Assignment 3- Thurber

The main argument in Shavit’s essay is that the changes in fairy tales over time can be accounted for by the different ways in which children are viewed by society. With Perraualt’s take on The Little Red Riding Hood, we see two different audiences- the child and the upper class, which would enjoy the satirical undertones of the tale and its criticism of the “city gentleman.” By the Grimm’s time, however, children had become a population separate from adults and they were the sole audience of “The Little Red Cap.” With this change in society’s perception of children, we saw differences such as the removal of satire and a moral ending.

When examining James Thurber’s version of the tale, “The Little Girl and the Wolf,” under this same light, it is important to consider the time in which his version was published- the 1940s. In this war time era, both women and children enjoyed a new realm of freedom and responsibility as many men were overseas. Child psychologist Benjamin Spock also revolutionized the way children were seen with his book, “The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care.” He emphasized seeing them as individuals and not buying into philosophies that were common to all children. This is reflected in Thurber’s version of the tale. In his version, the girl recognizes the wolf is not her grandmother and in fact, she shoots the wolf with her automatic. While somewhat shocking and comical, I believe this parallels the notion that all children, and girls especially, should not be perceived as sweet, innocent, naïve, etc. This is the way which society typically perceives them, however, not all girls are like this. Unlike Perrault and Grimm, this version seems to be intended for an adult audience only. Thurber was a well known satirist who wrote for The New Yorker and successfully took a classic childhood tale to illustrate the changes coming about in this era for both children and girls/women.