Little Red Riding Hood Notes
Tatar says the multiplicity of readings makes interpretation difficult. Why? (8)
A very interesting example of a specific reader-audience relationship is offered in Angela Carter’s anecdote about her own grandmother’s version of the story (9). How does her story demonstrate the complicated nature of moving from the oral to the written tradition, of understanding what a story “means.”
What is the “prohibition” motif often found at the beginning of fairy tales? How does the prohibition affect the narrative? the moral?
What is pedagogy of fear? How does this attempt to regulate behavior?
Does LRRH fit the weak protagonist/strong antagonist model? Is this a battle of the sexes? Who’s who? What does this say about each sex? (See Tatar, 7) Does the wolf suffer from womb envy? Is this a story about rape? About good men and bad men?
Tatar suggests that the story “lost more than it gained in making the transition from adult oral entertainment to literary fare for children” (6). Discuss the intended audience for the Briffaults’ version, “The Story of Grandmother.” Is this story for adults only? Why?
Are any of the versions funny? Which ones? What scenes? Why?
How is Goldflower in “Goldflower and the Bear” a trickster figure? What does this say about the relationship between people and nature? How is this relationship different from LRRH in Grimm? How does the relationship continue to change (e.g., Dahl)?
Shavit (“The Concept of Childhood and Children’s Folktales: Test Case—‘Little Red Riding Hood’”) offers a concise presentation of the development of childhood and the role literature and education play in this development. He also notes how stories evolved, from oral tales intended for adult entertainment to instructive tales for children. Summarize this development. What does J.R. Townsend mean when he says, “Before there could be children’s books, there had to be children—children, that is, who were accepted as beings with their own particular needs and interests, not only as miniature men and women” (317). Choose any three different tales from Tatar and discuss how fairy tales have evolved. Select a traditional tale, a contemporary retelling (not necessarily the same tale), and an imitative tale. How do the tales help us understand the history of children’s literature? What is our responsibility as adults, as educators? In his essay “Yours, Mine, Ours?” Donald Hasse asks, “Why does it matter at all to whom fairy tales belong?” (360). Do you agree with his response? Why?