Little Red Riding Hood Research Paper
Little Red Riding Hood
Melissa Lowery
ENG 125
David Moskowitz
December 1, 2011
Little Red Riding Hood
The theme of Little Red Riding Hood, or the idea that lies behind the story of the tale, is of a young woman in danger of losing her innocence. The young woman’s innocence is threatened by the wolf, which is symbolic for a man. The wolf tries to keep Red Riding Hood away from others on her path to grandma’s house so he can get her alone. As the wolf tries to stay two steps ahead of her, he beats her to grandma’s house, eats grandma, which is symbolic for her protector of her innocence, and climbs into bed. As Red Riding Hood climbs into bed with “grandma”, her innocence is all but lost. Gigi & Todd (2011)
The plot of this short story is the stalking of the wolf of a young woman known as Little Red Riding Hood. As soon as the wolf sets sights on her, he is obsessed with having her. He does all things possible to make sure he can get Red Riding Hood alone. The wolf struggles to keep everyone away from Red Riding Hood for fear they will warn her of him. He knows what he has to do to get her alone, and runs ahead of her to get ready to dispose of …show more content…
grandma.
It all leads up to the climactic part of Red Riding Hood climbing into bed with the wolf.
There are many symbolisms to this story. The start of the story was Little Red Riding Hood’s mom telling her to “stay on the path”. Clugston, R. W. (2010). This symbolizes her mother trying to keep her child from straying and from making
mistakes.
As she leaves her home, she is noticed by the wolf immediately. The wolf symbolizes the man that is trying to take Red Riding Hood’s innocence. The wolf or man is trying to get Red Riding Hood away from the woodcutters, symbolic for other suitors. The wolf wants Red Riding Hood all for himself. As the wolf runs ahead of her to grandma’s house, you realize grandma is the symbolism of the last protection for her innocence. As Red Riding Hood climbs into bed with the big bad wolf, she is eaten all up, which is symbolic for the man took her innocence. Clugston, R. W. (2010).
Having such a climatic plot and the many symbolisms helps the narrator to get the theme the author intended across. When you are reading Little Red Riding Hood, you can almost hear the narrator as Red Riding Hood climbs into bed with the wolf. Studying the true meaning and intention of this short story and knowing the theme behind it makes the objective third person narrative easy to follow with the story as well as the characters.
Resources
Perrault, C. (1697) Histoires ou Contes du TempsPasse` Gigi,T & Todd, A. (2011) Marvels and Tales Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Melissa Lowery
ENG 125
David Moskowitz
December 1, 2011
Little Red Riding Hood
The theme of Little Red Riding Hood, or the idea that lies behind the story of the tale, is of a young woman in danger of losing her innocence. The young woman’s innocence is threatened by the wolf, which is symbolic for a man. The wolf tries to keep Red Riding Hood away from others on her path to grandma’s house so he can get her alone. As the wolf tries to stay two steps ahead of her, he beats her to grandma’s house, eats grandma, which is symbolic for her protector of her innocence, and climbs into bed. As Red Riding Hood climbs into bed with “grandma”, her innocence is all but lost. Gigi & Todd (2011)
The plot of this short story is the stalking of the wolf of a young woman known as Little Red Riding Hood. As soon as the wolf sets sights on her, he is obsessed with having her. He does all things possible to make sure he can get Red Riding Hood alone. The wolf struggles to keep everyone away from Red Riding Hood for fear they will warn her of him. He knows what he has to do to get her alone, and runs ahead of her to get ready to dispose of …show more content…
grandma.
It all leads up to the climactic part of Red Riding Hood climbing into bed with the wolf.
There are many symbolisms to this story. The start of the story was Little Red Riding Hood’s mom telling her to “stay on the path”. Clugston, R. W. (2010). This symbolizes her mother trying to keep her child from straying and from making
mistakes.
As she leaves her home, she is noticed by the wolf immediately. The wolf symbolizes the man that is trying to take Red Riding Hood’s innocence. The wolf or man is trying to get Red Riding Hood away from the woodcutters, symbolic for other suitors. The wolf wants Red Riding Hood all for himself. As the wolf runs ahead of her to grandma’s house, you realize grandma is the symbolism of the last protection for her innocence. As Red Riding Hood climbs into bed with the big bad wolf, she is eaten all up, which is symbolic for the man took her innocence. Clugston, R. W. (2010).
Having such a climatic plot and the many symbolisms helps the narrator to get the theme the author intended across. When you are reading Little Red Riding Hood, you can almost hear the narrator as Red Riding Hood climbs into bed with the wolf. Studying the true meaning and intention of this short story and knowing the theme behind it makes the objective third person narrative easy to follow with the story as well as the characters.
Resources
Perrault, C. (1697) Histoires ou Contes du TempsPasse` Gigi,T & Todd, A. (2011) Marvels and Tales Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.