Children Literature and the Nature of the Fairytale Structure - Essay Example

?Children’s literature and the nature of the fairytale structure Introduction Children’s literature has seen a great number of changes in the last two centuries, the nature of how moral and social structures are addressed within novels intended for the young reflecting social belief systems of the time period in which they were written. Children’s literature serves the purpose of creating a format in which social information can be imparted to children, providing them cues on behavior and beliefs as they are interpreted through fantasy universes. The concept of child has changed through history, although the fairytale structure has still dominated as the narrative structure of most children’s books. In looking at three novels from three different time periods, the examples of how children’s literature have both evolved and stayed surprisingly the same can be appreciated. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott provided a template for society during the 19th century, the efforts of the sisters in her story framed by the social construction that defined the culture of the time. In Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome, the stories are based upon the adventures of children as two groups meet and interact, one group in a dinghy named Swallow, and the other group in a dinghy named Amazon. The stories were written in the early 20th century creating a reflection of the moral discourse and the nature of perceived childhood of the time period. The last novel, The Graveyard Book, written by Neil Gaiman, was published in 2008 and reflects the darker aesthetics that have emerged in the last decade. The three novels provide rich insight into the changing nature of children’s literature, while also providing context for the similarities that exist within the genre that have transcended time. Childhood and Children’s Literature The history of children’s literature is long and filled with imaginative methods in which the world was interpreted for the younger mind. Through stories that granted a message of morals, ethics, politics, sexuality, gender, or social construction, children have been instructed on how to understand many of the complex issues of life. According to Lerer (2008, p. 1), “The history of children’s literature is inseparable from the history of childhood, for the child was made through texts and tales he or she studied, heard, and told back”. The nature of children’s literature is within its ability to transform thought, to define a topic that will influence the way in which that topic is experienced and framed by the child who has been exposed something specific within a story. Stories provide context for the many experiences that seem too large or beyond the scope of a child’s ability to comprehend. A story can break something into smaller pieces that will be more easily digested, thus creating a broader and more developed understanding. Childhood has been framed throughout history, although its modern concept is a relatively new idea. Furthering the nature of modern childhood, the child is now considered for investment, through both economic and emotional considerations that in previous societies were not nurtured. Children became important as they proved their importance. Marx Wartofsky, a twentieth century philosopher, stated that a child is “ what they are taken to be by others and what they come to take themselves to be, in the course of their social communication and interaction with others” (Lerer 2008, p. 2). Therefore, the way in which the communication between literature and the child is developed is through the nature of the social connection that is made between society and childhood. As children rose in viability as a consumerist segment of society for which advertisers could focus their wares, the nature of engaging the imagination began to evolve to a higher level. Stories such as Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll are were conceived in that late 19th century time period as consumerism began to affect the entertainment value of literature in reference to sellable concepts, rather than for simple edification purposes. More importantly, the genre of ‘children’s literature is unique in that it is defined by the reader, rather than the content of the writing. Thus, the child is centered in the discussion, making the elimination of the reader not possible when discussing the methods of literary technique (Cadden 2010, p. xiv). One of the more important aspects of the informative nature of children’s literature is in the discussion of gender and gender roles. Children’s literature has the capacity to reveal a strong sense of the social nature of gender as it is encapsulated in expectations and associations with certain archetypes (Wadsworth 2009). In looking at Little Women in comparison to The Graveyard Book, the protagonists are opposing gender and the nature of how the books are written reveal the differences in how they are approached in regard to the gender of those lead characters. The characteristics of the narrative in children’s books, no matter the specific technique, is in the way in which they are used to frame cultural understandings about aspects of life. Gender is one of the central issues that is approached through these narratives. Mystification in Children’s Literature One of the primary issues in the development of children’s literature is the magical nature of the world through the elemental creation of the universe in which the story takes place. Peter Pan is an excellent example of mystification where children’s story’s are concerned. Everything from the nature of Pan to the real life story of the author has bee introduced to society through a mythological foundation in which the story rules over the truth. The nature of Peter Pan is timeless, just as the immortality of its lead character is timeless (Hollindale 2009, p. 154). Despite a locus that might be in other time periods, the three novel, Little women, The Graveyard Book, and Swallows and Amazons, all have the capacity to last long past the time period in which their universe exists. Magical elasticity exists through thematic connections that are universal, thus the novels provide the human factor of social development beyond the setting and locus of the action. The nature of magic in the stories provide the same context that it does in religious mythologies. They provide the reader with a way to understand the world outside of the structures of science, but through the more emotional sense of the reading. The nature of the story is defined by the nature of the informative explanations that provide context for the literary understandings that is provided for within the text. Literary Techniques for Children’s Literature Lerer (2008, p. 3), discuses the nature of children’s literature in context with the differences of perceptions between a child and an adult. He uses the beginning of the book, The Little Prince, where the author, Antoine de Saint-Experys relates the story of