ENG 331 – Traditional Literature Assignment
July 14, 2003
I chose two versions
of Little Red Riding Hood—one being the traditional story retold and
illustrated by James Marshall simple titled Little Red Riding Hood,
and a new modern version set on a prairie instead of the woods written by
Lisa Campbell Ernst called Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie
Tale. Not only is the setting different in these two versions, but
we find out that in Ernst’s version, Grandma is actually Little Red Riding
Hood from the traditional story, and the Little Red Riding Hood in this version
is actually her granddaughter.
The basic storyline
is the same in both versions. Little Red Riding Hood is sent off by
her mother to deliver a basket of goodies for Grandma. Little Red Riding
Hood goes into the woods and meets a wolf. The wolf tricks her into
buying him some time to go and set up his evil plan. She picks flowers
while the wolf runs ahead to eat Grandma.
But the setting,
and from this point on in the stories, are different. In Marshall’s
version, the story is set in the woods and there is really no set time period
that can really be established—only that it happened long ago. In Ernst’s
version, the story is set on the prairie and takes place in the future compared
to Marshall’s version. This is because, as we find out later, that Grandma
in Ernst’s version is the original Little Red Riding Hood. Instead
of the wolf eating her in Ernst’s version, Grandma catches the wolf and makes
him work for her in the bakery. No one is eaten. In Marshall’s
traditional version, the wolf eats both Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood,
and they are saved when a hunter comes and takes them out of the wolf’s stomach.
This variation in the story is to shows creative writing styles. If
children read the traditional story and later read Ernst’s version, they
will be surprised by the story. They will think it is the story they
have always heard, but actually, it is quite different. It is more
of a sequel than a retelling. Ernst uses creative writing skills to
have the original Little Red Riding Hood’s granddaughter experience the same
scenario until the wolf meets up with Grandma.
The illustrations
are very different because of the settings the two versions take place in.
Although the storylines are basically the same, the illustrations depict two
different time periods. In the beginning where Little Red Riding Hood’s
mother is baking, you can see the differences in the kitchen. Marshall’s
version has an old, cluttered kitchen. Ernst’s version shows a tidy
kitchen with several electrical appliances and a gas stove.
Overall, I was
very surprised, when I read the two versions to compare and contrast.
I just thought that the only difference was the setting, but I was really
delighted to find out that Ernst’s version had the Grandma being the original
Little Red Riding Hood. I really enjoyed that twist to the story, and
it made reading the story really fun.
References
Ernst, Lisa Campbell. Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled
Prairie Tale. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young
Readers, 1995.
Marshall, James. Little Red Riding Hood. New York:
Dial Books for Young Readers, 1987.