Red Red Red

1. The story depicts the female side of a traditional family within three generations, from grandmother, mother, to daughter. The grandmother loves her grand child, showers her with gifts like a little cap made of red velvet, but unfortunately is ill, probably due to her old age. The mother one day ask Little Red Cap to deliver cake and wine to the ill grandmother out in the woods, which should make her feel better and ask that she not leave the path for fear of falling and breaking the wine. In the story, the mother did not mention dangers in the woods, such as wild animals probably because this story is about a child obeying the mother’s orders and taking care of their elders. As in many cultures, the next generation has an obligation to obey their parents and take care of them as they get older. Additionally, there might not be wild animals in those parts of the woods; otherwise an old lady like her grandmother would not be living out there alone.

2. Certain things about Little Red Riding Hood could contain gender and sexual symbolism. The color red could symbolize love; men have for a woman and vice versa or a woman’s sex appeal and openness to sexual relationships. Just like today’s society, for Valentines Day, red roses, cards with red letters, etc. are exchanged. Color red could also symbolize female’s sexiness and openness to sexual conduct. For example, Amsterdam’s Red light district, where every night females, half naked sit behind huge red-lit windows and sell their services. The wolf in the story could symbolize an attraction man have for woman. In today’s society male’s looking for a mate are often referred to as wolf, scoping the hunting ground.

3. In Aesop’s fables, the wolf is often the punishment or end result of a misdeed. In the fables, the wolf is cunning, waits for his opportunity, and prays on the weak. At any given chance, they’ll take advantage of the situation. In the story The Wolf and the Lamb, the wolf took advantage of the young lamb, making up any excuse to eat it. Also, the story of The Nurse and the Wolf, over-heard the nurse and tried to take advantage of the situation, positioning itself near the window thinking it could get an easy meal. I think that is exactly what a wolf would do, take advantage of the innocent because it is an easy target. Wolves are sneaky and would try to gain any edge if possible. If not the innocent, then the wolf would not have any confidence in success, they would rather move on.

little red wolf tales 2

1. I do believe that it was odd that the grandmother warns against straying off the path lest the wine bottle is broken, without indicating the dangers wild animals pose. One would expect a grandparent, or any parent to warn their children of any dangers that lie ahead of them. If Red was given this warning, then she would have easily avoided the wolf in the forest. If that had happened, then the encounter between Red and the wolf would have never occurred, and the story would not have progressed the way it did. It was an odd thing for the grandmother to do, but I can see why some people, including the grandmother, would look at it in that way. If she had to Red of the danger, that would have probably made Red even more curious to find out and go against her grandmother's wishes, like any kid her age would do.

2. The color of Red's hood was red, which symbolized sexual desires. This was passed from the grandmother when she gave the hood to Red. This is what most likely made her talk to the wolf instead of ignore him. The idea of gender was symbolic, which separated Red and her grandmother from the wolf and the hunter. The males were depicted as charming and seductive, ruthless and cruel beings. The wolf ate the grandmother and ate Red, which exposed his cannibalism and beast like ways. The hunter expressed ruthlessness by cutting up the wolf, and later skinning him. Eating the grandmother and Red made the wolf look as if he were a pregnant person, but not female. This is where gender comes into play again. When they were cut out, stones placed into his belly, as if he were still pregnant. A male being pregnant is an impossible situation, to occur and to deal with. When he attempted to walk, as a pregnant person, he collapsed and dies.

3. The wolf does act as an innocent bystander in the stories. He only acts on his natural and animal instincts. He would not have done what he did if Red had listen to her grandmother. Through this, the fables clearly paint a message, which always occur at the end of these types of stories. The lesson was obviously not to misbehave and obey you parents' wishes.

A wolf can only be a wolf!

1

This may seem odd to some parents, while others may agree that it was right thing to do. If we choose to ignore the obvious (i.e. speaking to the child about the danger of wild animals would change the dynamics of this story), and assume that this mother is of sound mind and has her child’s best interest and heart, I have two rational explanations as to why this mother warns Little Red Cap to stay on the path, to avoid falling and breaking the bottle.

(i) Very often parents try to shield their children from the harsh realities of life, especially when they are too young to fully comprehend the situation (or so the parent may think).  They are some cases where parents do this because of the fear that they may do more injustice, than justice, by communicating “too much” to the child, and in other cases they (the parents) believe that kids are kids, and should do exactly as they are told, without a reason.  This is usually the case with parents who are raised that way. An example of this is the fear many parents have with speaking to their children (even teenagers) about sex.

(ii)The author may be using this situation in the story to teach a lesson that is bigger than the story itself. The lesson being – if you stay on the right path, you will be able to accomplish any task no matter how difficult it may appear and if you don’t …(you know the story!!).

