Identity and Self worth in The Ugly Duckling

Identity and Self-worth in The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling, which was written by Hans Christian Andersen, is a popular and inspiring fairytale. It is a story about a little, ugly duckling that undergoes a transformation into a beautiful white swan. In this story, the little bird known as the Ugly Duckling was born in a barnyard where he was teased about being ugly and plain. As a result, the Ugly Duckling went to live with a flock of geese and ducks until the flock was shot down by hunters. The plain, little bird then went to live with an old woman but does not stay there for long as he was mocked again by the old woman’s cat and hen. He eventually found a flock of swans that accepts, embraces, and treats him like one of them. The little bird realizes that he has transformed into a beautiful swan when looking at his reflection in the lake. This popular story basically entails animal symbolism used to disguise a human story. Since it is essentially a human story, the story highlights the theme of identity and self-worth.

Analysis of The Ugly Duckling

As previously indicated, The Ugly Duckling is a story in which the author utilizes animal symbolism to tell a human story. It is a heart-transformation story in which the animal’s true identity and self-worth are revealed. Using animal symbolism, Andersen demonstrates how a character that is different from its family or environment usually feels alone and struggles to develop a sense of belonging. Generally, stories in which a character struggles to feel a sense of belonging in their own home setting or environment are usually rare. The Ugly Duckling is an example of such a story whose plot involves loneliness, community, and acceptance. These three aspects of the plot are used to demonstrate their impact on a character’s sense of belonging, identity, and self-worth.

The Ugly Duckling demonstrates that loneliness makes it difficult for a character to have a sense of belonging even in a familiar environment. As shown in this story, loneliness is sometimes brought by features of the external environment such as acceptance by others. The Ugly Duckling felt lonely and was forced to run away from his home environment because of being subjected to mockery from his brothers, sisters, birds, and other animals in the firm. Mockery was a symbol of lack of acceptance, which in turn affected the Ugly Duckling’s self -esteem, self-worth, and identity. Therefore, at the core of the Ugly Duckling’s struggles with identity and self-worth was a lack of acceptance in his home environment.

Identity and Self-worth

Identity and self-worth are some of the major themes or insights emerging from The Ugly Duckling. Andersen seemingly utilizes animal symbolism to demonstrate human struggles with identity and self-worth. At the beginning of the story, the Ugly Duckling is a social misfit who is rejected by his family and society. He is mocked for his physical appearance and criticized on grounds that he does not fit in (Ramirez, p.175). In this regard, the Ugly Duckling is told that he must look a certain way as well as conform and behave in a particular way in order to fit in and be accepted. This implies that family and society defined the standards of what is acceptable and beautiful. Anyone or anything that did not fit these standards was not only viewed as a social misfit but also disenfranchised.

This story is akin to the modern-day definition of beauty in relation to family and society standards. Similar to the Ugly Duckling’s home environment, today’s standards of beauty and acceptable behavior as set by society. People who do not fit these standards are subjected to ridicule, constant verbal and/or physical abuse, and mockery just the little bird in this story. In essence, the definition of what is “ugly” is established by societal view and standards about beauty just like in Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling. Society’s definition and standards of beauty shape one’s social relations and have a significant impact on his/her sense of belonging, identity and self-worth. Since the Ugly Duckling did not meet societal definition and standards of beauty, he did not have good relations in the early stages of his life and was not recognized by his family members and peers (Li, p.355).