a six year old boy who sees a picture of a snake devouring an animal. Thinking about the picture, the child drew his own version and showed it to adults asking if it frightened them. They saw the drawing and answered questioning why anyone would be frightened of a hat, as they did not see the snake and the elephant he had drawn. The moral of the story as stated by Lerer (2008, p. 3) is that “ordinary items of experience may transform, in the child’s imagination, into monstrous brilliance”. The nature of a book for a child is that it must touch the imagination, but connect to the real world. One of the first places that Michael Cadden (2010) places his discussion on narrative and children’s literature is through the concept of the peritext. The peritext assumes the nature of the reader, therefore supplies information according to this assumption. The introduction is sometimes filled with information that is intended for the adults who are reading the book. However, in recent history, books have begun with the intention of engaging the child in a larger context of the universe of the book. As an example, one can look at the Lemony Snicket books, in which the introduction state “If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning, and very few happy things in the middle” (Cadden 2010, p. xi). This is intended to engage the child reader into a world that seems contrary to what he or she is used to, and lends a certain intrigue through the concept of those things that a child might normally not be given access. One of the narrative tools that is used by authors of children’s literature is the ‘fairytale structure’ in which the nature of the story mirrors that of the structure that is created through the older fairytales. While the stories do not retell an older story, they do follow structures that are familiar, thus creating a connectivity that provides context for the morality messages within the tale (Cadden 2010, p. 4). Ideology has been an important aspect of narrative since the 1970s, the criticisms focusing on assumptions that are made within the discourse of a work of literature about gender, race, class, and any other number of social structures that can be stereotyped and imposed on the social construction that is being learned by a child. Wolf, Coats, and Jenkins (2011, p. 362) discuss the theory of Andrea Schwenke Wyile who suggests that there are three basic types of ideological discourses in the narratives of children books. The first, immediate-engaging first-person narration, occurs when the narrator is also the focalizer, the time of the events coinciding with the time of the narration. In this type of narration, the narrator has little time to analyze the events as they are in the action as it happens. In distant-engaging narration the narration of the story happens at a later time, thus there is more time for the information to contain contemplative ideas and discourses. There is more reflection on social concepts and a larger ideological framework in which the author can infuse ideas that have been thought through by the narrator. The third type of narration is distancing narration. This type of narration provides for a non-identified narrator with the work being focalized on the narration rather than on the character. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Little Women is a study in character development. The characters within the story are rich with detail and developed through revelations of personality with each having their own moral compass. The nature of society during the time period of the book has been developed in such a way that any generation that reads the novel gets a sense of period. The main conflicts in the novel are found through patriarchy and autonomy. These were two of the primary issues in Victorian society, thus the novel reflected these aspects of life. The novel is about self-awareness and self-definition, two sophisticated and important points that are conveyed to the reader through the nature of the actions of the characters and the narrative that flows throughout the story (Hunt 2009, p. 70-84). One point that must be observed is that in 19th century fiction, women typically either ended up married or dead by the end of the story. The heroines, specifically, are on a trajectory of one or the other course of experience. The end represented a social end. In the 20th century, novels looked towards alternatives to either of these results for women, that life was not defined by only the course that marriage provided for a woman (Parille 2009, pp. 31-38). In Little Women, a variety of these two outcomes is represented. The novel follows the basic fairytale format as the nature of life leads from happiness, through unhappiness, and back to happiness. The evolutions of the characters represents the nature of problem to solution, even though the subplots create a myriad of situations in which these remedies are created. Even death is a resolution of a problem through the experiences of Beth. Little Women involves the traditions of social convention, but combined with a rebellion against patriarchy through the character of Jo. However, even she falls to the romance of the novel, marrying her childhood friend at the end of the second half of the book, Good Wives (Alcott 2008). Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome Swallows and Amazons is centered on the Lake District, the descriptions of the land calling for conservation through subtle discussions of the importance of the natural environment. According to Dobrin (2004, p. 10), “Ransome works more from colonialist discourses of exploration and seafaring”, his works creating a romanticism of childhood and infusing the natural environment into the narrative of adventure and high spirited play. The nature of the tales provides context for the idealism of the concept of childhood, creating an alternate reality that exists without a reality that imposes hardships (Ransome 2001). The social aspect of the writing is defined by the way in which it creates a “national and cultural identity” within the readers, the well defined English culture represented through idealism, but connected through similarities that provide enough context to support the translation of social structures. Dobrin (2004, p. 10) states “Unrepresentative as this vision may be of the everyday lives of English children at the time, it plays a small role as a building block in the formation of national identity”. In assessing the nature of the work, it is evident that it representative of idealism, but not representative of reality (Tucker 2009, p. 189). The nature of narrative in regard to the text is developed through a concept of fairytale structures that provide for mythological styled texts that seek to inform on desired culture rather than realized culture. Whether it is a delusion of reality or simply idealized is unclear. However, the conceptualized reality still informs children of what is desired by society, even if the nature of that myth is not achieved within reality. