Little Red Riding Hood - January 27th

James Thurber’s version of “Little Red Riding Hood” clearly deviates from the versions of Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. While his version is far shorter and changes a lot of the story in terms of structure and style, the biggest difference is the ending. It supports a different moral to the story than those of Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. The ending, in where the young girl grabs a gun and shoots the wolf dead (a similar to ending to that of Roald Dahl), supports the moral that children are no longer as innocent and naïve as previously believed. They can be cunning and resourceful and, if you are a deceptive wolf, dangerous. Because of this, I believe that this story is predominantly intended for an adult audience. While everyone can find amusement in the twist ending, this story clearly is an attempt to tell adults that children are no longer the young, innocent, and naïve creatures that need to be fully protected from everything. They are capable of learning and adapting very well.

The fairy tale’s retelling by James Thurber (and Roald Dahl) clearly represents a culture that is more modern than those during the times of Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. In the time that Thurber’s version of the fairy tale was written, the status of the child, using Shavit’s method of analysis, had progressed beyond that of amusement and education, towards a more protective and respectful tone. The tone of Thurber’s writing argues that children were no longer seen as agents of amusement for the elite class, or naïve bodies needed to be educated, but as future adults capable of reason and cunning. It can be argued that there is some element of a protective tone in the sense that the young girl has a gun, a tool to protect herself with, by her side. However, I believe the predominant focus of the tale is to represent children as intelligent and clever beings capable of reason. I believe that specific nature of the culture of Thurber’s time influenced his re-telling of the classic fairy tale.

Dr. Sahil Patel