Name: Rachael Doyle Date: Week 5 Genre: Traditional

Literary Analysis
Bibliographic Information:
Wegman, W. (1999). Cinderella. New York: Hyperion Publishing.

Plot:
Plausible & Credible
The story does seem logical, yes. Certain events that happen in the story can happen in real life.
For example, family passing away, gaining a stepfamily and getting married. But not everything
in this story is entirely plausible. It isnt normal for a fairy godmother to show up in the middle
of the night, granting wishes and turning inanimate objects into helpful carriage drivers and
horses.
Cause and Effect
I believe that the whole story is based off of cause and effect but the main domino effect starts
off with Cinderella realizing that she cannot go to the gala ball. That is when the fairy godmother
comes into play and helps her out. Now that shes able to go to the ball, she just so happens to
dance with the prince. Because of the fairy godmothers deadline, she has to rush out of the ball
to be home in time and loses one of her glass slippers in the process. The lost shoe has to have an
owner and so the hunt for the owner leads to Cinderella and the princes happily ever after.
Setting:
Location
This story takes place in Cinderellas house, her bedroom, the garden and the kings palace.
Time
The author indicates time through the illustrations and the dialogue. The only time indication
made in the story is when the clock strikes midnight, and that is stated by Cinderella when she
hears/sees the clock.
Theme:
Theme Emerging Naturally
The two themes are listed below. I believe that the theme emerges naturally because you have to
read the whole story to see what happens and the themes can only be taken from knowing the
sequence of events and the final ending.
Good vs evil This theme is consistent in all fairytale/traditional stories. The stepmom being the
bad force that tries to go against Cinderella in every way possible. But good prevails when the
fairy godmother magically appears and helps Cinderella to the ball.
Luck Cinderella is very lucky because she originally wasnt supposed to be able to go to the
ball. But fortunately, the fairy godmother stepped in and was able to give her everything
necessary
Motifs/Symbols To Intensify Meaning
The fairy godmother and the glass slipper I believe are the only main symbols. The glass slipper
doesnt really coincide with the theme but the fairy godmother is what makes the luck and good
vs evil possible. It is because of her that Cinderella is able to go to the gala ball and defies
everything that the evil stepmom and stepsisters think about her.
Characterization:
Revealing Characters Through Narration
Since it isnt written in first person, we cant get a feel for Cinderellas true emotions. But the
author portrays Cinderella as a two dimensional character with the different events happening
throughout the story. She displayed sadness when she thought she couldnt go to the ball and
happiness when she was dancing on air with the prince.
Avoiding Stereotypes
The story of Cinderella started the stereotypical role of an evil stepfamily. It is because of this
story that children had the belief that their new mom, dad, or siblings were going to be the worst
people in the world.
Style:
Author Creating Mood
The author portrayed this traditional version very well in a childrens tale. Theres an image on
each page and the text is in a larger font. These features make the book appeal to children better.
It is mainly illustrations that create the mood in this story because the text involved a lot of
dialogue.
Straightforward
This story has a lot of dialogue so there is not much room for figurative language.

Point of View:
Appropriateness
Yes! Cinderella is written in third person. Third person makes it easier for children to see the
overall picture versus trying to interpret everyones emotions through one persons set of eyes.
Does It Change
The point of view does not change at all. You wouldnt want it to confuse the reader with so
many characters involved in this story.
Describe Characteristics of this text specific to the genre:
Plot Is Simple and Direct
Yes! Cinderella isnt meant to be a chapter book. Its a tale that is passed on. Because this
was a traditional version of Cinderella, it followed the whole overall storyline very closely.
Cinderella is not the typical superhero, mainly because she isnt the stereotypical male, but she
isnt destined to save the world. She technically isnt a superhero, but she is the lead role in the
story and she does get her happy ending.
Illustrations
The illustrations add to the story because if it wasnt for the illustrations, I would have a
hard time understanding the setting of the story. The author doesnt give many descriptive
details to the setting so its hard to picture Cinderella on its own.


Language Lively and Engaging
The language seems really bland in this story. I dont see how it could be told orally. This
story has very simple and surface leveled language and dialogue. There isnt a lot of
descriptive words.


Reflections:
Even though this is a traditional piece of literature, I wouldnt bring this specific text into the
classroom. I feel as if there isnt much depth to this story. I know its a childrens novel but it
seems very surface level.






















