Cinderella book report - detailed analysis, book summary, literary elements, character analysis, Charles Perrault biography, and everything necessary for active class participation.
Analysis
Charles Perrault was one of the most famous writers of children's fairy tales. Like the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and many other world-famous fairy tale writers, he sought inspiration for his stories in folk and oral literature. Perrault is a role model for many great fairy tale writers. His works have been retold many times by various authors, often in a way that is more appropriate for children, because Perrault did not hesitate to include some rather creepy motives in his works. However, to this day, his fairy tales have remained a favorite, mostly because they are picturesque and interesting.
Cinderella is a very famous fairy tale that almost every child knows. It is an all-time story of jealousy, virtue, the innocence of a young girl, and the hostility of her older half-sisters. The fairy tale about Cinderella is a story that has won the hearts of many generations and which tries to teach everyone that by being humble we will rise and win, and that beauty, but also virtue must be not only rewarded but also recognized.
Cinderella, as a character, is the embodiment of modesty and diligence. She is a girl who has not lost her kindness even after her mother's death or after the cruelty with which her stepmother and half-sisters showered her. She endured everything patiently. Yet what changed her life was rebellion, breaking the rules. Although she was forbidden to go to the ball, with the help of her fairy godmother, she managed to do so. There she met a prince who fell in love with her and she was the only girl in the kingdom who could win his heart.
The shoe symbol, which we first associate with Cinderella, tells us that there is only one person we can love. Although we may pretend to be in love with someone else, the heart always knows the truth. A shoe that fits a single foot is a metaphor for the unique love we can only get from one, special person.
Cinderella is a fairy tale that, among other things, tells how great forgiveness can be. At the end of the story, the protagonist forgave her sisters for all the abuse she has suffered from, thus showing her true greatness and boundless generosity. And in spite of mercy, in the end, justice was still served, although Cinderella did not seek revenge.
Other book reports
- Bluebeard
- Donkeyskin
- Griselda
- Little Red Riding Hood
- Little Thumb
- Puss in Boots
- Ricky of the Tuft
- The Fairies
- The Ridiculous Wishes
- The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods
Literary Elements
Genre: fairytale, romantic fantasy
Setting: mid-to-late 1800s; France
Point of view: third-person
Narrator: unknown
Tone: sad, happy
Mood: romantic, magical, tragic
Theme: good vs evil; a story about a girl who was treated poorly by her stepmother and stepsisters, but who in the end won the prince's heart
Summary
Read original story Cinderella online >>
Once upon a time lived a nobleman who, after the death of his first wife, remarried to a haughty woman who already had two daughters by nature similar to her mother. The nobleman also had a daughter from his first marriage, but unlike her half-sisters, she was kind, beautiful, and good, just like her mother.
Immediately after the wedding, her stepmother showed her real face, so she forced her stepdaughter to do all the hardest work around the house and sleep in the attic. She therefore caressed and cared only for her daughters and dressed them in the most beautiful dresses. Despite her misery, the girl endured everything well, and she was not allowed to complain to her father because he was also afraid of her stepmother. Every night after a hard day, she used to sit by the fireplace, which is why she was called Cinderella. Even though she was wearing rags, she was still more beautiful than her sisters.
One day, the king organized a ball for his son and invited all the nobility, including two ugly stepsisters. They enjoyed preparing for the ball. Cinderella, who, like any other girl, wanted to go, selflessly helped them in their preparations. But so ugly dressed and eternally laden with ashes, she was convinced no one would let her into the castle. Her half-sisters agreed.
An important day finally came and the half-sisters headed to the ball. Cinderella watched them off with tears in her eyes. Then her godmother, who was also a good fairy, saw her. She felt sorry for the girl and when Cinderella told her she wanted to go to the ball, the godmother decided to help her. She first sends the girl to the garden to get a pumpkin, which she then digs out, carves, and, with her magic wand, turns it into a beautiful gilded carriage.
After that, Cinderella had to bring a mousetrap with six mice, and the good fairy touched each with a wand. Mice turned into beautiful horses. All that was missing was a coachman, so Cinderella brought a trap with three rats. The fairy touched each with a wand and turned them into coachmen. Six more servants were needed, and as Cinderella found six lizards in the garden, the fairy turned them into servants.
As Cinderella was still wearing an ugly and dirty dress, the fairy used her wand once more and made a beautiful silver and gold dress and shoes. The beautifully dressed Cinderella was ready for the ball and so she set off for the castle in a carriage. The fairy warned her not to stay after midnight because the carriage would turn into a pumpkin and her spells would disappear.