 

2.

In an odd way, this brings to mind the age-old question, “which comes first, the chicken or the egg?”  Did the original author pen the story with sex and gender on his mind, or was it sincerely written as a fairy tale for children? Was sex and gender symbolism cleverly constructed into this fairy tale, or was this fairy tale manipulated to convey a “new” story?  I honestly believe that you can find symbols of sex and gender in anything you want to. I also believe that, unless the original author said (or documented) that this was his intention, the person with the better argument wins.

I am not going to agree or disagree with their arguments.  Instead I am going to argue that art (fairy tales included) is subject to interpretation, by the person viewing it.  I agree that there may be standards, experts and even accepted beliefs, but what good are they to people ignorant of them? Point in case – if I do not know that the color red represents lust, passion and eroticism, because I never looked deep into the meaning of colors or even because in my culture it represents war, I may look past the apparent evidence of sexual symbolism.

Even when looking at the actions of the characters in this story in particular, in my opinion, each characters action aligns perfectly with what is expected of him/her.  Mothers send kids visits to visit their parents, grandparents are usually older and more susceptible to illness, young kids are often curious and adventurous and wolves are known to be as dangerous as they are cunning.  Any sex or gender here?  Again, it depends on the reader!!

3.

I do not agree that the “wolf” in Aesop’s fables often plays a bystander who interacts with seeming innocents that misbehave.  To agree that this is his role, will be unfair to such a formidable character.  The wolf is the Dennis Rodman of fables; yes, his role paints him as the “bad guy,” but without him, there would be no finger pointing and, even worse, no lessons to learn.  Believe me, the wolf takes one for the team- the team being Aesop and his readers.

Secretly I envy the wolf.  He seldom comes off as the loser even if he is deceived.  Not to mention, while the lamb and the sheep etc. are never resurrected, the wolf always survives to star in the next fable.  Arrogant, sly, self-centered, respected, feared, seemingly intelligent, greedy…this guy is no different from the CEO of Bear Stearns, or even better, Donald Trump.

All considered, I must admit that I, myself, learned a lesson from these fables, which is-nice guys finish last!

Little Red

In my perception, I don’t find it odd that the mother warns little red about staying out the path lest the wine bottle is broken. Little red is an innocent girl who does not know evil and respects and obey her mother very much. If she left the path was for a good reason, to get flowers for grandma. The reason why, I believe, the mother did not mentioned the wolf or any other animal is because she does not want little red to be walking in the woods frightened and that would provoke a different reaction of her towards the wolf and could have been easier for him to attack her in that moment. The mother acted with discretion and trusted her daughter’s instincts. Kids are very curious and if the mother warned about the animals when the Wolf was acting very polite with her in a first place she probably would have questioned her mother’s advice and judgment towards wild animals in the woods and decided to give the wolf a chance to be friendly with her.

I think the scholars’ association of Little Red with gender and sexual symbolism goes beyond the actual morale of the story which tries to teach children that mothers are wise and know more than your curiosity and if you try to do the opposite of what you are told you might get in trouble and hurt not only yourself but someone else. People are free to interpret and find a deeper significance to any story told. For example, an article from Ms. Magazine suggests that a previous version was interpreted as a seduction tale where the girl striped her clothes lying in bed beneath a wolf and latter she was killed by the wolf. This was interpreted as if the girl had lost her virginity. http://www.msmagazine.com/summer2004/danceswithwolves.asp
Maybe previous versions of this tale were not intended for children but it was more like art to be interpreted for adults.

Aesop’s fables always end with a lesson that relates to every body. In these the wolf was shown as an animal that was not necessary looking to do badly but he was just driven by his ferocious instincts. He is a smart animal that knows how to get what he wants like in ‘The Wolf and the Crane’ where he promise something in order to get what he wants and did not reward the crane but he did not kill it either because if he killed her it would not had helped him with the bone stuck in his throat. He also knows how to intimidate others by his appearance like in the Wolf and The Lamb. He is doing the right thing in his perception but morally it is not right.

Little Red Wolf Tales2

1. It doesn’t seem odd to me that the mother warns against straying off the path lest the wine bottle is broken and the mother did not say anything to her daughter of the danger of wild animals. Fear is not a good helper. Young girl has to be brave and live her life without fear. The forest with wild animals represents our life with different dangers. To survive in that life kids have to listen their parent’s advice and follow them. The mother told Little Red Hood “behave yourself on the way, and do not leave the path.” But often children learn from their own mistakes. Another lesson the Brothers Grimm show to kids is always remember and help their grand parents.

