Cinderella Study

I read Little Gold Star a Spanish American tale and Vasilisa the Beautiful a Russian tale.

I learned about Baba Yaga from the Russian culture. She was the iconic witch of the Slavic folk tales. In Vasilisa the Beautiful Baba makes Vasilisa her slave and threatens to eat her if she does not complete all the tasks she is assigned. With the help of Vasilisa's blessed doll she is able to survive being Baba's slave and then is sent away because Baba doesn't want blessed things in her house.

I noticed the symbols of the Spanish culture used in Little Gold Star. The religious aspect of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, the names of the characters, and the use of donkey ears (something I relate to the Spanish culture).

I thought the use of the I poems was a good idea for this assignment. It made you have to research and understand some of the concepts the story talked about and it also made you make connections and pull differences from the two stories. You had to compare and contrast the stories using a poem instead of a regular vinn diagram. It was a neat way to make me think about the two Cinderella stories.

I knew there were other versions of many fairy tales, but I had no idea there were that many verations of Cinderella. There is so much an author can do with the simple story of a girl and her step-family. I was amazed at the two varations I read and I would like to read other varations later on when I can take time to compare and contrast all the versions I have read.