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Fairy Tales Vs. Perrault's Little Red Riding Hood

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Fairy Tales Vs. Perrault's Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood is probably one of the most annotated and analyzed of all the fairy tales, and there are several versions of the tale to study, all with a slight variation in their moral lesson, interpretation and theme surrounding Little Red Riding Hood’s escapade to grandmother’s house. It is most commonly believed that the French author Charles Perrault was the first to publish a written version of this fairy tale in 1697. However, Perrault most likely composed the tale of Little Red Riding Hood from pre-existing folk tales that had been passed down by oral story telling. Over the centuries many other versions of Little Red Riding Hood were published under alternate titles and continue to be shared with generations of both the young …show more content…
The Grimm Brothers even included and alternate happy ending in which the grandmother devises a plan to trick and kill the wolf. EXPOUND ON GRIMMS VERSION COMPARTIVLY. Alternatively, in Perrault’s version of Little Red Riding Hood, she is gobbled up by the wolf and never to be heard from again. Perrault’s version of the tale is the one that seems most pervasive throughout the centuries, and although the general moral of the story may seem simple, the complex and sometime convoluted symbolism of Perrault’s “original” version cannot be ignored. As noted by Heidi Anne Heiner in her notes in “Annotations For Little Red Riding Hood”, the color red “is a sexually vibrant and suggestive color…Perrault introduced the color red to the tale when he first wrote it.” Heiner also notes that Little Red Riding Hood’s hood is considered to “symbolize menstruation and the approaching puberty of the young character who wears it.” Heiner notes that the other major character in the tale, the Wolf, “is often a metaphor for a sexually predatory …show more content…
“PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE: LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD IN COLLEGE.” Sexuality & Culture. Spring2005, Vol. 9 Issue 2, p87-92. 6p. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/ Chase Jr., Richard and Teasley, David. “Little Red Riding Hood: Werewolf and prostitute.” Historian. Summer 95, Vol. 57 Issue 4, p769, 8p. Web. 3 Aug. 2013. .
Davis, John K. “The Origins of Little Red Riding Hood.” Suite101. Web. 31 Aug. 2013.

Harris, Paul. (2011). “Hollywood wants Red Riding Hood and Snow White to weave a box office spell.” The Observer. 05 March, 2011. Retrieved from http://observer.theguardian.com/
Heiner, Heidi Anne. “Annotations For Little Red Riding Hood – Notes”. Surlalunefairytales. http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/ridinghood/notes.html n.d. Web. 12 Sep. 2013.
Hurst, Lynda. (2009). “Red Riding Hood 's not out of the woods yet.” The Toronto Star. 13 Sep.
2009. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2009/09/13/red_riding_hoods_not_out_of_the_woods_yet.html
Lake, Sherry. “Annotations For Little Red Riding Hood”. http://people.virginia.edu/~sah/lrrh/rrhood.html 09 Dec. 1999. Web. 12 Sep., 2013.
Orenstein, Catherine. “Dances with Wolves Little Red Riding Hood 's Long Walk in the

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