The fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” has been around for years, and throughout these years has been twisted into various interpretations. We of course have the “Red Riding Hood” we all have familiarization with, by Charles Perrault, which tells the tale of a young girl sent on a journey to her grandmother's house to deliver a basket but meets a sinister wolf on the way. Perrault’s version takes on a more traditional approach compared to Nalo Hopkinson's more modern and twisted version.
Perrault’s version keeps young ladies from men's inclination. In Hopkinson's interpretation, the objective remains the same: through the grandma’s portrayal, the author explains a moderately returned to plot without changing the significance: little girls should beware of men; particularly when they seem virtuous. “Riding The Red” like Perrault's version, takes focus on a grandma, a mother and a granddaughter, which in a way sets the perspective for both interpretations. In Hopkinson's version the grandma is the narrator. Other than the original setting, the absence of other pieces of information, for example, the time or the place of the story, offers extent to her story and her final theme: instructing and, simultaneously, shielding her grandchild from dangers spoken to by men here symbolized by a wolf.
In Hopkinson's interpretation experience is the main point, as it prompts potential difficulties the grandma attempts to stay away from for her granddaughter by revealing to her, her own story. The mother contradicts her mom's desires for safety and discloses to her it isn't important to alarm her little girl in light of the fact that “girlie's too young yet, there's plenty of time”.
Charles Perrault’s original fairytale, although takes on the same theme of steering clear of male predation, the actions and roles the main characters take on is different from Hopkinsons modern approach. In both versions the granddaughter is initially the victim but we do not see Little Red succumb to “the wolf’s” deviation in Hopkinsons version. Unlike Perrault’s version, little red is warned of the dangers of the wolf but we initially don’t know if she falls “prey” in the end.
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In the classic version the mother doesn't show awareness of the risks Little Red Riding Hood will face on her adventure, because of this she doesn't give advice to Little Red Riding Hood on the proficient way to deal with specific circumstances. The Mother essentially expects Little Red Riding Hood to complete her expedition without anyone else's input, under such weight, Little Red Riding Hood was naive to the situation. This is extremely similar to Hopkinsons version except in “Riding The Red” the mother is in fact aware of the danger her daughter will face, but instead she doesn’t want to inform her about these dangers because in her mind she is too young.
The original story of Little Red Riding Hood ends with a little girl being eaten up but she isn't eaten unintentionally. Looking into Little Red Riding Hood's character, we can see that she can't make sense of who is attempting to put her at risk, hence making her totally vulnerable to the devious character which is the wolf. Hopkinson’s modern version of Little Red Riding Hood puts a spin on that dilemma. In turn, the little girl is warned of who will put her at risk and that is “wolfie”. She is not told specifically who “wolfie” is but instead told of the traits “wolfie” will come with so he can be recognized.
Perrault leaves us with an ending telling us what exactly happened, and Hopkinson’s ending is left open to interpretation. The wolf embodying demise is a key reality that has stayed steady over the progression of time. In both short stories this is evident. There have been various changes to the manner in which the wolf is displayed yet the overall imagery has not adjusted. A portion of the narratives show the wolf as an insightful predator systematically arranging out the downfall of Little Red Riding Hood. Others depict the wolf as a villain that is simply planning to eat the little girl for supper. In Hopkinsons version the plans of the “wolf” are laid out by the grandmother. This approach of displaying the theme doesn’t showcase the granddaughter so much as the victim. It is more so intended that she can fall victim to these dangers if she doesn’t listen to her elder, but she is not made victim clearly like Perrault’s original version.
Even though Hopkinson includes various aspects of Perrault’s work, “Riding the Red” aims to adapt Perrault’s central themes and ideas to create a version of Little Red Riding Hood where she portrays the thematic meaning in a different light. Both Hopkinson's and Perrault's wolf shares human characteristics which makes him considerably increasingly risky for young ladies. In Hopkinson’s version this is the place grandma's story expedites all its significance, to be sure her story contains a lesson which will be significant for her granddaughter, and everyone that reads the story. Young ladies, particularly when youthful and inexperienced, should be cautious when meeting pleasant and enchanting men because of its danger to end in a totally unwanted circumstance.
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