Classic Fairy Tales: Annotated Bibliography

In his evaluation of Little Red Riding Hood, Bill Delaney states, “In analyzing a story . . . it is often the most incongruous element that can be the most revealing.” To Delaney, the most revealing element in Little Red Riding Hood is the protagonist’s scarlet cloak. Delaney wonders how a peasant girl could own such a luxurious item. First, he speculates that a “Lady Bountiful” gave her the cloak, which had belonged to her daughter. Later, however, Delaney suggests that the cloak is merely symbolic, perhaps representing a fantasy world in which she lives.

In his analysis of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Richard Kelly describes Wonderland as a nonsensical place where Alice is “treated rudely, bullied, asked questions with no answers, and denied answers to asked questions.” Kelly gives special attention to the “dream garden.” Kelly equates the dream garden with the Garden of Eden, “a longing for lost innocence.” Alice peers through a passage and sees the “beautiful garden with bright flowers and cool fountains.” Unfortunately, she is too large to fit through the door, so she can only ponder its significance. When Alice shrinks to the proper size and finally enters the garden, however, she finds that it is not what she thought it would be. According to Kelly, “it proves to be a parodic Garden of Life, for the roses are painted, the people are playing cards, and the death-cry “Off with her head!” echoes throughout the croquet grounds. Kelly later implies that Alice’s dream garden represents Carroll’s “romantic vision of an Edinic childhood” but which is “corrupted by adult sin and sexuality.” The “hope and joy” that fills Alice lasts for a short time and then is “trample[d] . . . with the hatred and fury of the beheading Que...

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... 1-1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 February 2012.

McGovern, Edythe M.. Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition, January 2009, 1-1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 February 2012.

Murray, Thomas J.. Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction Series, March 1991, 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 February 2012.

Recommended Reading: 500 Classics Reviewed, June 1995, 1-1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 February 2012.

Salwak, Dale. Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction Series, March 1991, 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 February 2012.

Weigel, Jr., James. Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition, January 2009, 1-1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 February 2012.

Weigel, Jr., James. Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition, January 2009, 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 February 2012.