Fairy Tale/Story Elements
This is the person or animal who does the action of the story.
Who is the character?
What is the setting of this story?
In the woods. With a poor home and a candy house.
What does the Little Mermaid do at the surface?
She watches the prince, falls in love at first sight, and eventually saves the prince from a shipwreck.
Why was Jack selling the family cow?
Because his family was so poor they needed to sell the cow in order to buy food to eat.
What phrase does this story (and most fairy tales) begin with?
"Once upon a time..."
This is where and when the story takes place.
What is the setting?
Who is the villain of this story?
The old witch.
Who is the villain of this story and what does she do to the protagonist?
The sea witch. She tricks the mermaid into selling her voice/soul in order to get legs to meet the prince.
What did Jack get for the cow and what did he do with what he got?
Jack got magic beans. He planted them and they grew into a giant beanstalk.
What did the wolf say when he wanted to destroy the pigs' homes?
"I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down!"
This is the storyline which includes a climax.
What is the plot?
What is the climax of this story?
When the children are both captured by the witch and Gretel decides to push the witch into the oven.
What are two differences between the story and the film versions of this tale?
Various answers possible.
What happened when the giant realized that Jack was stealing from him over and over?
The giant chased Jack, to kill him. But Jack cut down the beanstalk and the giant fell to his death.
What ideas in this story are not so appropriate for children?
Mother's kicking their kids out.
Animals attacking you (wolves).
Boiling animals alive.
This is the perspective in which the story is told.
What is the point of view?
What is the theme or moral of this story?
Don't talk to strangers.
Be nice to your children.
Be wise and resourceful to survive.
In the Disney version of this tale, list one negative stereotype of males and one negative stereotype of females shown.
Various answers possible.
What life lessons did Jack learn from this? (The moral of the story...)
Don't be greedy. Don't steal. Work hard.
What types of conflicts exist in this tale?
Character vs ...?
Character vs. character (pigs vs. wolf)
Character vs. self (lazy pigs struggling with their own laziness/greed, wolf struggling with his own greed)
This is the message or moral of the story.
What is the theme?
What stereotypical characters or ideas are in this story?
Evil step-moms.
Gullible children.
What is the resolution of the original version of this fairy tale?
The Little Mermaid does not marry the Prince. She cannot kill him with the knife as she loves him, so instead she dies (becomes sea foam).
What could the goose who lays the golden eggs SYMBOLIZE?
Getting lucky. Wealth. Cash for life.
What do each of these objects in the story symbolize or represent? Straw house? Brick house? Wolf?
Straw house=easy road, laziness
Brick house=hard work
Wolf=greed