The Analytical Essay: The Murder Of Little Red

Once upon a time, there was a little girl with a red hood, on a quest to bring her ill grandmother goodies. As the story goes, during her meander through the woods, Little Red is spotted by the Big Bad Wolf, who then targets the child. When the wolf approaches the girl, she naively shares her destination and follows his idea to pick some flowers before continuing her journey. Beating the girl to the house- and swallowing her grandmother- the wolf disguises himself just in time to open the door for Little Red. What happens next varies significantly depending on which version of the fable is being presented. In this tale, however, Little Red never makes it to the door. Before the culprit liable for Little Red’s disappearance is revealed, it

Masking its deadly nature is bright fruits of green or orange shades, drawing in the victims like Aurora to the spindle. Hidden in these deceptive fruits, there is a very powerful weapon, a seed. The strychnine seed can cause a reaction that is almost immediate, with symptoms beginning to appear after about a half hour after ingestion and death not long after. After intensive questioning, strychnine revealed its symptoms. With this reaction, victims lose all control of their nervous systems, leading to rapid and spastic muscle spasms throughout the entire physical body. If Little Red stumbled upon and sampled this fruit, she could have screamed as loud as she wanted, but she would not have been able to run for help. This quality made the poison ideal for serial killer Dr. Thomas Neill Cream, who killed eight people using the plant between 1878 and 1892. Using this incident, authorities pressed strychnine further, hoping to land a confession, but again, could not get one. Although there was no evidence directly linking strychnine to the crime, it remained on the list of potential suspects. All it would have taken for Little Red to become a casualty of this tree is a nibble of the seemingly harmless

This little shrub contains flowers of red, pink, yellow, or white shades- all inviting colors. However, their beauty should not come without fear because this plant is another that is quick to inflict death. It also very common in gardens, making it a familiar face. While it sat quietly in the corner and politely answered each set of questions, authorities knew better than to be deceived by its kind front. Oleander is another plant that has toxicity spread across its entire body. The brittle branches or stems are highly dangerous when handled. The leaves also pose a threat because they are extremely venomous. Any run in with this plant causes problems in the gastrointestinal system and the nervous system. The symptoms this plant provides include less severe effects such as vomiting and diarrhea, but can be as serious as seizures or comas, which could result in death. To try and get a rise out of oleander, authorities tapped into its dark past. In 2000, a woman attempted to murder her husband for his life insurance by adding a few of the leaves to his food. However, the tactic failed, and again, authorities were left with more questions than when they began the