Week 2 Definition of Fairytale

Its hard to come up with a definition for fairytales because they encompass so many different aspects.  There are protagonists, a quest, numerous motifs and functions to name a few.  A basic definition would be that fairytales are make-believe stories spoken to the community for the purpose of entertainment.  They are passed down from generation to generation and most tales have more than one version.  Every culture has their own fairytales and folklore, but most of them follow a similar structure with respect to the characters, functions, and motifs.  Vladimir Propp outlined these similarities by listing the thirty-one functions of fairytales and seven characters.  It is remarkable that although the tales come from all over the world, they share many common parts.  The characters consist of the hero, the villain, providers/donors, a helper, a false hero, a dispatcher, and a sought after person such as a princess.  I won’t include Propp’s thirty-one functions for sake of length, but it basically summarizes the chain of events that most fairytales abide by.
Another characteristic that sets fairytales apart from regular stories is how changeable it is.  Fairytales have more than one author, so different versions of the same tale are bound to happen.  Since no one owns the fairytale, it is ok to change the story a little.  Fairytales are also supposed to be a communal event.  I don’t think this is true anymore because of globalization, but it is worth mentioning when developing a definition for fairytales.   In summary, fairytales are spoken, make-believe stories that follow a basic format of events and characters.