More handpicked essays just for you.
Critically discuss the functions of children's literature
Critically discuss the functions of children's literature
The importance of children's literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
‘Some idea of a child or childhood motivates writers and determines both the form and content of what they write.’ -- Hunt The above statement is incomplete, as Hunt not only states that the writer has an idea of a child but in the concluding part, he states that the reader also has their own assumptions and perceptions of a child and childhood. Therefore, in order to consider Hunt’s statement, this essay will look at the different ideologies surrounding the concept of a child and childhood, the form and content in which writers inform the reader about their ideas of childhood concluding with what the selected set books state about childhood in particular gender. The set books used are Voices In The Park by Browne, Mortal Engines by Reeve and Little Women by Alcott to illustrate different formats, authorial craft and concepts about childhood. For clarity, the page numbers used in Voices In The Park are ordinal (1-30) starting at Voice 1. The dictionary definition of a child is a young human being, an immature person and offspring (Oxford, 1976). This idea is reflected in Mead’s statement ‘that children to adults are representative of something weak and helpless in need of protection, supervision, training, models, skills, beliefs and ‘character’’ (Montgomery et al, 2003, p vii). The emphasis is on the concept of the child by adults rather than the size or mentality raising the notion that a child, and therefore childhood, is not just a biological concept but also an ideological one (Falconer, 2009). This ideology makes an oxymoron of Children’s Literature according to Rose (Hunt, 2009a) as adults write, publish and purchase books with each set of adults having their own ideas about childh... ... middle of paper ... ..., Milton Keynes, The Open University Unicef (2006) [online] www.unicef.org/protection/files/Trafficking.pdf (accessed 21/5/2011) Wadsworth, S. (2009) ‘Louisa May Alcott and the Rise of the Gender-Specific Series Books’ in Montgomery H and Watson N (eds), Children’s Literature Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan in association with Open University, pp.39-48 Watson, N. (2009) ‘Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868-9) Introduction’, in Montgomery H and Watson N (eds), Children’s Literature Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan in association with Open University, pp.13-17 Whalley, J. (2009) ‘Texts and Pictures: A History’ in Montgomery H and Watson N (eds), Children’s Literature Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan in association with Open University, pp.299-310
After a four week survey of a multitude of children’s book authors and illustrators, and learning to analyze their works and the methods used to make them effective literary pieces for children, it is certainly appropriate to apply these new skills to evaluate a single author’s works. Specifically, this paper focuses on the life and works of Ezra Jack Keats, a writer and illustrator of books for children who single handedly expanded the point of view of the genre to include the experiences of multicultural children with his Caldecott Award winning book “Snowy Day.” The creation of Peter as a character is ground breaking in and of itself, but after reading the text the reader is driven to wonder why “Peter” was created. Was he a vehicle for political commentary as some might suggest or was he simply another “childhood” that had; until that time, been ignored? If so, what inspired him to move in this direction?
Maybin, J. &Woodhead, M. (2003). Childhoods in context. Southern Gate, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Children are common group of people who are generally mislabeled by society. In the short story “Charles’’ by Shirley Jackson and ‘’The Open Window” by Saki showed examples of the labeling of children. In “Charles” the concept of parents labeling their children as being pure and sincere was shown. As in “The Open Window” by Saki “used the notion that girls were the most truthful sex and gives her a name that suggests truthfulness to make her tale less suspect.”(Wilson 178). According to Welsh “Because the fantasy is so bizarre and inventive and totally unexpected from a fifteen-year-old girl, the reader is momentarily duped.”(03). This showed that even we as the readers were a victim of misleading labels of society.
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, was published in 1868 and follows the lives, loves, and troubles of the four March sisters growing up during the American Civil War.1 The novel is loosely based on childhood experiences Alcott shared with her own sisters, Anna, May, and Elizabeth, who provided the hearts of the novel’s main characters.2 The March sisters illustrate the difficulties of girls growing up in a world that holds certain expectations of the female sex; the story details the journeys the girls make as they grow to be women in that world. Figures 1 and 2 in the Appendix are of Orchard House, the basis for the March family home, where the Alcotts lived.
... (eds), Children’s Literature Classic Text and Contemporary Trends, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan in association with Open University
The roles of women and how they were treated during the 1800’s are portrayed throughout Little Women, while also demonstrating how the main characters deal with these conformity norms. Through the 4 sisters, Alcott depicts different ways they dealt with being a woman during nineteenth-century expectations. While two conform, the other two attempt to rebel against the standards. Alcott doesn’t imply that one way is necessarily better than the other, but she shows that one is more realistic than the other.
