Snow White

Snow White book report - detailed analysis, book summary, literary elements, character analysis, Brothers Grimm biography, and everything necessary for active class participation.

Analysis

The Brothers Grimm are the authors of many popular fairy tales that are still read today. They gained fame after publishing the first collection of ancient folk tales Fairy tales for children and home. They got the idea for various stories after collecting folk tales, which served as inspiration for interesting characters and unfoldings. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were not only engaged in researching and collecting folk tales. At the request of the Prussian king, they began to write a German dictionary on which they worked for the rest of their lives. The Brothers Grimm have written many interesting stories, including the inevitable Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a classic story of love, sincere friendship, and jealousy. According to the famous fairy tale, the first animated film was made in the Walt Disney studio. The main character is the beautiful Snow White, who lost her mother early and her father married a beautiful but evil woman who had been jealous of Snow White’s beauty. The Queen always carried a magic mirror that told her he was the most beautiful in the world, until one day the Queen received the answer she had not hoped for.

The Queen could not bear for Snow White to be more beautiful than her and summoned the hunter to take Snow White deep into the woods and kill her, but the hunter couldn’t kill the girl. He decided to let her go, and Snow White found happiness with new friends. However, her happiness didn’t last long because the Queen's revenge was constantly on her heels. She tried to kill her in various ways until she almost succeeded. Fortunately, Snow White was saved by the Prince. In the end, good defeated evil, and the beautiful princess got her happy ending.

The Queen is a true example of a negative character that could, most often, be seen not only in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm but also in the stories of other writers. She represents everything bad and a person you wouldn’t want to have near you in real life. She has all the negative qualities - she is jealous and vindictive, and her beauty is cold. She is very arrogant and will do anything to get what she wants, even if it requires human sacrifice.

Like every fairy tale before, the story of the beautiful white girl has a message. Throughout the story, her kindness and pure heart stand out, and how she eventually managed to overcome injustice. Snow White is the embodiment of that innocent goodness that is always rewarded in the end. There is not a bit of evil in her, so it is easy to fool her because she is a bit naive in her perfection. However, good people around her keep her safe.

Other book reports

• Hansel and Gretel
• Rapunzel
• The Brave Little Tailor
• The Fisherman and His Wife
• The Frog Prince
• The Golden Goose
• The Sleeping Beauty
• The Twelve Dancing Princesses
• The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats
• Town Musicians of Bremen

Literary Elements

Genre: fairytale

Setting: once upon a time in a far away kingdom, woods

Point of view: it is to believe that it is between the seven dwarves

Narrator: the exact identity of the narrator is unknown; some sections are without narration

Tone: critical, ironic

Mood: happy, cheerful, suspense

Theme: the vulnerability and innocence of a young girl persecuted by her jealous stepmother

Summary

Read original story Snow White online >>

Once upon a time, in the middle of the winter,  the queen was knitting by the open window, gazing into the distance and watching the snow falling. Suddenly she pricked herself in the finger and three drops of blood fell on the snow. As the red looked beautiful on white snow, she thought it would be nice to have a baby with such cheeks, white skin, and black hair.

Not even a year had passed, and the Queen had given birth to a daughter with red cheeks, white skin, and dark hair. She called her Snow White. Unfortunately, the Queen died shortly after giving birth, and the King soon married another woman. She was beautiful but envious and naughty. She couldn't bear that someone is prettier than her. She always wore a magical mirror with her, which she would often ask, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who in this land is fairest of all?" The mirror would always respond that she is the most beautiful. The Queen was content and happy because of that.

As time went on, Snow White grew prettier every day. When she was seven, the Queen again asked the mirror who was most beautiful? This time, she got the unexpected answer - that she was pretty, but Snow White was still more beautiful.

"You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow-White is a thousand times fairer than you."

The Queen became very angry and jealous of the little girl. From that moment on, she hated her. One day she couldn't stand it anymore, so she called the hunter and ordered him to take the little girl to the woods and kill her there. He had to bring her heart as evidence.

The hunter took Snow White to the woods, but when he pulled out a knife, Snow White began to cry and beg him to spare her life. The hunter took pity and let her escape. Since he didn't kill her, he decided to kill the boar and take his heart to the Queen. He had to cook it so the evil Queen could eat it.

