Bruno Bettleheim’s The Use of Enchantment

Last Updated: 13 Jul 2020
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"The Use of Enchantment" Children are seldom told fairy tales nowadays. There are several story books for children with moral lessons to learn at the end of the book. There are many great kids books with standards of moral values, which are favorite for family education. With many books to choose from, children have astounding choices of reading materials. Together with classics, there are classic story books with the adventures of licensed characters, irony, and new story books with every possible topic.

These books entertain children and teach them at the same time. Some books include brief history and science lessons. Other features of these books include dinosaurs and other animals. Some few books emphasize on the societal values and virtues like sincerity and honor. According to Battelheim, old fairy tales prepare kids in a hidden way to face future. Even though the children's subconcious does not desire to be interrogated, their conscious minds are willing to share what they learned from several fairy tales.

For example, a book like 'Red Riding Hood' teaches children to follow shortcuts through the forest. A book like "The Three Little Pigs" teaches hildren how they can live in brick houses in order to protect themselves from enemies. It helps children develop defensive mechanisms against harmful animals and other things. Other books like "Goldilocks" teach children that there is nothing, which is ever right. It educates children on the importance of acknowledging mistakes and correct them.

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In his book "The Uses of Enactment" Bruno wrote a lot about mental illness in children, and autism among other issues. Even though his views were highly held by lots of people, many people have now discredited Bruno's views. Many of Bettelheim's claims and credentials are now under scrutiny from both supporters and detractors. He applied the theory of Freudian on fairy tales for children. Bettelheim used the theory as the basis to explain the significance of symbolic and emotional messages to children.

The author believed that when children read conventional fairy tales, they develop and mature emotionally. For those who tend to avoid the theory of Freudian, "The Uses of Enactment" is suitable for the translation of old stories. Some of the stories may instill fear in children's developing minds. Bettelheim's book not only examines imageries within the hildren's story books, but also compares them to other conventional symbols such as religious images and other storytelling styles.

The Freudian theory is used in Bruno's book to provide n motivating enlightenment of the functions of old stories in the development of children. For example, in the book "Little Red Riding Hood" the theme of transformation helps in illustrating fears and concerns among children. Together with the classic versions of kids' stories assessed, Bettelheim exams several variations of stories. He compares and contrasts differences in various stories with their symbols. On the other hand, those who do not concur with Freudian theory will find several unanswered questions from "The Uses of Enactment. Generally, analyses by Bettelheim Bruno is essential in examining the importance of fairy tales to children's owtn These books expose kids to ditterent contexts, cultures, and themes. They also expose children to different character traits. These attributes are essential for the children's physical and psychological growth. The books teach the children to be creative and apply some of the books' attribute in while playing. They tend to imitate the characters in those story books while playing.

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Bruno Bettleheim’s The Use of Enchantment. (2018, Jun 27). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/bruno-bettleheims-the-use-of-enchantment/

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