Red Riding Hood: To Be Chaste or Chased - Essay Example

Red Riding Hood: To Be Chaste or Chased. In this first story of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ by Charles Perrault we read about the girl who is loved dearly by her mother, who gives her a small red hood which later gives her the name ‘Red Riding Hood’. One fine day little red riding hood’s mother requests her to bring some cake and a small pot of butter to her grandmother who has fallen sick. The girl wearing her red cloak sets on her way, however along the path she bumps into a wolf. Unaware that she is in danger little red riding hood reveals all to the cunning wolf , who then persuades her into taking the longer route that leads to her grandmothers house. While the girl takes the longer route, the wolf quickly takes the shorter one and reaches the grandmothers house first. On arrival he disguises his voice as little red riding hoods and makes his way into the grandmother’s room where he devours her immediately. Next, the wolf takes the grandmothers clothes and dresses himself up and slips into her bed. When little red riding hood finally arrives she senses a change in the tone of her grandmother’s voice but regardless continues into the room, there awaits the wolf who gets her into bed with him. Not after long, red riding hood realizes she is in danger but it is too late as the big bad wolf munches on every little piece of her. In this story we see that the wolf symbolizes danger & evil, which can come wearing many disguises. Little red riding hood depicts a young vulnerable girl you without any second thought trusts a stranger. The story indicates that we should not trust strangers because we never know what the outcome may be, good or bad; in this case it resulted in the stranger killing both the grandmother and little red riding hood. Little Red Cap: To Walk The Straight Path The second story begins like the first one we read above, with a girl who is loved by her mother and grandmother. However this version changes when the girl is given a cap instead of a red hood, therefore she becomes known as’ Little Red Riding Cap’. The story follows like the previous one where the grandmother falls ill and the little girl’s mother requests her to bring a cake and some wine to her sick grandmother. Along the way a wolf approaches her and distracts her by showing her the lovely blossomed flowers , which red riding cap decides would be great as a bouquet to give to her grandmother. As a result red riding cap begins picking flowers while the wolf quickly runs to the grandmother’s house. There like the wolf in the previous story disguises his voice as little red riding cap and fools the grandmother into believing it is her granddaughter at the door. When the wolf finds his way in, he devours the grandmother and quickly slips into her clothes. When little red riding cap arrives she doesn’t realize that her grandmother is in fact the wolf and gets into bed with him. Instantly she too gets eaten by the wolf who after satisfying his appetite falls in a deep, relaxing sleep. Nearby, a hunter hears the wolf snoring and wonders how an old lady could snore so loudly. As a result, he decides to go and have a look, in the room he finds the wolf in a deep sleep. He instantaneously takes out his gun to shoot the wolf but stops at the thought that maybe the wolf’s victims might still be alive inside the wolfs stomach. Therefore, the hunter begins piercing through the wolfs stomach with a knife and to his surprise he finds not only the grandmother alive but also red riding cap, who is frightened by the events that had just occurred. To get her revenge little red riding cap fills the wolf’s stomach with stones and stitches it back together. When the wolf awakens he tries his best to escape but he drops dead due to his stomach being so heavy. To celebrate their victory the grandmother and little red riding hood drink the wine and eat the cake while the hunter takes home the wolf’s fur. Once again, on another fine day little red riding cap stumbles into another wolf , however this time the wolf does not succeed in straying red riding cap from her path, in fact the little girl sticks to her path and safely reaches her grandmother’s house. Unfortunately the wolf follows her and there he waits until little red riding cap leaves to make her way back home. However the girl and her grandmother set a trap for the wolf and kill him. Once again in this story the wolf symbolizes pure evil and how we should never trust a stranger. However we see a different red riding hood, as she is more discreet yet still a bit naive and childish. In this story red riding hood is saved by man. This story vividly depicts a girl in the 19th century who needs a manly figure to come and save her. However, at her second chance at life we see that red riding cap has learned from her mistakes, she has become wiser as she doesn’t stray away from her path when speaking with the second wolf. In contrast to the first story we see that this one has a happily ever after, like every fairytale. We see how good can overcome evil, and that we all can learn from our mistakes. A Grandmothers tale In this tale we begin with red riding hood who is on her way to meet her granny. Along the way she comes across an evil bzou, a devil or a werewolf, who questions her about her destination. Upon parting, the bzou takes the road of the ‘pins’ while little red riding hood heads towards her destination on the path of the ‘needles’. The cunning bzou reaches the grandmother’s house first and murders her at once by mincing her flesh and draining her blood into a bottle. Once our killer has murdered the grandmother, he dresses himself with her clothing and waits for his prey to arrive. Not after long, red riding hood arrives and notices something different but disregards her instincts and continues her way towards her grandmother. The mentally perverted bzou, who is dressed up as the grandmother, encourages her to drink the ‘meat’ and ‘wine’ which he has left out for her. Little red riding hood does as she is commanded, unaware of the fact that the meat she is eating is the flesh of her grandmother and the wine her blood. The bzou then forces red riding hood to undress bit by bit until she is naked and then gets her into bed with him. After close observation red