Homeless and Neglected Children in the 19th Century
In his novel Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain creates a fictional character that must confront very real problems as a result of cultural and social issues of the time. Many of these such issues, slavery and race relations being the most prominent, are dealt with significantly by the author, but another issue not addressed in any sort of overtly significant manner is the plight of homeless, neglected, and otherwise abused children in the 19th century. While Twain in no way attempts to create a commentary on these issues, one cannot avoid focusing on the situation in which he has placed his protagonist. On the surface, Twain's words seem to convey a relatively light-hearted approach to the dysfunctional relationship between Huck and Pap. If one looks beyond this light-hearted tone, she can see that he is approaching the issue of neglected children casually so as to focus on what he considers to be the more important relationship between Huck and Jim. This does not mean that we should ignore the fact that, despite Jim's role as a sort of surrogate father, Huck is essentially a parentless runaway. Twain is not actually glorifying Huck's life as a neglected, runaway child, but we can see that his life as a runaway was preferable to the alternatives available to him, which were either to be adopted, or to become one of the many poor children in the 19th century who worked their days away. Not enough critical attention has been paid to this aspect of the novel, which realistically reflects the state of child welfare in the 19th century.
Twain only shows the reader a glimpse of Huck's life with Pap, before his death, but this is enough to raise the question of...
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...hich was a better outcome than most homeless and neglected children in the 19th century had access to.
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When children are hurt physically, emotionally, or sexually it is known to be child abuse. Children are known to be neglected when they are not getting the proper attention needed for children. When children are neglected or abused in any way it is the responsibility of others to report such acts to the authorities as to what they have witnessed first-hand or signs of abuse or neglect seen after the fact, these people who reports such acts are known as third parties. The proper authorities to report child abuse or neglect is called Child Protected Services also known as Child Welfare. After the abuse or neglect is reported the proper authorities will then investigate to see if the abuse or neglect is legit or fraudulent (Sedlak, 2001).
One of the movies I’ve decided to research is Blacula, directed by William Crain, and starring William Marshall as Blacula and Vonette McGee as Tina, his long lost companion. The other movie I chose to compare it to is Vampire in Brooklyn, directed by Wes Craven and starring Eddie Murphy as Maximilian, Det. Rita Veder played by Angela Bassett, and Det. Justice played by Allen Payne. Due to Blacula’s and Vampire in Brooklyn’s popularity, one would assume that these movies would in some way resemble each other. This is not entirely true in this case. Vampire in Brooklyn borrows a few small elements from Blacula, but as far as striving to be a Blacula remake; the movie does not attempt to do so. Directors Wes Craven and William Crain derived their storylines and overall ideas from the original story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Nosferatu, and Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is the story of a young southern boy and his voyage down the Mississippi River accompanied by a runaway slave named Jim. Throughout the journey Huck and Jim face numerous obstacles and encounter a variety of interesting characters. These experiences help Huck to develop physically, intellectually, and most importantly, morally. Throughout the long expedition, readers can observe Huck’s transformation from an immature boy with poor values and ethics, to a matured young man with a moral conscience and a heightened sense of what is right and what is wrong despite what society says.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “Kubla Khan.” Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: Addison-Wesley. 2002.
In the year 1562, there were laws enacted that allowed the placement of poor children into care services until they were old enough to care for themselves. When the idea came to the U.S. not many children liked the idea of being placed into a foster home. They were often abused and exploited. However, this was allowed by law and the homes were considered better for the children because unlike almshouses children were taught different trades, and were not constantly exposed to bad surrounding and immature adults. Various forms of indenturing children persisted into the first decade of the century. Benjamin Eaton became the nation’s first foster child in the year 1636, he was 7 years old.
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Once Olivia receives help, it is perhaps too late. In her senior year, she is sentenced to a juvenile camp, and is clearly out of place. “She is so different from the other girls (pg.312)”, her therapist says. “She was one of the rare kids we see who is focused on her future. I wish I could have started with her when she was twelve or thirteen (pg.312).” Olivia’s case illustrates a system that rather than providing guidance and support to abandoned children, it leads them into a criminal world.
This paper will attempt to explain from an developmental and ecological framework the myriad of issues and obstacles effecting the health and development of those who experience homelessness in youth. Homelessness at such an early and integral stage in one’s life presents lasting consequences and we must work to better understand, prevent and reverse the effects of homelessness on children.
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Early efforts to address child welfare were made when Charles Loring Brace, founder of the Children’s Aid Society established lodging houses and industrial schools, to care for neglected, orphaned and abandoned children and provide these children with shelter and moral education. However many of the children were not actually orphaned or being neglected they were simply poor (Warren, 1998).
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