Your Name: Rachael Doyle Date: Week 5 Genre: Traditional
Literary Analysis
Bibliographic Information:
Dwyer, M. (2004). The Salmon Princess: (An Alaskan Cinderella Story). Seattle: Sasquatch
Books.
Plot:
Movement
The story has movement because it doesnt not follow a stable storyline. The storyline has
movement that includes a climax and ups and downs. It seems as if the reader is always asking
what is going to happen next?. A big event was when Cinders two stepbrothers locked her in
the woodhouse when the prince came looking for the owner of the raffle tickets because the
reader wonders how shes going to get out in time to claim her raffle tickets.
Climax
I believe when Cinder loses her raffle tickets and boot is the identifiable climax. Thats the
ultimate moment when things start having a domino effect on a positive change for Cinder. The
events build by Cinder gaining a stepfamily and having to do all of the dirty work for them. Then
the reader is led to believe that Cinder wont be able to go to the Silver Salmon Festival but that
changes because of the eagle dropping the salmon that turns into a silver dress for her.
Setting:
Location
This story took place in southeast Alaska and the family lived at the edge of a shadowy rainforest
where waterfalls made sounds of music. It also took place in the forest where Cinder got her
dress, and the Silver Salmon Festival.
Setting Effects Action/Character/Theme
The fact that this story took place in Alaska, it puts a cultural/geographical twist on the story.
Rather than living in a house and doing regular chores like sweeping, Cinders father owns a
salmon farm so she has to clean the fish instead.
Theme:
Imparting To Children
Good vs evil This theme is always occurring in fantasies and fairytales. The good being
Cinder and the magical forces that help her attend the Silver Salmon Festival. The bad is
referring to her stepmother and two stepbrothers. The fact Cinder was able to live happily ever
after with her prince proves that good is better than evil.
Luck It just so happens that Cinder was given a dress and won the raffle. Unfortunately, real
life does not always work that way!
Women There is a strong feminine role portrayed in this story (Cinder). Usually the stories are
focused on men and their journey to their princess. With the Salmon Princess, there was no
explicit intention of Cinder going to the Festival to meet a prince, she had originally went for the
prize.
I believe that the good vs evil and luck theme are good to convey to children early on
because great lessons can be learned. Not everything happens the way that it is planned,
sometimes for the best and sometimes for the worst. There is good and evil in the world and
everyone encounters them at one point or another.
Emerging Naturally Or Stated Obvious
I think it depends on the age of the reader whether or not the theme is noticed right away. I dont
think that a seven year old would be able to pull out the different themes unless that they were to
be asked questions that would lead them into figuring it out themselves.
Characterization:
Character Development/Growth
All of the characters are very one dimensional besides Cinder. With Cinder, it shows her
different positive and negative emotions throughout the story through her thoughts, feelings and
actions.
Strengths and Weaknesses
I believe that the stepfamilys power over Cinder stops when she has the strength to find a way to
get out of the woodhouse that she was locked in and claims her winning raffle tickets. It wasnt
that difficult to get out (all she did was start making the fire and the boy noticed the smoke and
went and unlocked the door), but she is very resourceful.
Style:
Appropriate To Subject
The story flows very easily. I think that the writer wrote a great story with just enough
descriptive words placed here and there to keep the reader interested. I believe that that makes it
appropriate because the book is really aimed towards children as its audience.
Creating Mood
The setting has a lot to do with the mood. The shift to Alaska versus the normal setting and the
different descriptive words the author uses almost makes the story feel like it doesnt follow the
traditional Cinderella story plot line.
Point of View:
Appropriateness
The point of view for this story is appropriate because with the third-person omniscient point of
view, the narrator knows everything and is able to convey that knowledge to the reader.
Does It Change?
No. This story is written in third person with a limited-omniscient narrator with the focus mainly
on Cinder and her thoughts and feelings.
Describe Characteristics of this text specific to the genre:
Plot is Simple & Direct
Because this was a different version of Cinderella, it followed the whole overall storyline
very closely, just changing the details. Even though a vague setting is a characteristic of a
traditional story, the author seemed to have given very descriptive meaning to the setting in
the story. Of course Cinder gets her happy ending in the story; she falls in love with the boy she
met at the festival. As an unusual addition, the author added as to what happened after the
happily ever after.

Mention/Citation Of Original Source
There isnt a stated relation to the original source but I think that if you know of the original Cinderella
story, the reader is able to make the connection based off of similar events - the eagle giving Cinder the
dress instead of the fairy godmother. It was because of the dress that she got to go to the Silver Salmon
Festival, instead of the gala ball. At the festival she unknowingly bought the winning raffle ticket, met the
Salmon Prince, and lost her boot (instead of the glass slipper) and winning ticket.

Illustrations
The illustrations most definitely add to the story. It adds to the geographical twist of the story
taking place in Alaska. The illustrations and details of the forest, the salmon and the woodhouse
seem true

Reflections:
I really loved this version of Cinderella, I think it went off the map a bit compared to the
original. It did follow the original plot line, but the way the author changed up the elements and
details was fantastic. Its a cute story, the illustrations were my favorite part!
I liked the reading response that was done for this genre, I would love to do something similar
where student would compare and contrast two different versions of a story using a venn
diagram.










Your Name: Rachael Doyle Date: Week 5 Genre: Traditional
Literary Analysis
Bibliographic Information:
Climo, S. & Florczak, R. (1999). The Persian Cinderella. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Plot:
Is It Plausible & Credible?
It is plausible and credible to a certain extent. Certain events are most definitely possible, getting
married and gaining a new stepfamily for example. But others are not as likely, like finding a
magical jug and changing back and forth from a human to a dove.
Identifiable Climax
There is a major difference in what is the climax between this version of Cinderella and the
others. I would say the climax in this story is when Settareh changes into a dove and the reader
isnt sure if shes going to be able to change back and marry the prince.
Setting:
Location
The story takes place in Persia near the Alburz Mountains. Settareh lives in the womens part of
the house. The story also took place at the marketplace where she bought the magical jug. Lastly,
it took place at the princes palace.
Setting Affecting Character/Action/Theme
The setting in Persia affects the character because her name is based off of where shes from and
the star marking on her face. In Persia, instead of everyone living together, there is a womens
part of the house.
Theme:
The following are listed themes I found in the story:
Luck Instead of buying new cloth like she should have, Settareh used her coins on
miscellaneous items including the magical jug. Its lucky because she didnt know it had magical
powers until she had bought it. So it was able to give her the appropriate clothing for the
celebration.
Women There is a strong feminine role portrayed in this story. Not only is Settareh living with
her stepmom and stepsisters, but shes living with all of the women in her family, aunts and
cousins included. The prince wasnt even a main focus so it wasnt really a love story until the
end. Settareh didnt even dance with the prince in this version, all she did was glimpse at him.
Theme Overpowering Story
The theme doesnt overpower the story because I dont think the theme is obviously stated so it
is a little harder to understand. I believe that because the theme is more hidden, the reader has to
pick it out and identify how the theme relates to the story.
Motifs/Symbols To Intensify Meaning
The items such as the jug intensify the meaning behind the theme. The magical jug symbolizes
the luck that is brought to Settareh and how good things can happen regardless of what the
outcome looks like.
Characterization:
Character Development/Growth
In The Persian Cinderella, Settareh is definitely multi-dimensional. She has more than one
thought and feeling throughout the story. She is even in a completely different form when she is
temporarily transformed into a dove because of her stepsisters.
Diverse Group Of People
The author presents diverse groups of people by bringing in a complete different culture into the
storys plotline. The author takes a different geographic region and completely immerses the
book and takes it full throttle by using accurate settings and even language from Persia.
Style:
Appropriateness
This was a very well-written story. It is appropriate because it is a simple story that follows the
original but there are a lot differences with this version compared to the original. For example,
instead of the prince finding the dropped object, one of the princes guards horses sniffed it out.
And instead of the prince going around the town to find the owner of the object, the queen was
the one who went on the hunt. Lastly, instead of a human or an animal giving Setterah the cloths
she needed, it was an inanimate object.
Straightforward Or Figurative
I believe that because there is a lot going on, and even throwing in an occasional Persian term,
the language has to be straightforward. The style has a mixture of narration and dialogue.
Point of View:
Does The Point Of View Change
The point of view for The Persian Cinderella is third person. The point of view does not change.
It is definitely the traditional way of telling the story. I feel like it could be more interesting if it
was written in another characters perspective. Doing it that way would remind me a lot of the
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs written in the Big Bad Wolfs perspective.
Cultural Perspectives Highlighted In Multiple POV
The story did not do this at, so it would have been interesting if the author chose to do so. The
reader would get more of a glimpse of the Persian culture as well as following along the
traditional version of Cinderella.
Describe Characteristics of this text specific to the genre:
Illustrations
The illustrations most definitely add to the story due to the different culture represented in
the story. The illustrations are very detailed, and there are very intricate borders around the
pages that add to the story.

Language Lively And Engaging
I dont see how the story can be told orally. With everything happening and the dialogue, I
dont see it. I dont see it with either this or the traditional version. I would think it all
depends on the person telling the story for whether or not the story can be lively and
engaging.


Plot Simple and Direct
For this version, I dont think it is simple and direct like the others. For the most part, yes
but this version adds the additional plot twist of Settareh turning into a dove that takes the
story off the beaten path.


Reflections:
Im glad I chose this off version of the traditional story. I think this would be good for a
classroom library because it has a different cultural aspect of it compared to the original. The
Persian Cinderella has language use within the book from the Persian culture so it gives whoever
is reading it an inside look.