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Cindy Johnson
11-16-2010
English 9A—Glotfelty
Unit 4 Portfolio
“Cinderella” vs. “Little Red Riding Hood”
“Why, Grandmother, what big teeth you have!” Almost anyone would recognize those words addressed to the big bad wolf in the fairy tale” Little Red Riding Hood,” just as most people would also recognize “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” as the words of the fairy godmother from “Cinderella.” What most people may not realize, however, is that although “Cinderella” and” Little Red Riding Hood” are both fairy tales often read to children as bedtime stories, “Cinderella” is actually a much better fairy tale because of the description of the main character, the kind of conflict involved, and the theme of that particular story. First of all, the description given of Cinderella is much more detailed and specific than the description given of Little Red Riding Hood. Readers of Cinderella’s story know that her mother died when she was very young, that her father remarried a woman who doesn’t care much for Cinderella, and that she now has two wicked step-sisters, Anastasia and Drizella, who make the concept of a blended family little more than a nightmare for Cinderella. The reader immediately feels a sense of sympathy for Cinderella. Some readers may have lost a parent themselves, and many have experienced “step” relationships that were less than ideal, to say the least. They may also feel that, like Cinderella, they too have to do all the work in their home, whether it’s washing the dishes or scrubbing a soot-encrusted fireplace. In contrast, readers know very little about Little Red Riding Hood, except that her mother sews, as evidenced by the brightly colored cloak she wears as her trademark, and that her grandmother lives in the woods. Frankly, that’s not much of a description, and certainly not one that allows a reader to feel any kind of connection to her. The conflict is another aspect of the story that makes” Cinderella” superior to “Little Red Riding
11-16-2010
English 9A—Glotfelty
Unit 4 Portfolio
“Cinderella” vs. “Little Red Riding Hood”
“Why, Grandmother, what big teeth you have!” Almost anyone would recognize those words addressed to the big bad wolf in the fairy tale” Little Red Riding Hood,” just as most people would also recognize “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” as the words of the fairy godmother from “Cinderella.” What most people may not realize, however, is that although “Cinderella” and” Little Red Riding Hood” are both fairy tales often read to children as bedtime stories, “Cinderella” is actually a much better fairy tale because of the description of the main character, the kind of conflict involved, and the theme of that particular story. First of all, the description given of Cinderella is much more detailed and specific than the description given of Little Red Riding Hood. Readers of Cinderella’s story know that her mother died when she was very young, that her father remarried a woman who doesn’t care much for Cinderella, and that she now has two wicked step-sisters, Anastasia and Drizella, who make the concept of a blended family little more than a nightmare for Cinderella. The reader immediately feels a sense of sympathy for Cinderella. Some readers may have lost a parent themselves, and many have experienced “step” relationships that were less than ideal, to say the least. They may also feel that, like Cinderella, they too have to do all the work in their home, whether it’s washing the dishes or scrubbing a soot-encrusted fireplace. In contrast, readers know very little about Little Red Riding Hood, except that her mother sews, as evidenced by the brightly colored cloak she wears as her trademark, and that her grandmother lives in the woods. Frankly, that’s not much of a description, and certainly not one that allows a reader to feel any kind of connection to her. The conflict is another aspect of the story that makes” Cinderella” superior to “Little Red Riding