Snow White, meanwhile, was entering deeper and deeper into the woods, while wild animals were making her company. After a while, a small house appeared in front of her. She was happy because she was finally able to rest. When she came in, she was surprised that everything was small - small forks, small knives, small plates, and even small beds. There were seven forks, seven plates, seven knives, and seven beds.

Being thirsty and hungry, she took some food from each plate and drank some wine from each jug. She was tired and decided to rest in a seventh bed that was just the right size.

After night fell, the masters of the house returned. There were seven dwarves who mined gold every day in the mountains. As soon as they entered, they noticed that someone was inside.

The first one said, "Who has been sitting in my chair?"

The second one, "Who has been eating from my plate?"

The third one, "Who has been eating my bread?"

The fourth one, "Who has been eating my vegetables?"

The fifth one, "Who has been sticking with my fork?"

The sixth one, "Who has been cutting with my knife?"

The seventh one, "Who has been drinking from my mug?"

Then the first one saw a that there was a little imprint in his bed, and said, "Who stepped on my bed?"

The others came running up and shouted, "Someone has been lying in mine as well."

The first dwarf saw Snow White after looking at his bed. Everyone was surprised to see the girl sleeping. They didn't want to wake her up so they left her to sleep in peace. The morning after she woke up she was scared, but the dwarves immediately explained that they would do nothing to her, but asked why she was here.

She told them how she came to their house. The dwarves invited her to stay and help them clean the house and cook. Snow White agreed. She cooked fine meals every day waiting for them to get back from the mine. Every morning they would warn her not to let anyone in because her stepmother might find out she was alive.

The Queen, convinced that Snow White was gone, decided to ask the mirror once again who was the most beautiful woman in the world. The mirror replied that she was the most beautiful one here, but across the seven mountains, living with the dwarves, Snow White is still more beautiful.

She realized that the hunter had lied to her and that the girl was still alive, so she decided to kill the little girl herself. She disguised herself as an old saleswoman so no one could recognize her. She found a house and knocked on the door pretending to sell belts. Snow White liked the belts, so the Queen offered to tie them. Snow White agreed, and the old woman tightened her belt so tightly that the girl was out of breath and dropped to the floor.

The night was quickly approaching and the dwarves soon returned home. When they arrived, they quickly unfasten her belt, rescued her, and told her she shouldn't let anyone into the house.

The Queen stood in front of the mirror again and asked who was the most beautiful woman and once again received the same answer. She decided to dress up as an old woman again and headed to the house to sell her poisoned comb. Snow White said she couldn't open anyone, but when the old woman showed her the comb, she liked it so much that she immediately started using it. At that moment, the poison started to work and Snow White fell to the floor.

The dwarves found the comb in her hair as soon as they got home and immediately removed it and warned Snow White again not to let anyone into the house.

The Queen turned to the mirror again, and again she got an answer that Snow White was more beautiful. She then decided she would try poisoning the girl with a poisonous apple. She disguised herself as a peasant and headed for the forest. She knocked on the window, but Snow White said she shouldn't open the door for anyone. Snow White eventually opened the door once she saw a beautiful red apple. As soon as she bit her, she fell to the floor.

The Queen returned to the castle, again asked the mirror who was the most beautiful woman, and received the answer she wanted: “You, my queen, are fairest of all.”

The dwarves tried to revive Snow White, and when they failed, they made a glass coffin for her. They spelled out her name in gold letters and decided that every day one of them would be guarding it.

One day, a Prince walked through the woods and saw Snow White sleeping in a glass coffin. He asked the dwarves to take the coffin and offered them whatever they wanted, but they didn't want anything. The Prince then said he would guard it for the rest of his life, so the dwarves agreed.

The king ordered the servants to carry the coffin, but one of them tripped and at that moment a piece of poisoned apple dropped from Snow White's mouth. Snow White opened her eyes and immediately fell in love with the Prince, who then proposed to her. Snow White agreed.