... Now that people of all economic groups were becoming more educated and more importantly literate, society changed. The first great, American, woman authors began to write. Lousia May Alcott wrote Little Women. This was a story attempting to give a realistic and sentimental view on life. This story was, like the works of Twain, relating everyday experiences and romanticizing mundane daily life, making her stories popular to the common person and most importantly, the children of the time.
Childhood is the period of being a child which is from birth up until when the child reaches puberty (adolescence). A myriad people perceive childhood as being fun and joyful but many would disagree and would now begin to consider it as being problematic. This essay will be impartial and promiscuous by discussing supporting arguments that childhood is and is not considered as being in crisis. Part of this essay will be looking at different authors or journalists who believe childhood is in crisis due to many factors such as; children not spending time outdoors, them being allowed to used electronics too much etc. While other authors and journalists will be looking at the opposite side as to children only being innocent or that parents are to blame and the media due to confusion over whether childhood is in crisis.
Children and Childhood: In History and Society. Ed. Paula S. Fass. Vol. 2. New York:
In Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows and Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden nature and its fantastical elements are crucial in making their novels the iconic children literary tales they are presently. However due to these fantastical elements both authors criticized for their romanticized view of nature and idealized depictions of childhood within nature. Scholarly critics Jacqueline Rose and Humphrey Carpenter argue that in creating idealistic narrative worlds both authors lose their ability to represent childhood in a realistic way and instead let their works become escape outlets rather than true depictions of childhood. In doing so these books are no longer true children’s literature, but simply ideals born out of an authors
Potter’s book is, beneath its didactic Victorian narrative, remarkably subtle and subversive in its attitudes towards childhood, and its message to its child readers. Browne’s Voices in the Park, on the other hand, dispenses with any textual narrative; by his use of the devices of postmodernism, visual intertextuality and metaphor, he creates a work of infinite interpretation, in which the active involvement of the reader is key. Although The Tale of Peter Rabbit is not a ‘modern’ picturebook, and was written to a different concept of childhood than Voices in the Park, it certainly falls within Bader’s description.... ... middle of paper ...
Alcott’s own childhood experiences are intertwined in certain aspects of her novel. Similar to her main character’s situation, Alcott grew up with three sisters in a family with an unsteady income. She was also an active feminist and participated in events such as the women’s suffrage movement. During the time of Civil War, she worked as a nurse in New York City for the Union soldiers. Armstrong’s knowledge about the background of the author also was adapted into his screenplay. This can recall for a few exaggerated issues in his film that are not directly found in Alcott’s text. For example “One does not recall the Marches’ being quite so taken up with the cause of ‘blacks’, as they anachronistically referred to here, or with women’s suffrage” (TV Guide). Alcott’s personal life provides explanations behind her literature and...
Jo March, the protagonist of Little Women, has a similar childhood to Louisa May Alcott. “Jo is the perfect part for Louisa to play” (Carter). Louisa uses these resemblances as a foundation to show her aspirations as a writer. The family characteristics, the setting of the novel, and the attitudes and desires of both Jo and Louisa are rather parallel. First of all, Louisa lived in Concord, Massachusetts with her parents and three sisters, like her protagonist Jo and her family. She began writing at a young age and wrote in a journal daily. She used this journal to depict her childhood experiences, which she later used to create stories and novels. Several of these adventures from Louisa’s childhood are continued in the novel, Little Women. Because of their supportive families, both women started writing at an early age. “Alcott illustrates Christian virtues, especially unselfishness, fortitude, faith, and charity, in the context of family and friendships” (Morrow). They share a passion for literature and writing, and struggle to help their families overcome poverty.
Douglas, Ann. “Louisa May Alcott.” American Writers. Ed. Leonard Unger. Sup. 1, Part 1. New York: Scribner’s, 1979. Print.
Writers spanning over different periods have appropriated the Little Red Riding Hood tale to outline the beliefs of children and childhood within their given eras. Perrault’s account of the tale highlights the beginning of literature as a form of early childhood education, within it, places a value of creating rules and boundaries for children within the seventeenth century. Juxtaposed to this, Dahl’s version affirms modern perceptions of children, subjecting literature as a form of enjoyment and empowerment for children. Both tales use characterization and colour to affirm similar and differentiating assumptions of children, representing principles of the given society.