Little Mermaid Then And Now

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Nicholas Garbark Professor Makris Lit 315: Children’s Literature 19 October 2010 The Little Mermaid: Then and Now The classic tale of a half human, half fish teenage girl living in the sea has been a household favorite tale over many years. Hans Christian Anderson presented a tale of a teenage mermaid with the desire to live on land, due to her love for a prince. Walt Disney presented a very similar animated version of the tale that Hans Christian Anderson called his own. Disney stayed true to many details presented in the original tale, but made many alterations. Both stories share many similarities that contribute to each tales individual message or moral. Both versions of the story also share many differences that are strongly due in part to the stories intended audience and message. One major difference between the stories is the development of the corruption of innocence of the protagonist. Walt Disney referred to his little mermaid as Ariel, and to Hans Christian Anderson she was a nameless teenage mermaid. Anderson presented a family with a mother, father, and six daughters; Disney presented a family with just a father and a daughter. Both tales followed the concept that the mermaid wished to go to the land and be amongst humans. Anderson created the idea of going to the surface as a reward for mermaids once they were old enough to gaze at the surface’s beauty; whereas Disney created the surface area as a forbidden area not to be associated with. Both Ariel and Anderson’s little mermaid were infatuated by the idea of the land outside the sea, so much so that they allowed the mystery and lust of this world to corrupt them from knowledgeable judgment. Both Anderson and Disney were able to give the viewer/reader the idea that although the land was what the mermaid wanted, it was dangerous and wrong. Disney’s vision was of a single daughter
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