Riley Militar

Dr. Haas
Writing 37
November 6, 2015
Into the Woods and Cinderella Rhetorical Analysis
Into the Woods is a re-imagined fairy tale based on classic tales like the Grimm Brothers
version of Cinderella and Charles Perraults version of Cinderella; however, because the
rhetorical situation has changed, specifically in terms of audience and rhetors purpose, fairy tale
conventions such as plot and theme are expressed differently in order to make Into the Woods an
effective text. Into the Woods is a movie, directed by Rob Marshall and released during 2014,
that is about a group of people known from different fairy tales such as Cinderella, Rapunzel,
Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood who coincidentally meet and work
together to reach the happy ending that they all want. The movie got a bit over average score and
got a mediocre review from Chicago Tribune from a film reviewer by the name of Michael
Phillips (Phillips 1). Cinderella, on the other hand, has two different versions including Charles
Perraults version, published during 1697, and the Grimm Brothers version that was published
during 1812.Charles Perrault got literary fame when he caught the attention of Louis XIV's
Minister of Finance, Jean-Baptiste Colbert (Johnson 1). However, The Grimm Brothers got
negative reviews on their version of Cinderella because of how crude and unappealing it was to
children (Zipes 10). These two stories are slightly different in that they both are almost the same
in plot in that there is a girl named Cinderella who relies on a magical being to help her go to the
princes ball. Despite the differences between the three, there are some elements in the all 3 that

are kept to appeal the audience. However, as time progressed, theses old fairy tales were made,
revised, edited, and purposefully changed in many different ways to conform and also better
appeal to whatever culture or historical context it was in.
The setting of the older versions of Cinderella is vague and does not give a specific place
but says that it takes place in a kingdom. One can infer that this kingdom is taken over by a
monarchy with the mention of the prince in this tale. The author uses this convention of setting
so that he can reflect on the culture of when it was written. According to the website on the list of
rulers, Charles Perrault, a French, wrote this story when Louis XIV, the Sun King, ruled the land
with a monarchial style of government similar to that of the story in Perraults version where
there is a king and prince who throw a ball where only the richest people could go to this. The
Grimms also kept this setting in a kingdom and they keep this because of the same reason that
they want to keep it similar to that of their culture. The Grimm Brothers, who were Prussians,
were held by a monarchial government also ruled by different kings in the Kingdom of Prussia
from 1701 to 1867.
The setting of Into the Woods is a bit similar but, as the name implies, takes place most of
the time in the woods. This version of a fairy tale is different in that it is a different medium that
relies on audio and visuals to portray its message across to the audience. The setting portrayed in
this movie is a bit darker compared to that of the tales by showing the woods as a really dark
place with branches that hang everywhere and a fog that shrouds the area. To add to that,
ominous score or song is sometimes played in the background to create a malefic feeling to the
audience. This malefic feeling is added to go along with some of the scenes. One example of this
is when the wolf sings the song Hello, Little Girl when he is stalking Little Red Riding
Hood. This is added to help deliver the message to the readers that other Disney movies, known

before Into the Woods, neglected to show in that there isnt always a happy story or ending that
happens to people. The makers of the movie also added different scenes to help emphasize this
message. One example of this is the part where the stepsisters cut off parts of their foot so that
they can fit the shoe that the prince offers them and as a consequence later on, birds peck out the
eyes of the stepsisters. This scene actually is the same in the Grimm Brothers version. However,
the brothers used this scene to keep to the original story of Cinderella.
Another aspect that is similar between Perraults, Grimms and Marshalls version is
sibling rivalry. This archetype has been used over time and is still prevalent today, which may be
another reason as to why these fairy tales are still popular today. This archetype can even be seen
and dated back to biblical literature with Cain and Abel and can be seen today with Fred and
George Weasley in the Harry Potter series. In all the versions about Cinderella, there are
stepsisters that are mentioned who try to be with the Prince along with Cinderella and fight for
him. This can be seen in the Grimms version and Into the Woods with the scene when the
stepsisters cut off pieces of their feet to try and fit the slipper that Cinderella left for the prince.
Even though not as gruesome, people from all ages can still relate to this, which is why this is
still a popular story as of today. Besides the sibling rivalry, people can also relate whenever the
stepmother mistreats Cinderella. People feel as if they too have been mistreated in their lives by
their parents. Bruno Bettelheim, a child psychologist and writer, said that people feel the same
way with their siblings and get competitive and this is because when reading and watching these
tales, people are unconsciously influenced by their actions (Bettelheim 2 4). People feel a bit of
redemption when seeing the character triumph over the villain in the ending, which can be seen
in the older versions. This is why this is one aspect that stays throughout all the versions because
it appeals to the audience even in different timelines and cultures.

