Your Name: Sierra OHern Date: 10/13/2014 Genre: Traditional Literature

Literary Analysis

Bibliographic I nformation:
Disney, W. (1986). Sleeping Beauty. New York: Gallery Books.
Plot:
Enjoyable: This story would be enjoyable because it tells a story about a Princess, a witch and Prince
Charming.
Plausible: This story is not plausible because it is a made up story. For example, a witch named
Maleficent cast an evil spell on the Princess; on her 16
th
birthday she would prick her finger on a spinning
wheel and meet her end. There is no such thing as a witch and spells in the real world, so this story is
not plausible or credible.
Climax: There was an identifiable climax. On the Princesss 16
th
birthday the princes pricked her finger
and fell into a deep sleep, until one day when a prince kissed her and broke the spell.
Setting:
Location: The setting of this story starts out long ago, in the Kings kingdom.
Setting affects characters: The setting affects the characters. For example, when the 3 good fairies hid
Princess Aurora from Maleficent, the setting was in a small cottage. On Auroras 16
th
birthday she was
told that she was a princess and that she had to return to the kingdom.
Theme:
Embedded themes: There were a couple of themes in this story; family, friendship, ignorance and love.
For example, Auroras family had to keep her safe from Maleficent. Her friendship with the fairies
ultimately kept her safe and hidden from Maleficent. Ignorance was a theme because the fairies kept the
secret from Aurora that she was a princess to keep her safe and Aurora was ignorant about the spell
Maleficent casted on her. Aurora finally falls in love with her prince charming and they live happily ever
after.
Characterization:
Stereotyping: The author uses typical prince and princess stereotypes. The princess is a fun loving,
beautiful girl who is easy to relate to. The good fairies are happy, nice and helpful. The evil witch,
Maleficent, is dark and mean which makes the reader not like her. The prince is charming and handsome,
which makes the reader want to marry a man like him.
Convincing characters: The behavior of the characters is consistent with their ages and backgrounds. The
young princess is ignorant, but blissful. Since the princess has lived with the fairies in the cottage for
most of her life, she still believes that the world is good, until her 16
th
birthday when she pricks her finger.
Style:
Appropriate: The style of this book is appropriate to the subject because this book is written in short,
descriptive passages with pictures that correlate to the text. I feel that the story could have flowed better

and I felt the author left out a lot of details. If I was a young reader I would probably like the short,
summarized passages but as an adult I wanted more.
Point of View:
Primary point of view: This story is told in third person. It is narrated by an outsider, which gives the
reader a look into how Princess Auroras life was, up until she was 16 years old.
Limits the readers horizon: The point of view that the author uses only shows one side of things, which
limits the readers horizon. . I would like to read this same story from the point of view of the witch,
Maleficent.
Describe Characteristics of this text specific to the genre:
Simple plot: This story is a wonder tale (which is a type of folktale) which has been handed down for
many years. This story has a simple plot with simple characters and a happy ending.
I llustrations: The illustrations throughout the book add to the story. The illustrations depict realistic
images of all of the characters. The illustrator used bright colors and large illustrations to help keep the
reader engaged in the story.
Reflections:
This is the story of Sleeping Beauty as I remember it from my childhood. Although the movie of
Sleeping Beauty has more details than this short and easy to read book, the plot was very much the same.
I can see myself using this story with my students who are learning how to read. This book has very few
words, and vivid imagery. Even if the student couldnt read every word, they could understand what was
happening just by looking at the illustrations.















Your Name: Sierra OHern Date: 10/13/2014 Genre: Traditional Literature
Literary Analysis

Bibliographic I nformation:
Hyman, T., & Grimm, J. (1977). The sleeping beauty. Boston: Little, Brown.
Plot:
Enjoyable: This story would be enjoyable to children because it has a lot of action. For example, Long
ago, a King and Queen had a baby girl named Briar Rose. The kingdom celebrated her day of birth with a
feast. All but one of the 12 fairies were invited to the feast. The one fairy who wasnt invided came in and
curses the new baby; when she turns 15 years old she will prick her finger and fall down dead. One of
the good fairies changed to curse from the priness dying to her falling asleep for 100 years.
Climax: The identifiable climax was that on her 15
th
birthday the princess went to the tower and pricked
her finger of a spinning wheel and fell into a deep sleep. 100 years after the princess and the Kings
kingdom fell into a deep sleep a prince came and kissed the princess, breaking the curse.
Setting:
Location: The entire setting of the story took place long ago, in the Kings kingdom.
Setting affects characters: The setting affects the prince when he goes in search for the princess. The
setting changes for a short time from the kingdom to the woods when the prince is coming to the
princesss rescue.
Theme:
Main theme: The main theme of this story is true love conquers all. The prince searched far and wide for
the princess, determined not to give up. When he arrived at the castle, everyone was asleep. He went past
everyone who was sleeping until he climbed to the top of the tower where he found the princess.
Characterization:
Stereotyping: The author uses typical prince and princess stereotypes. The princess is a fun loving,
beautiful girl who is easy to relate to. The good fairies are happy, nice and helpful. The evil fairy is dark
and mean which makes the reader not like her. The prince is charming and handsome, which makes the
reader want to marry a man like him.
Convincing characters: The behavior of the characters is consistent with their ages and backgrounds. The
young princess is ignorant, but blissful. Since the princess has lived in the protected kingdom her entire
life, she still believes that the world is good, until her 15th birthday when she pricks her finger.
Style:
Appropriate: The story is introduced by A long time ago which sets the reader up for an enlightened
adventure of something that happened a long time ago. The language of the story is mature and it would
be hard for a young reader to understand. The imagery alone is well done and even if you couldnt read
the text, you could get a since of what was going on by simply following the pictures.


