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Should fairytales be retold for the changing times?
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Traditional fairy tales spark a child's imagination

Traditional fairy tales capture the imagination of children and inspire them to use their own creativity.

The Argument

Traditional fairy tales are known for their iconic characters such as princesses, princes, witches, knights, dragons, and mermaids. These stories also expose children to otherworldly elements like spells, magic, and enchanted forests. Through these elements, children can begin to foster and build upon their imagination.[1] In this way, fairy tales can inspire children to use their imagination and come up with their own fictional stories. Exposing children to simple, creative stories will stir up their imagination and desire for more stories. This will help them properly develop their own ideas based off of other stories, which is important to child development.[2] Traditional fairy tales have encouraged creativity in children, so they should not be rewritten for modern times.

Counter arguments

Fairy tales can still be magical even if they are rewritten for a modern audience. Making them more modern does not necessarily mean excluding magical elements of the stories. Traditional fairy tales have similar characters over and over, which limits a child's imagination. By creating more diverse characters, this can open up more creative possibilities for children to imagine. While magical elements are important parts of sparking creativity in children, it should not be the only focus. Modern fairy tales should evoke more imaginative possibilities beyond the fictional components of the fairy tales. In recreating traditional fairy tales, children will have more inspiration to write their own stories, not less.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Traditional fairy tales are characterized by magical characters and captivating plots. [P2] This inspires children to come up with stories using their own imagination. [P3] Therefore, fairy tales do not need to be rewritten for modern times.

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://nepeantutoring.com.au/the-benefits-of-fairy-tales/
  2. https://www.childcareexchange.com/article/fairy-tales-enhanceimagination-and-creative-thinking/5013550/#:~:text=Fairy%20tales%20are%20one%20of,not%20overburden%20them%20with%20logic.
This page was last edited on Wednesday, 7 Oct 2020 at 03:25 UTC

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