Ever Since Humans Gained the Ability of Higher Thought People Have Been Creating and Telling Stories

English 12 Final Essay Choice 1

Ever since humans gained the ability of higher thought people have been creating and telling stories. These stories are passed on from one generation to the next and at some point become more than stories; they become tradition, culture, and history. Long after the original writers or creators of the stories are dead and all but forgotten, the stories remain and become a legacy. With each year that passes by the stories grow, they are modified or retold a different way, and as they grow those stories become more rooted in the cultures of those who share them.

Fairytales are some of the most widespread and evident stories in cultures; they manage to catch the interest of almost all readers, and have grown far more than the average story. One such beloved fairytale is “Little Red Riding Hood,” which has seen many different authors and titles throughout its existence.

The story of Little Red Riding Hood began as tales told to children, passed on through word of mouth alone. The first written version, which has come to represent the oldest and original story, was “Little Red Riding Hood” by Charles Perrault. The tale followed the characteristics of all fairytales; a handful of characters, a simple and short storyline, and a lesson to be learned. The characters were: a young and pretty girl known only as Little Red Riding

Hood, a wolf that had the ability to speak, and an old and sickly grandmother of Red. The tale mentioned Red’s mother and woodsmen briefly, but their only purpose was to guide the story, they did not significantly interact within the story. The story began with Red’s mother sending

Red to her grandmother’s home with cake and butter; this was the only role the mother played in the story. On the path Little Red met a hungry wolf. Being a child uneducated about the evils and dangers of the world, Red told the wolf information which she should not have shared with strangers. She told the wolf that she was going to her grandmother’s house, where the house was, who she was, and that she was bringing her grandmother cake and butter. The wolf would later

English 12 Final Essay Choice 1 use this information to satisfy his hunger, by eating Grandmother and Little Red. He did not eat

Red during their initial meeting because there were woodsmen nearby, who would hear the attack and come kill him. The wolf then traveled directly to the grandmother’s house, while Red took a roundabout route and was sidetracked by flowers and butterflies. The wolf tricked the grandmother into letting him in by pretending to be Little Red, immediately he ate her. The wolf dressed in Grandmother’s clothes and got into bed, when Red arrived he pretended to be

Grandmother. Red undressed and got into bed with him, for she did not realize that she was not speaking with her grandmother. Upon being so close to the wolf, Red began to realize that the creature she was in bed with was not her grandmother. This realization was illustrated to the readers through Red questioning parts of the wolf’s body, finishing with the teeth. The wolf then ate Little Red Riding Hood, concluding the tale. The lesson to be learned was that children should not speak with strangers, because they could be wolves in one way or another, and that doing so will result in tragedy and personal harm. Another more subtle message was that children should stay on the path set by their parents, taking an alternate route or becoming distracted will lead to misfortune. Being the original story of “Little Red Riding Hood,” this version set the tone and ideals for the rest. Them being that children are vulnerable when they give up information to strangers, and that there is not always a happy ending or savior, sometimes a mistake results in a deadly consequence (Perrault).

Shortly after the original documentation another similar version arose called “Little Red

Cap” wrote by the Grimm Brothers. This tale had the same characters as the original; but changed the name of Little Red Riding Hood to Little Red Cap, and changed the character of a protector from woodsmen to a huntsman. The storyline follows that of the originals for the most part, with minor changes throughout and with a largely differing ending. In this version the

English 12 Final Essay Choice 1 mother specifically told Red to stay on the path and to not become distracted, instead to go straight to Grandmother’s house. The wolf convinces Red to stray from the path and pick flowers, instead of Red doing so on her own as in the original. Red also becomes greedy with the flowers, always seeing one that was prettier than the last that she must pick before moving on.

The end follows the original, where the grandmother and Red are eaten, but then continues with an additional two paragraphs. The wolf falls asleep in the bed and snores, a huntsman walks by and knowing that the snores do not come from the grandmother enters to find the wolf. The huntsman proceeds to cut the wolf open with scissors, saving the grandmother and Little Red.

