Grimm's Fairy Tales: Unabridged

A friend recently gave me her copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales: Unabridged Version. When I read it, it seemed, at first to be just a book of all those fairy tales we have all read a million times before, but then, it surprised me by being very different. I could see our fairy tales in these ones, but they were changed, spread out between several stories. Different details were added, even different endings all together. Plus, all the stories were extremely bloody. Almost every story had it's fair share of gore and death. It made me realize why fairy tales were made in the first place. They were made to teach lessons. Use common sense, be kind and courteous to those you meet, but don't place too much trust in strangers, for only fools do, as it can often be a trick, or not completely selfless in it's nature. These days, almost every fairy tale has a very different lesson. There is always a happy ending, the hero will always succeed, the princess will always get the man, don't trust old and ugly people because they are obviously a witch or monster in disguise. Some lessons are still there, but they've changed. Instead of light easy fairy tales with happy endings, these old. gory fairy tales tell the hard truth and drive it in, teaching children the lesson they need to know. We also have to keep in mind the time period. In this time, death and blood and hardship were part of everyday life. Animals could talk because at times, humans were nearly animals. People had to work or were cast out of their homes at a young age, many of the people in these stories being any where from 6 to 16. It is because these stories had plausibility then that they made an impact. Now they just seem fictional. These things would never happen now. There are no more unexplored corners of the earth, no endless seas, unclimbable mountains or dark, dense woods in which the witch lives. There are no abandoned castles with piles of treasure, nor are there talking animals (or possibly enchanted royalty.) All the mistique of the world is gone, yet these fairy tales are still alive from times when all that was still here.

The Skies of Pern

In the Skies of Pern, something that really stood out to me was the connection between dragon and rider. Dragons tend to be amazingly important background characters. They are literally the only thing keeping Pern and all it's inhabitants alive, the very center of civilization on that planet. Yet, in the books, they have only choice lines, in few scenes. How can a creature that affects the balance of the story have only a few lines? It's because they are with their riders every moment of every scene. Their connection is so innate that they need not say a thing to effect what's going on. You can see a definite difference in characters as well. Lord holders think only of themselves, or else must think of many people, their minor holders. Hallsmen think only of their craft, how to improve it, spread it, get better at it. Dragonriders think of only their dragons. If one dies, so does the other. They are connected so that if one is injured, the other's entire life is changed.
For example, F'lessan and Golanth, were once heads of their wing, young, carefree, their entire life ahead of them. After a single incident, all that changes. Golanth is grounded, losing his ability to fly. F'lessan must now change his entire way of living, must get used to staying in one place his entire life. A world which once held so many possibilities is closing in on him, leaving him with few options, all of which would mean drastically changing his lifestyle, not to mention possibly being separated from the girl he loves. He of course can't blame Golanth, as that would be like blaming himself. Besides, if Golanth had died, F'lessan would've died as well. If a dragon or a rider dies, the other almost always commits suicide. To live without the other would be to live without half a soul. During a recovery process, both must be constantly reassured that the other is not dead, for fear of them losing the will to live. This level of loyalty and commitment spoke to me as something both beautiful and terrifying about this world of Pern.