2. I disagree with scholars that Little Red contains gender and sexual symbolism. According to scholars the red color represents sexuality and associated with love. The wolf is a man who wants to distract young girl. The Brothers Grimm wrote the story for young kids. They don’t know anything about sexual symbolism. They are just kids and want to hear a nice story.

3. I love Aesop`s Fables and their lessons. We know that the fables are the allusive interpretation of the things or situations that happened in our life.
My impression is that the wolf is perfect character for these stories. He is smart and wit, dangerous and catty. Especially in a fable ”The Dog and the Wolf.” The words “ better starve free than be a fat slave” describe his brave and freedom-loving nature, which really understands sense of life. Another fable “The Wolf and the Crane”. A wolf behavior in the story represents the phrase “Be content. You have put your head inside a Wolf’s mouth and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for you.” It demonstrates that wolf is a right character for this story. He is smart and dangerous. The lessons is “gratitude and greed go not together” just proof it.

Little Red Wolf Tales 2

1. It doesn't seem very odd to me that mother warns Little Red Cap against straying off the path lest the wine bottle is broken. I think the mother sees everything and everybody in this world very nice and kind. And Little Red Cap is such a pretty girl, wearing her grandmother's gift - the red cap, such an angel. Who is going to touch her? The family probably has never seen any rudeness, danger, and cruelty.I absolutely understand the warning about the bottle. Red cap is a little girl who likes to play, run, jump as all the children. Sometimes kids fall because they are not as careful as adults, they get bruises, break their knees and cloths. No wonder mother is trying to protect her child.The bottle of wine was very important because the grandmother probably did not have central water system and it was hard for her to get the water from the well at the backyard. And I understand the word "wine" not as an alcoholic drink, but the water. Though it would be hard to think like me for the little children who this fairy tale was written for.
2. I found few elements which tell about gender and sexual symbolism in the story. Of course, the red color. It represents passion, fire, eroticism, and love. Maybe the red color of girl's cap made the wolf stop her in the woods. Another way to look at it: the red color is the color of love. The grandmother made the gift to the granddaughter in red color to show how much she loved the little girl. The family in the story consists of women only(mother, daughter, grandmother) - that points on gender. The fairy tale has a lot of sexual symbols. Little girl is being stopped in the woods by the wolf - adult man and there is nobody around. It makes me think about a maniac who is looking for his victim. When the girl reaches her destination she sees the wolf in bed. Why couldn't he be in the chair? And when wolf ate the grandmother he "pulled the curtains shut". The atmosphere is very erotic. Then he "jumps on the top of poor Little Red Cap" and ate her. It is also interesting that the Red is being delivered twice - from mom's stomach and wolf's: "He cut a little more, and the girl jumped out."
3. I liked Aesop's fables very much. Wolf is shown not as just a greedy hunter but also as a smart and fair animal. For example, in "The Wolf and the Crane" the wolf doesn't kill the crane as we would expect though he doesn't keep the promise of reward the way the crane wants. But from wolf's point of view he made "enough reward" to let him go. In reality wolfs don't hunt alone, they are always in flock. In the stories wolf is alone and all his victims are little to him: kid, crane, lamb. I am sure if he met a bear or a big muscular man, he would never attack them, he is not that stupid.

1. It seems odd that the grandmother warns against straying off the path lest the wine bottle is broken, yet no mention is made of the danger wild animals pose. Why?

One reason that the riding hood was not warned of the dangerous wild animals may be for the most practical reason: the author would have no story to tell. If she had been wary of the wild animals that may scheme to eat her, she would have strictly followed the path, gone straight to her grandmother’s house and all would be well.

Another reason could be that the mother was unaware of her daughter’s daftness and over estimated her common sense. Sending a young girl on a journey through the woods alone is not the best idea unless you have confidence in their ability to avoid trouble. Also, with the strong emphasis that the author’s place in staying on path, warning riding hood of other obstacles may compromised the main goal.

2. Scholars argue that Little Red contains gender and sexual symbolism. Find elements and discuss; you might begin with an analysis of colors, animals, and the character's actions.

The color red has many meanings. It can symbolize blood, fury, fortune, love, vibrancy, health, youth and sensuality. In the story of little Red riding hood, the color red is portrayed in its youthful yet sexual context.

In a literal sense, red being the color of blood and vitality can indicate the wolf’s animal instincts to eat the little girl, and the flash of color that attracts much attention in the dreary dark setting of the woods she walks through. Red is also known to be closely related to sex. In that context, little red can be seen as the virgin who has been led of the path of abstinence and becomes tainted. When her mother warns her to stay on the path to her grandmother’s house, this can be interpreted as staying on the righteous path of abstinence and not allowing men to deceive little red. Clearly, the wild animals including the wolf are the sexual predators out to seduce the young girl. The linked picture furthers this suggestion because little red is seen in the bed with the deceitful wolf. Her hooded cape no longer on, it is a possible indication of the forceful taking of her virginity and childhood.

