“Discuss the ways in which authors deal with the theme of 'coming-of-age'.

Refer to one Duffy poem and two other texts of your choice.

Comparing:
 Little Red Cap
 Little Red Riding Hood
 Mrs Tilscher's Class

Mrs Tilscher's Class

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
-Positive atmosphere, comforting images
-Appealing to senses – sound, sight
-Mrs Tilscher – protective, caring, nurturing
-Metaphor/school reference – tadpoles. New life, growing up.
-Frogs – freedom of adulthood, chaos/trouble
-Senses – heat, static, stress exciting
-Thunderstorm (pathetic fallacy) – hormones, emotions
-Knowledge (parents) – forced into growing up. 'appalled' attitude.
-Mrs Tilscher turning away
Uses time to present change – Easter, July
Structure: block stanzas. Short sentences at the start. Childish thinking?

Little red cap

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
-Summary of little red cap, french revolutionary etc
-Symbolism of colour red
-Discuss how Duffy bases in fairytale
-Loss of innocence etc
-Metaphorical journey through life
-Nursery rhyme style
-Leaving familiarity of the home, losing childish badges
-Learning ('lesson one') refers to herself as 'little girl'
-White dove – loss of innocence. Sacrificing purity for experience and knowledge.
-'But then I was young' – now older. Fed up and disillusioned with relationship.
-'Out of the forest I come...' - now fully grown up and independent – move from ignorance to knowledge,
innocence to experience, true view of the world, realistic.
Structure: Enjambment, long sentences - Artistic thought, freedom. Block stanzas – repetitive lifestyle?

Little red riding hood (charles perrault version)

FAIRYTALE – cautionary, moral. Compare with Little Red Cap.
-Going to see grandmother – homely, caring girl. Ignorant, idealistic.
-Emphasises girl's naivety – rule of 3 (gathering nuts, butterflies, flowers)
-Grandmother still naïve (letting the wolf in). Shows consequences of being overly trusting.
-'What big eyes' etc. Builds tension as girl slowly realises it isn't her grandmother
-Wolf eats her up – in this coming of age story, her naivety is her downfall and she does not progress to
seeing the real world or gaining experience. It is more of a warning to children to grow up and gain
knowledge and lose idealism, promoting coming-of-age experiences.
Structure: Prose. No rhyme or enjambment. Realistic.

Introduction:
 Summarising: A coming-of-age story is usually a type of novel where the protagonist is initiated into
adulthood through knowledge or experience (or both), often by a process of disillusionment.
Understanding comes after the dropping of preconceptions, a destruction of a false sense of
security, or in some way the loss of innocence.
“Discuss the ways in which authors deal with the theme of 'coming-of-age'. Refer to
one Duffy poem and two other texts of your choice.”

A coming-of-age story is a type of text in which the main character becomes an adult. This
can be through knowledge or experience, moving from idealistic views to realistic views, or
often by a process of disillusionment. Understanding comes after the dropping of
preconceptions, a destruction of a false sense of security, or in some way the loss of
innocence. The texts 'Mrs Tilscher's Class', 'Little Red Cap' and 'Little Red Riding Hood'
each deal with the theme of coming of age, though in different ways.
'Mrs Tilscher's Class' is an autobiographical poem by Carol-Ann Duffy. It describes a
child's view of the world changing from thinking that school is 'better than home', to
learning about the realistic adult world and the onset of puberty, leaving the speaker
feeling isolated. 'Little Red Riding Hood' is a prose piece by Charles Perrault. It tells the
story of a young girl who talks to a wolf (a metaphor for talking to strangers), and is
consequently tricked and eaten. 'Little Red Cap' is an autobiographical poem by Carol-Ann
Duffy, based around the story of little red riding hood, drawing inspiration from earlier
versions as well. Duffy uses the story as a source material, to describe the relationship
between a woman (herself) and a man (described as a wolf). In this piece, the speaker
matures after 10 years in the relationship, and the 'coming-of-age' is instead a move from
idealism to realism, and to independency.

'Mrs Tilscher's Class' is written in the second person, allowing the reader to identify with
the speaker, as it could be any child at school. It simultaneously shows Duffy's detachment
from the time at school, as if she is describing somebody else's life. It is a mix of narration
and description that can be quite confusing, which effectively conveys the way the speaker
feels throughout, particularly in the second half. The stanzas appear as blocks on the
page, which may signify childish thought.
'Little Red Riding Hood' is a prose piece, and is now a commonly known fairy tale. It does
not contain rhyme or enjambment, and is written in the third person. This means the writer
is detached from the story and can tell it as if viewing it, which means the reader may do
the same. The lack of rhyme makes the text seem more realistic, and the fact it does not
contain enjambment makes it seem more structured and simple, which could be to make it
more realistic or it could be because it is a warning story to children.
'Little Red Cap' is a dramatic monologue, written in the first person. It does not contain
structured rhyme, although there are occasional instances of internal rhyme. It contains a
lot of enjambment and long sentences throughout, allowing the poem to flow continuously.
This may be related to the fact that this is an autobiographical poem, and it may represent
her artistic thought and the freedom of words and knowledge.

