Folklore Influence in America

Children's fairy tales are definitely an American icon that did not start in America. They come from every country there is. The majority of our tales that have been passed down come from the countries our ancestors came from, which only makes sense. Therefore, many of the most common ones are from Germany, Russia, England, Norway, France, and Italy. There are many variations of each story, th0ough. Each country seems to have their own version of the same basic tale. Some, such as Norway, are known for being more gruesome and violent in an effort to scare children away from the behavior depicted in the tale. Fairy tales, for the most part, are meant to be cautionary tales for young children who are being taught to listen to their parents. Little Red Riding Hood is perhaps the best example of a cautionary tale. She is warned by her mother to stay on the path and not speak to strangers. The version in many countries is that Little Red Riding Hood disobeys her mother and therefore she and her grandmother are eaten by the Big Bad Wolf.

When Walt Disney came along and put his stamp on these stories he decided they were too frightening for children and took out many of the original elements of the stories. Even though there are many "Americanized" versions of fairytales, a few major elements are constant, though they have changed significantly from the original versions: Good always triumphs over evil, the Prince always rescues the Princess, and everybody lives happily ever after. This is the epitome of the "American Dream". Every little girl grows up wanting to be the Princess. It's fine for children's literature, however, it is extremely inaccurate. I don't believe we should scare our children, but maybe we could find a happy medium between glitter and gore.