3. Looking at Aesop's Fables here, the wolf often plays a bystander who interacts with seeming innocents that misbehave. What is your impression?

I agree that the wolf often plays a bystander taking a less physically active role and instead using words to trick or influence the innocent characters. I believe that this trait comes from the sly and scheming attributes often associated with wolves in fairytales. It is possible that this often reflects Aesop’s Fables because his themes involve not allowing oneself to be wooed by deception, or give in to impudence and greed. In the case of “The Wolf and the Kid”, the child is taught a lesson by the wolf who, although does not pounce or scare the child, uses words to alert him of his cowardice. In many of the fables, it is the wolf who delivers the main message or theme of the fable either warning or teaching the reader a lesson through actions.

The Dynamic of Perception

1. At first glance, it does seem a bit odd that the mother only warns Little Red against straying off the path lest the wine bottle is broken, but upon a closer look, I believe the mother is acting on her best discretion. And acting on one's discretion is perhaps one of the things that all societies share in common.

The mother of Little Red knows her personally. She understands what she likes, dislikes, respects, and cares about. In the tale, Little Red is portrayed to have a very close and amiable relationship with her grandmother. She is even named after the present that her grandmother gave her. Knowing that Little Red would always behave in a manner that ensures her grandmother's wellbeing, the mother warns Red against straying off the road lest the loss of grandmother's wine.

The mother does not warn Little Red of the wolf, or other potentially dangerous animals, because she thinks that Little Red would be distracted or frightened as she encounter these villains. The mother takes in account of Little Red's age. A young girl may act very irrationally while in great fear. So the mother makes no mention of the wolf.

The mother's mentality is similarly replicated throughout the world. In America for example, the political system is a Representative Democracy. The people select a group of elites who have the ability and knowledge to act in their best discretion to protect the rights of their people. Oftentimes, truths become hidden from the public, but for a good cause. Truth is not always good; in fact, truth can be counterproductive depending on circumstances of the situations. As can be seen in times of national crises, the leaders always seek to prevent a riot or a cluster of fear, to the extent that these leaders may lie. Fear is a natural human instinct, but it is definitely not a good one in times of emergency.

2. Although scholars have argued that Little Red contain gender and sexual symbolism, I believe it is mostly a coincidence. In literature, analytical and creative thinking is definitely cherished. But at times, there has to be a line drawn between insights and rubbish.


The scholars may argue that in many cultures, young girls are described as flowers. And the color red modifies passion, love, or romance. A red flower is often referred to as a red rose, which implies love, fire, and maybe even desire. On top of that, the tale describes Little Red as a young innocent girl. For people who believe that everything in our world must mean something, they might believe that Little Red is a symbol of a passionate young innocent girl, who is about to stumble into the world of love and romance. And the wolf on the other hand, is seen as a fierce, masculine animal, who preys and hunts on inexperienced targets. In many traditions, a wolf is described with an endless greed for food, analogous to the insatiable sexual hunger that strong young males are perceived to have.

Going along with the scholars' line of logic, the wolf dresses up as the granny and manipulates Little Red's naive mind. It is almost symbolic of a malicious male masking himself behind the internet while pretending to be someone they're not. And Little Red is symbolic of a passionate yet inexperienced teenage girl who is vulnerable to the potentially dangerous world of ours today. It is definitely not far fetched to draw the conclusion that Little Red has symbolic meanings, but I don't believe that is the story writer's intention to include such messages.

Back in the Qing Dynasty of China, writers and poets were under great scrutiny of government monitoring. They must watch exactly what they write in fear that a word, or a phrase in their writing may seem symbolic of things the government opposed. The government arrested and persecuted thousands of innocent people for producing or owning literature that coincidentally appeared to be symbolic evil.

Furthermore, Little Red is a popular story among many cultures. Consequently, the elements of the story may differ in meaning depending on which cultural belief the audience is perceiving the story from. To say that the creator of the original story intentionally included implicit sexual messages is a bit too unreasonable.

3. Aesop's Fables normally use the image of wolf as a stereotypical profile to convey a moral message in the end. In some stories, wolf is described as the malicious villain that attempts to prey upon the innocents, like in the fable where wolf is covered in sheepskin. And in some stories, wolf is a mere representation of a general sense of danger, like in the fable "The Shepherd Boy". And sometimes, the image of wolf is used as a stereotypically accused character, like in the fable "The Dog and The Wolf", and "The Wolf and the Crane". But what all these fables share in common, is the same stereotype that people choose to attribute to wolf.

