Book Comparison/Review (Essay Sample)

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Book comparison/review
The book "Little Red Riding Hood" has gone through many changes over a long period of time. This book was first written by Charles Perrault in 1967 as a fairy- tale. The book was initially written to children to teach them different Moral lessons in society during that time. Over a long period now the book has been revised and the story has been re-written to teach different morals to different age groups of people. In the late 20 century feminist began to use the old fairy-tales to explain and demonstrate their views on women’s roles in the society. Angela Carters re-writes this story and titled it as "The Company of Wolves." She brings out different themes that affected the society at that particular time. She also uses different styles to emphasize the themes being discussed in the book.
"The Company of Wolves" as a title has different functions. First it announces the text as a narration. In the title we can clearly tell that this story has wolves as characters. This then raises questions search as "who is in the company of the wolves?" "What is the person doing in the company of the wolves?" "What is the reaction of the wolves towards the person?”  This question then increases the curiosity of the reader to understand the book. The title explains the flow of events in the story. We can clearly tell that the story has events and themes that it follows.
The wolf
In all three stories there are major characters posed by the wolves. First the wolves are hungry creature. Perrault describe that the wolves had the thought of eating the girl but he was prevented by the wood cutters who were nearby. This hunger causes the wolf to eat Little Red Hood and her grandmother. In the second story the wolves thinks that the grandmother would make a tasty meal, this hunger leads the wolves to eat the grandmother and the Little Red hood. He is filled for a short time until the hunter comes and rescues them. Carter describes vividly the hunger state among the wolves. "You could even count the ribs if they let you" (Carter 2) this shows that the hunger among the wolves was severe. Carter also emphases that the hunger itself makes the wolves mourn. The hunger in this story does not necessarily mean lack of food but it means the desires of people. A lot of people have desires and they will do anything in their power to get or achieve what they want.
The wolves have also been portrayed to be dangerous. According to Perrault "the little girl did not know that it was dangerous to stay behind and talk to the wolves." (Perrault 1) In this statement we can derive that the wolves were dangerous animals. In his book Grimm shows that the wolves are wicked. To illustrate this, he tells u about the hunters who had been searching for the wolf. The wickedness of this animal is paid back by death. Carter uses different illustrations to show how this animal is dangerous. "The graved –eye children of the spares villages always carries knives with them" (Carter 3). In the previous stories the people are not armed to fight the wolves but in her story the people carry the spares and knives to protect themselves from the wolves.  This therefore shows the wolves are dangerous. The story about the man whose animals had been eaten by the wolves has been told to illustrate how the wolves are dangerous. "When she heard the freezing howl of a distance her practiced hand sprang to the handle of the knife.”(Carter 1) This shows that all the people were tough how to defend themselves both men and the women. This aspect of protection is omitted in the first two stories. The major moral value to be learned is that people should always keep away from dangerous people and situations. The use of wolves does not necessary mean animals but it also means the people we interact with in our day to day life. Everybody should be trained to defend the morals that they strongly believe in.
The Grandmother
In these stories the grandmother is a loving lady. Perrault says in his book "her grandmother doted on her still the more." (Perrault 1). This is to illustrate the love that the grandmother had for her grandchild was even greater than the love the mother had for the little girl. To demonstrate her love she made her "a little red riding hood" it is by this hood that she received her name. This love is farther illustrated by Carter when grandmother wonders what happens to her grandchild, "oh my God, what have you done with her?" (Carter 4) this shows that the Grandmother was concern with what happens to her grandchild. The love of a grandchild teaches that people should love each other weather related or not. People should be able to forego something for the purpose of those they love.
Carter shows that grandmother is a religious person. When the wolf in form of a young man comes in the house he finds Grandmother has a Bible. "She has her bible for company." (Carter 4) This shows that though grandmother is alone she is not lonely. This illuminate that people should avoid being lonely. This state of searching for comfort from another place is only found in Carter’s book. Considering that human beings are social being it is important for them to socialize with others especially those in the same conditions in which they are in.
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood is the main character in these stories. She is a young girl who is loved by the members of her family. The members of the society are found of her in the same measures. Due to this, we observe other virtues that she has.
She is depicted as an innocent young lady. Her innocence is found around the fact that she is so young and loved that she does not fully understand the dangers around her. Perrault illustrate that her innocents is used by the wolf to trick her into using the long way to her Grandmother place. This innocence is clearly seen in Grimm and Wilhelm’s story when they are tricked to go and look at the flowers that grow in the woods. "Haven’t you seen the beautiful flowers that are blossoming in the woods?" (Grimm and Wilhelm 1). Carter takes this innocence to a higher level when she introduces her virginity. She uses vivid description to explain it. She also uses symbolism search as sealed vessel and unbroken egg to create the image of her virginity in the readers head. This then shows that well brought up children should always strive to remain pure and modest in their ways. The ways that are thought should always be followed. However innocence should not be an excuse to be stupid and not understand the environment around us.
Carter limns Little Red Riding Hood as a w...