COMPARATIVE
STUDY OF THE FOUR TALES:
One
of the objectives of our project is the comparative analysis of
different tales which consists of two stages.
To
start with, we compared some well-known tales: The
Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little
Pigs, A Christmas Carol and The
Nymph of Świteź.
Later
on, we focused on the comparative study of our partners' and our
tales to prove that no matter what nationality we are, we share
numerous cultural similarities and values, where justice, love and
the triumph of the good over the evil are unceasingly strived for.
Also, more similarities are reflected in the structure of the tales,
as far as the presence of folk beliefs, animated nature and the
intermingling of the real and unreal world are concerned.
- The Conceited Little Rat (Spain)
- The Nymph of Świteź (Poland)
- Stribor's Forest (Croatia)
- Sahmaran (Turkey)
STAGE 1
The element compared | The Nymph of Świteź | The Little Red Riding Hood | The Three Little Pigs | A Christmas Carol |
Clearly defined good and evil characters | the
girl represents good – she is innocent, loving and genuine,
the Nymph represents evil – she is seductive and deceptive |
The
Little Red Riding Hood represents good – she is innocent and
naive,
the wolf represents evil – it is manipulative and cruel |
The
third pig represents good – it is clever and hard-working, the wolf represents evil – it is malicious and voraciouscck |
BoB
Cratchit and his wife – represent good – they are poor, kind,
loving and humble people, Ebenezer Scrooge represents evil – he is mean, bitter and cold-hearted (although he undergoes a total change at the end) |
The enchanted setting | The forest and the lake | The forest | The forest | Victorian London, Scrooge's house |
The characters take on unsual forms | The nymph | The wolf | Talking animals | Ghosts |
Type of a tale | Traditional folk tale | Traditional folk tale/ fable | Traditional folk tale/fable | Allegory |
Theme | Love, death, faithfulness and justice | Love, death | Hard work, death | Love, death |
Time | Never at night, but at dusk they stand ... | A long time ago... | Once upon a time ... | Victorian times |
The rule of three | The boy, the girl, the nymph | The Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf, the grandmother | The three pigs | Marley's ghost tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits: The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come |
The lesson taught | Always keep your promises | Look beyond appearances, do not trust strangers, listen to your parents | Being hard-working pays | Everyone can change for the better, it is never too late to start acting in a loving andd caring way towards other people |
The happy ending | ___ |
"And they lived happily ever after..." | "And they lived in great joy together" | "And so, (...) God Bless Us, Every One!" |
STAGE 2
The element compared | The Conceited Little Rat | The Nymph of Świteź | Stribor's Forest | Sahmaran |
Clearly defined good and evil characters | The
mouse represents good – it is protective and respectful, the cat represents evil – it is an arogant and cynical liar |
the
girl represents good – she is innocent, loving and genuine,
the Nymph represents evil – she is seductive and deceptive |
the
Mother represents good – she is wise, caring and humble,
the wicked daughter-in-law represents evil – she is selfish and manipulative |
Sahmaran
represents good – she is wise, loving and merciful, the soldier represents evil – he is deceptive and cruel |
The enchanted setting | The cat's house, the Little Rat's front door | The forest and the lake | The forest | The forest, the bath |
The characters take on unsual forms | Talking animals | The nymph | The snake-woman, the brownies | The snake-woman |
Type of a tale | Traditional folk tale/ fable | Traditional folk tale | Traditional folk tale | Traditional folk tale |
Theme | Love, death, justice | Love, death, faithfulness and justice | Love, death, justice | Love, death, betrayal |
Undetermined time | Once upon a time... | Never at night, but at dusk they stand ... | One day ... | Once upon a time ... |
The rule of three | The three rejected suitors: the cock, the dog and the horse | The boy, the girl, the nymph | The
mother, the son, the wicked daughter-in-law, the daughter-in-law gives the mother three orders |
Sahmaran, Tasmasp, the soldier |
The lesson taught | Look beyond appearances | Always keep your promises | Look beyond appearances, respect the older, especially your parents | The victory of love over death |
The happy ending | "They lived very happily ever after..." | _____ |
"They are all living happily together to this time..." | ____ |