riding hood realizes the danger she is in and requests the bzou to let her out as she needs to relieve herself. At first the bzou suggests that she relieves herself in the bed, in which they were both laying. However red riding hood insists and eventually the bzou is left with no other choice but to let her go outside, but before red riding hood could leave, he ties a rope around her ankle to ensure that she does not escape. Once outside little red riding hood ties the rope around a tree and flees from the trap of the perverted bzou. After the long wait the impatient bzou realizes that he had been tricked by the girl. He makes his way quickly towards her home, but arrives a little too late, as little red riding hood had already reached her house safe and sound. In this interpretation of ‘Red Riding Hood’ danger is symbolized not by a wolf but in fact a bzou. In contrast to the stories we have read in the beginning, this one has become more sexually orientated as the bzou is depicted as a pervert and a rapist. In this period we see a change in mind sets as this story has become more gruesome compared to the others. This is evident as the bzou persuades little red riding hood to eat her own grandmothers flesh and drink her blood. However little red riding hood of the 20th century, has become sharper and wiser yet still prone to err. Even though red riding hood blatantly tells all to the bzou, after realizing that she is in danger, she manages to escape the beast herself. Unlike the story we read before, which was written in the 19th century, where red riding cap needed a fatherly figure to save her, here we see that the red riding hood in this story manages to escape herself. Stubbe Peter ‘The trial of Stubbe Peter’ is about a boy who is brought up in Germany and from an early age is inclined towards evil. From practicing evil magic such as necromancy and sorcery, he manages to befriend many spiritual and internal friends. On meeting the devil, who promises to grants Stubbe Peter any wish he desires throughout his mortal years, he requests to be turned into a beast so that he could ‘work his malice on men, women and children’. His wish is granted and he is transformed into a strong, large and beastly wolf. Soon he begins to satisfy his filthy desire by sexually molesting his own daughter, who he then has a child with, and his sister. However Stubbe’s lust for pleasure and blood does not stop there, his desire for sex and violence results in him enticing his own son and then slaying him without any shame or sorrow. Once he is done with killing his own son, to fill his appetite he eats the dead child’s brain. These gruesome and horrific acts continue for nearly over 20 years, where many men, women and children are murdered by the beast. One day when stubby tries to attack a girl who is playing in the meadow amongst other children, his beastly jaws cannot rip into the collar of the child’s coat. Therefore he has no choice but let go of his prey and escape as fast as he can. This story is a very horrific interpretation of the fairytale ‘Red Riding Hood’. The wolf in this story is a beast who eats human flesh left, right and centre. Unlike the other stories where blood and gore are not the central theme of the story and therefore the audience has a chance of recovery, this story revolves around blood, murders and the death of so many innocent characters. Red Hot Riding Hood Red hot riding hood, the video cartoon released in 1943, transformed the classical version of the story into a hilarious little skit, with slight adult overtones. This story starts off with cute little red riding hood skipping through the forest, taking a basket of goodies to her grandma, while a dangerous wolf lurks in the shadows ready to devour her. As the narrator tells us about the same old premise, the wolf pauses the maker’s of the cartoon & threatens that he won’t do the act unless the director does it a new way this time. The wolf is soon accompanied by red riding hood & her grandma in the protest, as all of them are sick and tired of the same old story & want something new. The narrator finally agrees and a new story begins, in a brand new premise, told from a completely different angle. Now little red riding hood is little ‘hot’ red riding hood who happens to be a show-girl at a night club in Las Vegas, grandma lives in a penthouse & the wolf is dressed in a tuxedo. One fine night, the wolf walks into the night club, generally looking for a good time, when our little red bombshell appears on stage & starts performing. This drives the wolf crazy who just can’t control his lust for the woman on the stage. Once the performance is over, the wolf invites little hot riding hood over to his place & promises to give her diamonds as gifts. Our damsel rejects the wolf’s offer & runs away to her grandma’s penthouse, where the wolf follows her as fast as he can. To his surprise, when he reaches grandma’s penthouse, there’s no red riding hood there, instead, there’s just grandma, who happens to find herself aroused by the wolves’ presence in her apartment & comes onto him. The wolf is disgusted by the idea, tries to flee from grandma & ends up falling out a window & hurting himself severely. The last scene of the plays shows the wolf back in the night club waiting for the next performance, when he proclaims that he has had it with women & would rather prefer killing himself before falling prey to any other woman’s charms ever again. Little hot red riding hood appears on stage & begins her performance again. The wolf shoots himself & his spirit cheer’s the performance on. The Waiting Wolf, In The Belly Of The Beast. Linda Sexton’s approach to poetry almost always revolves around a central female character; who is subject to the lust and hunger of other fictional characters. She treats her female characters as though they were edible entities that exist only to be subjected to torture. Having a history of mental disorders Linda’s work has always been inspired by the most gruesome and dangerous aspects of real life. This element of macabre is evident in this rendition of Red Riding Hood written by Linda, as we read passages from the wolves mind as he follows his prey. The poem draws to a conclusion with the wolf having killed grandma, laying in her bed, fantasizing about little red riding hood while