The Little Mermaid free essay sample

Folk Tale/Fairy Tale Rewrite Summary: In The Little Mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen depicts the life of a mermaid, and her aspirations to live life on land as a human. The little mermaid lives deep in the dark depths of the sea with the sea king (her father), her fathers subjects, her five sisters, and her grandmother. The little mermaid longed for nothing more than to see the world above the surface of the water, but a mermaid is not allowed to go up to the surface until the age of 15. The little mermaid waited patiently, and listened to he experiences of her sisters who had gone up before her until her day finally came. Once the little mermaid surfaced, she spotted a large ship, and on that ship a young prince. A storm hit, and the prince was thrown into the sea. The little mermaid was able to rescue the prince from the Jaws of death, and she brought him to shore. We will write a custom essay sample on The Little Mermaid or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She soon heard voices, and she saw a young maiden exit a temple far in the distance. The little mermaid acted quickly and swam away from the shore, sheltering herself behind large rocks. The young maiden saw the prince and quickly went to his side, nd he suddenly came to. The little mermaid solemnly dove back down to her fathers Palace. The story of the little mermaids encounter with the prince circulated throughout the kingdom, and she soon learned where the prince lived. As the little mermaid observed the prince and his people, she became more fond of humans. Back down in the sea, the little mermaid asked her grandmother if humans continued to live on forever. Her grandmother told her that Just like mermaids, humans die too. Except, unlike mermaids, humans do not Just turn into sea foam fter death, humans still had souls that lingered on. The news of an eternal soul intensified the little mermaids thirst to become human. The little mermaids longing to become human drove her to seek the help of a sea witch. The sea witch gave the little mermaid an elixir that would give her legs in exchange for her tongue. The witch also added that the little mermaid would never be a mermaid again, and with each step that the little mermaid took she would experience the utmost pain. The most daunting term came last. If the prince did not fall in love with the little mermaid nd was to marry someone else, then the little mermaid would turn into sea foam at dawn the day after the princes marriage, and her soul would cease to exist. The little mermaid accepted all of the sea witchs terms and gulped down the potion. At the very first sight of the little mermaid the prince was mesmerized. He was instantly taken back by her beauty and grace although she was mute. While on land the prince and the little mermaid spent most of their time together. One day the king ordered the prince to visit the kingdom adjacent to theirs. Knowing that his father was trying o arrange a marriage, the prince assured the little mermaid that we will not marry the princess because he did not love her. The only person that he loved was the young maiden from the temple, and that the little mermaid was the closest thing he had to her. Sadly, the princess of the kingdom turned out to be the temple girl, so the princess and the prince were to soon be married. The little mermaid was completely devastated, and she could only think of the death that awaited her. However, before dawn her sisters appeared with their hair cut short. They handed he little mermaid a knife. They told the little mermaid that in exchange for their hair, the sea witch agreed to give the little mermaid back her life as a mermaid as long as she was able to pierce the knife through the princes heart and kill him. While the prince was sound asleep next to his new bride, the little mermaid crept to his bedside. Hovering over his still body, the little mermaid threw her arm back, but she could not bring herself to plunge the knife through the princes body. The little mermaid threw the knife out of a window, and flung herself into the sea, Just as dawn ad broke. She began to dissolve into sea foam, but instead of ceasing to exist, she felt the sun; she had turned into a spirit, a daughter of the air. She learned that what had happened was due to fact that she tried to obtain an immortal soul, and as long as she continued to do good deeds then she would earn her own soul and rise up to the kingdom of God. Scene Selection: It is one of those splendid sights which we can never see on earth. The walls and the ceiling of the large ball-room were of thick, but transparent crystal. Many undreds of colossal shells, some of a deep red, others of a grass green, stood on each side in rows, with blue fire in them, which lighted up the whole saloon, and shone through the walls, so that the sea was also illuminated. Innumerable fishes, great and small, swam past the crystal walls; on some of them the scales glowed with a purple brilliancy, and on others they shone like silver and gold. Through the halls flowed a broad stream, and in it danced the mermen and mermaids to the music of their own sweet singing. No one on earth has such a lovely voice as theirs. The little ermaid sang more sweetly than them all. The whole court applauded her with hands and tails; and for a moment her heart felt quite gay, for she knew she had the loveliest voice of any on earth or in the sea. But she soon thought again of the world above her, for she could not forget the charming prince, nor her sorrow that she had not an immortal soul like his therefore she crept away silently out of her fathers palace, and while everything within was gladness and song, she say in her own little garden sorrowful and alone. Then she heard the bugle sounding through the water, nd thought He is certainly sailing above, he on whom my wishes depend, and to whose immortal soul, while my sisters are dancing in my fathers palace, I will go to the sea witch, of who, I have always been so much afraid, but she can give me counsel and help. Summary Re-write: shone through the walls, so that the sea was also illuminated. The great hall sparkled like the sky on a still winter night. Innumerable fishes, great and small, swam past the crystal walls; on some of them the scales glowed with a purple brilliancy, and on others they shone like