The journey into a new or strange environment in Northern Lights by Philip Pullman and Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga is an essential part of each plot. It is the physical journey of both Lyra and Tambu that allows them to gain knowledge, learn about the world through experience and grow as individuals. Both protagonists are female, and because of this we see the theme of gender inequality developed in each novel, most profoundly in Nervous Conditions. Education is restricted, for the most part, to males in both novels, Tambu being one exception and Lyra’s education being virtually non-existent. Lyra’s curiosity if fuelled by her own disregard of rules, which leads her on her journey where she gains knowledge. Tambu’s journey begins with the breaking of tradition, as she is given the opportunity to be educated. Each novel focuses on how the characters journey from their home place, by breaking with traditional values replacing them with progress, the journey forces each character to grow and develop as characters. While both novels are set in entirely different times and places, the journey of both Lyra and Tambu is similar in outcome, as both protagonists grow as individuals and learn truths about the world.
The journey into a new and strange environment proves to be extremely important in Northern Lights. This journey encourages Lyra to neglect her deviant, disobedient self, in order to grow as a person, and gain the knowledge to save her friend, Roger, and other children from the Gobblers. Lyra received a rather dispersed education while she was living in Jordan College, the scholars educating her “when they’ve got a bit of spare time” (Pullman, 68). Formal education for our protagonist is, for the most part, negle...
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... believes to be essential and right, and she journeys into an unknown world of “doubt, danger, and fathomless mysteries” (Pullman, 399), in order to attempt to save her friend. Tambu has journeyed from her homestead, and received an education that was believed impossible for a woman from her impoverished upbringing. It is clear that both protagonists grow as individuals and learn the ways of the world in which they live.
Works Cited:
Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous Conditions. London: The Women’s Press Ltd, 1988.
Falconer, Rachel. The Crossover Novel: Contemporary Children’s Fiction and Its Adult Readership. New York: Routledge, 2009.
Gooderham, David. “Fantasizing It As It Is: Religious Language in Philip Pullman's Trilogy, His Dark Materials” Children's Literature 31 (2003): 155-175
Pullman, Philip. Northern Lights. London: Scholastic Ltd, 1995.
Some works show their true colors right away. Gene Edward Veith’s book, Reading Between The Lines, addresses philosophical ideas, literary sub genres, and reader criticisms in order to ascertain a Christian’s role in literature. He also goes through various historical periods and examines their more prominent works and schools of thought. While a select few of his conclusions about Christianity in relation to the arts have merit, others contain more damaging implications. Specifically, his statements regarding television represent inaccurate and offensive thinking.
Wilson, Nance S. “ZINDEL, Paul.” Continuum Encyclopedia Of Children’s Literature (2003): 848-849. Literary Reference Center. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
...ia J. Campbell. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1996. 39-65. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Scot Peacock. Vol. 82. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
In conclusion, critical evaluation of what makes a book good or bad depends on the selection criteria and agenda of those making the evaluation. The prizes have been criticised through the years and the selection committees have risen to this by changing the selection process, even if this change has been slow. Children’s Literature is in flux due to the ever-changing ideas and perceptions of childhood. Children’s books seen as prestigious today may become, like Blyton, unpalatable to the critics of tomorrow.
The setting of these two stories emphasize, on visually showing us how the main characters are based around trying to find freedom despite the physical, mental and emotional effects of living in confinement. While on the other hand, dealing with Psychology’s ugly present day behavior showing dystopia of societies views of women during the time period they lived.
Senick, Gerard J., and Hedblad, Alan. Children’s Literature Review: Excerpts from Reviews, and Commentary on Books for Children and Young People (Volumes 14, 34, 35). Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1995..
Literatures had always been the reflections of the world’s issues. These literatures showed the problems within society in the period of time. In the book, “The Natural”, by Bernard Malamud had developed how women were seen as an object to men that they did not have the equal rights and social status as men. Also, women in the novel were classified as the trophies to men, whom they were either gold diggers digging for massive fortunes for the future, or accomplishments for men to chase after them. The author had established several female characters to optimize these issues. In the novel, Harriet Bird, Memo Paris, and Iris Lemon were representing different figures of female in that period of time. Both Harriet and Memo were being the negative effects to the main protagonist, Roy Hobbes, while Iris was the positive hope for Roy. The author chose to use these few characters to criticize the stereotypes of women in that period, and how they affected the others around them.
themes · The roots of gender; the individual's struggle against society; the unpredictability of nature
...a was raised, she was learning life lessons. She learned of violence from inside The Little Store. She never considered Mr. Sessions and the woman in the store to have any kind of relationship because Eudora never saw them sit down together at the table. Then tragedy struck, and this was how she learned of violence. She never knew exactly what had happened, but knew it was not good. The family just disappeared. Every time she came home from the store, she was carrying with her a little of what she had learned along the way. She learned a lot about, ?pride and disgrace, and rumors and early news of people coming to hurt one another, while others practiced for joy?storing up a portion for [her]self of the human mystery? (82).
This essay has compared the differences between the societies in these two novels. There is one great similarity however that both make me thankful for having been born into a freethinking society where a person can be truly free. Our present society may not be truly perfect, but as these two novels show, it could be worse.
Griffith, John, and Charles Frey. Classics of Children's Literature. 6th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. 21-29, 322-374. Print.
... (eds), Children’s Literature Classic Text and Contemporary Trends, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan in association with Open University
The process in which human beings advance through different stages in their life towards adulthood is highly hellacious. Moreover, it is very likely that one might encounter some difficulty in this progression. However, it is in human nature that we learn by failing at things, then mastering them by repeating them again and again. In the novel Lives of Girls and Women, Alice Munroe presents the life of Del Jordan in a very interesting way. The novel is divided into eight stages of Del’s life, where she experiences different scenarios which ultimately give her a better understanding of life. Even though being curious has its pros and cons, at the end of the day it leads to the enhancement of a person’s inner self. In the novel Lives of Girls and Women, Del the protagonist can be analyzed as being a very enthusiastic girl. Moreover, her curiosity proves to be a dynamic benefit of her actions.
The real subject of his book is not about mystic daemons, polar bears, or the gobblers, but instead it is about how he believes since we can recall there has been religious institutions that have somehow prevented us from being open minded individuals to things outside our traditions, to be curious and question everything we think we know. Pullman advocates for all humans to aspire to learn, be curious, and to be conscious of everything around us. In the novel Golden Compass he emphasizes how in certain cases religion might limit our ability to expand our knowledge because it has been passed on generation from generation that we have to be truthful to a specific religion and everything else is not true or at least not if it contradicts our
Literature has been part of society since pen met paper. It has recorded history, retold fables, and entertained adults for centuries. Literature intended for children, however, is a recent development. Though children’s literature is young, the texts can be separated into two categories by age. The exact splitting point is debatable, but as technology revolutionized in the mid-twentieth century is the dividing point between classic and contemporary. Today’s children’s literature is extraordinarily different from the classics that it evolved from, but yet as classic was transformed into modern, the literature kept many common features.