Why don't they pick lions or tigers? Perhaps these creatures are even more fearsome than wolves. In the cartoon movies Ice Age, and Lion King, for example, wolves are treated with the same general stereotype as do Aesop's fables; animals who are more dangerous are not necessarily the bad guys. In general, the wolf image has been treated as a social cliche that people use and reuse over and over for the sake of convenience. It has become a symbol of greed, hunger and danger.

1. For me, it seems that it is common for grandmothers to think illogically. The grandmother left the village and moved to the forest since she had to leave her old apartment. Her old apartment was next to the village’s pub and every night Granny attended happy hour. As she aged, she started taking medications. The medications didn’t mix well with the alcohol, so the grandmother had to move away from the pub. She had this nice little cabin in the forest that she loved to go to often when she was young. She used to paint and knit and enjoyed the quite time, but she also loved to drink. She knew that Red was about to bring her wine and she couldn’t think beyond it. Her duty as an adult disappeared and her thought drowned in the bottle.

2. I have never thought about ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ in a sexual connotation. I can relate to the Wolf’s mind and understand his hormones, but the grandma in the story is not very sexy. So for me it will stay a children’s story.

3. The wolf is described as a bystander who wanders around, but his actions have nothing to do with this. First, the wolf is a hunter. His manner of talking with people and seeming to care about them is part of his strategy. In The Wolf and the Lamb, the wolf says from the start “[t]here’s my supper.” In The Wolf and the Crane, the first act the wolf performed once the crane pulled the bone out of his throat was to grin at her. After his reaction he refuses to give her what he promised and told her “that ought to be reward enough for you.” The fact that he didn’t kill her doesn’t make him a bystander. The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing describes the wolf as smart and sneaky. In the beginning, the wolf is described as being miserable since he was hungry. However, in the twenty first century people should stop killing others whenever their stomach is not full enough.

Little Red

It is odd that the grandmother warns against staying off the path lest the wine bottle is broken, yet no mention is made of the danger wild animals pose but what I find odder is that the old grandma is sick and her family brings her a bottle of wine. Why would they do that? Well, I thought about it and remembered that yesterday was St. Patrick's Day and in the spirit of the holiday even a sick old lady needs to drink. About the instructions Red Cap received it might be because her mom didn't want her to get nervous from the wolf and the woods so she only warns her to take care of the wine (or maybe because the wine was very expensive.)

I did read once that Little Red Cap by the Grimm Brothers has some sexual hidden messages in it. From what I remember it is a tale that passes from mothers to daughters who received period for their first time. The red velvet symbols the blood but also passion, the changes that Red Cap is facing – from a little girl to lass, the message to girls to beware of wolfs (or men), and the rebellion of teenagers against their parents. Moreover I noticed that Red Cap is acting naively character that fits erotic figures. And finally one of the main scenes happens in a bed which also symbols sexuality.

I agree with the statement that sometime the wolf is bystander who interacts with seeming innocents that misbehave. Though the wolf is not innocent and sometimes even cruel as he is in "The Wolf and The Lamb", and "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing", in "The Shepherd's Boy", the boy was lying to the entire village (then again the wolf eat the entire flock!). Moreover, in "The Nurse and The Wolf" the nurse lies to the little kid and the wolf was misled and even being punished for it. In the tales "The Wolf and The Kid", and "The Dog and The Wolf", the wolf is presented as a "street smart" animal which even give us the readers a lesson from the "streets"; first – do not tease others just because you can at a specific moment because it may return back to you, and second which I liked the most "Better starve free than be a fat slave" which I believe speaks for itself.

Little Red 2

1. I think the real reason for this is the fact that if the mother was to warn Little Red about dangerous animals or not to talk to strangers, when the wolf would have stopped her, Little Red would have walked away or called for help and the story would end. The author had to have the mother say something “parenty” without giving away the whole story so he had her warn Little Red not to break the glass bottle. This is after all a children’s tale and kids are used to hear from their parents to be careful not to break something precious.

2. Little Red, how surprising, even though it is a story read to young children has many gender symbolism and several sexual hints. The story starts with the mother who represents to me how a wife or a woman was seen by earlier generations, a stay at home mom who loves to bake and care for the children. The grandmother represents the older generation of women who are seen as old, weak and helpless. Little Red seems to me as representing a young attractive lady who is naive and innocent and therefore can be easily fooled by men. The wolf and the hunter represent the male gender. The wolf is like a young man hunting for women. He waits for young innocent females, follows them home, does his deeds and then goes to sleep. Unlike the wolf, the hunter is the hero who saves the day and of course the women too. He represents what a “real” man is, strong, smart and sexy. I think the most obvious sexual hint in the story is when the wolf thinks to himself “Now there is a tasty bite for me. Just how are you going to catch her?” or in English, “what a hotty, how can I get some of that?”

