Question

Read the excerpt from "How the Grimm Brothers Saved the Fairy Tale." This first edition is wholly unlike the so-called definitive edition of 1857. In the process of publishing seven different editions over forty years, the Grimms made vast changes in the contents and style. The stories in the first edition are closer to the oral tradition than the tales of the final, which can be regarded more as a literary collection, because Wilhelm, the younger brother, continually honed the tales so that they would resonate with a growing literary public. Their books would become second in popularity only to the Bible in German-speaking lands. By the twentieth century, they would become the most famous collection of folk and fairy tales in the western world. What is the author's purpose in writing this paragraph? to entertain the reader with tales from the Grimms' youth to convince the reader that the Grimms' books are popular to inform the reader of the reasons for the differences between editions to explain the roles of famous folk and fairy tales in the Western world

Answer 1

The answer is: to inform the reader of the reasons for the differences between editions.

The author is presenting here a brief and condensed history of the tales written by the Grimm brothers and making it known to the reader that the reasons for their work having as much as seven editions is that throughout their lifetimes, the Grimm brothers strived to achieve a product of a higher literary quality that could resonate more vividly amongst their literary public, which they seem to have accomplished successfully since their stories were only second in popularity to the Bible in Germany.

Answer 2

The author's purpose in writing this paragraph is to inform the reader of the reasons for the differences between editions given the fact that the Grimm brothers, specially the younger one, wanted to change and perfect the original tales in their style to a more suitable public regarding literature back then.