Think back to your childhood; a time where everything and anything was possible. Magic and imagination was something that was used everyday in your life. Now think about where you are in your life right now. There is no longer any magic or mystery. Neil Gaiman and Antoine De Saint-Exupry write two different novels that include multitudes of fantasy. But in the midst of all of the fantasy is the fact that children and adults think differently. Both of these novels explore the idea that children think positively while adults grow out of that stage, developing a pessimistic way of thinking from what they experience in life. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, written by Gaiman, juxtaposes a child’s point view of the world against that of an …show more content…
And this is exactly what the narrator of The Ocean at the End of the Lane does. He questions the things around him while his parents just take things as fact; “Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands: perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences” (Gaiman 56). The narrator, just like the little prince, explores the environment that he is in. The little prince explores many different planets and the narrator explores the lands around his house. While the adults in both of the novels remain in the same location throughout the story; they are not curious and stuck in the same place. As we age, the way that we see the world changes. As we age, we gain more experience in what the world is really like. As we age, we become more in control and command of our thoughts and desires which limits our imagination that we once had. It is rare for an adult to hold on to the wonders and enjoyment that comes with childhood. It is not that we are not capable of seeing a boa constrictor instead of a hat, but that we chose not
“Fiction is the truth inside the lie” (Stephen King). Figment of imagination helps improve brain connectivity and responsibilities which enables the brain to escape to a world of illusion. In a world of imagination students explore conflicts within the book. Anecdotes play a significant role in building the strategies used to deal with real world events. Ink and Ashes by Valynne E. Maetani, discusses how mistakes from the past has an impact on your life and may alter your future. Books intended to be read so that we as people can have a different mindset and perspective on things rather than just our own.
Faris, Wendy B. "Scherazade's Children: Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995.
According to the Oxford Student’s Dictionary, adulthood is associated with being “grown to full size or strength, mature” (Seuss.14). Then why is it presented in underlying ways, in works that are considered to be children’s texts? The assumption is that children’s texts are supposedly “childish” which means “ unsuitable for a grown person, silly and immature” (pg.172). However, while studying Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, “The Story of Grandmother”, Charles Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood” and Brothers Grimm “Little Red Cap” and “Snow White”, it was evident that adulthood was both reinforced and subverted through the use of literary and narrative techniques.
Throughout childhood, one progresses from naivety and innocence to knowledge and awareness. It is a long journey that we as people go on to become adults, and even when we have reached our goal, there is still much more to learn about the world around us. Harper Lee’s
Imagination and reality are often viewed as opposites. People are told to stop playing pretend and to face reality like an adult. However, in Alison Gopnik’s short story, “Possible Worlds: Why Do Children Pretend,” she discusses counterfactuals and how humans of all ages experience these counterfactuals. Gopnik’s definition of a counterfactual is the product of hope and imagination, also known as the woulda-coulda-shouldas of life. These counterfactuals include all the possible scenarios that could have happened in the past and all that could happen in the future. Scientists have proven that knowledge and imagination go hand in hand and without imagination, pretend, and fantasy there would be no science or opportunity for change. In the text, Gopnik explains how even babies are capable of
how children live in a world of their own. Adults try to get into this
There is always one aspect of life that is essential in a person. It is established in childhood; imagination. Children have the privilege of being young enough for a certain amount of time to not let any responsibilities hinder them from learning and experiencing the world in new ways. In literature, the best way to showcase a child’s imagination is through a world entirely different from their own. Two of the most prominent fantasy worlds in children’s literature are; Narnia and Neverland. These worlds are important for they do not classify children as beings lesser than others. Instead, children are glorified and treated as equals in the different worlds. In C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, four siblings travel into a wardrobe and are transported to a magical realm, known as Narnia, where they discover that they must help bring the fantastical realm out of its eternal winter. In J.M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy, the story of Wendy Darling and her brothers John and Michael is explored as a young boy who never grows up takes them to Neverland; an island where the only inhabitants are pirates and the Lost Boys. In both of these stories, there is one element in both that makes these otherwise entertaining tales into inspiring coming of age stories. This element is in the importance of the role of the absent parent. Both Lewis and Barrie eliminate the security of the parents, making the children fend for themselves in a new, strange world. These worlds are able to be fully explored as children enter them, their open minds bringing about new ideas that an adult could never even dream of. The idea of growing up is identical with the idea of cutting ties with your parents and becoming your own person. Therefore, in order ...
Throughout this semester we have dissected the meaning of childhood in children’s literature. Neil Gaiman does the same in his novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I feel that there are universal truths about childhood, and that childhood is different than adulthood. Neil Gaiman is a unique writer, and in his novel are passages that support my idea on childhood.
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
Eka Nurhayati has highlighted five major indicators of child perspective in the novel namely animistic, egocentrism, magical thinking, imaginative and non-logical thinking. Animistic can be observed when the child protagonist, Jack passes the period of cognitive development. Then Nurhayati shows how five years old Jack has high self- confident to be like superhero as he had seen in television and read in books. With his magical thinking and imaginative influences Nurhayati strongly believes that Jack views the world as it actually looks like in the child’s eyes and he tend to behave in self-centered fashion. Thereby, constantly needing his mother to fulfill his needs. He tends to think in a non-logical way when he tries to reconstruct what he has seen, heard and touched something around
As well as coming out of your shell a bit opens a world of possibilities. Your age doesn’t stop you from doing something you would like to do. In fact, your knowledge and experiences opens more doors for you to explore a whole new a world of possibilities the older you
This child, still a sixth-grader, was always thinking her ideas weren’t good enough. She would look at someone else’s ideas, characters, and story, in general, and she would think the person was brilliant. That they were greater than her, in more ways than she could say.
Fairy tales are one of many ways to teach young children how to behave when they grow up. It teaches them to follow their dreams and express themselves. Fairy tales affect children's developing brains in the strangest ways. They inspire children to be and act like heroes. The options are endless. Children can be anything they want to be. Little girls can be beautiful princesses and little boys can be fearless princes. Imaginations run wild. The entire world is in their hands. But as they run away with their imaginations of magnificent lions and legendary wizards, their innocence diminishes because of the brutality displayed. The reality is that fairy tales aren't as sweet as we think they are. For this reason, parents are doubtful about reading fairy tales to their children. As society shift towards a era of fairy tales...
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities” (Dr. Seuss Quotes 1). Theodor Geisel, much better known as “Dr. Suess” was a 20th century poet who made a magnanimous contribution to children’s literature. Because of his artistic abilities and “inner child” Geisel was able to teach children basic life lessons and skills through attention grabbing, spontaneous, and energetic characters in his stories. He made his readers laugh at the realities of life through fantasy. From his life story, his sources of inspiration, and a poetical analysis of his works one can
In the eyes of a child, there is joy, there is laughter. But as time ages us, as soon as we flowered and became grown-ups the child inside us all fades that we forget that once, we were a child.