How Old Is Little Red Riding Hood?: Tales Over Time
By Gwen Thurston Joy
Bulletin of Sophia University, Vol.23 (2003)
Photo by Christos Tsoumplekas / Flickr
Introduction: There are numerous popular children’s stories that have deep roots in folk traditions. Storytellers have adapted and retold tales, using both words and illustrations, to entertain and educate both children and adults at different times in many cultures. In this paper, I will discuss some of the ways in which folk tales change using Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Pigs and The Three Bears as examples.
There are countless versions of the three tales that could be explored in this article, so I have selected a few examples of each tale to demonstrate the dramatic differences among them. I have included some versions because they are personal favorites and others because they have been of particular interest to students enrolled in a college course on Western children’s literature I have taught for a few years in Japan. I will focus on the plots of these three tales and the characters that appear in them, as well as a few modern parodies that are based upon the traditional versions.
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The basic plot of any story, especially how it ends, strongly influences the reader and how he or she might respond to a story. For example, the moral of Aesop’s The Grasshopper and the Ants emphasizes the value of work and planning ahead if the fable ends with the ants refusing to give any food to the grasshopper, but shows the importance of compassion and cooperation if it ends with the ants sharing their food with the grasshopper. The same can be said for the moral of Little Red Riding Hood, which changes depending on whether Red and her grandmother are smarter than the wolf and avoid being eaten, if they are eaten by him, or if they are rescued by someone.
Similarly, people may have a different opinion of the third pig in The Three Pigs if he or she boils up the wolf into a delicious stew instead allowing him to run away. In looking at different endings of fables and fairy tales almost all the students I have taught initially say they prefer a “happy ending”. However, class discussions about some of the different versions led some students to reconsider and conclude that the more exciting and dramatic endings can make it possible for children to learn a lesson or moral from a tale, and can even be more appealing.
How Old Is Little Red Riding Hood?: Tales Over Time
By Gwen Thurston Joy
Bulletin of Sophia University, Vol.23 (2003)
Introduction: There are numerous popular children’s stories that have deep roots in folk traditions. Storytellers have adapted and retold tales, using both words and illustrations, to entertain and educate both children and adults at different times in many cultures. In this paper, I will discuss some of the ways in which folk tales change using Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Pigs and The Three Bears as examples.
There are countless versions of the three tales that could be explored in this article, so I have selected a few examples of each tale to demonstrate the dramatic differences among them. I have included some versions because they are personal favorites and others because they have been of particular interest to students enrolled in a college course on Western children’s literature I have taught for a few years in Japan. I will focus on the plots of these three tales and the characters that appear in them, as well as a few modern parodies that are based upon the traditional versions.
The basic plot of any story, especially how it ends, strongly influences the reader and how he or she might respond to a story. For example, the moral of Aesop’s The Grasshopper and the Ants emphasizes the value of work and planning ahead if the fable ends with the ants refusing to give any food to the grasshopper, but shows the importance of compassion and cooperation if it ends with the ants sharing their food with the grasshopper. The same can be said for the moral of Little Red Riding Hood, which changes depending on whether Red and her grandmother are smarter than the wolf and avoid being eaten, if they are eaten by him, or if they are rescued by someone.
Click here to read this article from Sophia University
See also The Earliest Little Red Riding Hood Tale
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