Point of View:
Primary point of view: This story is told in third person. It is narrated by an outsider, which gives the
reader a descriptive look into how the princess was brought up and how true love conquers all.
Appropriate to the purpose: Having this story told from a third persons perspective is appropriate to the
purpose of the book because it is a made up tale of how a prince and princes meet and live happily
together.
Describe Characteristics of this text specific to the genre:
Direct plot: This story is a wonder tale (which is a type of folktale) which has been handed down for
many years. This version of the story is longer, but still has a simple and direct plot. This version of the
story gives a more in depth look into the story of sleeping beauty.
I llustrations: The language of the story is mature and it would be hard for a young reader to understand.
The imagery and illustrations alone is well done and even if you couldnt read the text, you could get a
since of what was going on by simply following the pictures.
Reflections:
This version offers a more mature look into the story of sleeping beauty. Although the main idea
is the same, many of the details are very different. There are many more words on each page and many
more details than the story I grew up knowing. I did not enjoy this version as much as Disneys version. I
do not think I would have this version of Sleeping Beauty readily available to my students because it is
intended for an older audience.
















Your Name: Sierra OHern Date: 10/13/2014 Genre: Traditional Literature
Literary Analysis

Bibliographic I nformation:
Mayer, M. (1984). The sleeping beauty. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Plot:
Enjoyable: This story would be enjoyable to children because it has a lot of action. For example, A king
was very lonely until one day he met a stable girl and they got married. At the feast prepared for their
wedding, all 12 fairies were invited, but all but one of the fairies had gold plated goblets. The one fairy
that did not have the gold goblet was upset and therefore cast a curse on the bride that she shall never bear
any children. One of the nice fairies turned the curse into she cannot bear children until the silver owl
appears. The night that the silver owl appeared, the queen conceived a baby. Then the blue fairy (bad
fairy) casts a curse on the baby, that when she grows up she will prick her finger with a spindle and die.
Once again, the good fairy changed the curse so that the princess would fall asleep instead of die.
Climax: The identifiable climax was when the princess reached 17, she pricked her finger and her and the
entire kingdom fell into a deep sleep. Once a hundred years had passes, the blue fairies son went looking
for Sleeping Beauty. He fought all of the goblins and temptations on his way to the kingdom. When he
found Sleeping Beauty he kissed her and she along with the kingdom woke up.
Setting:
Location: The setting of this story takes place somewhere in time, in a faraway land in the Kings
kingdom.
Setting affects characters: When the story tells about the princes journey to find the princess, the setting
changes from the kingdom to the woods. The prince traveled through the woods for several miles and
encounters several creatures who try to stop him.
Theme:
Main theme: The main theme of this story is true love conquers all. The prince searched far and wide for
the princess, determined not to give up. When he arrived at the castle, everyone was asleep. He went past
everyone who was sleeping until he climbed to the top of the tower where he found the princess.
Embedded theme: There is also the theme of determination embedded throughout this book. The prince
was determined to get to the princess, the princesss family was determined to keep her safe and the
princess was determined to be normal.
Characterization:
Stereotyping: The author uses typical prince and princess stereotypes. The princess is a fun loving,
beautiful girl who is easy to relate to. The good fairies are happy, nice and helpful. The evil fairy is dark
and mean which makes the reader not like her. The prince is strong, charming and handsome.
Convincing characters: The only convincing characters in this story are the King and Queen, the
princesss parents. The princesss parents are concerned for their daughters well-being, just like real
parents are.

Style:
Appropriate: The story is introduced by Somewhere in time, in a faraway land which sets the reader
up for an enlightened adventure of something that happened some time ago far away. The language and
imagery of the story is mature and it would be hard for a young reader to understand. Some of the images
could be perceived as inappropriate for young readers. When the prince is being tempted by the vipers in
the water on his journey to Sleeping Beauty, the pictures are a little racy.
Point of View:
Primary point of view: This story is told in third person. It is narrated by an outsider, which gives the
reader a descriptive look into the specific details of the story.
Appropriate to the purpose: Having this story told from a third persons perspective is appropriate to the
purpose of the book because it is a made up tale of how a prince and princes meet and live happily
together.
Describe Characteristics of this text specific to the genre:
Direct plot: This story is a wonder tale (which is a type of folktale) which has been handed down for
many years. This version of the story is longer, but still has a simple and direct plot. This version of the
story gives a more mature look into the story of sleeping beauty.
Reflections:
This version of Sleeping Beauty was my least favorite. It is the one that varies the most from the
traditional tale that I remember. This version offers a more mature look into the story of sleeping beauty.
Although the main idea is the same, many of the details are very different. This version tells how the king
and queen met, and introduces an owl to the story, which doesnt make any sense to me. I do not think I
would have this version of Sleeping Beauty readily available to my students because it is intended for an
older audience. Some of the illustrations are inappropriate for a young reader and the dialogue is too
mature for elementary students.