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 ... ... middle of paper ... ... immature, childish man who does not admire Nana as a ‘nurse’, let alone a flying boy from the world known as Neverland. The very fact that both Wendy’s parents wished for her to grow up indicates that she would have never made it to Neverland for she would be closer to having the mentality of an adult rather than a child. If she were to fully listen and accept her parents’ views, she would have not had the experiences she had when she was a child. The same goes for the Pevensie children in Narnia. In order to enter the wardrobe to enter Narnia, one must have faith. Parents, being rational beings, would have immediately brought down Lucy’s claims that she entered the world. She would have believed them because they are her parents and she would think them as knowing best. When they were not there, she relied on her own thoughts of what she had seen. .
Jeannette Wales, author of The Glass Castle, recalls in her memoir the most important parts of her life growing up as a child that got her where she is now. Her story begins in Arizona in a small house with her parents and three siblings. Her parents worked and didn’t do much as parents so she had to become very independent. Her parents and siblings were the highlights to most of her memory growing up. She is able to recall memories that most small children wouldn’t be able to recall with as much detail.
Crucial to Little Women and Treasure Island is Amy March’s and Jim Hawkins’ journey abroad which also shows the characters’ trajectory from innocence to maturity. Certainly, both novels belong to the sub-genre of bildungsroman which is by definition, a story that depicts a journey from childhood to maturity (Maybin, Haslam & Watson, 2009). In spite of their different goals and outcomes, it is possible to trace some sort of parallelism between both journeys as they were indirectly intended to shape their characters in line with the social norms of that time.
As far as adults are concerned, children are innocent. Adults look back into childhood along with their experiences and maturity, which as a result brings out the most common assumptions of childhood; innocence and experience. According to adults, children are pure, and inexperienced, which in fact is debatable. Philip Pullman’s novel the Golden Compass is an excellent representation of childhood innocence and experience. This essay will explain how innocence and experience is perceived in “the Golden Compass” as well as the comparison between adults and children.
Around the age of 11 to 14, children are typically seen as no good preteens who do not need to be fed any more fuel to their anti authority behavior. Children within this age group are typically found on a confusing path of finding their own identity. From the time they were born, they had their parents, or guardian to be around the corner to help with any confusing moment. Around ages 11 to 14, children are seeking to become young adults, and they feel as if they have to do it on their own. With literature, educators and parents can still guide the children to the right path of being coming a proper young adult.
The film "Finding Neverland" is the story of the man JM Barrie who does not want to grow up, and writes the story of a boy who never does. JM Barrie is a grown-up man, but he still lives in the unrealistic imagination of a fantasy-world, called Neverland. He uses Neverland to escape from the real world and his problems. Every time something goes badly in his life, he seeks comfort in Neverland. JM Barrie is married with his wife Mary, but he doesn’t care about her and ignores her. She often try to get his attention, but without success. Children are naive and innocence, but they (often) don’t show any consideration for other people’s feelings. JM Barrie is naïve, and
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.
For centuries, children stories have been a valuable tool in teaching lessons and morals. Like most stories that one was read as a child, there lies a life lesson that the author is trying to portray. Whether it was told orally like the story Beowulf or written by an author like Chaucer who wrote The Canterbury Tales, there are life lessons that are being taught through the characters and their challenges that they endure.
how children live in a world of their own. Adults try to get into this
At the age when children read Peter Pan, they don’t think that there is anything more than what is written. However, as the reader grows older and wiser, they are able to see elements of some literature, like Peter Pan, that they were not able to comprehend previously. For example, many of the male figures in Peter Pan like the pirates are clearly pedophiles. They spend their time chasing afte...
Charlotte Brontë uses literary technique in her novel “Shirley” to characterize the phases of leaving childhood and entering adulthood. “Elf-land lies behind us, the shores of reality rises in front,” is a quote from”Shirley” that is a literary device used to show how the age of 18 is where Caroline Helstone is leaving childhood (“Elf-land”) and is about her new age. Brontë uses metaphors, personification, and imagery to foreshadow what it will be like to enter adulthood once becoming eighteen.
Narnia's first characteristic of note is the portal through which it is reached the wardrobe. By connecting the secondary world with the first, real' one, rather than simply beginning the story within Narnia, Lewis is able to introduce thoughts about truth and rationality. As the first to discover Narnia, Lucy must convince her siblings that the second world does indeed exist. Here, the Professor gives the children a lesson about finding truth in a logical and considered manner:
In J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, the loss of innocence is a theme that is discussed from the first chapter. “Two is the beginning of the end” (Barrie 2) creates this underlying theme of loss of innocence right from the start. Peter is a kid who ran away from his family so he would not have to grow up and he takes the notion of staying a kid seriously. The loss of innocence comes to light when Wendy, John, Michael, and the Lost Boys leave Neverland and grow up. “We too have been [to Neverland]; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more” (Barrie 12). The loss of innocence and growing up prohibits people from going back to Neverland; a place that they once ran away to in an attempt to not have to grow up.
The Darling children leave their nursery to experience their imaginations come true with Peter Pan. Instead of staying forever children, they return to the safety of the nursery and bring the Lost Boys home with them. In turn, they submit to the dominance of their parents. The nursery is the place where they have the least amount of freedom, but are also the safest from any danger.
With a total of thirty four novels written, Roald Dahl is one of the most renowned children’s book authors. From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Matilda, his works have been read by millions and adored by all children, but he was not always admired like he is now. He was criticized for “a persistent nastiness and brutality...and he lingers over their horrible appearances and habits” (Castella 1). His characters and their actions are often ridiculously grotesque, almost borderline sadistic, but nowadays readers have begun accepting the rebellious nature of his children’s book. Looking at one of his most famous novels, Matilda, we can see his critique regarding adults and parenthood. The book, Matilda, might have been intended not only for
A childhood is the delicate phase of every adolescent's life where they must mature into their own person, with their own responsibilities. Although every individual will eventually bloom with their own personality, morals, and perspectives, the education and values we learn and see along the way add to the fingers that mold. We begin when we are born, and are taken in by strangers. These priceless people show us love, and just how strong attachments can be. Family ties snare us in their loving webs and become the support network to catch us throughout our youthful falls. They are our first real pictures of people, and their actions and emotions immediately become examples.