silver and gold. Their scales twinkled under the beam of the moon like tiny little gems. Through the halls flowed a broad stream, and in it danced the mermen and mermaids to the music of their own sweet singing. No one on earth nas such a lovely voice as theirs. The little mermaid sang more sweetly than them all. Her voice was as sweet as candy floss. The whole court applauded her with hands and tails; and for a moment her heart felt quite gay, for she knew she had the loveliest voice of an on earth or in the sea. But she soon thought again of the world not an immortal soul like his. Like a thief, she crept away silently out of her fathers palace, and while everything within was gladness and song, she sat in her own little garden sorrowful and alone. She was the most miserable being in the sea. She softly stroked the supple petals of a fallen flower. It mirrored the color of the sinking sun she saw in the distance. The little mermaid held the flower up to her nose. Sadly, unlike the sweet scent of flowers that bloom above the surface, it Just gave off the salty scent of the seven seas. Then she heard the blaring boom of the bugle ounding through the water, and thoughtHe is certainly sailing above, he on whom my wishes depend, and in whose hands I should like to place the happiness of my life. I will venture all for him, and to win an immortal soul, while my sisters are dancing in my fathers palace, I will go to the sea witch, of whom I have always been so afraid, but she can give me counsel and help. She was a spy on a mission. Summary Re-write: has such a lovely voice as theirs. The little mermaid sang more sweetly than them all. dancing in my tamers palace, I will go to the sea witch, ot whom I nave always been The Little Mermaid free essay sample The standard of this classical story has been set to be the Disney Movie titled the same way as the classic version The Little Mermaid. It is set to be the standard because of the common knowledge everybody has with the main characters, some of these include Sebastian, the crab, Flounder, the fish and Ursula the sea witch. There are also two things that come up when people think of the little mermaid and that is the theme songs Under the Sea and Part of your world. Hans Christian Andersens, The Little Mermaid, portrays a more erious plot much different from Disneys loveable adaptation. One may conclude that the most these two stories have in common is their titles, but a deeper theme runs throughout both of these fictional plots. Despite these two stories conflicting agendas and the fact that they were written for different time periods, Disneys, The Little Mermaid and Hans Christian Andersens, The Little Mermaid, focus on a protagonist who yearns to attain her ambitions through self-sacrifice. We will write a custom essay sample on The Little Mermaid or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The tale is considered to be feminist by containing a message about love and self-sacrifice, and he dangers of accepting abuse or inconsiderate treatment in the name of love. In the animated film version Ariel, rescues the handsome prince from drowning and falls in love with him, as teenage girls tend to do in the presence of handsome, young men. Then, she makes a deal with Ursula, the evil sea witch, to trade in her tail for legs, such that she can live Diaz 2 happily ever after on dry land with prince. But to gain legs, she must give up her most precious asset, her beautiful voice. There are some standard elements of eenage life here, including young love, and some degree of rebellion from ones parents, in this case King Triton, Ariels father. It was not Ariels physical beauty that the Prince loved, but her voice. He is enraptured by the voice even in the presence of Ariels physical beauty and great legs. The metaphor here should be obvious. What does a woman lose when she becomes subservient to a man, or male-dominated womans beauty should come not from her physical attributes, but from her voice, her personality, her self. Metaphorically, without her voice in society, she is pretty elpless and powerless to change whats going on around her, explain herself, etc. As for the prince he isnt interested in Ariel Just for her looks. It is also important to note that she gets her reward only after working together with her father, King Triton. In the original version The Little Mermaid, longing for the prince and an eternal soul, eventually visits the Sea Witch, who sells her a potion that gives her legs, in exchange for her tongue. The Sea Witch cuts her tongue and warns her that once she becomes a human, she will never be able to return to the sea. Drinking the potion made out of nakes and black witch blood will make her feel as if a sword is being passed through her, yet when she recovers she will have two beautiful legs, and will be able to dance like no human has ever danced before. However, it will constantly feel like she is walking on sharp swords, and her feet will bleed most terribly. In addition, she will only get a soul if the prince loves her and marries her, for then a Diaz 3 part of his soul will flow into her. Otherwise, at dawn on the first day after he marries another woman, the Little Mermaid will die brokenhearted and disintegrate into sea oam. The final sequence of the tale is sad and a bit disappointing for those who have seen the Disney version first; it is not a traditional happy ending story instead is a bit tragic. The little mermaid is accepted into the spiritual world, where the daughters of the air reside. In this, she is apparently promised the immortal soul, which has been her main motivation to obtain along with the prince, of course. This ending has baffled critics because the narrative that precedes points to a tragic conclusion rather than to a happy one. If Andersen gave his story the upbeat Disney nding, he would be extolling self-sacrifice and expressing a faith that love triumphs over everything. If he chose the tragic ending, he would be crushing loves illusions and comparing love to the sharp knives that wound the mermaids delicate feet. The nobility of giving up ones life for the sake of love has been one of fictions most enduring messages. It is also one of fictions most dangerous and self-deceiving. Andersens solution is to create magic and instead of killing the mermaid, Andersen allows her to be transformed into a new type of species.