Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf by Roald Dahl - Book Report/Review Example

?Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf from Roald Dahl’s Introduction Roald Dahl, in his poem, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, has presented the new image of a woman who is no more led by the moralizing world outside her but by her own will and fearlessness. The author has put forward a subtle and mocking criticism of the mainstream social discourse that created a story of the kind of Little Red Riding Hood. Virtues that were seen as adorable and appropriate in a girl, or a woman, like obedience and keeping oneself to safe paths, have been thrown away by the Riding Hood of Dahl. Consequently, she is able to be a mistress of her own, daring all kinds of situations, without outside help. She is also seen seen stripping herself of the “silly” red riding hood that was presented to her by an over-protective society (Dahl, 40). She is depicted as a young woman who has finally got rid of her self-image of vulnerability, imposed upon her by the society. Dahl has peripherally sticked to the original version of the story of Little Red Riding Hood until by the end. But by imparting the authorship of restoration to Little Red Riding Hood herself, he (Dahl) has banished the outside help that came to rescue her in the original story (40). The uniqueness of this story unlike many other popular fairy tales is in that it has always been open to new interpretations. There are many versions of the story already available and Dahl's attempt at a new interpretation hence seems to be becoming of the spirit of the story. Dahl has begun his story from the middle without introducing the heroine, Little Red Riding Hood (36). It is the wolf instead who takes center stage of the narrative (Dahl, 36). The story is reversed in an act mindful of the time that has passed since the story was first told. In other words, Dahl seems to believe that it is high time Little Red Riding Hood realizes the betrayal of the wolf and be prepared to handle it. So she is seen redrafting her original queries to the wolf once she arrives at her grand mother's hut (Dahl, 40). Parallel to this, it can be seen that the villainy of the wolf did not get updated in time (Dahl, 40). He is practicing his centuries old trick while Little Red Riding Hood has grown into the self-confident lass that the author meets later in the woods (Dahl, 40). The author (Dahl) has used Little Red Riding Hood material as a metaphor that tells the story of the empowerment of modern woman. She is once and for all breaking the stereotyped molds that the society has been putting her in since centuries (Dahl). She turns to be a little surprise for all as to the author (Dahl) of the story and he says, “But what a change! No cloak of red, No silly hood upon her head.” (40). Dahl has also got rid of the moralizing elements of the story-the dictate of the mother that the girl should not talk to strangers, and that she should not stray from her path. In Dahl's version, it does not matter whether Little Red Riding Hood talked to strangers on the way or whether she strayed a little from the forest path and picked some wild flowers. Windling has opined that this story, now told as a “cautonary tale”, meant to be a warning to the girls who disobeyed their parents' advice, had originally been a tale of “female initiative and maturation.” Windling has explained how this story was meant to be one of female initiation into sexual experiences. He has added that in the “Victorian middle-class” anxieties turned this tale into a moralizing one that tells how led by her own “sensual drives”, Little Red Riding Hood fails to obey her mothers' cautions and nearly looses her “virtue”. On the other hand, in Dahl's tale, it might have been these very sensual experiences of straying from the prescribed path that could have given her the courage to put three bullets into the wolf's head, in the end (Dahl, 40). Dahl's Riding Hood is a woman who has sexual freedom and fearlessness. As Windling noted, in the original story, the wolf is a ware wolf, who can take on the shape of man as well as wolf and this is an indication that the story has an undercurrent of sexuality and the fear associated with that. Many folk tales of the West being about the are wolf scare, it can be assumed that every girl in her puberty in those times might have feared and all the same could have been tempted by the ware wolf myth. Dahl has not felt it necessary to delve deep on this aspect as he got rid of the stripping episode of Little Red Riding Hood in his version. He (Dahl) instead has presented a Red Riding Hood who devours the wolf and makes herself a coat out of its skin (40). In this stunning reversal of the basic theme, Dahl has presented a woman who has conquered her sexuality. The wolf is presented by Dahl as a simpleton who sticked to the same path for centuries along (36-40). He is surprised to hear Little Red Riding Hood tell him words that were not in the original text (Dahl, 40). She takes him by surprise and he does not even get the time to introspect about the whole turn of events. There is a joking tone to the whole narrative when Dahl retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The wolf is seen going to grand mother's house when he felt hungry as if he were going to a restaurant (Dahl, 36). He seems to be so sure about the forthcoming events (Dahl, 36). Dahl has a mocking reprimand in stock for the original unknown author of the story who told that story in such a way that reader gets confused whether the wolf grand mother along with her clothes or not (36). This confusion arises because after eating grand mother, the wolf is seen to have put on her clothes. Hence, Dahl adds a clarification in the bracket, “Of course he hadn't eaten those” imparting a smile to the readers' lips (36). The humor that spices up Dahl's narrative is in a sense, the fulfillment of a need to seek relief when engrossed with such a gross tale. The re-telling of the story thus becomes an act of escape devised by the author from the gross realities of life. Conclusion The fact that in Dahl's version, Little Red Riding Hood takes her destiny into her own hands and does not wait helplessly for outside help to arrive, has changed the basic meaning of the story. The moral behind the story is thrown away as it represented only the vestiges of a male-dominated past. Indeed there is still an ending that pleases the reader, who always wish the villains to be slain, but this is also an ending that leaves the protector-male waiting outside, to rescue her from the fangs of the wolf, a little bit disappointed. In this manner, Dahl is taking back the story towards its roots, its original complexities. Works Cited Dahl, Roald, “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf”, Revolting Rhymes, London: Puffin, 1995. Print. Windling, Terri, “The Path of Needles or Pins: Little Red Riding Hood”, endicott-studio, 2004. Web. 30 September 2012. Read More