Get The Little Match Girl from Amazon.com
Order our The Little Match Girl Study Guide
Pages 1 - 12
Free Quiz
Symbols and Symbolism
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Pictures of Sweden
Stories from Hans Andersen
The Little Match Girl Themes & Motifs
This Study Guide consists of approximately 15 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Little Match Girl.
Andersen's exploration of the theme of poverty serves to demonstrate the difficult lives of underprivileged people, and it serves to show the misfortune that they experience on a daily basis. Andersen uses various techniques, such as descriptive language, symbolism, and character development to exemplify these ideas.
Andersen uses descriptive language at the beginning of the story encapsulate the extent of the little girl's poverty. One of the first descriptions of the little girl is that she is "bareheaded and barefoot" (4). Since it is a freezing winter night in this scene, the fact that the girl has no headwear or footwear shows that she does not have basic things needed to survive in the winter. The lack of fundamental protection from the elements shows that the girl is in a state of extreme poverty.
Another example of Andersen's narration highlighting the girl's poverty...
More summaries and resources for teaching or studying The Little Match Girl.
The Little Match Girl from BookRags. (c)2021 BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved.