobazaar, Llc, 2011. Print.

Stephens, John and McCallum, Robyn. "Utopia, Dystopia, and Cultural Controversy inEver

Afterand The Grimm Brothers Snow White."Marvels & Tales16.2 (2002). Web.

.

Windling, Terri. Introduction. White as Snow. By Tanith Lee. New York: Tor, 2000. 1. Print.


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Assistance Acknowledged

I would sincerely like to thank my tutorial partner Victoria Fung for helping me edit the first

draft of this Comparison Assignment, and for giving me some input and feedback regarding the

length and structure of some sentences. I would also like to thank my friend Peter Lomas for

further helping me edit my draft and aiding in correcting my grammatical errors.

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Tina Do 301219194 - English 105W Comparison Assignment.docx