#bzou

“IAH 241E - Kent Kubani - Dr. Ellen Moll

“Then I had the gun and I pulled the trigger. My grandma had taught me how once, without my mom knowing, in case I ever needed to defend myself, she said.” Francesca Lia Block casts her nameless, female protagonist as a independent, self assured, prepared girl, who is ready to take on the culmination of years of abuse head on. From the moment [she] makes her escape on bus through Los Angeles to the outside desert where her grandmother lives, the protagonist, while unhappy, understands her reality and knows that she must leave to protect herself.

It is evident that Block, while writing a piece about a very real, very modern sequence of events, creates a remix of the general storyline and elements of “Little Red Riding Hood” - possibly even commenting on her interpretation of it.

In what is considered by many to be the first telling of the “Little Red Riding Hood” tale, a story called “The Story of Grandmother,” the bzou tells Little Red Riding Hood to “eat the mean [that’s in it] and drink a bottle of wine,” and she obeys. What she is actually eating and drinking is the meat and blood of her grandmother. This may lead a reader to view the bzou as manipulative, deceptive, and sly, and Little Red as innocent and unaware of her surroundings. This is quite different than in Block’s “Wolf,” where the protagonist does not trust the antagonist at all, and is very unwilling to accept his words or actions. A reader may view the protagonist as intelligent, independent, and brave; especially compared to Little Red in “The Story of Grandmother,” and the antagonist as stupid and evil.

Block may even be commenting on a shift in safety and gender roles in society, or possibly even just within literature. In “The Story of Grandmother,” Little Red, while she escapes in the end, does not scrutinize her “grandmother’s” voice when it is actually the wolf, the cat who says “A slut is she who eats the flesh and drinks the blood of her grandmother!”,  or when the bzou tells her to take off all of her clothes and get into bed with him. Now, in modern days, children are told at a very young age to be aware of their surroundings and to not trust strangers. Also, women are told to be aware of their surroundings and who they are with, especially at night, which is a stark contrast to sending your little girl out into the wilderness all by herself.

While Little Red was initially not revealed to be very sly in “The Story of Grandmother,” the protagonist in “Wolf” is cast to be a very different character, which supports Block’s possible goal to contrast women’s roles in society, as well as their capabilities to act strongly and intelligently, and on their own. The protagonist of “Wolf” is not told by her mother to leave for her grandmother’s house, nor is her grandmother’s house close enough to walk to - the protagonist makes the decision entirely on her own, going against what she thinks her mother would think, as a decision for the well being of herself. Little Red, in the older versions of the tale is acting directly under orders from her mother, and once she arrives at her grandmother’s house, (this is where it differs from story to story) sometimes is even acting at the direction of the wolf pretending to be her grandmother. This difference could be an indication of Block’s intention to craft a lead female protagonist with intelligence and independence, making a classic story more relevant to modern times.

Adding to the independence Block gifted her protagonist with is the fact that she kills the antagonist with her own hands - she shoots him.

In Charles Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood,” Little Red is eaten by the wolf and that is the end

In Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s “Little Red Cap,” Little Red and her grandmother are eaten by the wolf, and a hunter comes and saves them and kills the wolf

In “The Story of Grandmother,” after Little Red has eaten and drank parts of her grandmother and after she undressed and got into bed with the wolf, she escapes, but the wolf is still alive

The protagonist in “Wolf” takes it upon herself to confront her antagonist and take care of him herself. She is not eaten and she does not run, she knows that she has to solve her problem herself to truly escape.

13:Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?

he doesn't identify as anything but the closest would probably be pan??? he doesn't care about gender, he just wants someone that loves him and is interesting (a little mysterious even) and can take him somewhere far away. He's just attracted to personality heheh

14:Physical abnormalities? (Both visible and not, including injuries/disabilities, long-term illnesses, food-intolerances, etc.)

sometimes i like to think he has freckles if that counts, but like light and sprinkled across his cheeks and bridge of his nose, his shoulders and down his back a lil, and his arms. But i try not to imagine him a certain way or describe his physical appearance much because i rly like to leave that up to the reader!! (his only physical attribute that i can describe on its own is his worn out red sweater and he's a little malnourished but thats it)

his malnourised...ness comes from being a lil picky and also not having an appetite not from food intolerances