Each story also has a different meaning and purpose behind why the story was written.
Starting with Perrault, Perraults time was known for the Enlightenment era and the
Enlightenment era was known for salon gatherings. Men and mostly women would gather in
salons and have intellectual conversations. Operas and fairy tales became prominent during these
gatherings and people would talk about them or even make some on their own. According to
Alicia C. Montoya, a professor of French literature, most of the fairy tales stemmed from
medieval chivalric fiction and would consist of fairies and magical beings helping women,
especially princesses (Montoya 116). This is portrayed throughout Perraults version of
Cinderella with the portrayal of the fairy godmother who helps Cinderella get to the ball to
better fit the historical and cultural context of when this tale was written. Women often
incorporated their wishes and articulated their dreams and desires as a part of the convention of
purpose because women were subjected to the patriarchal society at this time and men were often
controlling to their lives. According to a research by Zundell and her colleagues, Women did not
have that much power politically and so they had an opportunity to voice their woes in these
salons also (Zundell 1).
The Grimm Brothers version of Cinderella had a different convention of purpose.
According to the German Bundestag website, during the early 1800s, Germany had a unification
and literary movement and the Grimm Brothers saw this as an opportunity to publish their works
even if it did receive negative reviews later on (German Unification 1). In the 1812 version
however, their initial purpose was to try and unify Germany through retellings of old German
folk tales. Their 1812 version were almost true to the old folk tales because the Grimm Brothers
wanted to help portray the culture that these tales originated from which were old German and
Nordic tales. The Grimm Brothers also read old tales from different cultures and incorporated it

to their adaptation of Cinderella. For example, they incorporated Chinese culture in their
version. This can be seen in the part where the stepsisters cut off pieces of their foot so that they
can fit the glass slipper and appeal their selves to the prince. This is similar to the Chinese culture
in that Chinese women would bind their feet to make it small to appeal to men because it was
attractive for women to have really small feet. This is why the authors kept this to keep to the
original cultural context that these tales came from.
Into the Woods has a completely different convention of purpose and it is to help people
develop a sense of morality and to teach fundamental human truths. According to a newspaper
online article by Peter Marks, the creators of the movie said themselves that the movie was made
to show people the malevolent part of fairy tales that Disney cartoon fairy tales fail to show
(Marks 1). One specific scene that stands out is when the birds peck out the eyes of the
stepsisters after they tried to be with the prince by cutting pieces off of their foot. Not only did
the creators of this movie keep some parts from the Grimms version, but they also used this to
emphasize that happy endings do not always happen. Another way they do this is through the
second half of the movie. Despite the happy ending that everyone knows of because of the older
Disney fairy tale versions, the characters seem to have something bad happen to them. In this
case, Cinderellas husband cheats on her with the Bakers wife. In the end however, she leaves it
be and is satisfied with starting over and this teaches another moral that pokes fun of the old
Cinderella in that most girls want a prince for true love and that it will always end with a happy
ending when in actuality horrendous things can happen along the way. Another element that
changes compared to the written text is the different moral in the end of the movie. One main
moral that the movie teaches is that a community must band together to create the happy ending
that everyone wants, despite the fact that there might be obstacles that will get in the way. This

can be seen with the ending of the movie where Cinderella, Jack, the Baker, and Little Red
Riding Hood work together to beat the giants wife. Despite the happy ending, many people died
to get to where they were, including Jacks mother and the Bakers wife. This convention of
purpose is different but some elements of plot stay the same to help emphasize that some of these
fairy tales were not always this gruesome.
It is important to know how fairy tales have changed over the years and why it still
appeals to todays society because of the archetypes that are presented in these tales. Some of
these archetypes can even be seen outside of fairy tales and even in everyday life which is why
these fairy tales are still popular today. Into the Woods is one piece of many that can show some
insight to some of these changes to appeal to a different audience from a different part of history
compared to the different versions of Cinderella by Perrault and the Grimm Brothers. Some of
the conventions that have changed include the plot and the purpose but some of these are just the
basis of the multiple different ways these tales have evolved over the years. There are also
different kinds of classic fairy tales and modern fairy tales that can be applied to this. All in all
the purpose of the rhetors differs from different eras.

Works Cited Page

"The German Unification and Freesom Movement." Deutscher Bundestag. German

Bundestag, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
<https://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/artandhistory/history/parliamentarism/1800_1848>.

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. "Cinderella." The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of
the Brothers Grimm. Trans. Jack Zipes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2014. Print.

Johnson, Virginia. "Once Upon a Time With Charles Perrault." LIBRARYPOINT. Central
Rappahannock Regional Library, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.librarypoint.org/once_upon_a_time_with_charles_perrault>.

"List of Rulers of Europe." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Apr. 2007. Web. 3 Nov. 2015. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/euru/hd_euru.htm>.

Marks, Peter. "'Into the Woods' Aims for Fairy-tale End." Washington Post. The
Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2014. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/into-the-woods-aims-for-fairytale-end/2014/12/19/47a34b38-84ae-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html>.

Montoya, Alicia C. "Medievalist Enlightenment: From Charles Perrault to Jean-Jacques

Rousseau." Generic Shifts: From Roman De Chevalrie to Operairy Tale. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov.
2015. <https://books.google.com/books?id=syb6-0eW_sC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=enlightenment+fairy+tales&source=bl&ots=BbcpTwE_IU&si
g=oivef2GsyAyfaY0_58ru1Ixp8g&hl=en&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CGYQ6AEwD2oVChMI3NKvgP1yAIVSMFjCh1wCQ32#v=onepage&q=enlightenment%20fairy%20tales&f=false>.

Phillips, Michael. "Review: 'Into the Woods'" Chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune, 22

Dec. 2014. Web. 03 Nov. 2015. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/sc-intothe-woods-review-20141222-column.html>.

Zundel, Hannah, Sop DuPont, Emily Olsen, and Marisa Rondinelli. "Women's
Involvement in the French Salons (Early 18th Century) - ILS202_fall11." Women's Involvement
in the French Salons (Early 18th Century) - ILS202_fall11. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.
<https://sites.google.com/a/wisc.edu/ils202fall11/home/student-wikis/group4>.

Zipes, Jack. "Introduction: Rediscovering the Original Tales of the Brothers Grimm." The
Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Trans. Jack Zipes. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton UP, 2014. Print.