“The Little Girl and the Wolf” December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961 A Modern Fairy Tale by James Thurber

Common Fairy Tale Motifs Talking animals / objects Human weakness explored (i.e., curiosity, gluttony, pride, laziness, etc.) Human strengths glorified (i.e., kindness, generosity, patience, etc.) Trickster (sometimes a hero, sometimes on the side of evil but humans benefit) Guardians (fairy godmothers, mentors, magical helpers, Struggle between good and evil, light and dark Youngest vs. Oldest (sons, daughters, sibling rivalry) Sleep (extended sleep, death-like trances) Impossible tasks (ridiculously mind-numbing, fantastic effort needed to complete, etc.)

Analyze the Graphic Setting Protagonist Antagonist Conflict Point of View Color/Season Symbolism Theme

Fairy Tale-One afternoon a big wolf waited in a dark forest for a little girl to come along carrying a basket of food to her grandmother. Finally a little girl did come along and she was carrying a basket of food. "Are you carrying that basket to your grandmother?" asked the wolf. The little girl said yes, she was. So the wolf asked her where her grandmother lived and the little girl told him and he disappeared into the wood.

Continued…When the little girl opened the door of her grandmother's house she saw that there was somebody in bed with a nightcap and nightgown on. She had approached no nearer than twenty-five feet from the bed when she saw that it was not her grandmother but the wolf, for even in a nightcap a wolf does not look any more like your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn lion looks like Calvin Coolidge. So the little girl took an automatic out of her basket and shot the wolf dead.

Moral (Moral: It is not so easy to fool little girls nowadays as it used to be.) Research: Calvin Coolidge and Metro Goldwyn Lion

Theme- Examine and explain the moral of the story. What does it imply Theme- Examine and explain the moral of the story. What does it imply? What “truth” does it reveal? Is it relevant to modern audiences? Cite modern examples. Writer’s Style and Tone- Describe the author’s style and tone. How does this contribute to the theme? Character/Archetype- Examine the characters in this story. Do they fit any archetypes? Explain Analysis: Have a group discussion and take notes citing evidence from the text (diction, quotations). Present key points and evidence to the class. Time Inference/Research- Speculate on the time period of this piece. What clues does the text provide? Research these clues and present factual information about the time period, publishing date, and author. Irony- Explain +3 surprising elements in this story. What is the audience’s expectation? How does the use of fairy tale and dystopian elements relate to the irony? .

Rough Draft Essay Topic: Analyze a literary element from Thurber’s fairy tale (irony, theme, tone, style) Intro Paragraph-TAG-Describe author’s time period and writing style Summarize briefly the original and modern fairy tale Elaborate the ironic contrast State your thesis (literary element Body Paragraph-Topic sent-literary term Plot example #1/ details Quotation #1 Elaboration-explain relevance Plot example #2/details Quotation #2 Concluding Point