Truth IS trope, a trope generates a norm or value, this value (or ideology) is no longer true It is true that tropes are the producers of ideologies that are no longer true" Paul de Man "A close examination of Donald Barthelme's Snow White" wntes Judith Halden in a recent essay, "reveals that, in one sense, his retelling of the traditional fairy tale is nothing new For centuries storytellers have retold tales in their own ways, embellishing the storyline with details peculiarly representative of both the individual teller and his time"' Consequently, Halden proceeds to argue, this novel, "contrary to several current analyses, is indeed a fairy tale" Taking Max Luthi's stylistic approach to the genre, she recognizes some "key fairy tale characteristics" in the modern Snow White (e.g , flat characterization, supernatural setting, isolation of characters m a world marked by extremes and sharply defined objects, etc) and shows how Barthelme manipulates others (e.g., heroic action and psychological maturation) in order to "communicate his modern sensibility" and remvigorate "the tale for his audience, making it somewhat 'real' for them"^ The identification of those specific fairy tale elements Barthelme incorporates 1
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