Folktale
Read
Willis, World Mythology, Introduction [10-16]
Notes on the Origin and Nature of Folktales
Topics
1. Analyze the sequence of events in your primary assigned variant of Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH). List
the events or “moves” in numbered order. See Propp’s morphology for an example of event sequence.
2. Analyze the major common or shared elements across the four variants of LRRH. (50 words)
3. Looking at all four variants, what is this type of tale really about at the symbolic or metaphorical level?
What do the story’s elements (characters, actions, objects) really mean? For example, in the three versions,
what does it mean that the cap is red? (50 words)
4. Optional/Advanced: Study Propp’s Morphology of the Folktale. Using either Propp’s expanded version
or the simplified revised version, analyze LRRH in light of Propp’s structural model. (50 words)
Critical question
Now that you’ve read actual collected versions of LRRH, which variant might you read to your children? For what
reasons would you choose or choose not to read this folktale to your children? What might children learn from
folktales like this that they will not learn from “Sesame Street” and other modern children’s educational material?
Mythology A Philip E. Bishop
