Niloufahr SheikhpourMs. FairchildFolktalesApril 1, 2014What is beauty?Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you don't consider yourself beautiful, do you automatically consider yourself ugly? Be different; Does it make you unattractive and uncomfortable? Just because someone looks different and isn't the same as everyone else, does that make them less beautiful? The story "The Ugly Duckling" teaches children that just because you aren't someone's ideal of beauty doesn't make you any less beautiful. The ducklings in the story symbolize society and the swan represents the average woman and man. The last duckling born appears to be the intruder. The duckling stands out from the others; she was teased and separated from most of the other ducklings. History gives you a better understanding of what society was like during that period of history. The story was first published in 1842; even then, people had an ideal of beauty and what it meant to be such. Just like today, models, actors, celebrities, etc. have an influence on how most people should look. People strive to achieve the appearance of what they think is beautiful and look down on those who do not meet their certain standards of beauty. The story presents this poor swan as a victim that most people can still relate to. The little swan was bullied, told she was ugly and forbidden to play with some ducks because their parents wouldn't allow it. She had to be alone and constantly make fun of how different everyone around her was. Just because she didn't look the same, she was treated very differently (Anderson 1). In all versions of the folk tale, the swan is belittled and constantly depressed, which...... middle of paper.... ..a bullied swan. Hopefully one day this will stop and the reader can become independent and rely less on others. However, as you delve deeper into this folk tale, you learn that the psychological abuse this poor swan endures is unreal. If this were to be a real situation, this poor swan would have grown up with socialization problems due to the trauma caused as a child. Furthermore, the swan never discovered that he was a swan until he grew up and became a beautiful swan, which is equivalent to adulthood. The Ugly Duckling teaches children and adults that no matter how different you are, it doesn't make you any less beautiful. It gives hope to its readers and teaches a valuable lesson, despite the trauma the poor swan is going through. However, in the end, the swan emerges victorious and stands on its own, and becomes more beautiful..