Little Red Riding Hood

In The Classic Fairy Tales edited by Maria Tatar the variations of the popular story, “Little Red Riding Hood” are astounding. They ranged from “G” rated to almost “Adult Only” content, changing the whole purpose of the story.
The most shocking variation was told by Louis and François Briffault in 1885. Titled “The Story of Grandmother”, the wolf mercilessly kills the grandmother, placing some of her flesh in the pantry and a bottle of her blood on the shelf. When the girl arrives, she eats the meat and drinks the “wine” at the wolf’s urging. A cat in the room says, “You’re a slut if you eat the flesh and drink the blood of granny.” The wolf then orders the girl to undress and climb into bed with him. After realizing the true identity of the wolf, the girl convinces him to let her go outside to urinate. He ties a rope around leg, which she ties to a plum tree once outside. The wolf begins to question the girl about her bodily functions, then realizes that the girl escaped. This story would be horrifying to a young child of modern times.
Charles Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood” ends with both the grandmother and girl eaten by the wolf, however the story outlines moral objectives:
     1) Little girls should not listen to just anyone.
     2) Don’t talk to wolves, even the nice ones, because they are the most dangerous.

The Brothers Grimm tell the story of “Little Red Cap” which chronicles the origin of the girl’s red cap and provides an alternate ending to the story. The first piece has the girl become preoccupied with the wildflowers, allowing the wolf to beat her to grandmother’s. The wolf eats both of them, then falls asleep. A hunter hears the loud snoring and enters to investigate. He cuts the wolf’s stomach open, saving the grandmother and girl. The second story has the girl going directly to grandmother’s, telling her of the wolf, then locking the door behind them. The wolf tries to get in, but ends up drowning in the trough filled with sausage water.
The most comical rendition was James Thurber’s “The Little Girl and the Wolf”. The girl immediately realizes that the figure in bed is not her grandmother, “for even in a nightcap a wolf does not look any more like your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn lion looks like Calvin Coolidge.” The girl shoots the wolf.
I enjoyed all the variations, but especially enjoyed the story as told by the Brothers Grimm. It provided back story into the hood, and gave two happy endings.

Fall Semester and Intro. to Literary Theory

Leave it to Professor Williams to make Literary Theory something to get excited about!  Studying great folk tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast will be awesome!  And I don't know how I managed to do this, but I have NEVER seen or read Beauty and the Beast!  My daughter, Sara,  must have already been past the Disney stage when it came out.  We've read some preliminary information regarding what literary theory is, and I'm hoping that it will be clarified in class tomorrow. 

Missing English and Samuel Clemens

Spring semester ended a month ago, and I'm REALLY going stir crazy. The stimulation created while discussing books with like-minded individuals is a high that cannot be matched! I've had to take a break from English classes this summer - BEGINNING SPANISH! Can't wait until fall semester, when I reconnect with two great professors, Dan Williams and Alex Lemon. I've already purchased my book's for Prof. Lemon's course - all nonfiction. I can't wait until this summer is over. Any suggestions on how to learn two semesters of Spanish in eight weeks?

My Final Blog (for now)

I saved this last blog to reflect over the past semester and what I have learned. In the beginning, I honestly thought that the learning would contain facts, dates, and concrete information. Why not? This was a course designed to study Mark Twain’s life and works. Was I ever wrong!

Probably the most important thing I’ve learned is that our class was filled with such intelligent, caring, and free-spirited individuals that provided my brain with more stimulation than it’s had in YEARS! It was a privilege to engage in controversial discussions led by Dr. Williams, who never seemed surprised over where the topics led.

If you would have asked me six months ago about Mark Twain’s writing style, I would only be able to rely on Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn for reference material. It is unbelievable that I could learn so much about Mark Twain’s morals and values just by reading his works. But I did. It was as if you could trace his life through his works, and I was concerned that he was going to die a cynical man. But in my heart I think he was at peace with the world, content to join his family in heaven.

For the rest of the class, I am jealous of the wonderful future you have ahead of you. I never experienced this great adventure called a “college experience”, but you have made me feel welcome, and somehow I was able to grow as a person because of your vast intelligence and compassion. I will never forget any of you, and wish all of you the very best.

