DIANA JARAMA

Universidad de Cuenca
Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación
Libre Elección II: Disney Classics
Ciclo académico: Marzo – Agosto 2020

Unit 2: Grimm Bothers’ literary work: Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs
1. Watch the documentary and indicate if the statements are true or false
Grimm Brothers’ collection of fairy tales is the world’s most widely read book after the TRUE
bible; it has been translated into over a hundred languages.

One of the main characteristics of the Grimm’s fairy tales is that wickedness is always FALSE
rewarded and never punished.

The Grimm Brothers were born in Germany. Jacob in 1785 and Wilhelm in 1786. TRUE

The Grimm Brothers collected and recorded German folks. During centuries these tales FALSE
were handed down orally; they were told when people were spinning or in the evenings
after work.

Four generations of the Grimm family lived and worked in the city of Frankfurt. TRUE

In the early years of the 19th century the brothers studied law at Hamburg, an old city FALSE
with castles, half-timbered houses and renaissance gables.

Marburg is said to be a city that influenced the Grimm Brothers’ later work. TRUE

The Grimm Brothers first published their collection of songs, legends and folk tales in TRUE
1812.

The Grimm Brothers’ collection of tales retained their original flavor and the TRUE
fascination of the simple symbolic language in which these tales were related.

The Frog King was the second story in the first volume of the Grimm Bothers’ FALSE
collection.

Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood TRUE
are some of the fairy tales collected by the Grimm Brothers.

In the manuscript copy of the first edition of 1812, there are annotations that include TRUE
the names of the people who told the stories, when are where.

The tale of The Golden Key is the 200th and the last of Grimm’s fairy tales FALSE
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2. Watch some parts of the Disney’s version of Snow White (1937) and compare them
with the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale. Write some similarities and differences between
Disney’s and Grimm’s versions.
Videos:
Snow White runs through the forest
Snow White’s heart
Grimm’s Snow White: page 2
1. Some similarities and differences between Disney’s and Grimm’s versions.
Similitudes
- She had a wonderful looking-glass, and when she stood in front of it and looked at
herself in it, and said, "Looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
- The looking-glass answered, "Thou, o queen, art the fairest of all." Then she was
satisfied, for she knew that the looking-glass spoke the truth. But Snow White. was
growing up, and grew more and more beautiful.
- As Snow White grew older she looked more beautiful than the queen this bothered her
Differences
- In Disney´s: Snow White's stepmother so dressed the little princess in rags and forced
her to work as a scullery maid, and Grimm’s versions this doesn´t exist.
- In Grimm’s versions, the queen asks me to kill Snow white, and bring me back her
lung and liver as a token. But in Disney the queen ask me to bring the heart
Grimm’s Snow White: pages 4 to 7
1. Some similarities and differences between Disney’s and Grimm’s versions.
Similitudes
- The hunter did not kill the princess and she found a small house
- Snow White stayed to live with the dwarfs on the condition that everything is clean
and tidy.
- The mirror confessed that Snow White was alive.
Differences
- In Grimm’s versions, the queen painted her face, and dressed herself like an old
pedlar-woman and sell stay-laces of all colors. But the old woman laced so quickly
and so tightly that Snow White lost her breath and fell down as if dead. In Disney´s
the queen disguised herself as an old woman and offered her a poisoned apple that she
could only wake up with the kiss of love.
- In Grimm’s versions, the seven dwarfs came home, but how shocked they were when
they saw their dear little Snow White lying on the ground, and that she neither stirred
nor moved, and seemed to be dead. They lifted her up, and, as they saw that she was
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laced too tightly, they cut the laces, then she began to breathe a little, and after a while
came to life again
- Other situation is in Grimm´s versions
- Seeing that her first plan did not work, she dressed as an old woman. And by the help
of witchcraft, which she understood, she made a poisonous comb. Snow White had no
suspicion, and let the old woman do as she pleased, but hardly had she put the comb
in her hair than the poison in it took effect, and the girl fell down senseless. When the
seven dwarfs came home. When they saw Snow White lying as if dead upon the
ground they at once suspected the step-mother, and they looked and found the
poisoned comb. Scarcely had they taken it out when Snow White came to herself, and
told them what had happened.
- In Disney´s Snow White made a wish and bit the apple, with the witch queen's trap
and passed out.

Videos:
The Witch Dies
Snow White’s alive
Grimm’s Snow White: page 8
1. Some similarities and differences between Disney’s and Grimm’s versions.
Similitudes
- The dwarfs cared for Snow White and they had a transparent coffin of glass made in
which they placed the princess
- One day a prince appeared.
Differences
- In Grimm’s the dwarves gave the coffin to the prince and now the king's son had it
carried away by his servants on their shoulders. And it happened that they stumbled
over a tree-stump, and with the shock the poisonous piece of apple which Snow White
had bitten off came out of her throat and they fell in love after they got married and
the witch attended Snow White's wedding. and she stood still with rage and fear, and
could not stir. But iron slippers had already been put upon the fire, and they were
brought in with tongs, and set before her. Then she was forced to put on the red-hot
shoes, and dance until she dropped down dead.
In Disney´s the prince kissed the princess and the charm was destroyed and Snow
White went with him very happy

Deadline for submission is April 28, 2020

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