3. A wolf is a vicious animal, it can kill, it is scary but it is also a clever animal which makes it even more frightening. The wolf in the story always acts as you would expect of it and that is why it is used often as a villain. Children prefer stories in which the “bad” character is an animal and the wolf is perfect for the role. A lion is also a large and scary animal but it is the king of the jungle and would not fit the role. Sharks are closer to wolfs but they live in the sea and would be hard to explain walking around. All this leads to the perfect candidate, the wolf.

Little Red Wolf Tales 2

1. I don't think that it seems odd that the mother do not metion of the danger of wild animals to Little Red and she just warns about the following the pathway becuase i think that if the mother talk about the danger of wild animal to Red, Red might be afraid of the pathway of grandmother, so mother just warn about the following pathway and wish to promise to obey about that. Most mother want their children to obey their warning and what they say ,when they order something to their child such as Red's mother becuase when they do little errand to their children somewhere, they really worry about their children, so they want them to obey their warning and do not scare about strangers and dangerous thing while their children are going for their order.
2. I think that from this fairy tale, the character, Little Red who is cute and lovely girl and wearing the red color hood, it is expressed gender and sex symbolism. The human animal's love of juvenile females, and love them pretty and vulnerable. In general, weakness is a key element in beauty as I can see Little Red in this fairy because it is the opposite of posing a threat. Within human animals, we tend to love little girls more than little boys. For males, the opposite sex is obviously more attractive.

Mischievous Characters..

1. It does seem odd that the mother makes no mention of the dangers of wild animals/strangers. When I was a kid, I was always warned "never to talk to strangers." Perhaps the mother has a different way of thinking in her education to her child; she might understand that children, by nature, are very curious organisms and by mentioning wild animals, Little Red might become more accustomed to meeting one. Instead, she tries a different approach of playing on the love Little Red has for her grandmother. From the story, it can be seen that Little Red Cap and her grandmother have a very close and loving relationship. Her grandmother was the one who loved her “most of all” and even gave her a velvet red cap. I think that by warning Little Red to stay on the road so that the wine bottle doesn’t break is a very good technique. However, in the end when Little Red decided to stray from the road, it was only because she wanted to pick flowers and make her grandmother happier. The mother unfortunately could not foresee that circumstance.

2. There are many adaptations of the story of Little Red. I am unsure whether the original version was written with the intent of a subliminal sexual message. However, due to the numerous adaptations, it is quite possible for each to contain a slightly different sexual message. The color red is related to maturity and quite possibly a woman’s virginity. Little Red always wore the red cap that symbolized her innocence. I think this element would be more noticeable if she had lost her cap after her encounter with the wolf.

     To Americans, a wolf is referred to as a hungry and self animal that only cares for its own needs. The wolf could be used to represent a person who has strong sexual desires. In Chinese cultures, the animal wolf is often associated with sexually hungry males who are on a hunt of young and naïve young women.

     I felt that the interaction between Little Red and the wolf disguised as the grandmother may be seen as sexual. Little Red is observing all the parts of her grandmother (ears, eyes, hands, mouth) in careful detail. I may be overanalyzing, but I thought that even the specific foods (cake and wine) brought by Little Red can be seen as sexually explicit. Wine is most notably used to get someone drunk while cake can be used to persuade someone to trust you and like you better. The latter can also be observed when strangers offer young children candy. Also, I found it a little bit weird for a huntsman passing by to be able to freely walk into the grandmother’s house. I would think that he would at least knock on the door before walking in. However, at the end of the story, it seems like he was a protagonist.

3. I thought Aesop’s fables were very interesting to read because they serve a different purpose. Some of these stories justify the wolf for its seemingly shameful actions while others just show him as a greedy animal. Overall, I think these stories relate more to the cleverness of the wolf rather than the innocence or mischievousness of bystanders.

     In the first story, it doesn’t seem like the lamb is misbehaving at all. I believe he is indeed innocent. In fact, the wolf seems to try to justify his action by coming up with a reason to kill the lamb. It is obvious that he was unable to do so, and he acted like a “tyrant” as the lamb took his last breath. The story of the wolf in sheep’s clothing showed the wolf’s intelligence that helped him get close to his prey and eventually consume it heartily. Similarly, in the interaction with the Shepherd’s boy, the wolf ate the boy’s flock of sheep because it was simply his nature. Part of the blame was also put on the boy for being mischievous. Nevertheless, a clever lesson was taught by another character—the wise man of the village.

