Hi there!
Great to have all your posts in...Looking forward to your views on what you fellow bloggers had to say.
Ann
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Roald Dahl's Retelling of Red Riding Hood
In analyzing Dahl's interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, I could write a long, dry treatise on how it is informed by the (troubling?) climate from whence it came (OMG kids! And guns! Kids with guns, OMG!!!) This kind of argument is logical, but fails to take into account something important about Dahl's work in general: he is a brilliant satirist, and his collection of Revolting Rhymes is no exception.
The thing about Dahl's work that makes it so appealing for me is that he recognizes that children are not oblivious to the message that the world is neither a safe nor forgiving place--ironically, a message driven home in the original versions of the very stories he satirizes in Revolting Rhymes. He recognizes this, but is never patronizing. Instead, he approaches warty realities in a way that should be applicable at any stage in life--with a certain degree of realism, but most importantly, with a cool head and a sense of humor.
In a sense, Dahl is responding to the way he most likely heard the stories told growing up--with the moral "OBEY YOUR PARENTS OR ELSE!!!" and certainly with the notion that the child protagonist can do nothing to save herself and is at the mercy of the adults in her life. Similar to the way his other stories feature independent children taking matters into their own hands, Dahl's Red Riding Hood isn't about to take any of the Wolf's nonsense about making her his next meal, and promptly takes him out.
Dahl
Roald Dahl's version of "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf" was published originally in 1982 in "Revolting Rhymes."
Based on this information and on Shavit's Method, it is easier to tell that the intended audience for the poem is most likely a teenage/adult contemporary audience. The effectiveness of the humor in the twist is the assumed reader's knowledge of the original version. The plot takes on a humorous twist when the wolf tries to correct Red Riding Hood on the questions she asks. In response to his attempted dinner she whips out a gun and kills him and makes a fur coat out of him.
This contemporary twist of the gun and fur coat as well as the wolf telling Red what she is supposed to say lets the reader know that the intended audience is an older reader who would understand the humor. The title of the book it was published in also illustrates this idea. The main argument for believing he intended the reader to be older is that he is assuming the reader knows the Grimm brothers' wording. One would presumably have gained this knowledge in one's childhood and therefore could understand the humor in an altered version later in life.
Based on this information and on Shavit's Method, it is easier to tell that the intended audience for the poem is most likely a teenage/adult contemporary audience. The effectiveness of the humor in the twist is the assumed reader's knowledge of the original version. The plot takes on a humorous twist when the wolf tries to correct Red Riding Hood on the questions she asks. In response to his attempted dinner she whips out a gun and kills him and makes a fur coat out of him.
This contemporary twist of the gun and fur coat as well as the wolf telling Red what she is supposed to say lets the reader know that the intended audience is an older reader who would understand the humor. The title of the book it was published in also illustrates this idea. The main argument for believing he intended the reader to be older is that he is assuming the reader knows the Grimm brothers' wording. One would presumably have gained this knowledge in one's childhood and therefore could understand the humor in an altered version later in life.
Dahl
Roald Dahl’s story were characterized by their unexpected endings, lack of sentimentality, and dark humour.
Having fought in World War II, Roald Dahl was obviously exposed to a lot of gruesomeness and death. Therefore, his poetry can come off with a lot of dark humour, because humour is a means of making light of something sinister. After being in the war, he probably believed that people needed to not take everything so seriously. I was surprised though, that in the poem, he made the joke of Little Red Riding Hood pulling out a pistol. I was surprised by the violence on the part of a female character.
It seems as if the audience was for both adults and children. Children in the sense that it is pedagogical, and adults in the sense that there is a lot of black humour. Dahl did seek to educate and discipline his children readers, the research says, but he also wrote for adults. Perhaps he made the poem so lighthearted because he wanted to preserve some of children’s naiveity and innocence, after getting much of his innocence and naivety destroyed in the war. Despite the dark humour, it seems as though the tale was meant to preserve some purity in children. The elements of sarcasm are meant for adults, though, such as the dialogue. According to the research, “children love his poems and stories because he writes from their point of view, and, in his books adults are often the villains or are just plain stupid.”
