From childhood, children are always taught to read books at school and at home. Some read works only because they like the genre, others just read the title and choose a book for the evening. However, the most important thing that fascinates the reader in the work is the hero.
Personally, it is not so important for me what role the hero plays in the work, whether it will be the main or secondary. The most important thing that I always pay attention to when reading works and analyzing characters is their actions and character. One of the vivid examples of a kind, sincere and little girl who captivated me as a child and still continues to be my favorite hero is Thumbelina.
I like this character because she has a fragile appearance and a kind heart. She embodied in herself those character traits that all people in the world should be endowed with. Despite the weather conditions, she still helped the bird so that it would not die from the cold. Of course, in the fairy tale Thumbelina constantly suffered from all kinds of troubles with future “lovers”, because she was offered both a frog and a mole, but still she waited for her prince and became a happy girl.
For me, the image of Thumbelina is a reflection of not only the external, but also the internal world of a “big” person in the body of a tiny girl. If we analyze her image as a whole, then I can cite several facts that will definitely appeal to readers who are not yet familiar with the children’s fairy tale “Thumble”.
If we take into account the heroes who were described by the authors as quite large in size, such as the mole in the work “Thumble”, then he was the personification of a rich man who believed that with his money he could buy anything he wanted – even a person. He showed his own disregard for the feelings of a little girl who suffered from the manipulations of a mole and a rat that sheltered her during the winter. As for his relationship with Thumbelina, it was rather ambiguous, as he seemed to want to make her happy, but not of her own free will. He tried in every way to prove to her that she would feel comfortable if she married him. In this situation, Thumbelina showed her reluctance to marry him, but in the end she was ready for an unhappy future with an unloved mole.
There was a different situation when the little girl Thumbelina was taken in by aunt Krysa. Despite her good deed – saving the little girl from death from the cold, she still did not treat her very politely. Thumbelina seemed not to pay attention to the fact that she was trying to “sell” her into the hands of “good” Uncle Mole, because he was quite rich. A similar situation occurred when Aunt Krysa realized that the girl could be left alone, because she could not eat a whole grain. Personally, for me, such actions embody something bad, contempt for a small person and disregard for the feelings of others.
I recently had the opportunity to think about the topic of writing a work featuring my favorite character, Thumbelina, and came to the conclusion that the author tried to show the readers precisely the changes in the life of any person. The image of Thumbelina is like the same “Boy with a Thumb” by the Brothers Grimm, but in the body of a girl.
Of course, there were changes in the life of my favorite heroine, because at first she is born from a flower, then she meets a swallow, almost marries an unloved mole, but in the end the fairy tale ends with a happy ending. Thumbelina marries a handsome elf and he takes her to his kingdom, where he was king.
The happy ending of the fairy tale is no less important to me, because during the reading of the entire work I quite often worry about each character and try to understand in advance whether this work will have a happy ending. Personally, for me, a happy ending means the completion of all the obstacles in life that happened throughout the work, and it tells precisely that despite all the changes in life, in the end there will be that person or that situation that will change everything for the better.
Once again, I understand that authors write fairy tales for a reason, because from a very young age, they teach the child that everything in this life is not only as we dream. Fairy tales contain great wisdom, which, unfortunately, not all readers understand. Reading fairy tales is not just a waste of time, it is the wisdom that authors lay down for children from childhood.
In my opinion, every person should have a favorite hero, and it doesn’t matter whether the character is positive or negative. It is thanks to such heroes that a person is able to see his own character traits and actions, getting to know the heroes of his favorite works. Choosing your favorite heroes, it will not be difficult to analyze a person’s actions later, because knowing the characteristics of a certain person’s favorite hero, you can learn about his inner world.
