The_Ugly_Duckling_&_Society

Society’s affect on the way one mirrors themselves Hans Anderson wrote the ugly duckling in the year of 1844. The idea behind the fairy tale is that at some point in life we all feel unattractive or misunderstood. Today, society puts out an image of how one is suppose to look and this novel breaks that stereo type by showing that one’s beauty has to come from with-in. Another lesson in this fairy tale is one that we as a society have problems understanding. The lesson is that sometimes you have to look past the exterior part of a person and see what one has to offer on the inner part instead of focusing on the exterior. “He is my child, and he is not so very ugly after all if you look at him properly.” The ugly ducklings mother states that if you look at her child properly you will see that there is more to him then just his exterior. In order to see him for his beauty you have to look at him “properly” in other words look deeply into what he is really about. In life we have to put ourselves in other peoples shoes in order to really understand where they are coming from and how they feel. Sometimes we forget to do this and we hurt people unconsciously. “They are afraid of me because I am ugly,” he said. So he closed his eyes, and flew still farther, until he came out on a large moor inhabited by wild ducks here he remained the whole night feeling very tired and sorrowful.” Here we picture the ugly duckling upset and hurt by what has been said” when it comes to his looks yet none of the ducks that hurt the way he felt feels what he feels because one can never feel the same sorrow unless they are in that person’s shoes. The duck is tormented by his neighbors and endures a hard winter but yet his hard times only made him a stronger and wiser duck.” I will fly to those royal birds, “he exclaimed,” and they will me because I am so ugly, and dare to approach them; but it does not matter better be killed by them than pecked by the ducks, beaten by the hens, pushed about by the maiden who feeds the poultry, or starved with hunger in the winter.” All of the suffering that this duck went through there were so many horrible things said that he felt that it was better to die by the royal birds then be pecked at by the ducks. In other words, it hurt more to be alive dealing with such critics then to die and be taken out of misery. You can take away the things you did but never the words you say because words you always remember and that’s exactly what the quote from the fairytale means. The words that the ducks had said to the ugly duckling scarred him. The ugly duckling was starting to give up hope and felt that death would be the only thing to take away his misery. He endured a great sorrow and torment but then just when he was ready to be killed he looked down and noticed that he was no longer and ugly duckling but yet a beautiful swan. The duckling suffered through so much that all he could do is except that now he was beautiful and that now it was a new beginning. The ugly duckling wanted to be excepted for being himself but yet was never excepted till he became the most beautiful swan of them all. Now he had the respect and the bows of every duck that at one point had rejected him. He cried of happiness he finally felt freed after being accepted. This fairytale is one that plays a big role in teaching children of how harsh society really is. It implies that sometimes in order to be accepted you have to appeal to society by your exterior instead of your inner heart.