waiting for his prize. In this version of Red Riding Hood we can clearly see that the poet has given us the wolf’s point of view. The poem is narrated by the wolf instead of the author, this is in complete contrast to the stories we have read above where the author is the narrator. The prime character in this poem is the wolf himself and the overall atmosphere is one of fear, hopelessness and lust. The company of wolves, she wolf or bitch? In a complete twist on the classic version of red riding hood, this brilliant poem by Roald Dahl, starts off the story with the wolf knocking on grandma’s door. Frozen in fear, Grandma lets the wolf into her home, only to have herself eaten by him in one bit bite. The wolf, hungering for more, decides to put on grandma’s dress & sit in kitchen, waiting for little red riding hood to arrive. In come the little girl in red who stops & stares at the wolf with innocent wonder. She points out the wolf’s big ears & eyes & carries on to describe his ‘big fur coat’, which in actuality is simply the wolf’s own skin. The wolf points out that she has forgotten to mention his teeth & approaches the girl with an intent to eat her alive. It is at this juncture that the story turns into a surprising twist as little red riding hood takes out her pistol & shoots the wolf dead. The poet goes on to point out that he recently came across red riding hood in the forest, wearing no coat of red; instead she was covered in a coat made from wolf’s skin. Red Riding Hood Redux - the cross dressing wolf The wolf is & has always been a central & powerful negative character in Western culture. From paintings, to folklore, this character has defined danger, deceit & cunning beyond all measure. This rendition of the red riding hood tale is set in a modern environment. We read that red riding hoods mother gives her a basket of wine & cake to take to her grandmother who is sick. We are questioned in the poem, "Wine & cake? where’s the aspirin? the penicillin?". This establishes a strong contrast with the classical version of the story, as it leads to reveal that in this version, the wolf manages to eat both, grandma & little red riding hood without any confrontation or sign of remorse, until a huntsman wanders upon the scene & cuts open the wolfs belly. Both grandma & the child are alive & spring from the wolfs belly with ease. The huntsman then decides to fill the wolf with stones & sew his belly back. When the wolf finally wakes, he tries to flee, falling to the ground & dying under his own weight. The moral here being that many a deception in this world ends the same way, with the initiator being crushed. The Punishment Of Red Riding Hood Here we see the red riding hood story being played out as a character in a lesbian porn movie. The front cover shows four women of which three are dressed in slutty leather garments, one is standing up straight holding a whip in her hands while the other two sit either side of her thighs wearing dog collars around their necks and the fourth stand behind them. This is in complete contrast to the stories we read in the beginning where red riding hood is depicted as a heroine of innocence and vulnerability to being the star of an erotic S & M movie. “The punishment of red riding hood” is a prime example of how even simplest of fairy tales can be transformed into a taboo over the passage of time & culture. Beneath the image of the box cover we are given a popular joke. This is no joke for children, as the language couldn’t be more suggestive. The wolf , unlike other ones in previous stories, is very up straight about what he wants to do to the red riding hood, he clearly tells her that he will slowly undress her and ‘fuck her brains out’. However in contrast to the stories we read in the beginning red riding hood in this poem is not the simple , innocent and gullible little girl we usually see her as. Instead she stands up to the wolf and tells him that, while pointing a gun at him, that he can not sexually assault her, instead, he should kill her the way the original book says. This joke shows both characters as completely different personalities to how we have read them in other books. In conclusion we can vividly see how the fairytale of ‘Red Riding Hood’ has been changed and altered throughout the years, from being an innocent heroine in children’s books to being a lead character in an erotic adult S&M movie. Freeway – A ride in the hood This movie synopsis is set in a post-modern, American blue collar setting where our red riding hood character, played by Reese Witherspoon, goes by the name of 15 year old Vanessa Lutz. Vanessa lives in a trailer park with her abusive father & questionable mother. Finally the day arrives when a cop, accompanied with social child care services arrives to arrest the parents & put Vanessa in a foster home. Vanessa flees the scene, escaping the authorities & driving to her grandmother’s house. One the way her car breaks down & she ends up hitching a ride with a serial killer, Bob ‘Wolverton’, who claims to be a child psychologist. Our wolf tries to get Vanessa to open up and talk to him about her family, which she eventually does. Once our killer wins Vanessa’s confidence, he tries to come onto her & in the process, cuts off a part of her pony tail, which leads to Vanessa shooting the wolf in the face. As it turns out, Bob isn’t killed, instead his face is disfigured while Vanessa is eventually caught up & jailed by the police. Finally Vanessa tries & manages to escape from prison; meanwhile a police officer finds her cut-off pony tail at the crime scene and realizes who the real victim is. As the story draws to a conclusion, we see Vanessa & the police close in on grandmother’s trailer park, where the wolf has already killed the old lady & lays in her bed waiting for little red riding hood. A brawl ensues & Vanessa manages to knock out the wolf with her bare hands. The police arrive late on the scene & are amazed to see what the little girl has accomplished. Therefore in conclusion, after having reviewed the ten books, we can see how the fairytale of ‘Red Riding Hood’ has changed throughout the years. Works Cited: Orenstein, Catherine. Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Ten Moral Tales from the Forest. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2002. Print. Read More