Little Red Riding Hood - Essay Example

due: different Little Red Riding Hood The Story of Red Once upon a time, far away in the land of Amalthea, there lived a man called Johann, his wife Collette and beautiful little daughter, Patience. Amalthea is an alien planet millions of miles away from Earth. After the Earth had collided with another planet in the year 2317, human beings migrated to other planets where they use their knowledge to sustain themselves. Johann and his family lived in a cave modified to resemble their home on Earth. The Amaltheans did not love the humans. They lived in separate territories, and none of them was allowed to enter the other’s territory. Patience had an adventurous spirit. Her friends called her ‘Red’ due to her hair color and fearless character. However, her father was always worried that her daring personality would lead her to trouble. Her mother thought otherwise. One day, Red was sent by her mother to the neighbor’s house to take some gifts since it was Christmas season. “Please hurry child. You know it is not safe for a girl out there alone,” she said. “Don’t take too long, I’ll start getting worried.” Red was delighted. At last the chance had come for her to explore further. She knew the cruelty of the Amaltheans but she was not afraid – or so she thought. Immediately she turned the first corner down the street, she hid the gifts in a small bush across the road and ran in the opposite direction towards the alien town. The experience was amazing. She saw floating homes, high-speed trains, spaceships, robots and all kinds of toys and dolls in malls. She came to the close of the road and realized she could not trace her way back. She panicked. “Little earthling, you must be lost, right?” she heard a voice behind her and turned quickly to see a big Amalthean staring down at her. “Umm…no sir, I was just taking a walk. I think I’ll just go back now.” She replied, trying hard not to look scared. “Well, to me it seems you are lost. You crossed the boundary into our territory several miles back. As a good Amalthean, I’ll not eat you up. Instead, I’ll take you to our king; he’ll know what to do with you. Come, now.” “No, please don’t. I’ll just find my way back,” Red pleaded. “Please don’t take me to Janus; he’ll kill me.” However, her pleas fell on deaf ears. The Amalthean threw her in his gunny bag and started his way to the Royal Palace. Red tried to plead with him along the way, but he refused to let her go. She knew she had to try a different approach, or she would die. “If you are a good Amalthean, you would not let a small girl die without saying goodbye to her parents.” She said to the alien. The alien ignored her at first. Then a thought struck him. She could use the girl to get to her parents and capture them all. Maybe even eat one of them. “Where are your parents?” he asked her. “I am doing this only because I do not want to be seen as a bad Amalthean.” “Thank you so much! They live in Stratusland, just close to the boundary. Please take me to them.” She was excited. Her plan was working. They started their way back with Red as the guide. They went round large craters, through secret tunnels, up hills and down valleys, all the time making sure they stayed out of sight. Unfortunately, they found no one at home. The Amalthean was furious, but Red managed to calm him down. “They will be back in a few minutes. They must have gone to visit Mrs. White,” she told him. “Let’s just wait in the house.” The Amalthean said they had to stay in the same room, to which Red agreed. After a while, she told the alien she had to use the bathroom outside the cave, but he could not agree. She proposed that he tie a rope around her leg then hold one end to make sure she did not run away. It seemed like a good plan, and he agreed. With the rope around her ankle, Red stepped outside the cave, slowly untied the rope and tied it to a nearby rock then ran to her neighbor’s house to tell them the story. They gathered several men and ran to Red’s house to kill the alien. Unfortunately, when they reached there, they found he had already vanished after realizing the trick Red had played on him. Red’s father warned her of disobeying her mother again, and she swore never to repeat the mistake again. She had learned her lesson. Analysis The Setting The setting of the ordeal is on an alien planet called Amalthea. Humans have discovered that the planet can sustain life, and some of them migrated there after the destruction of planet Earth after its collision with another planet. Johann lives with his family in the outskirts of an alien town. No humans are supposed to cross into the city due to the fierce rivalry between the human race and the inhabitants of the planet. The Amaltheans are ruled by a king called Janus who hates humans and would not hesitate to kill any human he meets. The time setting of the story is several years into the future (way past 2317). The narrator lives in an even further future and regards the story as a folk tale. The technology is advanced, and spaceships, floating homes, and robots are common sights in the town. The characters in the story live in modified caves in the countryside where urbanized structures are not present. The Moral of the Story The story teaches the children about the importance of obedience. Although the time and place are different from the present, the story advocates morals among the children, especially obedience. It tells of a girl who ignored her mother’s advice and decided to explore the dangerous town of the aliens alone. She meets an alien who comes close to killing her and her family. Other virtues presented in the story include the importance of wit and the consequences of greed. Were it not for the cunningness of the girl, she would have been taken to the ruler of the aliens and killed. Also, the alien was greedy and wanted to have the girl and the family too but ended up losing both and coming close to being killed by the humans. The Audience The story is intended for young children. It mainly teaches them to be obedient to their parents otherwise face the consequences. The characters and plot of the story are most easily understood by children before teenage. Such children learn easily from storytelling since they have active imaginations (Semenovich 12). Depending on the intention of the narrator, the story can also be told to older children to illustrate a situation typical of what might happen if the children fail to follow the morals of the story. The morals include obedience, wit, and contentment. The story may also be used to teach other audience, depending on the context and intentions of the narrator. The Protagonist The protagonist in this saga is Patience. The story describes her as a brave girl who has been nicknamed ‘Red’ symbolizing her fiery character, and also the color of her hair. In the story, she proves to be both brave and witty in her confrontation with the alien and also her plan to escape and trap him. Although her plan does not materialize to the last detail, she gains the admiration of the reader as a clever and brave girl. The alien is the girl’s nemesis, who is overcome and comes close to being killed. The protagonist is a child because the story is intended for children, thus makes it easier to relay the message of obedience and wit to them. The Motivation behind the Story The story is based on the classic childhood story of Little Red Riding Hood. Several versions of the story differ in terms of the plot, characters and main moral being advocated. The setting of this fiction is in the future, when present-day proposed ideas such as the end of the earth and advanced space technology have already been implemented. These concepts are the main motivation for the setting and certain characters of the story. Contemporary culture is also a major influence in the formation of the story. Most movies, animations and cartoons intended for children are usually based on fictional characters in fictional lands, mostly found in other planets. The virtues, however, remain the same. Values that promote kindness, obedience, humanity and love are upheld in the plots while aliens are considered enemies of human beings. They either invade our planet or prevent humans from inhabiting their planets. The human belief that good always triumphs over evil is also another influence in this story. Children are taught about the importance of living a virtuous life as it conquers evil, in the long run. Work cited Vygotsky, Lev Semenovich. "Imagination and creativity in childhood." Journal of Russian and east European psychology 42.1 (2004): 7-97. Read More