Red Cap then fills the wolf with stones, causing the wolf to die when he awoke and tried to run away. The grandmother, huntsman, and Red immediately begin to celebrate and return to normal activities. The grandmother drinks the wine and eats the cake, the huntsman takes the wolf pelt, and Red thinks about how she will never stray off the path her mother told her to take again. The lesson is closely related to the originals, being that children should stick to the path given by their parents. Another theme relates to greed, showing that greed leads to one’s downfall. Red became greedy with the flowers; consequently she was eaten and nearly died. The wolf was also greedy; he ate both Grandmother and Red, and took a nap in the house. This resulted in his death rather than him escaping. The ideals mimic those of the originals but to less of an extreme; Red is vulnerable when she made the mistake of trusting a stranger, but later shows strength by killing the wolf. The story also displays consequences for mistakes, but that they can be rectified and that life can continue. This is shown through Red being eaten but being saved, and continuing life with a better understanding of the world and learning a lesson from the experience (Grimm).

English 12 Final Essay Choice 1

A French story called “The Grandmother” is another version of “Little Red Riding

Hood.” The characters are a young girl, her grandmother, a speaking cat, and a bzou (werewolf).

Strangely there is no mention of the girl wearing red clothing in this tale. The plot follows that of

“Little Red Riding Hood” for the most part. Minor changes occur throughout, such as the wording and language being more direct and modern sounding compared to the elegance of the oldest versions. The wolf tricks the girl into eating her grandmother and drinking her blood by telling her that it is meat and wine. The talking cat is introduced at this point, criticizing the girl for eating her grandmother by calling her a slut. The story mentions tobacco, suggesting the time period of this version, and the wolf has the girl throw her clothes piece by piece into the fire, remarking that she will not need them anymore. The girl enters the bed the wolf is in and when she realizes it is not her grandmother escapes being eaten by going to the outhouse and running away. The story finishes with the girl reaching home just before the werewolf catches up to her.

The theme is the same as Perrault’s version, children should not talk to strangers because they could mean children harm. The ideals are what drastically are changed in this story; the girl does not seem vulnerable and negative consequences fail to appear. She escapes the wolf, returns home safely, and no harm befalls her either physically or mentally despite her eating

Grandmother. The tale also incorporates sexual references not present in previous versions.

Examples being: the girl undressing being a significant section of the text, the cat calling the girl a slut, and the girl getting into bed with the werewolf (“The Grandmother”).

The more recent variations of “Little Red Riding Hood” lend a completely new perspective to the tale and emphasize themes unseen in previous versions. One newer version which shows this modern shift in ideals is “The Little Girl and The Wolf” by James Thurber. The entire story consists of two short paragraphs. The only characters are a wolf and a little girl. This

English 12 Final Essay Choice 1 version does not include the characters of Grandmother and a protector of some kind; instead the little girl protects herself. The girl meets the wolf while traveling to her grandmother’s house, as is the usual progression in most versions. The story differs from the traditional versions extremely in the second paragraph. When upon entering her grandmother’s house the little girl realizes that it is the wolf in the bed and pulls a gun out of her basket, then shoots the wolf to death. The moral of the tale is that little girls and children in general are not as easy to trick in today’s society. Another theme is that children are more educated about the dangers strangers present and are more equipped to deal with potentially harmful situations as a result. This tale corresponds to the ideal that strangers can be dangerous and should not be trusted. The modern interpretation of the fairytale of “Little Red Riding Hood” by James Thurber contradicts the idea that children are defenseless, instead showing that children are resourceful and dangerous in their own unique way (Thurber).

Another modern rendition of “Little Red Riding Hood,” that is closely related to

Thurber’s tale, is the poem, “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf” by Roald Dahl. The characters are simply Grandmamma, the Wolf, and Little Red Riding Hood. The plot follows the same pattern as Thurber’s story; where the wolf eats Grandmamma, waits for Red pretending to be Grandmamma, and then Red recognizing that it is the Wolf in her grandmother’s bed and shooting the Wolf dead. The major difference when compared to Thurber’s fairytale is that this poem has a lighter, almost comic tone. The tone is accomplished through rhyming, which alone lightens the mood, and comic reliefs. Some comic reliefs include the Wolf brushing his hair to look similar to Grandmamma, the Wolf remarking that Red will taste like caviar, and the Wolf telling Red that she was wrong when she said, “But Grandma, what a lovely great big

