Brittany Wiegreff
Professor Eichler
English 102 B16
10/18/2011
Essay 2

The Ugly Duckling Analysis
The tale of “The Ugly Duckling” has been told for many generations. It is the story of a little swan that is mistakenly hatched in a duck’s nest and because of his strange and different appearance he is teased and ridiculed. Even his mother can’t understand how this “ugly duckling” could be one of her own. The ugly duckling goes through many hardships and a long, lonely winter. Then upon seeing his reflection in the pond he realizes that he has become a beautiful swan and happily swims off, joining a group of nearby swans.
At first glance, many may perceive this as a cut and dry fairy tale. Sending the message that without outward
He is accepted by them and is proclaimed, “The most beautiful of all.” It’s true that, “he is so young and pretty.”, because the acceptance in society has told him what he really is. He is a beautiful baby swan.
In real life the story, “The Ugly Duckling”, has many “cliques” within it. The ducks at the pond and where he was born are two cliques that he first has contact with. Along his journey he meets three more cliques that are all judgmental and all treat him differently. The animals that he ends up meeting at the old woman’s house treat him different because he does not act like they do. At the lake the humans are a clique because they acknowledge his beauty and they are different from him as well. Finally the last clique is the swans that he is now a part of. He is treated like he belongs and he does belong with his true family.
Authors mostly relate stories to themselves and what they grew up with. The author of this story, Hans Christan Andersen relates what the duck is based on from his own experiences. Andersen was born as a peasant and he was excluded out of society. Just as the ugly duckling was, Hans had to journey on his own through life and learn the ways of the world on his own. He finally found his place in his writing where he could express himself freely. He makes us look more sharply at daily life through the window of his imagination through his own experience. Hans expressed his emotions, flashes of humor, and