I want you to write a tale analysis. I don't know what kind of citation style to use in this writing. But, if you read the tale comparison carefully, you will know this.

Instructions for writing your first paper.

Read the four stories posted on eClass. They are in the folder entitled “readings for January 25.

Select two stories. Compare.

Here are some examples:

1) Both Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and King Pig by Gianfrancesco Straparola talk about disgusting men who become handsome and desirable husbands. How are these stories alike? How are they different?

A simple comparison would probably earn you a B or a C grade, depending on how well-written it is.

To earn a higher grade, you can bring in material from lecture. The story of Beauty and the Beast is well-know. King Pig is not. Knowing what you do about what makes tales appealing, what is it about Beauty and the Beast that makes this an enduring tale? What differences between it and King Pig make King Pig forgettable? Support your answer with examples and parallels from other tales and with examples from lecture.

2) Compare The Frog King or Iron Heinrich by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm to Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. How are these stories alike? How are they different? Here you might look at what leads to the disenchantment of the beastly groom in each tale.

What would make this essay particularly good would be to talk about Iron Heinrich. This figure is not widely known even though the Frog King/Prince figure is so widely known that he is used in advertisements. Why is this figure not well known? Use material from lecture and from other tales that you have read to explain.

Essentially you can compare any two stories from this set. You can compare East of the Sun and West of the Moon by Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Engebretsen Moe to either Beauty and the Beast OR The Frog King OR King Pig.

You can compare The Frog King to King Pig.

In all cases, a simple comparison will give you a B or C grade. Bringing in other stories you have read and material from lecture will get you a better grade. It will show real knowledge of your material.

There is a set of optional readings also on eClass. One is the story of Lady White Snake. One is Cupid and Psyche. One is The White Cat.

Cupid and Psyche has parallels to East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

Lady White Snake and The White Cat talk about female animal spouses. One of these stories might be an interesting comparison and contrast to one of the stories with male spouses.

You may use one of the optional stories in your paper as long as the other story is from the 4 readings in the required set.

Your paper should be 2-3 pages long.  It should be double-spaced and 12 point font.

optional readings - these can be used in your first paper ：

I. cupic and psyche.pdf

II. FFT_The_White_Cat_p192.pdf

III. White_Snake.pdf

readings for Friday, January 25 ：

I. FFT_Beauty_and_the_Beast_p171.pdf

II. FFT_The_Frog_King_p189.pdf

III. MT_East_of_Sun_West_of_Moon_p276.pdf

IV. MT_King_Pig_Night2_p109.pdf