What a Creepy Fairy Tale

Nadine Gordimer uses many elements in Once upon a Time to make it seem as though it is a fairy tale.  The initial set up is very much like a fairy tale, with the characters introduced seem to be living a stereotypical perfect life.  The phrasing of the first line seems to obviously reference fairy tales, beginning, "In a house, in a suburb, in a city, there were a man and his wife who loved each other very much and were living happily ever after," (Gordimer).  They have a secure gated community, a big house with a security system, and trusted people as their cleaning crew.  But under the urging of the husband's mother, who is always referred to as the wise old witch,  and the pressure of the rest of the neighborhood, the family began to fear the horror of the rioters on the outskirts of town and the homeless people that lived around the area.  As the family eventually buys the best security system they have observed in their neighborhood, the comparison of the story to a fairy tale becomes immense.  Many fairy tales have involved witches convincing good people to lock themselves in a tower and separate themselves from the world.  The security system was even named "Dragons Teeth", which is also usually part of the witch's tower story line.  The story ultimately ends in a sad and shocking irony.  Though they built their walls high and installed the best system to keep the rioters out and protect their family, these things actually brought about the death of their son.  This represents the cruelest of dark irony, as the family's fear of their son getting hurt bring their son to death.