They had a beautiful wedding and a stepmother was also invited. After wearing a beautiful dress, she stood in front of the mirror and asked the mirror who was the most beautiful woman, to which the mirror replied that the young Queen was more beautiful.

Stepmother went to her wedding and when she saw Snow White, her heart broke from malice. She wanted to leave the wedding, but the guards put iron slippers on her feet, so she had to dance until she fell dead.

Characters

Characters: Snow White, seven dwarfs, queen, hunter, prince

Snow White - is a pretty girl with rosy cheeks, hair as black as ebony, and skin as white as snow. Besides being beautiful she's also a good and kind person. When she had to flee from the castle due to the evil intentions of the Queen, she went far into the woods and met good, hardworking dwarfs who would become her new friends. Regardless of the many problems, Snow White was always saved due to love and true friendship.

Snow White lost her mother early, and the Queen took her place as her stepmother. Still, the Queen (even though she tried) never managed to spoil Snow White's, good heart. Even in the worst moments of her life, she maintained her optimism. When she was forced to leave her home forever, she believed that all things would be resolved. And she was right. She found a new home and new friends. She took care of them as if they were her brothers.

She was hardworking and there was nothing she wouldn't do. Still, in all her goodness, she was a bit naive, so the Queen managed to harm her which caused her to almost die. However, everything worked out in the end, and she lived happily ever after with her prince.

Seven dwarfs - dwarfs are likable little people and hard workers who go to the mine every day. They are simple and pure-hearted because they accepted Snow White as one of them. Moreover, they loved her very much because she took good care of them. They accepted her when she needed their help the most. They tried to protect her from the other dangers but failed in doing so. The dwarfs worked diligently in the mine every day and Snow White took care of their cottage. They were terrified when they saw her dead. So you can imagine how happy they were when Snow White came to life again!

Stepmother (the Queen) - is an evil, vain and selfish person who only loves herself. She had the need to listen to how beautiful she was. When the Mirror said, for the first time, that Snow White was the prettiest of them all, the Queen couldn't stand the fact Snow White surpassed her beauty. She made a terrible plan and decided to kill Snow White, but thanks to the goodness of the hunter and the help of the dwarfs, she failed.

In the end, she suffered because of her wickedness as such selfishness must be punished somehow. She was arrogant and thought her appearance was the most important thing in the world. The thought of someone being more beautiful than her killed her. She was so angry that she tried just about everything to get rid of Snow White. But in the end, she got what she deserved.

The hunter - was a loyal subject of the queen, but when he had to obey the order given by the Queen, he eventually showed that there was little goodness in him and that he could not just take someone's life. The hunter saved Snow White's life. He worked against the order given to him by the queen, though it may have cost him his life. The hunter simply knew what was right and what was wrong, so he acted according to his heart, not the command of his queen. He is proof that sometimes orders and rules are wrong and we should not blindly follow them if they are contrary to what we feel in our hearts.

Prince - is a handsome young man who, while walking through the forest, ran into dwarfs guarding a glass coffin in which Snow White was "sleeping". He immediately fell in love with her and was very sorry that the girl apparently had died. The prince could not resist such beauty, and he had to kiss her. That was enough to wake her up. He saved her life for the second time and after Snow White woke up, they got married and lived happily ever after.

Biography

Thanks to the Grimm brothers many children enjoyed reading the stories of brave heroes that always win over evil. The Grimm brothers are well-known German authors that, with a little help from the national stories, made fairy tales that were enjoyed by the older and the younger.

The older brother Jacob was born in 1785 and died in 1863. The younger brother Wilhelm was born in 1786 and died in 1859. Both of them were linguists and philosophers. Jacob published German grammar and together with his brother he published a German dictionary.

Both of them studied law in Marburg and during that period both of them criticized King Ernest August I. and because of that, they could not end their school because they were banned. Because of the inability to study law both of them started writing fairy tales which made them famous.

They were collecting them and writing them together while Wilhelm gave them a final touch. Their fairy tales are known as stories full of wisdom and cheerfulness.

In the beginning, their collection contained 86 stories and through repeated publishing, the number grew to 200. Some of their most famous works are "The Sleeping Beauty", "Cinderella", "Snow White", "Rapunzel", etc.