American children everywhere are familiar with the story of Beauty and the Beast. The story has been part of culture for many years, as are many fairy tales. It is read and told to children not just for entertainment but for the moral lessons it offers. What most people don't realize is that there is much more to these stories than just moral values. These hidden messages are a vital part of the culture they come from. Most fairy tales have an underlying meaning that people need to consider and use morals to improve themselves. The moral in Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast serves the same purpose. It shows that beauty comes from within and that good nature and kindness are better than ingenuity. However, the message to never judge a book by its cover has obvious moral value. In this film, Beauty is shown to have strong feelings towards her father. The beauty loves her father and takes on the role of mother by doing household chores and taking care of the man of the house. She is asked for her hand in marriage several times, but she always denies it. When Beauty sees the Beast, she sees him as ugly because she is not ready for a relationship as she still loves her father. It is only when she overcomes her love for her father that she is able to see the Beast as a beautiful prince. Another key aspect of Beauty and the Beast is the class structure. In the Disney film, Bella lives in a town with the rest of the villagers who represent the middle class. The Beast lives in a huge mansion representing the upper class. When the citizens go to attack the Beast's home, it resembles a revolution; the villagers begin to resist the power of the royals. However, at the end of the story, the upper class defeats the middle class. So... middle of paper... marginalized. Belle is a middle-class woman who likes to read and her father is an inventor. It was not the cultural norm for lower-class women to read or receive an education in any way, and the invention of new technologies often led people to fear of the unknown. Gaston, however, was considered the social norm. He is described as rude, arrogant and selfish, but he was seen as the ideal man and, therefore, was acceptable to society. Although Beauty and the Beast is a popular tale of American culture, few actually see the deep moral values ​​in the story. Not all morality is on the surface, in fact very few are. People have to look beneath the surface for many lessons. These lessons are designed to allow people to reflect and improve themselves. While superficial history serves for entertainment, fairy tales also provide timeless lessons.