HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

A historian and cultural critic, Sara Buttsworth teaches at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She has published books and academic essays on subjects ranging from World War II to The Lord of the Rings and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In this essay, she applies her expertise in folklore to a fresh reading of Stephenie Meyer’s popular Twilight series.

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Reading the Genre

Question

1. Buttsworth’s analysis focuses on similarities between the Twilight novels and traditional fairy tales. What, according to the author, are the major characteristics of fairy tales as a genre? How does she see those characteristics mirrored in Stephenie Meyer’s vampire stories? (For more on genre, see the Introduction.)

Question

2. How does defining the Twilight series as fairy tale enable Buttsworth to critique cultural values? What set of values does she target, and what conclusions does she reach? (See “Focus on social connections”.)

Question

3. WRITING: Choose another cultural text that shares conventions with the fairy-tale genre — possibilities include the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins or the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, the movies Slumdog Millionaire (2008) or The Princess Bride (1987), and reality television shows like American Idol or The Bachelor — and write a literary analysis of that text focusing on the ways that it does or does not conform to the conventions of the fairy-tale genre.

Question

4. WRITING: Vampire stories have become tremendously popular in film, literature, and television. Choose three contemporary vampire texts and compare them in an essay. What themes seem consistent? What themes are unique to each text?

Question

5. MULTIMODALITY—COMPOSING VISUALLY: Write and illustrate an original fairy tale. In your story, upend some of the conventions of the genre to create new possibilities for young female characters.

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