And as for Dr. Williams, I will see you in the fall learning theory. This will be the third class instructed by you, and for the record I’d take another three!

Pudd'nhead Wilson

Well, once again there's proof that the book is always better than the movie. Pudd'nhead Wilson was much more enjoyable to read than to watch. Movies frequently cut whole sections of a novel/novella in an attempt to keep the movie short. This does not work with Pudd'nhead Wilson because whole subplots were omitted, leaving a shallow and predictable storyline.

The movie failed to acknowledge Ton Driskoll's use of costumes to commit his thefts. Also, the book indicated that Tom and Roxy worked as a team to commit the thefts, as the movie merely hinted of the crime spree that Tom planned and executed, and played down Roxy's role.

Dave Wilson (aka Pudd'nhead Wilson) was presented as a veritable Sherlock Holmes in the movie, and the origin of his nickname was never even addressed. Wilson had respect throughout the movie, but in the book he is portrayed as a bumbling fool that earns the town's respect at the end.

There was no duel in the movie, and Judge Driskoll's murder was only briefly addressed in the movie. The book gives details of the planning and execution of the robbery/murder committed by Tom. Tom's persona in the movie was one of a spoiled adult/child who fell on hard times. The book shows Tom's sinister side, and how calculated he could be when breaking the law.

The movie was an insult to an educated person's intelligence. It accomplished only one thing: enjoyment with no thought required.

However, the book was fascinating in the way it paid such close attention to detail and kept the reader's mind racing.

My Debut as a Literary Person

Last week we read three essays from The Complete Essays of Mark Twain. Of the three, I thoroughly enjoyed “My Début as a Literary Person”. In the introduction, Mark Twain stated that he did not consider himself published until his work had appeared in a magazine. Humorously, after being published in a magazine, his name had been misspelled so technically he was still not published.
The article that was quasi-published pertained to the burning of the clipper-ship “Hornet” in 1866. Mark Twain had the opportunity to interview the survivors when they reached the Sandwich Islands on June 15, 1866. I found the transcripts fascinating, and was amazed how almost half the ship’s occupants survived forty-three days in a mere dingy.

The essay spared no gruesome details, and provided excellent visual description throughout. I could almost feel myself getting hungry as they described the meager food portions, and how as time passed the portions shrunk.

Mark Twain was lucky enough to travel from the Sandwich Islands to San Francisco with survivors, who shared their diaries with Mark Twain. Upon writing this essay, some thirty-three years later, Mark Twain still possesses, and cherishes, the copies that he was allowed to make of the seamen’s most intimate, and vulnerable moments.

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

Last week I was the lead respondent for Mark Twain’s short story entitled, “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”. This story, published in 1899, was about a town that is supposedly incorruptible. A stranger had visited the town and was “wronged” by the townspeople. The stranger devised a plan to corrupt Hadleyburg and show the residents that they were not infallible to greed.
One night the stranger dropped off a sack of gold coins at the residence of Edward and Mary Richards. The stranger explained that he had visited the town previously in a state of poverty, and that a resident had given him $20.00 and some good advice. He wished to repay the kind citizen with the sack, which allegedly contained $40.00.
The result is a fiasco of sorts when the nineteen most upstanding citizens show a personality that was nonexistent prior to the stranger’s visit – GREED! Each citizen rationalized in their mind why they should get the money. In the end, the bag contained lead coins plated in gold. All the citizens learned that the town WAS corruptible, and vowed to learn from this charade.
Some of the themes portrayed in this work are hypocrisy, morality, individual versus society, and the Eden Myth and the “fortunate fall”. Many scholars compare this story to the temptation in Eden, and the lesson learned after eating the forbidden fruit. One of the biggest questions is whether this story is a story of revenge or redemption. The stranger’s intent was to seek revenge on the town of Hadleyburg, but he inadvertently redeemed the town by opening their eyes to their shortcomings and making them aware of them in future conflicts.
I enjoyed the story, and wish Mark Twain had written more “fable-like” pieces.