“The Wide Wide World” encourages us to view parents as the loving overseers of children. They hold supreme power and must be respected. Ellen says to her mother, “You have the management of me entirely.” Everything the parent does for the child is in the child’s best interest and preparing for the child’s future. Ellen says, “I know you’ll take care of me.” However, I get the impression from the text that the parents might not always know what is truly best for the children. Would boarding school not have been better for Ellen than going to her unknown Aunt’s? Mr. Montgomery in particular seems to have his own selfish agenda in mind as indicated my the last line of the passage: “But Ellen’s off—that’s one good thing—and now I’ll go and engage berth in the England.” Parting with his child was merely something to check off on his checklist of the day.
A father’s role is purely financial. He is meant to work hard so that the children will be able to afford the necessities for a decent future. Mr. Montgomery’s presence is not welcome and Ellen takes no enjoyment in him. He is a symbol of supreme rule and is feared and never crossed or questioned. Both Ellen and her mother have to almost slink around Mr. Montgomery in order to do what they want. When Mrs. Montgomery wants to wake up Ellen all Mr. Montgomery has to say is “I cannot allow it” and she has no choice but to follow his cruel orders.
Ellen expects her father to play as little a role in her life as possible, but to provide for her. She knows she must do whatever he dictates of her and she is too nervous around him to interact much with him. The old man was more of a father to Ellen than Mr. Montgomery. The passage says “Ellen and her protector went forth”, and as a parent’s primary job is to protect and take care of the child, the unknown gentleman better fulfills parental duties by helping Ellen shop than her true father’s incessant absence does.
Mothers are meant to be seen as the primarily caretakers for the children. A mother’s job is to prepare her daughter for her future. Mrs. Montgomery does this by making sure Ellen has every article of clothing and objects for letter writing that she could possibly need. Ellen loves her motherly almost too dearly and expects her to always be there for her and to comfort and converse with her. Her mother is her best friend and essentially her God. “She felt that in earth or in heaven there was nothing so dear [as her mother].”
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Five Theories in Analyzing Children and Childhood Literature
First of all, we must realize that it is adults that are writing the literature, and hence adult ideas and perspectives must be taken into account and analyzed more so than the ideas and perspective of children. Children believe whatever they are told to believe, and even if they don’t, they are not the ones writing the stories they will be read. Jacqueline Rose says in “Dependent States” “It will not be an issue here… of what the child wants, but of what the adult desires- desires in the very act of construing the child as the object of its speech.”
Children’s literature is adult content meant to entertain children but serves a larger purpose of getting a point across that children may not be able to understand until they grow up. Many times there is a deeper meaning behind the plots and characters depicted, such as associating Rip Van Winkle’s nagging wife as England ruled by a tyrant woman. Although children would eventually catch on to the deeper meaning of the stories when they grew up, the literature is meant as a guide for Americans of all ages and “offers insight into what Americans wanted of and for their society” (MacLeod).
Another theory for analyzing children and childhood in literature is that adults are trying to manipulate and take advantage of the stage of childhood innocence when young minds can easily be molded and when most children have a desire to please and obey authority figures like their parents and their teachers. It is hard to manipulate people after they are already grown, and so through the stories, adults are sure to inject their ideas of how children and Amerians should act into the new generations. According to “Dependent States” children are “objects of socialization: taught to conform to social expectations.” The idea of being an American was being formed and authors wanted to make sure that all children would grow with a unified sense of how to act and behave in order to promote unity.
Children’s literature was also meant to teach children morals and values. Since America was a shaky new experiment and there was a new sense of great freedom, many believed that morals were key for the new coming generation to have in order for them to carry out social order. If they had no morals, the law would have little affect of them and caos would ensue. According to MacLeod, “All Americans of the period agreed that a high level of individual morality was indispensible if the promise of the nation’s future was to be fulfilled.”
Finally, Children’s literature teaches through examples. They depict stories of good things happening to good little children and bad things happening to those who disobey or lie. “While the fictional children learned from painful experience, readers could be forewarned and spared much misery by listening to their elders in the first place” (MacLeod). This method reminds me of when my mom would tell me if I didn’t wash my hair right after I got out of the pool it’d turn green or if I stuck my hand out of the car window it’d get torn off. It sounds horrible now but I don’t blame my mom for telling me that because she was just looking out for my best interest and the fear made me do what she told me to.
Children’s literature is adult content meant to entertain children but serves a larger purpose of getting a point across that children may not be able to understand until they grow up. Many times there is a deeper meaning behind the plots and characters depicted, such as associating Rip Van Winkle’s nagging wife as England ruled by a tyrant woman. Although children would eventually catch on to the deeper meaning of the stories when they grew up, the literature is meant as a guide for Americans of all ages and “offers insight into what Americans wanted of and for their society” (MacLeod).
Another theory for analyzing children and childhood in literature is that adults are trying to manipulate and take advantage of the stage of childhood innocence when young minds can easily be molded and when most children have a desire to please and obey authority figures like their parents and their teachers. It is hard to manipulate people after they are already grown, and so through the stories, adults are sure to inject their ideas of how children and Amerians should act into the new generations. According to “Dependent States” children are “objects of socialization: taught to conform to social expectations.” The idea of being an American was being formed and authors wanted to make sure that all children would grow with a unified sense of how to act and behave in order to promote unity.