When she came to the great hall, the king's son immediately noticed her and was amazed by her beauty. Cinderella started dancing with the prince, then sat down at the table with her half-sisters, talked to them, and shared the lemons and oranges she had received as a gift from the prince. The half-sisters didn't recognize her. Just before midnight, Cinderella thanked everyone and quickly disappeared. At home, she thanked her godmother and said that she would like to go to the ball tomorrow because she had received an invitation from the prince himself. Later, the half-sisters returned and enthusiastically talked about a beautiful girl that no one recognized.
The next day, she asked the older stepsister to lend her a yellow dress so she could go to the ball, but she was repulsed and refused. The fairy godmother jumped in to help once again and Cinderella had a great time so much that she forgot what time it was. The first sound of the clock at midnight forced Cinderella to flee, but one of her shoes, which the prince had taken, fell off her foot. The search began, but no one knew where the beautiful princess had disappeared. The guards said they only saw a village girl, but not a princess. The prince announced that he would marry a girl to whom the shoe belonged.
The servants carried the shoe all over the kingdom, and when they reached the house where Cinderella lived, the half-sisters hurried to try on the shoe, but it did not suit them. Cinderella asked if she could try when the half-sisters started laughing. The nobleman in charge of the shoe said that she can because that was the king's order, and that every girl has the right to try on a shoe. Cinderella tried a shoe that fit her perfectly.
The sisters were amazed, and even more so when Cinderella pulled another shoe out of her pocket. After that, the godmother came and made Cinderella's dress even more beautiful than before. The sisters then realized how evil they were and begged Cinderella for her forgiveness. She forgave them and when she married the prince, she called them to live with her in the castle and married the gentlemen from the court while her evil stepmother was banished from the court.
Characters
Characters: Cinderella, stepsisters, fairy, prince, stepmother
Cinderella - she was a modest and good girl. She lost her mother early, so her father brought another woman into the house. Her stepmother made Cinderella do all the housework, but Cinderella was diligent and didn't mind working. She kept trying to please her other mother and her daughters, but she couldn't. Despite her position, work assignments, and the place where she lived, she was still the most beautiful among her daughters. Luckily, she had a good fairy for her godmother, so she helped her. She also won over the prince with her beauty. Yet she remained modest and humble. She did not take revenge on her half-sisters, although she had the opportunity to do so. When they begged for her forgiveness, she was merciful and forgave them for everything they did to her. So she could enjoy happiness with the prince for the rest of her life.
Stepmother - she was an evil woman who pretended to be good before the wedding, all in order to win a rich husband and thus take care of herself and her daughters. She was arrogant towards everyone, especially Cinderella. She immediately turned her into a maid and made her do all the work around the house. She was terribly jealous of her beauty and youth, so she thought of disrupting her beauty by giving her difficult tasks and forcing her to sleep in the ashes. Her stepmother forcibly wanted one of her daughters to marry a prince, so she tortured them as well. Her daughters were also victims of their mother. After Cinderella became queen, she could not stand her happiness, again out of jealousy. So she was banished from the castle.
Prince - his parents forced him to get married as soon as possible and organized a ball where he had to find a wife among the most beautiful and noble girls in the country. He was not so interested in marriage until he met Cinderella dressed as a princess. She immediately enchanted him with her beauty and wit. He had been having fun with her all night until she suddenly disappeared without a trace. All that was left of her was her shoe. But the prince didn’t want to give up his beloved just like that. He persistently visited all the houses in the country in search of the girl who lost her shoe. Although the job seemed futile, he didn’t give up until he found Cinderella. Once he found her, he didn't want to be separated from her anymore. He immediately married her and lived with her in happiness for the rest of his life.
Biography
Charles Perrault (1628. - 1703.) was born in Paris to a wealthy family as the seventh child. His father was very strict and imposed a particular kind of education upon him, so he decided to study law. When he finished school, he got a job in the public service.
Many consider him to be the founder of the most popular genre - fairy tale stories. He took his inspiration from folk tales. Some of them were carried mouth to mouth, so the Grimm brothers also rewrote some of them. The fairy tale stories that Charles made famous are Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, and Puss in Boots.
This famous writer published another interesting book, called Tales of Mother Goose. It consisted of 8 fairy tale stories.
Charles published his work under the name of his son. His stories were so popular that they were adapted and screened. The first fairy tale The Sleeping Beauty was published in 1969.
Charles was considered to be one of the most influential people in the 17th century and a fighter for the younger generations. At this time there was a conflict between the older generation who believed that people should stick to the traditional way of writing and the young generation who were fighting for a new, fresh way of writing.
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