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 Into the following day, I stumbled upon shelter. It looks to be abandoned, and as if it has been for quite some time. I'm hardly settled but have gained a small and much needed sense of security. There is little left behind, some jars containing "ingredients" that just can't be for food. They could be anything. Potions, maybe? For now it must be best that I don't touch them. Due to desperate circumstance, this little shack is enough to call home. Although, it is not entirely comfortable. It is a familiar place in an unfamiliar world. Who could blame me for wondering if it's as normal as it appears?

Darker versions of fairy tale

  While most people associate Grimm's fairy tales with being darker versions of the stories, they are actually responsible for the light-hearted versions that we are familiar with. Of course, Grimm's fairy tales feature darker events, themes of sexuality and violence, but the original versions were far less appropriate for a young audience. Taking the taming of fairy tales even further, Disney's Snow White animated film set the stage for today's sense of fairy tales being for children. The film was appropriate for families, and depicted a magical, happier story. Children today have grown up with a newer breed of fairy tales, twists and parodies such as Disney's Enchanted and Dreamwork's Shrek. Despite the success of these films, films like Snow White & The Seven Huntsmen, original and adapted Tim Burton films and others, are experiencing an equal success. Through its development, it looks as though fairy tales have not been able to completely separate themselves from their origins, and returning to them has proven to be successful.

(source : http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/05/fairy-tales-started-dark-got-cute-and-are-now-getting-dark-again/257934/

Explanation of project

In combining the genres of epistolary fiction and fairy tales, I plan to write a typical fairytale that is unusual in its sense of perspective. In fairy tales, the story is presented to the audience by the narrator, often in a matter-of-fact style. We are provided with the events and results of the story, but often times we do not see the deeper side of how these events effected the character and developed personal growth. Through a series of letters written by the main character throughout their adventure, the audience will be given an inside view into the character's thoughts and feelings. When a "shocking" event occurs in a fairy tale, the character immediately reacts, often with bravery, and the problem is resolved.In reality, whether or not the character resolves the problem, they will be left with the emotional effect of the shocking or traumatic experience. I feel that this unusual portrayal of a fairy tale would create a deeper appreciation and understanding of them, making them more relatable as well. In seeing how a real human being would react and grow from these experiences, I hope that will allow anyone to view themselves in the hero's shoes.

History and Origins

  Before the genre became its own separate form, fairy tales were considered more to be natural, short stories. The tradition of fairy tales began as soon as they were being passed down orally. Because stories were told verbally and had not yet been written down, they were often told dramatically. This also contributes to the history of the genre not being completely certain, and biased on the development of them in some countries.

Timeline of the endurance of fairy tales in various forms (Literature,film,theatre)

    Although it has been attempted, it seems impossible to track down the original source of fairy tales, or the very first versions of stories. Due to oral tradition, tales were altered from speaker to speaker, leaving everyone with their own version of a tale. Even as people were beginning to write them down, aspects of stories were changed in order to accommodate cultures or the story tellers preference. Another issue that arose was the difference between the genres of fairy tale and fantasy. In 1980, Brian Attebery published a book titled The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature, where he explored the genre of fantasy in depth. From there, he saught to find its influence of American folklore. Before fantasy was a genre of its own , some stories created during that time were considered to be fairy tales, when later they would be considered fantasy. From here, the sub-genre of fairytale fantasy was developed. Two stories that Attebery had studied closely were The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Hobbit, both of which fit into the sub-genre for including original plots with fairy tale aspects.