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Litte Red Riding Hood

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Litte Red Riding Hood
Bettelheim thinks outside the box when talking about Little Red Riding Hood and all the

other different versions that have been written. Bettelheim explains how Brother Grim’s story,

Little Red Cap had become one of the most popular fairy tales. Perrault is then introduced where

each story begins like all other well known versions such as how the grandmother had made her

granddaughter a little red riding hood or cap. This part of the story led to the little girl’s name.

We learn that Perrault wanted not only to entertain but to teach a moral lesson with each of his

tales. Much of the reason why Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood” loses much of its appeal

because it is so obvious that his wolf is not a rapacious beast but a metaphor. This leaves little to

the imagination of the reader, giving the story no personal meaning. Perrault makes everything as

explicit as possible. LIttle Red Riding Hood is changed from a naive, attractive young girl who

does not listen to her mother and enjoys herself in what she things is nothing doing anything

wrong and hen becomes a fallen woman. Brother Grimm has two versions of this fairy tale and

both can be compared to Hansel and Gretel. In these versions Little Red Cap is struggling with

pubertal problems but she is more mature than Hansel and Gretel. LIttle Red cap in symbolic

form projects the girl into the dangers of her conflicts during puberty. The reason why LIttle Red

Cap is loved by all because although she is virtuous she is tempted. Her fate tells us that trusting

everybody’s good intentions can leave others to be hurt. Bettelheim says that there are two

versions of men in the tale; the seducer (wolf) who brings out the bad in people and then there’s the good guy (hunter) who is the hero and saves the little girl and her grandmother. Bettelheim

overall shares with us the truer meaning behind small actions that took place. in the end of each

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