Everyone knows the classic fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood.” But what some people don’t know is that the story has had several adaptions, each of which have been reimagined into something that is like the original story, yet more interesting. Some of those adaptations, however, were written as exaggerations of what the narrator was saying. One example of an LRRH adaptation that has been recreated – yet not exaggerated – is “The Company of Wolves”, in which certain plot points have been recreated and the characters are portrayed differently. My sources will show the comparison of the fable to “The Company of Wolves”. The similarities and differences will be established and explained in detail while showing reader response criticism.
“Red Riding Hood, Home at Last, Tells Her Mother What Happened,” written by Ron Koertge, summarizes what Red Riding Hood says to her mother when she somehow returns home safely. The story is written in first person and has a few twists to the original story. Red Riding Hood says that she is glad she is safe because it was dangerous for her walking in the forest alone with the wolf. The wolf gives Red Riding Hood some compliments when she arrives, along with his own e-mail before going over to Grandma’s house and eating Grandma whole. Instead of bones being hiding under the bed and hair being thrown into the fireplace, Grandma was inside the wolf’s belly. Red Riding Hood notices this when she arrives and compares it to one of her friend Amber’s grandma’s vacations. When the narrator was inside the wolf after being eaten herself, she describes what being eaten alive by a wolf feels like and then the wolf falls asleep. This made Red Riding Hood giggle a bit because she said it reminded her of how her father snores. A woodsman then came from somewhere else in the forest and kills the wolf by cutting him open, thus freeing Red Riding Hood. She then describes the time spent with the woodsman before heading back home, safe at last.
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The article expressed irony in it because the woodsman talks with Little Red Riding Hood, or teenager, about the concept of stranger danger. She expresses “I’m into danger” (Koertge, 73), not realizing the wolf is following her. The narrator seems unfazed by the woodsman even though he saved her Grandma. His lecture on stranger danger and his attempt to have her come back to see him fell on deaf ears. The story that Koertge wrote was an exaggerated story so that the narrator could impress her friends.
“The Company of Wolves”, written by Angela Carter, has a wolf as one of the main characters, who was being portrayed as a hybrid of man and wolf. Carter describes him as an assassinator of the forest who can really keep people on their toes when they’re in the forest. In one part of the essay, Carter talks about an ointment that the Devil gives to men that will turn them into werewolves when applied. Therefore, one would have to run away immediately when he or she sees someone naked in the woods. The worst thing that one can know about the wolf is that he is more than what he is. The wolf and its traits are the main points of the essay because they give the reader a new point of view of how a wolf could be portrayed in the remaking of a classic fairy tale.
“The Company of Wolves” contrasts to the original story because it portrays Little Red Riding Hood not as a little girl, but a “daring, pubescent girl” (Lynley) who is in her teenage years. This is because she is loved so much that she never feels afraid of anything. The plot of the essay is similar to the original fairy tale in a lot of ways, but in the end, instead of the heroine being eaten alive, she gets into the bed with the wolf and they start to form a relationship with each other. The setting is different because Carter describes the forest using words that make it a terrible place to be, especially since the weather is colder and harsher. “This version is not appropriate for kids and it really never was intended for a young audience” (Owlcation).
In Carter’s essay, the main characters’ feelings are greatly portrayed. The wolf’s howling is called a wolfsong because just the sound of it will make the reader feel sad inside. In one part of the essay, we get information about how a woman’s husband – who was a werewolf – disappears on their wedding night and comes back as a human. When he finds out that the woman started a new family, he wishes himself back into a wolf and attacks the family. Carter once said, “If there’s a beast in men, it meets its match in women, too” (Lynley). LRRH met with the wolf in the forest, and when she arrives at Grandma’s, the wolf is wearing her clothes. Instead of being afraid, LRRH rips off the wolf’s clothes and throws them into the fireplace, along with her own clothes after she took them off. This signifies that the heroine was feeling affectionate for the wolf. Based on the ending, it turns out that the wolf was just wanting someone to love again. Carter’s essay shows the readers how deceit and feelings can change people and their hearts.
Wolves are known for being main characters in myths and fairy tales. In “Company of the Wolves,” they are described as beasts of the woods, with their glowing eyes and sharp teeth. They are described to be carnivorous and cunning, and a lot of people fear them. Despite how cunning, the wolf is, the girl in the essay is portrayed to be just as smart and cunning as he is. There are myths about how people could become werewolves. The method described in Carter’s essay describes a person taking of his or her clothes and becoming a werewolf. Despite there being different, more revised adaptations of “Little Red Riding Hood,” they all give an important lesson in the battle of good vs. evil and how not to trust strangers, since they can be dangerous.
In conclusion, certain fairy tales can be exaggerated to make them feel and seem more interesting. It can also allow the person to see a certain fairy tale from a different point of view. But sometimes fairy tales can be reimagined into something that isn’t age appropriate. In “The Company of Wolves, everyone saw the wolf as a dangerous monster, but in the end, the wolf became a sensitive creature just looking for love. This was what gave Carter’s essay a transgressive ending compared to other versions. The wolf’s traits, the main characters’ feelings, and the overall contrast to--can really change the way a person views the original story.
Works Cited
- Koertge, Ron. “Red Riding Hood, Home at Last, Tells Her Mother What Happened.” Lies,
- Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses, Candlewick Press, 2012, pp 72-75.
- “The Company of Wolves by Angela Carter.” Slap Happy Larry, edited by Lynley, Stace,
- 2015. https://www.slaphappylarry.com/short-story-study-the-company-of-wolves-by-angela-carter/. Accessed 12 October 2019.
- “The Little Red Riding Hood: Summary and Symbols Explained.” Owlcation, 2016.
- https://owlcation.com/humanities/red_riding_hood. Accessed 12 October 2019.
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