Little Red- Lauren Imelio
The story of “Little Red Riding Hood” is a classic fairytale that has been around for years. Depending on the version, there are different struggles that the characters face. These stories are also often told to give the reader a life lesson. These span from staying away from strangers, to the whole “what goes around comes around,” and karma morals. At the end of the day, all versions of “Little Red Riding Hood” share the same general moral to stay away from creepy strangers.
In Charles Perrault’s version of “Little Red Riding Hood,” it is the typical old folklore. This version addresses somewhat real struggles that people face, such as being approached by scary, random people. For example, “As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest. He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, ‘I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother.’” I think it’s obvious that the moral of this version is for girls to stay away from strangers, especially ones who look threatening.
In the “Little Red Hood,” version from Lower Lusatia, there is a twist at the end that ends on a good note. I think it’s obvious to most of us to never tell a stranger where we live, but for some reason Little Red cannot seem to get that through her head. This version adds to the end of the story, where a huntsman comes and rescues Granny and Little Red from the wolves stomach. Karma came back to get the wolf in this version, which could also be the moral behind it. “But Red Hood made haste and fetched large stones, with which they filled the wolf’s maw, and when he woke he wanted to jump up and run away, but the stones were so heavy that he fell on the ground and beat himself to death.” The wolf finally got what was coming for him in this version, which I really liked.
3 Replies to “Little Red- Lauren Imelio”
thoughtful work Lauren
This is a very well written response to the prompt. I liked how you stated the idea of “what comes around goes around” because it’s an easy moral for adults and children to understand and connect with. The two example passages that you gave are good for explaining how a fairy tales moral changes depending on the version that you read, in one Little Red is made to seem foolish but in the second example Little Red was given better characteristics which lead to her outsmarting the wolf.
I liked how you mentioned karma as one of the morals in the Lower Lusatia version of Little Red Riding Hood. I didn’t think of that being a moral until reading your prompt. It totally applies to “Little Red Hood,” because karma did come back and get the wolf. I also liked how you addressed the moral of little girls not talking to creepy strangers. It’s still relevant to society today. It’s interesting how the authors all addressed Little Red Riding Hood as a girl and not a boy. It makes me curious if the authors did that intentionally or subconsciously. Are girls the only ones who need to be worried about talking to strangers? Or should boys be just as worried?