The children characters were often made gluttonous, like Augustus Gloop in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” They often have a serious lesson to learn, or punishment to suffer.
January 27, 2009 6:45 PM
Having fought in World War II, Roald Dahl was obviously exposed to a lot of gruesomeness and death. Therefore, his poetry can come off with a lot of dark humour, because humour is a means of making light of something sinister. After being in the war, he probably believed that people needed to not take everything so seriously. I was surprised though, that in the poem, he made the joke of Little Red Riding Hood pulling out a pistol. I was surprised by the violence on the part of a female character.
It seems as if the audience was for both adults and children. Children in the sense that it is pedagogical, and adults in the sense that there is a lot of black humour. Dahl did seek to educate and discipline his children readers, the research says, but he also wrote for adults. Perhaps he made the poem so lighthearted because he wanted to preserve some of children’s naiveity and innocence, after getting much of his innocence and naivety destroyed in the war. Despite the dark humour, it seems as though the tale was meant to preserve some purity in children. The elements of sarcasm are meant for adults, though, such as the dialogue. According to the research, “children love his poems and stories because he writes from their point of view, and, in his books adults are often the villains or are just plain stupid.”
The children characters were often made gluttonous, like Augustus Gloop in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” They often have a serious lesson to learn, or punishment to suffer.
January 27, 2009 6:45 PM
Roald Dahl LRRH
Roald Dahl
Dahl's version of Little Red Riding Hood, "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf" was written as a compilation of short stories in 1995. There are a few Roald Dahl poem versions of fairy tales included in this book, "Revolting Rhymes"
audience: I believe the audience for this particular version of Little Red Riding Hood would be older children, many of whom have already read and loved Roald Dahl's writing. I would even go as far as to place the parents of these children in the audience as well. Roald Dahl is not only writing to entertain the children, but also the parents. Many of his books are like this.
culture & time: This represents a new culture and time, without many morals and limitations. Roald Dahl's violence and independence of Little Red Riding Hood show a different interpretation on what goes on in today's world (I am considering 1995 close enough to today's world to consider both the same). Reading this version did not phase me the way that it might have phased people years ago. The only moral in this story is to watch out for wolfs, but it doesn't really go into the sexual content. It also shows the little girl as independant and capable of taking care of herself, unlike many of the previous versions read. This is a change, but in today's world we do promote more independence and have more gender equality. If a little girl was shown as weak, that would not go over as well. This version also shows how violence is almost accepted as the norm today. It is almost like, "oh, of course Little Red Riding Hood would take out a pistol, shoot the wolf, and then wear him as a coat." Little kids, rather then the previous huntsman, have access to guns, and this is considered a norm. Violent video games and television shows are so common that it isn't even more then a short pause, and an "of course".
Dahl's version of Little Red Riding Hood, "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf" was written as a compilation of short stories in 1995. There are a few Roald Dahl poem versions of fairy tales included in this book, "Revolting Rhymes"
audience: I believe the audience for this particular version of Little Red Riding Hood would be older children, many of whom have already read and loved Roald Dahl's writing. I would even go as far as to place the parents of these children in the audience as well. Roald Dahl is not only writing to entertain the children, but also the parents. Many of his books are like this.
culture & time: This represents a new culture and time, without many morals and limitations. Roald Dahl's violence and independence of Little Red Riding Hood show a different interpretation on what goes on in today's world (I am considering 1995 close enough to today's world to consider both the same). Reading this version did not phase me the way that it might have phased people years ago. The only moral in this story is to watch out for wolfs, but it doesn't really go into the sexual content. It also shows the little girl as independant and capable of taking care of herself, unlike many of the previous versions read. This is a change, but in today's world we do promote more independence and have more gender equality. If a little girl was shown as weak, that would not go over as well. This version also shows how violence is almost accepted as the norm today. It is almost like, "oh, of course Little Red Riding Hood would take out a pistol, shoot the wolf, and then wear him as a coat." Little kids, rather then the previous huntsman, have access to guns, and this is considered a norm. Violent video games and television shows are so common that it isn't even more then a short pause, and an "of course".