In 'Mrs Tilscher's Class', Duffy presents the theme of coming-of-age by contrasting life
before, at the time and after the event/period which initiates the speaker into adulthood.
She shows the time spent as a child as a positive atmosphere, 'You could travel up the
Blue Nile with your finger...Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery...a skittle of milk', these are
positive images of learning and fun, seemingly free of worry. The 'skittle of milk' shows the
innocence and naivety of the children. Duffy likens the classroom to a sweetshop, 'This
was better than home. Enthralling books. The classroom glowed like a sweetshop. Sugar
paper. Coloured shapes', this shows the inviting, welcoming, vibrant atmosphere of the
classroom, and the excitement the speaker feels at being there, perhaps because there is
more to do than at home. Duffy appeals to the senses, 'Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery.
Tana. Ethiopia. Khartoum. Aswan', 'The laugh of a bell swung by a running child', 'a skittle
of milk', 'Coloured shapes', 'a gold star', the quoting of Mrs Tilscher makes it easy to
imagine the situation and the sounds, and the personification of the bell seems carefree
and light, whilst she also incorporates the sights and the tastes into the poem, until she
has described the entire scene in an almost 3D way. This emphasises how wonderful and
free of worry the school is. Mrs Tilscher is very caring and nurturing to the children, 'Brady
and Hindley faded, like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake. Mrs Tislcher loved you.
Some mornings, you found she'd left a gold star by your name. The scent of a pencil
slowly, carefully shaved. A xylophone's nonsense heard from another form', Duffy contrasts
Brady and Hindley with Mrs Tilscher, showing how she comforts and cares for them. They
are protected and not frightened when in school. The 'gold star' again emphasises their
innocence and excitement over rewards, while the carefully shaved pencil shows how the
teacher goes the extra mile to look after and nurture the children. It also shows her
appreciation of the kids as she hears the 'xylophone's nonsense' from 'another form'.
Whilst others hear it as nonsense and noise, she can appreciate it as the creative
expression of the children. It also once again emphasises their innocence and carefree
attitude.
Duffy marks the onset of puberty using a metaphor, 'Over the Easter term the inky
tadpoles changed from commas into exclamation marks', the school-inspired image of the
commas and exclamation marks helps to imagine the changes, whilst also reminding us
again of the speaker's age at the time, and the tadpoles symbolise change and growing
up. The image of the frogs is then continued, 'Three frogs hopped in the playground, freed
by a dunce, followed by a line of kids, jumping and croaking away from the lunch queue',
this describes three of the 'frogs' growing up and becoming independent. The word 'freed'
shows the freedom of adulthood, and the other language used, such as 'hopped' and
'jumping', shows the chaos and trouble to come with it. Duffy appeals to the senses again,
'the air tasted of electricity', this gives the image of heat, static, stress and excitement. The
speaker is given knowledge, 'A rough boy told you how you were born. You kicked him, but
stared at your parents, appalled, when you got back home', this is the point at which the
speaker is forced into really beginning to grow up. The fact she stares at her parents
'appalled' shows she is gaining an attitude and differing opinions from what she has been
told. The speaker then finds herself isolated, 'You asked her how you were born and Mrs
Tilscher smiled, then turned away', while Mrs Tilscher wants to keep the children young to
her, she is in effect leaving the speaker without knowledge about adult issues, making the
speaker feel lonely and isolated. Pathetic fallacy is used, 'the sky split open into a
thunderstorm', this is a metaphor for puberty, adolescence and sexual maturity. The
thunderstorm may signify the speaker's hormones and feelings, and the general chaos of
puberty. Duffy uses time throughout to express change, 'Over the Easter term', 'That
feverish July', the time of Easter suggests it is the time of change and of new life, whilst
July shows it is the end of primary school, and the end of the speaker's childhood.

The title of 'Little Red Riding Hood' is already suggestive before we begin to read the text.
Firstly, the connotations of the colour red: Scarlet or red is sexually vibrant and suggestive.
It gives images of danger, blood, love, sex, menstruation and more - it was once not worn
by morally upright women thanks to its sinful symbolism. Also, there are the connotations
of the red riding hood, now a familiar symbol. Some scholars, such as Erich Fromm,
consider the hood to symbolise menstruation, and the approaching puberty of the young
character who wears it. The hood may in fact be a cap, according to the earliest versions,
which more closely translate from the French and German to 'cap'. The protagonist in
'Little Red Riding Hood' is presented as a homely, caring girl, going to see her
grandmother, ' “Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing”...Little Red Riding
Hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother', she also seems to be an ignorant,
idealistic young girl, which we can see as she stops to talk to a wolf, 'The poor child, who
did not know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf', unknowing that talking to
strangers is dangerous, she tells him where she is going, allowing him to go to her
grandmother's house before her. Perrault uses a rule of three, 'the little girl took a
roundabout way, entertaining herself by gathering nuts, running after butterflies, and
gathering bouquets of little flowers', this emphasises her innocence and naivety to the
world and people around her. The writer shows that even as a fully grown woman, the
grandmother is still naïve, 'the door opened, and then he immediately fell upon the good
woman and ate her up in a moment', this shows the consequences of being overly
trusting, and also foreshadows what will happen to little red riding hood. In a now well
known part of the tale, Perrault uses repetition as the girl describes the wolf's appearance,
believing it is her grandmother, 'what big arms you have...what big legs you have...what
big ears you have...what big eyes you have...what big teeth you have got', this builds
tension as the girl slowly realises it is not her grandmother, and is in fact the wolf. The wolf
then devours the girl, ' “All the better to eat you up with.” And, saying these words, this
wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up', in this coming of age
story, the girl's naivety is her downfall. Unlike in the other two texts, she does not progress
to seeing the real world or gaining experience. It is more of a warning towards children to
be aware, gain knowledge and lose idealistic views, promoting coming-of-age
experiences. This is further shown from the included moral at the end, 'Children...should
never talk to strangers, for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for a wolf'.

