Determination In The Little Mermaid

Most people can recall the tale of The Little Mermaid, the wonderful story of a young, naive mermaid losing her life after being unable to find love. This is probably shocking to hear, but this is the classic Hans Christian Andersen version of the beloved tale. Clearly Disney’s 1989 movie took inspiration from this, but they discarded the grim details to create a family friendly favorite. All fairy tales are intriguing because of the whimsical and pleasant natures that they have. These different narratives scratch reality and bring another world into existence. These stories that captivate our imaginations are perfect for children to read, they allow children to dream and think creatively. Even though these fairy tales may be terrific for children,

Some people take their determination to a whole other level, like our heroine, “...she had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard-of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it” (Andersen). The extremism of the mermaid’s actions shows us exactly how determined she is. Ultimately, she forfeits her voice and endures dreadful agony to reach her goal, even if the prince knows nothing of it, she still trudges on. Obviously this is an extraordinary amount of determination, but it shows children to do anything and everything to reach your goal, which is an appropriate lesson. Another thing that is crucial for children to understand is that every choice they make is theirs and theirs alone. Roberta Trites explains this excellently, “Much of Disney's imagery focuses on demonstrating Ariel's malleability. This is especially apparent in her decision to become human. No beguiling temptress entices the Andersen mer-maid; her decision to become human is self-determined” (Trites). As seen in this quote, Disney’s little mermaid chooses to become human because of the sea witch, whereas Andersen’s mermaid makes this decision freely on her own. This is appropriate for children because it shows them that they can create their own dreams and determine their own path. Constantly throughout this tale we are reminded of the immense determination of the protagonist, as shown here, “The sea witch, they say, has agreed to return to the little mermaid her tail and her undersea life if she will only kill the prince, and they plead with her to do it” (Cravens). By this point we know the mermaid has a high level of determination, but it is shown to us even further here, she is tempted to take the life of the prince to regain her own. In the end she realizes the evil of her ways and accepts her fate, this shows us how if bad choices are made then you are stuck