One of the main theories for analyzing children's literature is that it is written to teach a lesson, not to entertain. MacLeod states, "the focus of the stories was extremely narrow. They were written to teach, and specifically, to teach morality." (p 89). Writers in the 19Th century believed that children needed to be taught to "conform"( Eppler, p 7) to societal values, and used children's literature to try to get that point across. The stories were also written in order to give children "models of virtuous living." ( MacLeod, p 90).
Atitudes felt towards childhood had an effect on children's literature. The stories primarily focus on children who were "for the most part good", but were "possessed of one great fault (or two or three)" (MacLeod, p 93). Children were also thought of as being "impossible, and inherently bad." (Eppler, p 11).
The examples of the "bad" children in the stories and the conseqences for their behavior were usually quite extreme, focusing on such things as disobeying a parent could lead to time in jail, or trying to steal a cookie, or touching a stove could seriously hurt you, or burn the house down. (MacLeod) These examples were so severe because of the impact they would have on children. Children who might be thinking of misbehaving would be more likely to remember the severe consquences of such acts in the stories they read, than if the consquences were not severe.
The issue of feminism also had a role in 19th century children's literature. Motherhood and children are very closely linked ( eppler), so many of the stories focused on the relationships between children and their mothers. I think this link would be relatable to most if not all readers. Also it seemed to be that any character not male, was thought of being as inferior, and children were ranked lower than women. This brought up the struggles women were facing at that time.
I also think that by providing lessons of morality in children's literature, writer's in the 19th century were also trying to equip children with "moral self reliance, inner independence, kindness, responsibility, and a decent regard for the needs of others"(MacLeod). These virtures would help children become independent,well rounded individuals and also help them conform to the new American society which put heavy focus on indepedence and pride. The American past, was largely ignored.
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Hey Megan. I feel that your five theories are very well developed and I shared very similar ideas and views. The examples you use for your first theory from MacLeod were very good in conveying your idea and I agree that teachng morality was the main point. Discussing the idea of a "bad" child really helped you get your point across. The discussion of 19th century children's literature I thought was a good idea to bring up because I too felt that feminism and rights had a role in 19th century Children's Lit. Your final theroy about children being taught virtues to become independent I think was very important to understanding 19th century lit at this time because I feel that this was the most iportant theory. The main focus for adults, I felt, was turning children into the people they wished they were. And by doing that they were focused on instilling in them all the morals and virtues they lacked. Great blog response!
ReplyDeleteYou took an interesting approach to this prompt. I really liked the way you approached the five themes, everything fit together remarkably well and I genuinely learned something from your post. Not to mention, I didn't even consider the feminist approach. Nice work constructing original ideas and making then crystal clear.
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