The Bible states that God made the earth in seven days, and in the Book of Revelations, seven angels, trumpets, crowns, mountains, stars and kings were included. This draws a parallel to Snow White because of the seven dwarves she has befriended, the seven mountains it took to get to their cottage, Snow Whites age when she is taken away; And in the Italian version, The Young Slave, she is put into seven glass coffins after she "died" (Tatar 80; 83-84; 86). Lastly, and probably the most well known symbol in Snow White is the poisonous apple that the wicked queen fed Snow White, which caused her to "die". A comparable scenario that we know about is the story of Adam and Eve, and when Eve fell into the temptation of the snake in the forbidden forest and ate the poisoned apple. .
Possibly the most popular fairy tale, Cinderella, isn't just about a poor maid who magically transforms into a beautiful princess and marries the handsome prince and lives happily ever after. After reading more closely into the many different works of Cinderella, many important symbols have come to light. Cinderella is known and admired as the young, beautiful, girl whose evil stepmother makes her life into a living hell, but prevails at the end and marries her handsome prince. In the Brother's Grimm version of the fairy tale, Cinderella requests one thing from her father, that being the first branch that brushes against his hat when he is on his journey. As promised, her father came back with a branch from a hazel bush and gave it to Cinderella. Cinderella planted the branch at her mother's grave, and every time she wept and prayed onto it, a little white bird would swoop down and toss to her whatever she wished for (Tatar 117-118). Judy Lubin explains in her "Fairy Tale Guide", that the hazel bush represents nurturing, hence why Cinderella planted it on her mothers grave. Lubin shares that "In ancient times, the hazel tree represented wisdom precisely because the new flowers move away from the parent flowers before maturing - just what a wise parent would encourage in a child" (Lubin).
What do you see as the social function of literature? Your discussion should address ideas presented in this course (and other sources as you prefer) and the essay should include attention to at least two set texts. The social function of literature takes on many forms. Literatures main functi...