Fairy Tales

 

"Jack and the beanstalk, 1890" by Toronto Public Library Special Collections is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

 

As explained in the 'Conventions of fairy tales' section, a fairy story always includes a number of important elements.

When reading through this section, keep in mind the Joseph Jacobs story as included here in the SurLaLune website -

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

In the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, these include: 

GOOD CHARACTERS

In the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, the good character is Jack.  Jack is not always good, he climbs the beanstalk and steals from the Giant but he is the character we like, so he takes the role of the 'good' character  

"Jack and the beanstalk" by Toronto Public Library Special Collections is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

THE BADDY

The bad character in this story is the ogre (giant).

"Lantern Slide - Jack & the Beanstalk, No. 10, 1900-1920" is marked with CC PDM 1.0

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

Can you think of any supporting characters in this story?

MAGIC

There are lots of magical elements in this story, can you think what they are?

"A. L. Bowley - 'Jack and the Beanstalk'" by sofi01 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

 

OBSTACLE OR TASK

A fairy tale usually includes an obstacle or task which the characters must tackle with to reach their happy ending.  Can you think of the obstacle or task in this story?

 

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

By gaining the ogre's golden harp and hen that lays golden eggs, Jack and his mother are able to live happily ever after...

 

MORAL

 

What do you think is the moral message of the Jack and the Beanstalk story? 

The SurLaLune website includes lots of information about Jack and the Beanstalk, including details of the history of the story.

 

You can read Joseph Jacob's version of Jack and the Beanstalk on the SurLaLune website.