Brent has a Ph.D. in American culture, specializing in cinema studies, from the University of Michigan. She is a freelance writer and teaches courses in American cinema. In the following essay, she discusses the allegorical significance of the morals of the story.

One of the elements of the fairy tale that gives it lasting and universal appeal is that the events of the story occur within a universe of clearly defined values, in which good always triumphs over evil and virtues are rewarded with material and personal riches. Calvino's retelling of the Italian folk tale "The Feathered Ogre," in his 1956 collection, Italian Folk Tales, demonstrates the values of loyalty, self-sacrifice, bravery, courage, generosity, amiability, cleverness, good deeds, and integrity. In the following essay, the ways in which the hero of the story embodies these values, which result in the stamping out of evil forces and the...