The story of Little Red Riding Hood is easy to arouse the sympathy of the reader. The first thing that needs to be said about the background of the story that is easily overlooked: Little Red Riding Hood goes to visit her grandmother alone, why does she go alone and where are her parents? When you think about it, you will find a surprising fact, that is, her parents may no longer be alive, or abandoned her, otherwise we can not understand how they can allow a child to risk doing such a thing alone.
In addition is the size difference between Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf, the wolf is a very aggressive animal, as a small child with almost no ability to resist.
In such a premise, the wolf does not take a direct attack on Little Red Riding Hood – this is the cruelest part of the story: it maximizes its own interests through deception, and also destroys the only good things in the story (Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother and the affection between them). The reader can only feel powerless anger from the beginning to the end.
Zhongting, I really like your analysis of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. I think the reason they were chosen to be as they are, as a helpless little girl and a big frightening wolf, is to make the story’s message clearer, especially in the versions that are meant for kids. The story clearly speaks on society and the powerlessness of little girls compared to the power of men. As you said, the wolf does not just attack Red out of the gate; he uses his intelligence to manipulate her into doing exactly what he wants. He is not meant to just be a wild animal, but a calculated killer. We are not meant as readers to feel good at the end of the story; we are meant to feel powerless anger because the story is a warning to avoid men like the Wolf, a warning to little girls that the world does not grant them agency or power and they must protect themselves in other ways.