     In “The Wolf and the Crane” and “The Wolf and the Kid,” the wolf inadvertently teaches lessons through warnings. In the story of the crane, he tricked the crane into helping him. When I read this, I was actually surprised that the wolf didn’t eat the crane after he helped him. In the second story, it seems that the wolf was getting annoyed by the kid for calling him names and warned him to stay away. In both of these short stories, rather than feeling hatred or pity for the wolf, I felt empathic; it was easy for me to put myself in the wolf’s shoes.

     The story of “The Dog and the Wolf” made me feel admiration toward the wolf; in my opinion, he was really clever and worthy of praise because he refused to be a slave and would rather suffer hunger while keeping his self-pride. Finally, in the fable with the nurse, I felt pity for the wolf because he was patiently waiting for his dinner that he never received. I found the moral “Enemies promises were made to be broken” to be very educational especially since I tend to trust others easily. There exist many liars and defrauders in our world. There is even a special quote in Chinese that basically says that one shouldn’t try to harm others but should never stop being cautious of others either.

Little Red wolf tales 2

1. I think it should refer to the background of the age. The little red cap that written by Grimm brothers, here, the little red cap standard for the children in the age of Victoria, they was told to be obey the instructions of their parents and their elderships. In the beginning of the story, the mother do not mention that danger wild animals, but she did warn against straying off the path, if the little cap follow what her mother told, then they would be not dangerous. But little cap did not follow it, and then she and her grandmother suffer from the disaster because of her disobey what her mother told to her. I think in the beginning of the story did not mention the danger wild animals, it’s to emphases the coming disasters, then to educate children should obey what their parents and their elderships instruction.
2.There are many editions of little red that wrote in different time, and has its own stress in these editions. The first French edition of little red riding hood was written in 1679 written by Charles Perrault, most people felt this edition of little red contains the meaning of gender and sexual symbolism. We can easily find what little red and wolf did in the story: the wolf asked little red “come get into bed with me”, and then little red took off her clothes and got into bed.” And also, there’s another one can show the gender and sexual symbolism, that is: when little red asked the wolf: what big arms you have? The wolf answered: “all the better to hug you with, my dear!” and later, the wolf ate the little red.
And also, the “wolf”, we all knows that there are various kinds of wolves, it not only refers to the animals, but also refers to those who looks charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent, and sweet, who pursue young women at home and in the streets. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all.
Meanwhile, before this edition of little red published, Charles Perrault, the manuscript of little red has some watercolor pictures attached. It portrays that little red get in bed with wolf, and also the wolf was lying above the little red. And also has described that little red recline against the pillow, and touched the big nose of wolf warmth. In the first edition that written by Perrault, there has a drawing focus on the flush of little red in her face, it is more emphases the sexual symbolism. When we combine with the story and the pictures in the book, we can easily learn the gender and sexual symbolism.
And I think the most important one is we should know the background of the story and can easily learn the moral of the story.
3.From the Aesop's Fables here, Wolf can be describe as coony , tricky, deceptive, do not want to be bondage…for human beings, we can view from the behave of the wolf, and learn much more things from the wolf. And what happened to wolf and the minds of the wolf could refers to those things that happened in the human beings, for there are so many people like wolf existed in the world, it teach us the what kind of people it will have in the world just like the wolf, it teach us how to see through the deceits, and how to deal with the bad things happen to you. I think the wolf is a good teaching material to the human beings in all kinds of aspect; therefore, the wolf often plays a bystander who interacts with seeming innocents that misbehave.

Little Red Wolf tales 2

1.
After reading “Little red” when I was a kid it left a god impression of what a good fairy tale is and now reading slightly different version of the same story my opinion didn’t change. I do find strange why mother did not warn her daughter of the dangerous creatures in the woods and how it may affect her but at the same time I understand as a mother myself why she did that. The simplest way to explain it is with this, Would you tell your child to go on a Ferris wheel tell how great it is and then all of the sudden show your child a video were you see a Ferris wheel falling and killing half of its riders? Would you”? I do not think so you would want your child to have fun riding a wheel and not have constant fear of falling or hurting him or her. But you will tell your child simplest direction and rules to ride the wheel. Same thing with Red’s mother she just warned her not to wonder of the trail and to give a reason that will not scare her daughter she told her that the Wine bottle might brake if she does.


