Critique of Maria Tatar’s “Introduction to Fairy Tales

Critique of Maria Tartar’s Introduction to Fairy Tales
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
Date of Submission
Often, childhood memories are bombarded by fairy tales that frequently have happy endings which sometimes, do not resemble reality. The ideologies of fairy tales are embedded in children’s minds from the time these stories were told up to adulthood. Since these stories do not reflect reality at times, a famous author, Maria Tartar, critiqued the essence of the lessons from fairy tales that have a significant effect on the child’s personality, character, and actions. Tartar emphasized that ferocity and meekness are essential in creating narratives (Tartar, 2002, as cited in Behrens & Rosen, 2013).
One of the points that Tartar discussed relates to William Bennett’s Book of Virtues. Many scholars respect Bennett’s writings as universal, timely, and culturally-acceptable. This is mainly due to the notion that literature that reflects good intentions produces upright citizens who embrace self-discipline, empathy, obligations, friendship, bravery, righteousness, and loyalty. However, Tartar contradicts the scholars by stating the stories of Bennett do not expose the harsh reality (Tartar, 2002, as cited in Behrens & Rosen, 2013).
The actuality of the world does not only depend on good deeds. It is also necessary for the children to understand what is wicked to appreciate what is morally acceptable. Although this concept abandons cultural norms of teaching “only” what is just, children will no truly understand the mistreatments of the society when kids are not exposed to “what is evil” at a young age. This mistake creates a loophole where the children become confused about what is morally ju...