The Little Mermaid

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The Little Mermaid, originally written by Hans Christian Andersen, is a tragic love tale. The story’s main character is a mermaid whose identity has not been revealed by the writers. The character is half human and half aquatic, with the top half resembling a human and the lower half resembling a fish. The mermaid can live in water because of her fish-like tail’s capacity to dive. Her father is the sea lord, and she and her father live in a coral castle with her grandmother and another father. She has other sisters that aren’t as attractive as she is. “The Little Mermaid” (2) is a title that has been chosen by the author to provide a mental image of the creature being discussed. Mermaids are believed to be creatures that are half human and half fish. Their physique enables them to be either treated as people or as fish which makes them able to survive in both underwater and above the water. The implication in the described story concerns the ability of the character to adapt to life’s situations under different circumstances. The little mermaid can survive in different situational conditions which are represented by the top water surface and the underwater. Underwater implies the unfavorable conditions whereas the top surface of water symbolizes the favorable conditions. The mermaid is also presented to be an attractive creature which indicates her ability to interact with people. Attraction and interaction go hand in hand and boosts the ability of an individual to survive in a particular environment.
The entire mermaid family lived in a coral castle underwater in which the mermaid daughters were well taken care of by their father and grandfather. They were not allowed to swim above the water until they attained a particular age limit: As soon as the eldest was fifteen, she was authorized to rise to the surface of the ocean (4). The description in this quote is important to the author of the story as it enables him to present the situation of nurturing and guiding young ones in the society. In as much as the father of the mermaids is the sea king, he is nurtured by his grandmother who secured him a place to live in under the water. The act of nurturing is extended to the mermaid kids who are under the care of their father and grandmother. They are restricted from getting to the top of the water until they attain the age of fifteen which is considered to the adult age. In life, people are not born strong to deal with the challenges around. They are required to live under rules and guidance until they become of age.
Exposure to the top of water implies the opportunities that people get in life. Opportunities come with a package of good things, and individuals must cease them and exploit the chances they get. In the story, the eldest daughter saw some good things that could have taken to her advantage but since she lacked the courage and confidence, she never even got close to them. People are fond of letting good things slip their way due to lack of self-belief, courage, and trust. All the five sisters to the little mermaid had their opportunities to swim to the top of the water and interact with the environment, but they failed to cease the opportunities because of their reasons.
The author describes the little mermaid’s situation in a manner that implies how people yearn for opportunities especially when they see others squander such opportunities when presented to them. The little mermaid always felt sad whenever her sisters swam arm-in-arm through and above the water, leaving her all alone in the castle. She is described to have been ready to cry except for the fact that mermaids do not have tears. It means that in most cases, the majority of people who yearn for opportunities do not have anything to do to grasp such opportunities. They are always alone and helpless and cannot afford to spend any form of energy get the opportunities. Oh, were I but fifteen years old (12), the expression is important to the author as it gives the author the actual expression of a wish that people present when they are in need of opportunities that others quickly squander. The little mermaid was quite confident that she would love the situation on top of the water and the people living around there. Additionally, as people grow, they tend to admire most of the privileges that rest in the hands of the adults. Eventually, they get to be exposed to the same once they become mature.
The mermaid is not able to sweep, and this makes their agony even more intense as well as greater as stated by Hans. Hans describes further that physical pain indeed is little damaging in comparison to emotional pain. Thus, the mermaid chose a ping given that she knew that eventually, she is going to have an immortal soul. The pain is not meaningless, but it is geared towards gaining a given objective. She believes that through her suffering she will possess an eternal identity. However, Disney’s mermaid decides to make much of pain sacrifices to lure a man; she just wants to be attractive to a man. On the other hand, the sister to mermaid sold her hair to acquire a knife as a weapon to enable her to kill the price in the eve of the wedding. Nonetheless, she acknowledges her responsibility regarding her actions. Thus she decides to die on her own. The reason seems indistinct, but it seems to be as a result of love and fear to lose her man. Another reason could also be: she appears to be very noble and good-natured hence she does not want to kill more of the human. The lesson that comes out is that no matter what a person can lose, he or she is expected to be good natured.
 Well, now, you are grown up, the statement came from the grandmother of the little mermaid when she had finally turned fifteen years. At fifteen years, she was considered to be of age and could take care of herself as she swam her way to the top of the water surface. The actual point in the quote is that regardless of the things that bind people or constrains them to a certain undesired situation, there comes a time when the bindings shall be cut loose, and there will be free to go for the opportunities that they yearn for. Coming of age is accompanied by responsibilities and abilities to take care of herself as she swam to the top of the surface. The mermaid was now considered to be responsible and able to watch her own back.
Little mermaids grandmother gives her a warning and advice that: You must not think of that (17). The warning came after the mermaid had sought to understand why humans have an immortal soul yet the mermaids did not have the same. She went ahead to wish that should give the many years that she had to live as a mermaid only to be human for a single day. The actual point of the quote is that people do not have control of some aspects of their lives. As long as they were born and found the situation the way they are, they cannot do much to make them any better. Instead of dreading the situation, it is worth considering the best elements presented by the situation and being proud of them. The grandmother tried to convince the little mermaid that she could not have such thoughts because the entire family had been happier than the humans and felt better as compared to the people. The point is that people should be proud of who they are and avoid seeking to attain positions that are out of their reach both in the present and in future.

References
Andersen, H. C. The Little Mermaid. 1st ed. 1836. Print.

January 20, 2022
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Science Life

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Biology

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Human Character Sad Story

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