English 12 Final Essay Choice 1 furry coat you have on” (Dahl) instead of the distinguishing “Grandmother, what big teeth you have got” (Perrault). This poem shares the same themes that Thurber’s short tale includes, but also adds a theme regarding the transition from childhood to adulthood. Little Red in Dahl’s poem only wears a wolf pelt coat after killing the Wolf, instead of wearing her signature red hood. This symbolizes a change from childhood to adulthood; the experience with the Wolf acts as a rite of passage. The ideals, or essence, of the poem compared to those of the original tales follows the same design as Thurber’s rendition (Dahl).

All these versions of “Little Red Riding Hood” represent only a handful out of the overwhelming flood of different alterations to the fairytale. There exist many benefits to reading as many versions of the story as possible; ranging from pure enjoyment to learning more about the history of human culture. From the vast and long history of this tale a great deal of information can be gained about the values and beliefs of the people from the time. One can come to understand which themes are stressed and common, along with the elements which make up the story, through the repetition of those themes and elements in various representations. In “Little Red Riding Hood” most versions include a red cape, cloak, or hood; some believe that the red symbolizes a sexual openness of the girl. This viewpoint is shown in the versions of “The Grandmother” and John Connolly’s “The Woodsman’s First Tale” from his novel The Book of Lost Things. Another interpretation of the red is that it is simply used because red is a bold color, it stands out. Also red flows with the word choice, Little Magenta Riding

Hood would not flow for example. The original story, Perrault’s version, has Little Red being eaten by the wolf; the red acts as foreshadowing of blood. The other element that characterizes a story to be a version of “Little Red Riding Hood” is the section containing, “Grandmother, what big teeth you have got! All the better to eat you up with,” or some modification of it (Perrault).

English 12 Final Essay Choice 1

The theme that is repeated in all tales of “Little Red Riding Hood” is that strangers could mean children harm and to avoid misfortune children should not interact with strangers. The way this theme is addressed, and the other messages each rendition provides tells information about the ideals and beliefs of society at the time. The oldest versions show that at the time people believed that children needed to be scared into obedience in order to protect them. This message was shown through Little Red being eaten by the wolf, along with the emphasis that disobeying her mother directly influenced her fate (Perrault). Slightly newer variations of the tale show the change in society’s attitude regarding children. From one of scaring to protect, to one of shielding from the world and preserving childhood. This belief is displayed by the introduction of a protecting figure that ends up saving Little Red from the big bad wolf (Grimm). The modern day renditions of “Little Red Riding Hood” reflect present views which differ greatly from person to person. Some believe that children should obey their parents and that scaring children into submission is the best way to protect them. This is illustrated by parents who spank their children. Others think that children should be shielded from the horrors in the world with the hope to preserve innocence and childhood. This perspective is shown by the expanding use of censorship. An unseen before modern viewpoint is that children are not ignorant to their surroundings and the true nature of the world. A theme that children and girls are not defenseless, that big men do not need to save everyone all the time. This opinion is supported by the stories where Red saves herself from the wolf (Dahl, Thurber).

Humanity is fascinated with fairytales, as is evident by the numerous alterations to each story. Fairytales being short and simple, black and white, adds to their popularity. People are more comfortable with good versus evil than with complex questions about morality. Humans find enjoyment in exploring human nature, and in learning a lesson while reading a tale which

English 12 Final Essay Choice 1 supports their already forged morals and sense of right from wrong. These elements are found in fairytales, they are the souls of the fairytales that everything else is built upon. Fairytales are interesting and capture human culture because they give life to adventure, magic, and purpose; components that most humans, or at least children, yearn for in life. Fairytales have lasted for such a long period of history because humans are predisposed to habits, to traditions. Parents form habits of reading fairytales to their children before bed, and in doing so start traditions that will last generations. Those parents’ children grow up and look back with fondness regarding those precious memories with their parents, they experience nostalgia. And so when those adults have children they read fairytales to their sons and daughters before sleep; and the cycle repeats, over and over for an unmeasurable amount of time. Fairytales become culture in this fashion, for culture is only a collection of traditions.