In 'Little Red Cap', Duffy uses the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood', along with other
variations of the story, as a basis to write an autobiographical poem about a relationship
she was in. In earlier versions of the tale, the girl rescues herself, but the story was then
altered later on so men saved her. In the poem, Duffy returns the story to become more
like the original, saving herself. As mentioned in my analysis of 'Little Red Riding Hood',
some scholars believe the 'hood' may in fact be a 'cap'. Duffy takes this and writes her
version as 'Little Red Cap'. This may relate to red Phrygian caps worn by French
revolutionaries at the end of the 18th century to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, as
the speaker does throughout the poem.
Duffy uses the character of the 'wolf', 'It was there I first clapped eyes on the wolf', whilst in
'Little Red Riding Hood' the wolf symbolises a stranger or predator, in the poem, Duffy
uses the wolf describe a man she was in a relationship with. Duffy uses internal rhyme, 'I
made quite sure he spotted me, sweet sixteen, never been, babe, waif, and bought me a
drink', the internal rhyme of 'sixteen' and 'babe', and the half-rhymes of 'babe' and 'waif',
gives a fun, childish, nursery rhyme style, reflecting the idea that at this point she is still
young and is going to grow up at some point in the future. The speaker loses childish
badges as she leaves the familiarity of the homes and follows the wolf, 'I crawled in his
wake, my stockings ripped the shreds, scraps of red from the blazer snagged on twig and
branch', the word 'crawled' shows she is still seemingly a child and is following blindly, but
the fact she is shedding her old clothes shows she believes she is shedding her old self.
Duffy uses the idea of learning, 'Lesson one that night...I clung till dawn to his thrashing
fur, for what little girl doesn't dearly love a wolf?', here we have contrasting images, as she
refers to herself as 'little girl' and is still learning like one, but the 'lesson' she is having is
clearly a euphemism for sex, suggesting she is in some ways growing up through
experience. This is the event at which the speaker seems to become an adult, 'I slid from
between his heavy matted paws and went in search of a living bird – white dove – which
flew, straight, from my hands to his open mouth', the white dove symbolises purity and
innocence, and the wolf devouring it signifies the loss of it. The speaker has sacrificed her
purity for experience and knowledge. Later on in the poem, the speaker has gained
experience through age, 'But then I was young', she is now older, and is fed up and
disillusioned with the relationship. She is no longer naïve and has had her true coming of
age experience. The speaker starts to 'learn' independently, 'I took an axe to a willow to
see how it wept. I took an axe to a salmon to see how it leapt. I took an axe to the wolf as
he slept', this is a way of her expressing her independence, doing things for herself and
learning how things wolf. Throughout the poem there is the theme of male dominated
literature, which was the reason she initially came to the wolf – to learn how to be a better
writer. The act of taking the axe to the wolf is her way of learning how he works and of how
he writes well, whilst simultaneously mirroring the earlier tales, in which red riding hood
saves herself. The speaker is the one to end the relationship, 'Out of the forest I come with
my flowers, singing, all alone', she is now fully grown up and independent, having moved
from ignorance to knowledge and 'innocence' to experience, becoming realistic and
gaining a true view of the world. The fact she is 'all alone' shows she is strong and has
learnt she can be happy and have literary talent without her 'wolf'.

All three of the poems deal with coming-of-age, though in different ways. The most obvious
difference is through the timing: the coming-of-age event in 'Mrs Tilscher's Class' takes
place as the girl reaches puberty; in 'Little Red Cap' the true event is when long after she
has reached adulthood and is instead the speaker becoming mature; in 'Little Red Riding
Hood', the girl does not reach a new level of maturity, as her experience in fact results in
her death. 'Little Red Riding Hood' is significantly different, as it seems to advocate
coming-of-age experiences, showing the consequences of what can happen if you remain
ignorant and naïve. In this manner, 'Little Red Riding Hood' and 'Little Red Cap' are similar,
as they both show coming-of-age experiences as a good thing. In contrast, 'Mrs Tilscher's
Class' shows becoming an adult as chaotic and confusing, but at the same time it is
positive due to the freedom and knowledge adulthood allows. After assessing the pieces I
have found that all three of the pieces are effective in their own ways, though I think 'Mrs
Tilscher's Class' may be the most effective out of the three, due to the contrasting of life
before and life after the onset of puberty.