15:Biggest and smallest short term goal?

buy a car so he doesn't have to take the subway anymore, especially since he takes it so late so there's only a few people on the train with him (he'd rather it be packed or be completely empty, a scattered few people make him VERY uncomfortable, he thinks he can be targeted easier that way)

16:Biggest and smallest long term goal?

earn enough money so he can provide for the people he cares about (his mom, his little "sister"/next door neighbour and her grandmother) esp his mom cause she can't leave him at the moment cause of money so he wants to earn enough so they can ditch his sorry ass and move into a nice apartment

17:Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dress

comfy, he's never caught without his worn-out red hoodie HAHAha.................

18:Favorite beverage?

milk probably, i dont even have a reason thats just. Thats him.

19:What do they think about before falling asleep at night?

done!

20:Childhood illnesses? Any interesting stories behind them?

nothing other than the odd cold and flu here and there. Because his mom works a lot he had to learn to care for himself when the old lady next door couldn't help him (and boy did she try to take care of him and his "sister" (whos her actual granddaughter))

21:Turn-ons? Turn-offs?

someone interesting, someone that can really open up a whole new world for him and take him away

turn offs are angry people, slobs, people that berate him for the smallest things

22:Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen?

doodles, maybe a little writing, bad poetry, more scribbling, tapping his pencil on the paper a lot, bad attempts at drawing animals

23:How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?

2:Do they have any daily rituals?

umm not in particularly?? He cooks dinner every day for himself and his mom (and regrettably, his step-dad) cause his mom works really late, but he eats it alone and leaves his mom's on the stove for her if she's not home yet

he would probably also check on his sister after school, just knock on the door of the apartment next to his and see how she's doing, maybe see if she needs any help on anything, but that's only if he doesn't have work, cause he gets off of work really late usually :((

19:What do they think about before falling asleep at night?

12:Favorite book genre?

fantasies or epics, something that has a vast, well-developed world, characters and plot, so he can really sink himself into it and feel like he can escape

24:Is there one subject of study that they excel at? Or do they even care about intellectual pursuits at all?

he likes to learn about animals and plants and nature, but he's not that great at it and he doesn't want to pursue it as a career or anything, he just likes the presence of nature (he lives in the city and he doesn't hate it, he just feels more at ease when he's in a park or something!)

36:What makes them feel guilty?

how much his mother works, aiding in the murders of young women, getting his little "sister" killed..................................

THANK U ANON

2-4 songs that are probably on their iPod

nameless world by skip the use…….. (or is it the other way around)

slow down by lights

fantasy by ms mr

and because it suits him so well (i have a list of songs that describe him or the man…) the driver by bastille

the one place they sometimes end up falling asleep — where they’re not supposed to

on the couch where hes not really allowed unless his step-dads not home, but probably more likely on his bedroom floor curled up in the light from his blinds

the game they’d destroy everyone else at

he doesn’t play video games that much and he doesn’t really have many (he’s not that good at them anyway he just wants to have a little fun) but he’d probably be good at cranium

the emoticon they’d use most often

;u; or any variation thereof

what they act like when they haven’t had enough sleep

tired and a little irritable and sad which is really unlike him (before the events of bzou) so people always are a little ????

their preferred hot beverage on really cold nights. or mornings. or whenever.

hot chocolate or apple cider! warm milk when he was younger

how they like to comfort/care for themselves when they’re in a slump

just take a day to be alone and do quiet things that make him feel at peace, like carve little animals out of little blocks of wood, read a little, go for a walk through a major park, listen to music

what they wanted to be when they grew up

something probably like a vet, until he heard he’d have to see animals die… he likes animals because he feels they better understand him and are just kind and loyal and fuzzy

their favorite kind of weather

he’s pretty okay with any kind of weather, but i think he’d enjoy soft snowfall the best (before bzou hahaha………..)

thoughts on their singing voice (decent? terrible? soprano? alto?)

i dont know the difference between soprano and alto…….. he’d probably be average but doesnt sing a whole lot

how/what they like to draw or doodle