No More Sweet Red Riding Hood
Nerissa Sykes
Crystal O’Neal
English 1102
28 February 2013
No More Sweet Red Riding Hood
In the past, fairytales were intended mostly for children to learn morals and meanings to things. These fairytales also always ended with a happy ending. As time passed these fairytales have been altered and expanded in ways that draw from what a fairytale really is. Many have argued that these new adaptions of the fairytales have corrupted our children. Others on the other hand, gave reasoning on how these new interpretations can be beneficial to the older crowd. Let’s take “Little Red Riding Hood” for an example. This fairytale as well has been changed consistently in history and have multiple adaptions. These changes and adaptions have led to a lot of questioning and critical responses which opens up a broader and deeper meaning of the original story line. The authors talk about how the new versions incorporate sex, how society can be a big factor in the new changes of the story and even portray violence.
Greenhill compares the original version to a newer version which uses the girl as a sex symbol instead of the innocent country girl. She talks about how in the original story the girl is supposed to be scared of the wolf but instead the girl is not afraid when she sees the wolf. The girl takes off her clothes and hops in the bed with the wolf knowing that her grandmother is gone where in the original version the girl and the grandmother are saved. Greenhill claims that this new plot exposes an inappropriate view for children and contradicts the original story which takes away from the traditional fairy tale. Swyt uses Angela Carter’s version of “Little Red Riding Hood” to also prove how the little girl is used as a sex symbol. She claims that the girl in Angela Carter’s Company of Wolves is supposed to show how the girl is becoming a woman and how the male is more dominant. This is shown when instead of being food for the wolf like in the original plot; the girl is
Crystal O’Neal
English 1102
28 February 2013
No More Sweet Red Riding Hood
In the past, fairytales were intended mostly for children to learn morals and meanings to things. These fairytales also always ended with a happy ending. As time passed these fairytales have been altered and expanded in ways that draw from what a fairytale really is. Many have argued that these new adaptions of the fairytales have corrupted our children. Others on the other hand, gave reasoning on how these new interpretations can be beneficial to the older crowd. Let’s take “Little Red Riding Hood” for an example. This fairytale as well has been changed consistently in history and have multiple adaptions. These changes and adaptions have led to a lot of questioning and critical responses which opens up a broader and deeper meaning of the original story line. The authors talk about how the new versions incorporate sex, how society can be a big factor in the new changes of the story and even portray violence.
Greenhill compares the original version to a newer version which uses the girl as a sex symbol instead of the innocent country girl. She talks about how in the original story the girl is supposed to be scared of the wolf but instead the girl is not afraid when she sees the wolf. The girl takes off her clothes and hops in the bed with the wolf knowing that her grandmother is gone where in the original version the girl and the grandmother are saved. Greenhill claims that this new plot exposes an inappropriate view for children and contradicts the original story which takes away from the traditional fairy tale. Swyt uses Angela Carter’s version of “Little Red Riding Hood” to also prove how the little girl is used as a sex symbol. She claims that the girl in Angela Carter’s Company of Wolves is supposed to show how the girl is becoming a woman and how the male is more dominant. This is shown when instead of being food for the wolf like in the original plot; the girl is
Cited: Greenhil, Pauline, and Steven Kohm. "Little Red Riding Hood And The Pedophile In Film: Freeway, Hard Candy, And The Woodsman." Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures 1.2 (2009): 35-65. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Feb. 2013. Swyt, Wendy. "`Wolfings ': Angela Carter 's Becoming-Narrative." Studies In Short Fiction 33.3 (1996): 315. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Feb. 2013. Benson, Stephen. "Red Riding Hood And The Wolf In Bed: Modernism 's Fairy Tales." Marvels & Tales 23.1 (2009): 185-188. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Feb. 2013. Raufman, Ravit, and Rachel Ben-Cnaan. "Red Riding Hood: Text, Hypertext, And Context In An Israeli Nationalistic Internet Forum." Journal Of Folklore Research 46.1 (2009): 43- 66. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Feb. 2013. Preston, Cathy. "Recycling Red Riding Hood." Marvels & Tales 21.2 (2007): 300-302. Literary Reference Center. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. Barthelmess, Thom. "The Girl In Red." Horn Book Magazine 89.1 (2013): 96-97. Literary Reference Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. Setoodeh, Ramin. "Not Your Grandma 's 'Red Riding Hood '." Newsweek 157.10 (2011): 48. Middle Search Plus. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.