Why fairy tales are scary tales: Academic Reading Passage 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3
below.
Why fairy tales are really scary tales
Some people think that fairy tales are just stories to amuse children, but their universal and
enduring appeal may be due to more serious reasons
People of every culture tell each other fairy tales but the same story often takes a variety of
forms in different parts of the world. In the story of Little Red Riding Hood that European
children are familiar with, a young girl on the way to see her grandmother meets a wolf and
tells him where she is going. The wolf runs on ahead and disposes of the grandmother, then
gets into bed dressed in the grandmother’s clothes to wait for Little Red Riding Hood. You may
think you know the story – but which version? In some versions, the wolf swallows up the
grandmother, while in others it locks her in a cupboard. In some stories, Red Riding Hood gets
the better of the wolf on her own, while in others a hunter or a woodcutter hears her cries and
comes to her rescue.
The universal appeal of these tales is frequently attributed to the idea that they contain
cautionary messages: in the case of Little Red Riding Hood, to listen to your mother, and avoid
talking to strangers. ‘It might be what we find interesting about this story is that it’s got this
survival-relevant information in it,’ says anthropologist Jamie Tehrani at Durham University in
the UK. But his research suggests otherwise. ‘We have this huge gap in our knowledge about
the history and –history of storytelling, despite the fact that we know this genre is an incredibly
ancient one,’ he says. That hasn’t stopped anthropologists, folklorists* and other academics
devising theories to explain the importance of fairy tales in human society. Now
Tehrani has found a way to test these ideas, borrowing a technique from evolutionary biologists.
To work out the evolutionary history, development and relationships among groups of
organisms, biologists compare the characteristics of living species in a process called
‘phylogenetic analysis’. Tehrani has used the same approach to compare related versions of fairy
tales to discover how they have evolved and which elements have survived longest. Tehrani’s
analysis focused on Little Red Riding Hood in its many forms, which include another Western
fairy tale known as The Wolf and the Kids. Checking for variants of these two tales and similar
stories from Africa, East Asia and other regions, he ended up with 58 stories recorded from oral
traditions. Once his phylogenetic analysis had established that they were indeed related, he
used the same methods to explore how they have developed and altered over time.
Why fairy tales are scary tales: Academic Reading Passage 3
First, he tested some assumptions about which aspects of the story alter least as it evolves,
indicating their importance. Folklorists believe that what happens in a story is more central to
the story than the characters in it – that visiting a relative, only to be met by a scary animal in
disguise, is more fundamental than whether the visitor is a little girl or three siblings, or the
animal is a tiger instead of a wolf.
However, Tehrani found no significant difference in the rate of evolution of incidents compared
with that of characters. ‘Certain episodes are very stable because they are crucial to the story,
but there are lots of other details that can evolve quite freely,’ he says. Neither did his analysis
support the theory that the central section of a story is the most conserved part. He found no
significant difference in the flexibility of events there compared with the beginning or the end.
But the really big surprise came when he looked at the cautionary elements of the story.
‘Studies on hunter-gatherer folk tales suggest that these narratives include really important
information about the environment and the possible dangers that may be faced there – stuff
that’s relevant to survival,’ he says. Yet in his analysis such elements were just as flexible as
seemingly trivial details. What, then, is important enough to be reproduced from generation to
generation?
The answer, it would appear, is fear – blood-thirsty and gruesome aspects of the story, such as
the eating of the grandmother by the wolf, turned out to be the best preserved of all. Why are
these details retained by generations of storytellers, when other features are not? Tehrani has
an idea: ‘In an oral context, a story won’t survive because of one great teller. It also needs to be
interesting when it’s told by someone who’s not necessarily a great storyteller.’ Maybe being
swallowed whole by a wolf, then cut out of its stomach alive is so gripping that it helps the story
remain popular, no matter how badly it’s told.
Jack Zipes at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, is unconvinced by Tehrani’s views on
fairy tales. ‘Even if they’re gruesome, they won’t stick unless they matter,’ he says. He believes
the perennial theme of women as victims in stories like Little Red Riding Hood explains why they
continue to feel relevant. But Tehrani points out that although this is often the case in Western
versions, it is not always true elsewhere. In Chinese and Japanese versions, often known as The
Tiger Grandmother, the villain is a woman, and in both Iran and Nigeria, the victim is a boy.
Mathias Clasen at Aarhus University in Denmark isn’t surprised by Tehrani’s findings. ‘Habits
and morals change, but the things that scare us, and the fact that we seek out entertainment
that’s designed to scare us – those are constant,’ he says. Clasen believes that scary stories
teach us what it feels like to be afraid without having to experience real danger, and so build up
resistance to negative emotions.
Why fairy tales are scary tales: Academic Reading Passage 3
*Folklorists: those who study traditional stories
Matching Sentence Endings Questions 27-31
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
27 In fairy tales, details of the plot
28 Tehrani rejects the idea that the useful lessons for life in fairy tales
29 Various theories about the social significance of fairy tales
30 Insights into the development of fairy tales
31 All the fairy tales analysed by Tehrani
A may be provided through methods used in biological research.
B are the reason for their survival.
C show considerable global variation.
D contain animals which transform to become humans.
E were originally spoken rather than written.
F have been developed without factual basis.
Summary gap fill with answers Questions 32-36
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-I, below.
Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.
Phylogenetic analysis of Little Red Riding Hood
Tehrani used techniques from evolutionary biology to find out if 32………………….. existed
among 58 stories from around the world. He also wanted to know which aspects of the stories
had fewest 33…………………., as he believed these aspects would be the most important
ones. Contrary to other beliefs, he found that some 34……………………. that were included
in a story tended to change over time, and that the middle of a story seemed no more
important than the other parts. He was also surprised that parts of a story which seemed to
provide some sort of 35…………………. were unimportant. The aspect that he found most
important in a story’s survival was 36…………………
A ending B events C warning
D links E records F variations
G horror H people I plot
Why fairy tales are scary tales: Academic Reading Passage 3
Multiple Choice Questions 37-40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.
37 What method did Jamie Tehrani use to test his ideas about fairy tales?
A He compared oral and written forms of the same stories.
B He looked at many different forms of the same basic story.
C He looked at unrelated stories from many different countries.
D He contrasted the development of fairy tales with that of living creatures.
38 When discussing Tehrani’s views, Jack Zipes suggests that
A Tehrani ignores key changes in the role of women.
B stories which are too horrific are not always taken seriously.
C Tehrani overemphasises the importance of violence in stories.
D features of stories only survive if they have a deeper significance.
39 Why does Tehrani refer to Chinese and Japanese fairy tales?
A to indicate that Jack Zipes’ theory is incorrect
B to suggest that crime is a global problem
C to imply that all fairy tales have a similar meaning
D to add more evidence for Jack Zipes’ ideas
40 What does Mathias Clasen believe about fairy tales?
A They are a safe way of learning to deal with fear.
B They are a type of entertainment that some people avoid.
C They reflect the changing values of our society.
D They reduce our ability to deal with real-world problems.
Answers
27 In fairy tales, details of the plot C show considerable global variation.
Why fairy tales are scary tales: Academic Reading Passage 3
28 Tehrani rejects the idea that the useful lessons for life in fairy tales B are the reason for
their survival.
