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.