“The Story of Grandmother” / Unknown; publ. 1951
Pages 10-11
“Little Red Riding Hood” / Perrault; publ. 1697
Pages 11-13
“Little Red Cap” / Brothers Grimm; publ. 1812
Pages 13-16
“The Little Girl and the Wolf” / James Thurber; publ. 1940
Pages 16-17
“The False Grandmother” / Italo Calvino; first recorded 1883
Pages 17-19
“Goldflower and the Bear” / Chiang Mi; first recorded in 1979
Pages 19-21
“Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf” / Roald Dahl; publ. 1982
Pages 21-22
1. Consider the following quotes:
“The whole point of stories is not 'solutions' or 'resolutions' but a broadening and even heightening of our struggles.”
“Often stories embody the moral contradictions and inconsistencies in our personal lives, and thus give context and meaning to the social and political narratives of society at large.”
--Robert Coles, child psychiatrist, author The Call of Stories
If Coles is right that “the whole point of stories is not 'solutions' or 'resolutions' but a broadening and even heightening of our struggles,” what might stories in the “Little Red Riding Hood” cycle be about? What kinds of human struggles, both real and metaphoric, do these stories address and explore? Refer to specific details from the stories in the cycle in your response.
2. In the introduction to the book, Tatar lays out the debate around the cultural role of fairy tales. She explains, “Some advocate for the recuperation and critique of the classic cannon; others have called for the revival of 'heretical' texts (stories repressed and suppressed from cultural memory) and the formation of a new canon; still others champion rewriting the old tales or inventing new ones” (xiii). She goes on to quote Dworkin who sees fairy tales as imprinting cultural absolutes; Dworkin argues that we take the roles offered in fairy tales as “real identity.”
Unpack this debate given your reading of the Little Red Riding Hood Cycle; what is afforded by these various “tellings” of this story? What are the implications of these tales in terms of identity construction? What roles are offered in the tales for children to imagine? How is this helpful/problematic? Point to specific tales as we think through these ideas.
3. In your opinion, is Red Riding Hood better off following Bugs Bunny home in “What Bugs Bunny Said to Red Riding Hood”? Why or why not? Explain your thinking.