Thurber
--> Outline who you think the audience is and what the fairy tale's retelling says about the culture and time in which it is written:
James Thurber was best known for his contribution to "The New Yorker" magazine, whose audience is very much adult. It is clear that his version of Little Red Riding Hood "The Little Girl and the Wolf" was intended for adults as well.
According to Wikipedia, Thurber's fables were often satirical and that the "moral" was really more of a punchline. In his fairy tale "The Little Girl and the Wolf" Thurber very briefly sets up the Grimm/Perrault version of Little Red Riding Hood, with the little girl carrying a basket of food to her grandmother and encountering the wolf in the woods. However, Thurber chooses the point when the little girl sees the wolf at grandma's house to completely take off in a different direction. Thurber comments that "the wolf does not look any more like your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn lion looks like Calvin Coolidge." This is where it first becomes obvious that Thurber intended this fairy tale to be enjoyed by adults because children would most definitely not understand this comparison.
Thurber finishes off the story with the little girl shooting the wolf with an automatic - something also not intended for children. At the end, the moral is indeed a punchline that would be enjoyed by the adults reading it.
This fairy tale was written in 1940, right in the middle of World War II. It was a time when people were in need of funny, lighthearted stories like "The Little Girl and the Wolf" in order to take their minds off of the war that was going on. Thurber's comedic tone definitely represents this desire for people at the time to have something that could take their minds off of hard times.
James Thurber was best known for his contribution to "The New Yorker" magazine, whose audience is very much adult. It is clear that his version of Little Red Riding Hood "The Little Girl and the Wolf" was intended for adults as well.
According to Wikipedia, Thurber's fables were often satirical and that the "moral" was really more of a punchline. In his fairy tale "The Little Girl and the Wolf" Thurber very briefly sets up the Grimm/Perrault version of Little Red Riding Hood, with the little girl carrying a basket of food to her grandmother and encountering the wolf in the woods. However, Thurber chooses the point when the little girl sees the wolf at grandma's house to completely take off in a different direction. Thurber comments that "the wolf does not look any more like your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn lion looks like Calvin Coolidge." This is where it first becomes obvious that Thurber intended this fairy tale to be enjoyed by adults because children would most definitely not understand this comparison.
Thurber finishes off the story with the little girl shooting the wolf with an automatic - something also not intended for children. At the end, the moral is indeed a punchline that would be enjoyed by the adults reading it.
This fairy tale was written in 1940, right in the middle of World War II. It was a time when people were in need of funny, lighthearted stories like "The Little Girl and the Wolf" in order to take their minds off of the war that was going on. Thurber's comedic tone definitely represents this desire for people at the time to have something that could take their minds off of hard times.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Assignment 3- 27.Jan 2009
Hi Nikki, Erin, Benton, Michelle, Emily and Tiffany,
Below is the assignment, to which you will send in responses by Midnight on Tuesday.
You have read Shavit's essay comparing the Perrault and Grimm versions of'Little Red Riding Hood'. Using Shavit's method, consider one of the other versions you read for this week (Dahl, Calvino, Thurber, Chiang Mi). With a little research (you may use Wikipedia, since this is not a research paper),outline who you think the audience is and what the fairy tale's retelling says about the culture and time in which it is written.
Looking forward to your posts,
Ann
Below is the assignment, to which you will send in responses by Midnight on Tuesday.
You have read Shavit's essay comparing the Perrault and Grimm versions of'Little Red Riding Hood'. Using Shavit's method, consider one of the other versions you read for this week (Dahl, Calvino, Thurber, Chiang Mi). With a little research (you may use Wikipedia, since this is not a research paper),outline who you think the audience is and what the fairy tale's retelling says about the culture and time in which it is written.
Looking forward to your posts,
Ann
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