2.
I don’t know why they argue, on what grounds they argue and why they started to argue at all? A Fairy tale is a Fairy tale and nothing more it was meant to the children simplest lessons of life how to behave properly and show them gimps of real world ahead. They were meant for children and don’t have any sexual or gender symbolism at all. If a girl wearing a hood that is red she is right away must be associated with youth, beauty, love and romance, I don’t think so it’s a coincidence all scholars’ are trying to do is to a find a lame excuse for a job or waste time and coming up with completely absurd theories like the one that world is flat. And what about a wolf? Wolf is European prime hunter they were feared and still are feared as most ferocious pack oriented hunters there are. Sure there are bears but wolfs are primary concern in the days when the story was written. Logically to make a villain that is smart and agile they picked a wolf. Nothing wrong there I don’t see anything that might remind me of Sexual content at all and thus I cannot find anything else my perception of a fairy tale is that its clean and for children.


3.
Why make wolf always a bad guy I always wondered. Besides knowing that wolfs are dangerous most fairy tales do not hear wolfs side of the story why he does what he does. Yes he is viewed as bystander but a particular fable when wolf and a dog decided to get a job for him together wolf makes a decision that not so much stunned me but finally brought a smile to my face, the part were wolf disagrees with dog and sais the following. “Better starve free than be a fat slave.” Really was a perfect way of making full represent of freedom over slavery.
We must remember that the time Aesop lived in did not tolerate direct criticism and writers were using animals and different phrases to express their point. Heroes of the fables can be not only people, but also animals, plants, the subject matters allocated by those or other human qualities. Fable narration is allegoric, and does not show the point of the story ‘head on’ but masks it for interpretation . Fables point is emphasized in the beginning or at the end which is called morals.
Every Fable has its own morals “The Wolf and the Kid” fable shows that profitable circumstance gives some people more courage even against the strongest. In the next fable “The Wolf and the Lamb” shows that whoever decided upfront to do evil not even the most honest and most viable argument will not stop. In the Next Fable “The Wolf and the Crane” expresses that when evil people don’t do evil they use it as a good deed being done by them.

The Virgin and The Savage

1. It seems odd that the grandmother warns against straying off the path lest the wine bottle is broken, yet no mention is made of the danger wild animals pose. Why?

The fact that the mother only warns Little Red Cap about following the pathway and not about the wild animals that inhabit the area is an interesting depiction. It seems to me as if the mother feels that Little Red Cap is too accustomed to seeing dangerous animals, and that they will do no harm to the young girl. Nevertheless, she is overly ignorant about the fact that there are predators – animals and men – out there who do not care about harming others and who might take advantage of Little Red Cap’s youth and weakness. You never know, the mother was probably sent on such trips herself when she was a young girl, but was never harmed by any wild thing. Whatever the case may be, the mother’s unawareness and uncaring nature is something difficult to comprehend.

2. Scholars argue that Little Red contains gender and sexual symbolism. Find elements and discuss; you might begin with an analysis of colors, animals, and the character's actions. This link may give you some ideas.
http://www.art.com/asp/sp-asp/_/pd--12028157/sp--A/Little_Red_Riding_Hood.htm

There are several aspects that hint at a sexual correlation that can be attributed to the lovable “sweet” little girl who was loved by everyone who saw her. Portraying a growing little girl in a dark forest filled with danger clarifies some sexual aspects of the story. Her adventure guides her through the wilderness as she is being chased by a beast. The wolf can metaphorically represent a man pursuing the girl’s virginity in a gloomy environment. Furthermore, Little Red’s sexuality and saintliness can be drawn out from her red dress and cap. Red beyond a simple color - it is the blood that circulates the young girl’s body; her vital virginity. Red governs her present and future life if and when a creature successfully robs one of the most important aspects of Little Red’s existence.

3. Looking at Aesop's Fables here, the wolf often plays a bystander who interacts with seeming innocents that misbehave. What is your impression?

I actually disagree with the assumption that the wolf encounters innocent people that misbehave. To me, these characters do not misbehave; the wolf just formulates excuses in order to contradict them and work things to his favor – he takes into perspective any and every little detail. In The Wolf and the Lamb, the wolf accuses the Lamb of having muddied his water, yet the water runs from the wolf to the lamb so there is no way that the Lamb had dirtied his water. Additionally, the wolf also blames the Lamb of calling him bad names a year ago when in fact the lamb was born six months ago. Having no other justification, the wolf then blames the lamb’s dad for calling him bad names and with that excuse, chews up the poor little lamb. In addition, The Dog and the Wolf story further manifests the wolf’s use of false explanations to back up his concluding acts. The dog, who exclaimed to have lost hair around the neck area due to the attachment of a collar to keep him from running away, was not given a chance to live by the wolf who justified eating the dog by asserting that it is worse to be chained up like the dog and be portrayed as a slave than to live free like the wolf, but be hungry at all times. This is a savage wolf with neither mercy nor believable justifications.