Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Dahl's Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf
I was most captivated by Roald Dahl’s version, called Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. When I researched it, I discovered that it was published in 1982 as part of a book called Revolting Rhymes. Dahl wrote the poem as a joke and did not even mean for it to be published. I believe that his target audience is children. This is due to the fact that his story rhymes, and the fact that it has a happy ending. The way he presents this classic fairy tale makes it entertaining, but also it conveys morals and lifestyles of the time. Because Little Red Riding Hood pulls a pistol out and kills the wolf, I know that during the time this was written, children were seen as more independent and capable of learning. Using Shavit’s method, I think that this tale was not used for amusement, like children or for education of children, but as a demonstration that children are now able to protect themselves.
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It seems to me that since your research showed that Dahl did not mean for the poem to be published then maybe his target audience wasn't children, but instead his close friends and himself. I do agree that one of the points of the story is to show that children are independent and resourceful.
ReplyDeleteSince you argue that this story, using Shavit's method, was used as a demonstration that children are now able to protect themselves, it was primarily directed towards adults.
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