Grimm’s’ Fairy Tales Revisited, Essay Example

Introduction

Comparison of secondary source’s interpretation of a historical event or topic and the way that event or topic is presented in the primary source reveals important information about historical writing and research. Two such sources are analyzed here based on certain questions.

Primary Source

For this analysis, I chose “The Fairy Tales” by Jacob Ludwig Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm.[1] Their audience members were children, families, and the general public. Their purpose was not only to entertain but also to reprove of certain moral messages.[2] There is no obvious bias on their part aside from the ethical interpretation of the events they describe in their writing. The writing was initially published in 1812.[3] The effect was that of the writing becoming mainstream ideological basis of moral and literary function for children everywhere.

Secondary Source

As a secondary source, I chose a critique of the brothers Grimm.[4] In terms of reproof, many people saw “The Fairy Tales” as having surperseded scripture as the primary mode of moral instruction in the English-speaking world.[5] Nevertheless, by the middle of last century, critics characterized the Grimms’ work as being too ideologically correspondent to Nazism.[6] Neverthless, there have been numerous film and animated adaptations of the writing.[7]

Here are three questions you should answer while evaluating the primary source and secondary source documents you chose:

Who was the author and who was their audience?

What was the purpose of the document or motive for writing it?

Does the writer have an obvious bias?

When was this document written, and what was the effect of the document on history.

How did the secondary source affect your view of this topic or event?

Summarize what you learned about the event from both the primary and secondary sources you chose.

Bibliography

Grimm, Jacob & Grimm, Wilhelm. “The Seven Ravens.” National Geographic Society. Published 1999. Accessed 16 June 2011. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/seven_ravens.html

Hause, Donald. “Grimm Criticism.” Wonders and Marvels. Accessed 16 June 2011. http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2010/03/grimm-criticism.html

[1] Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm. “The Seven Ravens.” National Geographic Society. Published 1999. Accessed 16 June 2011, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/seven_ravens.html

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Hause, Donald. “Grimm Criticism.” Wonders and Marvels. Accessed 16 June 2011. http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2010/03/grimm-criticism.html

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.