Children’s literature was also meant to teach children morals and values. Since America was a shaky new experiment and there was a new sense of great freedom, many believed that morals were key for the new coming generation to have in order for them to carry out social order. If they had no morals, the law would have little affect of them and caos would ensue. According to MacLeod, “All Americans of the period agreed that a high level of individual morality was indispensible if the promise of the nation’s future was to be fulfilled.”
Finally, Children’s literature teaches through examples. They depict stories of good things happening to good little children and bad things happening to those who disobey or lie. “While the fictional children learned from painful experience, readers could be forewarned and spared much misery by listening to their elders in the first place” (MacLeod). This method reminds me of when my mom would tell me if I didn’t wash my hair right after I got out of the pool it’d turn green or if I stuck my hand out of the car window it’d get torn off. It sounds horrible now but I don’t blame my mom for telling me that because she was just looking out for my best interest and the fear made me do what she told me to.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Introduction
Hello everybody :)
I'm Rebecca Oglesby and I’m a freshman psychology major. I'm most recently from Birmingham, Alabama, but have also lived in Idaho, the panhandle of Texas, and Argentina as well. I came to TCU because I wanted to come back to Texas for college. I just felt that TCU was the right size and fit what I was looking for in a college. If I was the Chancellor I would lower the tuition and save all the construction and remodeling of buildings for the breaks when students don't have to see it everyday. I don't know if I can truly put myself in his situation though, because I am biased and only looking at the student’s perspective.
A good teacher is someone who can relate the material to the students and interest them in subjects that were previously misunderstood or considered dull. A good student is a student who puts forth the time and effort to learn what is being taught and to enhance their academic skills.
If I could have dinner with three people it would have to be Gandhi, to learn some of his wisdom, Orlando Bloom, because he’d be nice to look at, and Meme (my grandma), because I admire her sense of humor and her opinions on meaningful matters.
As far as things you should know about me, I have two younger sisters and an older brother, I love to travel, and I enjoy playing volleyball and basketball. I’m a psychology major, so naturally I’m curious to know things about other people. I’d like to learn what people in the class enjoy doing, what different people’s views are on various subjects, and everyone’s background and where they’re from.
I’m taking this course to get the literature credit, but also because I enjoy reading stories. I liked the British novels class I was in last semester, and I feel that American literature will perhaps be more personal and relatable. I do not usually do much reading during the school year besides what is required for my classes, but during breaks and when I get the chance I enjoy reading novels. I enjoy books that are prevalent in pop culture like the Twilight series, but I also enjoy reading classics like Pride and Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Beyond what I write for school, I write messages on facebook, texts, and e-mails. I feel that my writing is adequate because I have a lot of experience from previous classes I have taken, but of course I could use improvement in maturing my writing skills and impoving my sentence structure.
I hope to give off the impression that I am a nice, approachable person who puts effort into school and this class in specific. I love the color purple, and of course it fits with this being a blog about an English class at TCU. Perhaps my choice to deck out my blog in TCU décor makes me appear school spirited or relatable (since everyone else shares the same love for the horned frogs), but I hope this blog proves that I will actively participate and put forth effort in this course. I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus.
I'm Rebecca Oglesby and I’m a freshman psychology major. I'm most recently from Birmingham, Alabama, but have also lived in Idaho, the panhandle of Texas, and Argentina as well. I came to TCU because I wanted to come back to Texas for college. I just felt that TCU was the right size and fit what I was looking for in a college. If I was the Chancellor I would lower the tuition and save all the construction and remodeling of buildings for the breaks when students don't have to see it everyday. I don't know if I can truly put myself in his situation though, because I am biased and only looking at the student’s perspective.
A good teacher is someone who can relate the material to the students and interest them in subjects that were previously misunderstood or considered dull. A good student is a student who puts forth the time and effort to learn what is being taught and to enhance their academic skills.
If I could have dinner with three people it would have to be Gandhi, to learn some of his wisdom, Orlando Bloom, because he’d be nice to look at, and Meme (my grandma), because I admire her sense of humor and her opinions on meaningful matters.
As far as things you should know about me, I have two younger sisters and an older brother, I love to travel, and I enjoy playing volleyball and basketball. I’m a psychology major, so naturally I’m curious to know things about other people. I’d like to learn what people in the class enjoy doing, what different people’s views are on various subjects, and everyone’s background and where they’re from.
I’m taking this course to get the literature credit, but also because I enjoy reading stories. I liked the British novels class I was in last semester, and I feel that American literature will perhaps be more personal and relatable. I do not usually do much reading during the school year besides what is required for my classes, but during breaks and when I get the chance I enjoy reading novels. I enjoy books that are prevalent in pop culture like the Twilight series, but I also enjoy reading classics like Pride and Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Beyond what I write for school, I write messages on facebook, texts, and e-mails. I feel that my writing is adequate because I have a lot of experience from previous classes I have taken, but of course I could use improvement in maturing my writing skills and impoving my sentence structure.
I hope to give off the impression that I am a nice, approachable person who puts effort into school and this class in specific. I love the color purple, and of course it fits with this being a blog about an English class at TCU. Perhaps my choice to deck out my blog in TCU décor makes me appear school spirited or relatable (since everyone else shares the same love for the horned frogs), but I hope this blog proves that I will actively participate and put forth effort in this course. I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus.
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