Ernest Seton's "Wild Animals I Have Known"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Ernest Seton's "Wild Animals I Have Known" made an important Canadian contribution to world literature. His book "Wild Animals I Have Known" was written in a naturalistic style, which borrowed literary devices and subject matter from Aesop's "Fables" and other beast tales. The author points out that his major innovation was presenting the points of view of the animals in their true nature by showing the characters of the animals as they tried to preserve themselves and their offspring. The paper relates the ways in which Seton influenced many writers of this immensely popular type of story.

From the Paper:

"Unlike the beast fables where the animals actually speak and act with human feelings and motives, it is here where Seton's works departed from traditional fables. Seton wanted to stay true to a naturalism style of writing and create animal characters that were realistic as opposed to strictly anthropomorphic. He used his close observation of the natural world to enter into the world of the animals and convey their emotions. Unlike the old fables Seton did not stray from realistic attributes; his animals do not talk."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Atwood, Margaret. Survival. Toronto: Anansi Press, 1972.
• Egoff, Shelia, The Republic of Childhood. Toronto: Oxford, 1975
• Egoff, Shelia, and Judith Saltman. The New Republic of Childhood: A Critical Guide to Canadian Children's Literature in English. Toronto: Oxford, 1990.
• Egoff, Shelia, and Wendy Sutton. Once Upon a Time: My Life with Children's Books. Canada: Orca, 2005.
• Russell, David. Literature for Children: A Short Introduction. 6th ed. USA: Pearson, 2005.

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