Essay On Symbolism In The Little Red Riding Hood

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The wolf in The Little Red Riding Hood symbolizes a number of things as it does in several other fairy tales. First, it portrays the image of cunning characters in the society. At first, the animal looks harmless upon meeting the girl in the forest. It's questions to the girl appear as genuine and straightforward as they would to anyone else. The girl could not be skeptical in the way the wolf asks, “Where are you going”. Nothing looked unusual to the girl considering the environment in which the two met. The girl was in the woods and would probably assume the wolf was concerned with her safety. Little did the girl know that the wolf was laying a trap for her so that it could know her exact destination? To confirm the wolf’s cunning character, …show more content…

Wolves are known to hunt at night. Darkness at night is closely connected to destruction, and most of the night’s activities are closely associated with destruction. However, in this story, the animal appears in the daytime which shows its daring character and the desire to destroy at any time. The girl portrays the picture of an obedient girl carrying out her duties as usual in a conventional society. This is a symbol of a typical society and how people go about their duties. The wolf interrupts the girl on her way and pursues her to her grandmother’s house and destroys both of …show more content…

It is depicted as one of those men who deceive and abuse young girls in the society. By hiding in the forest and laying her traps on how to capture and eat her up, the wolf plays the part of men who waylay young girls and use them. It avoids the tree cutters who represent the authority in the society and proceeds to kill her grandmother who symbolizes the girl’s destination which could symbolize girls’ dreams and aspirations in real life. The wolf then lays in the grandmother’s bed symbolizing replacing the girl’s dreams and later swallowing her which symbolizes rape