Examples and elements of fairy tales

Most people are very familiar with fairy tales and acquired their knowledge of them during childhood. Some of the most well-known and beloved fairy tales include: Goldilocks and The Three Bears, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Bean Stalk,  Snow White, The Three Little Pigs, etc. Although each tale varies in events, their elements are what keep them associated. More recent adaptations have included modern twists on the genre, featuring realistic romance situations and conflicts that could occur in the real world.Fairy tales have been able to stay current in their own way. "Even in a digital age when technology is constantly outpacing itself, it is hard to imagine fairy tales will ever become obsolete."(x)

Some Elements of a Fairy Tale include:
-Setting- Opening with "Once upon a time.." fairy tales are almost always set in the past and give a sense of having occurred such a long time ago, separating their world from ours.
-Fantasy- Includes fantastical characters, situations and aspects (magic,talking animals)
-Plot-focuses on the battle between good and evil
-Conclusion- Almost always involves a positive ending where the goal has been accomplished
-Moral- Story's conclusion reveals moral that can be related back into real life

More elements in fairy tales

Defining Fairy Tales

    The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines fairy tales as "Simple narrative typically of folk origin dealing with supernatural beings. Fairy tales may be written or told for the amusement of children or may have a more sophisticated narrative containing supernatural or obviously improbable events, scenes, and personages, and often having a whimsical, satirical, or moralistic character."(link) 

   Globally, people are familiar with fairy tales, passing them down and ending up with multiple versions of the same story. Fairy tales hold not only a sense of entertainment for children, but often the triumph of good over evil, and the brave completion of supposedly impossible tasks. Although a happy ending is what we know to expect from fairy tales, we are sometimes met with tragedy and violence, reality cutting into fantastic worlds. Perhaps the message is not always direct,but fairy tales ease us into reality as we age from childhood. Writer Kelly Cipera comments "The study of fairy tales is a study into our own psychology. They are not just about the hero saving the day, but the hero becoming a better person by dealing with their own inadequacies and maturing from a simple child into a complicated adult".(link)