Description
Create a 4-6-page project in MLA or APA format (cover sheet and reference pages are not counted in the total pages) tracing one element of the Cinderella story across four variants of the story: 1) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine 2) “Aschenputtel” by Grimm ( 3) Disney’s Cinderella, and 4) a short version of the story you will write this week. By tracing a motif and its transformation over the years, you will demonstrate an understanding of historical children’s literature and the staying power of fairy tale.
STEP 1: Choose a focus for your project.
To begin this project, you will need to select a repeated element in the Cinderella story to analyze in your project. Here’s a list of suggested elements to get you started thinking. You may choose a motif, symbol, or significant plot point that isn’t listed below:
• Cinderella’s response to adversity
• obedience
• the slipper
• the ultimate fate of the step family
• the prince’s search for an unknown bride
• Cinderella’s motivation
• the loss of Cinderella’s mother
• the prince/romantic interest
• the magical helper
• the ball
• transportation/carriage
Then, you will need to select your first three versions of Cinderella. Here’s the list:
1) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
2) “Aschenputtel” by Grimm (
3) Disney’s Cinderella
STEP 2: Write Your Version of Cinderella
Now with those three versions of Cinderella you are focusing on in this project and what element of the story you are analyzing, write your own version of Cinderella for a child audience. This version will be short, 2-3 pages double spaced, and you may decide to write it as a fairy tale or as a short story that uses scenes to delve into a small slice of the story. Your Cinderella figure may be a girl or a boy, young or old, human or animal. Your story may be set in the past, present, or science fiction future, and it can be realistic or fantastic. It can use a first-person or third-person narrator, and you may decide to tell the story from a different character’s perspective. If you’re not sure where to start, begin with the writing guide attached to the order. Note that it’s a good idea to think deeply about how you will include and adapt the element that is the focus for the project.
STEP 3: Analyze the Four Cinderellas
After completing the creative piece, you are ready to analyze the element you selected in Step 1 and significance it might have. Write a 2-3-page analysis of the meaning of the element you chose in the four versions of Cinderella. Use textual evidence and close reading to demonstrate its meaning and significance by not only asking questions of what but also how and why. Pay close attention to similarity and difference. Element analysis section should have introduction, paragraph on each of the three selected readings, paragraph on the self-created version of Cinderella
Articles/journals for sources if needed