Depiction Of Childhood

I Want to be Forever Young: The Depiction of Childhood in British Literature

We spend most of our childhood wishing and dreaming of growing up. It seems that no matter what you try and do, you are never old enough, tall enough, or wise enough. It is funny that when you finally do grow up, you spend the rest of your life wishing you could turn back time and become young again. As a child you are constantly put in positions that make you feel inferior and unimportant in society. For example, you are put at the “kid’s table” at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner until your family thinks you are old enough to sit at the “adult table”. If that is not degrading, I don’t know what it. Childhood is the most important stage in development. It is here that we establish ourselves as individuals and begin to prepare for adulthood. However, through research it has become apparent that our ideas of childhood and adolescence have changed over time. They have been adapted and influenced according to the changes in our society and current opinions of what childhood should be at the time. The evolution of the depiction of childhood and adolescence from innocence to independence can be seen through the works of British literature from the Medieval, Romantic, Victorian, and Post-Modern eras.

The concept of childhood and adolescence first came about during the Medieval era with the view of children as innocent, pure, and most of the time being victims of violent acts. During this era, death rates among children were considerably high compared to that of the later centuries. Conception was very complicated and involved perfect timing and setting because of the lack of medical attention and technology. Many children were often neglected and abandon...

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...Literature for ages. Many writers either used their childhood or what society thought about childhood as a foundation for their writing. Up until the Victorian era, the depiction of childhood remained relatively similar. They all see children as innocent victims of a changing society. It is not until after the Victorian era that we start to see the more contemporary view of childhood come about. To be honest, without the childhood stage our society might even cease to exist. In order to be prepared for what is yet to come in adulthood we need to develop physically, morally, and emotionally, all of which occurs during childhood. Before you go on wishing on a shooting star that you were older already, take some time to think about all the things that you would miss out on. Like Lee Ann Womack always said, “If you get the chance to sit out our dance, I hope you dance.”