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman The Graveyard Book uses all three ideologically based narrative types, but heavily depends on the distancing narration to convey the concepts of the story. The narration is told by an unknown narrator whose social commentary is carried through his interpretation of the events that occur within the story. The narration appears to be from the point of view of someone very similar to the child protagonist, as the man who kills his family is referred to as ‘the man Jack’, a less natural way of referring to his presence than would normally be found. The story provides insight into the nature of children’s literature as it has evolved in the last few decades. Where the idea of a man killing an entire family except for a toddler would not have been considered appropriate contemplation, death and abuse have become more common in the development of characters within children’s novels. Death is the core theme of the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, his story beginning when he is living with a family who neglects and emotionally abuses him. Using these realistic horrors, framed within stories that are full of dangers and larger schemes of challenges, provide for a translation into real life challenges that give a child the feeling that their obstacles can be overcome. The story is a bit less traditional, the adventures moving through the course of the child’s life as he is raised in a graveyard in an alternative family setting. While the fantastical elements create an engaging world in which he lives, his life is a progression that changes with each chapter as he grows up during the course of the book. The ultimate climax happens as he confronts the murderer of his family, thus engaging the reader in a dangerous and emotional battle. In the end, as a metaphor for the nature of human contemporary life where the child leaves the ‘universe’ of the family in order to enter the greater human world, so too must the protagonist leave the world he had lived in to make his way in ‘real’ life. Conclusion The fairytale structure, although a basic and well used structure, is still used to create the nature of a story for a child. The happiness - unhappiness- happiness paradigm allows for the arch of conflict to be completed by the characters in the book. The challenges that they are faced with provide ideological and sociological relevance to the world for the child in terms that are more clearly defined than real life might provide. The shadows of gray that exist in the real world do not always provide a child with a clear ideological point of view, therefore children’s literature can create a point of social awareness that merely relating that point would not accomplish. The three novels from the different time periods provide an appreciatable progression from social structure to social structure. Little Women reflects the aesthetics of the 19th century, while Swallows and Amazons provides the idealized aesthetics of the early 20th century. The early 21st century, as the horrors of real life are interpreted through heinous acts that are not withheld within the child focused novel, provides a setting that reflects the serious and more openly hostile world that exists. Idealized settings within children’s novels still exist, but as in the example of The Graveyard Book, there is no hesitation to discuss controversial topics. The magical elasticity of the books continues to impress, with Little Women a classic that informs through identification with the still existent struggles of women in a patriarchal society, while the charm of Swallows and Amazons provides for a cultural memory of idealized childhoods. The Graveyard Book, which has yet to be tested by time, will no doubt retain its charm as it touches on culturally timeless topics of death and the afterlife, providing positive outcomes to fearful situations without abandoned the real danger of loss. Narratives are ideological within children’s books, and it is argued by Wolf, Coats and Jenkins (2011) that all narratives have an ideological point of view. In Little Women the continuation of the female marriage/death outcome is observed, even though the book provides some expansion on feminist themes. Swallows and Amazons provides social clarity about the idealized version of the English national and cultural frameworks, the discussion focused on the colonialist ambitions that drove the culture towards conquering and expanding the world. The Graveyard Book provides context for alternative family settings and provides the reader with real life versions of horror and the nature of overcoming serious challenges. Through social discourse, all three books use traditional methods of storytelling to create context for the social and cultural structures of the world during the time period in which they were written. When a child reads the books from previous time periods, a sense of history is established. Thus, the nature of children’s books provide context for social introductions through both historical values and present day informative dialogues. References Alcott, L.M.(2008) Little Woman, Oxford University Press. Dobrin, Sidney I. 2004. Wild things: children's culture and ecocriticism. Detroit: Wayne State Univ. Press. Cadden, Michael. 2010. Telling children's stories: narrative theory and children's literature. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Hollindale.P (2009). A hundred years of peter pan. in Montgomery H and Watson N.J. Montgomery H, and Watson, N.J.(eds) Children's literature;classic texts and contemporary trends, Basingstoke: Palgrave, Macmillan pp 153-164 Hunt, P. (2009). The same but different -conservatism and revolution in children's fiction. Montgomery H, and Watson, N.J.(eds) Children's literature;classic texts and contemporary trends, Basingstoke: Palgrave, Macmillan pp 39-48 Hutcheon L (2009) In praise of adaptation. In J. Maybin and N. J. Watson. eds. Children's literature: approaches and territories. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Lerer, S. (2008). Children's literature: A reader's history, from Aesop to Harry Potter. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Parille, K (2009)"Wake up and be a man"; Little Women, Laurie and the ethnic of submission in Montgomery H and Watson, N.J.(eds) Children's literature classic texts and contemporary trends, Basingstoke: Palgrave, Macmillan pp. 31-38. Ransome, A (2001{1930).Swallows and amazons. London: Red Fox. Tucker N, (2009). Arthur Ransome and problems of literary assessment in Montgomery H and Watson N.j. (eds) Children’s literature; classic texts and contemporary trends, Basingstoke: Palgrave, Macmillan pp188-93 Wadsworth, Sarah. (2009). Louisa May Alcott, William T. Adams, and the rise of gender specific series books. Montgomery H, and Watson, N.J.(eds) Children's literature; classic texts and contemporary trends, Basingstoke: Palgrave, Macmillan pp 39-48. Wolf, Shelby Anne, Karen Coats, and Christine A. Jenkins. (2011). Handbook of research on children’s and young adult literature. Milton Park: Routledge. Read More