Tabosares, Hannah Mae M.

A Literary Criticism on the Little Red Cap by Brothers Grimm

The story follows with a young girl who wore a red velvet cap that was given to
her by her grandmother. Now, the grandmother became sick and her mother told her to
bring something that could ease the old woman’s discomfort. While on the journey
towards her grandma’s house, a wolf approached and distracted her by telling to pick
some lovely flowers. The girl nonchalantly did and the wolf began to enter the house of
her grandma and ate her. When the little girl arrived to her destination, she noticed
something different in her grandma’s features, and revealed to be that wolf. She then
got eaten and the wolf became full. Then, a huntsman saved them from the wolf’s body.
It became a lesson learned every time little red cap would visit her grandmother into the
woods, for they became wary of the wolf’s ricks and presence and was now able to
defend themselves by letting the wolf taste his own medicine.

By this, romanticism was present. The existence of a talking wolf was a mere
fantasy. Also, the fact that the wolf swallowed two human beings as a whole and those
two survived, it is fully impossible to happen. It was not normal and at the same time, it
was based on the authors’ imaginations. Another literary approach called formalism was
also evident. The fact that it is a metaphor, it used signs and symbols to make such new
meanings or comparison. The authors were probably trying to reach out a concern by
teaching the readers especially the young ones like little red cap to not talk and trust
odd strangers. It is a metaphorical rising of awareness against people like the wolf who
are deceitful and trusting them would only bring more harm than good. Also, there are
people like the huntsman who has a kind heart that would save people against the
wolves who are dressing like a soft grandma in the society where there are a lot of girls
like little red cap lives.