Rule #7: Hanseldee and Greteldum
October 27, 2016 How To Read Lit 1 comment sweeks17
Use kids literature examples everyone can relate to:
- Alice in Wonderland
- Treasure Island
- The Wind in the Willows
- The Cat in the Hat
- Goodnight Moon
- Narnia Chronicles
Use of details from a prior story to add “depth and texture to your story”
People look for familiarity in stories:
- Rapunzel
- Cinderella
- Rumplestiltskin
- Snow White
We want each story to be different, but at the same time be able to relate it to something else so that our minds can make sense of it.
Many books try to help readers to find similar patterns from fairy tales to help them understand the purpose of the story. One example is the classic Disney version of Snow White. Everyone knows the story of her how step mother wanted to kill her and she ended up living in the woods with 7 dwarfs. She then ate a poisoned apple and had to wait for her prince charming to come wake her up. A similar movie that puts a twist on the classic tale is the movie Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins. The movie is essentially Snow White, except for the fact that instead of Snow White waiting for her prince to wake her up, the plot revolves around her trying to win back the kingdom from her evil stepmother. Since everyone already knows the story of Snow White, there was already background knowledge on the movie because it followed a story we could all relate to.
Photo credit: Stuck in Customs via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
1 Comment
Good job explaining the rule.
My example: Weird Al Yankovic Songs, he tells different stories but we can easily relate them to what they’re based on, like, Like a Surgeon to Like a Virgin, Eat It to Beat It, and Handy to Fancy. All of these songs are very similar to their originals in their style and composition but make a different point or tell a different story