An analysis of theme and purpose in children's literature, using "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift, "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, and the cartoon "The Smurfs" as examples.
Abstract This paper examines utopias in children's literature in the stories "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift, "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, and the cartoon "The Smurfs". It explains how utopias have been created by the authors, in these stories, in order to explore the benefits and negative aspects of utopian life. The writer describes each of these three utopias in the stories. The writer further suggests that what may appear to be a utopia on the surface can be quite ugly when all of the implications are pondered, and when it is realized what has to be given up in terms of individuality and freedom in order to establish a rigidly controlled society. The writer concludes that all of these fictional utopias present moral themes important for children to learn, but also present deeper implications for adults to reflect upon.
From the Paper "Reading and analyzing Gulliver's Travels, The Giver, and The Smurfs indicates that the basic purpose of these children's story utopias is the same, for they are meant to provide an easy, trouble-free existence for the inhabitants. The basic needs of daily life are well taken care of by established authorities, everything is meticulously planned, and dangers never arise. For children, these utopian environments are emotionally comforting, while providing a way of teaching morality and the importance of cooperating with others."
Tags: fiction, individuality, freedom, environment, daily, life
Abstract The paper first looks at Kate Chopin's "The Storm" and how it indicates the cultural discontent facing the American woman and then turns to E.A. Robinson's "Mr. Flood's Party," that highlights the often cruel and exclusive American experience. The paper also examines Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", focusing on how the main character, Huck, captures the internal conflict that would identify America on its path to Civil War. Finally, the paper shows how T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock" points to the conflict between American culture and individual identity.
From the Paper "The America which entered into the 20th century would be one in constant flux. In the century since its birth, the nation had established itself as an independent body with progressive dreams and deep cultural rifts. These would unfold into the Civil War and its attendant implications regarding America's struggle for a unified identity. The literature which paints a portrait of this struggle during the late 19th and early 20th century shows that America's future would in many ways only be colored by further splintering of individual and cultural tendencies."
Abstract This paper basically argues that we all have evil in us and we all have the potential of being evil. In other words, we all have the capability of being the next Hitler, but due to our restraints and good will, we will not. This paper also analyzes through literature and artwork, what happens when those restraints fail and evil is unleashed.
From the Paper "If I were to say that you could be the next Hitler, you would probably think I was crazy and didn't know what I was talking about. Unfortunately this statement cannot be impossible, for everybody has the possibility of being the next Hitler. We all have that possibility because we all have our human nature and this nature covers a vast spectrum. There are people who strive to emerge on the loving side of the spectrum, like Mother Theresa, who gave the world an idea of the infinite beauty and love of the human spirit. She showed everyone how just one woman with love in her heart could affect the world in such a monumental way. Unfortunately the world was also affected in monumental ways by those who represent the other end of the spectrum, people like Pol Pot, who gave the world a grim awakening of just how low the human spirit could fall and how a human spirit absent of love can result in the deaths of millions. Though atrocities such as this may have occurred in the past, the capabilities of human nature have not changed. We are still able to act in same ways as Pol Pot, just as we are able to act in the same was of Mother Theresa. What seems to confuse us all is that even though we are all capable love, some still choose to hate. It is this breach in reason that intrigues a number of authors, poets, and artists and results in their exploration of human nature in such stories as A Modest Proposal and Ladies and Gentlemen, to the gas chambers and pieces of art like "Third of May" and "Massacre of Chois.""
Tags: art, brutality, chois, literature, massacre, may, modest, proposal, swift, third
Examines the history, style and use of satire of two writers of the Restoration period in order to understand their different perspectives of the individual.
2,400 words (approx. 9.6 pages), 10 sources, 2002, $ 89.95
Abstract This essay analyzes two writers of the Restoration period - Alexander Pope and Henry Fielding - as a way to understand their different beliefs about the individual. The essay examines the history, the style of neoclassical writing, and the uses of satire for determining the differences and similarities between the two writers. Both are neoclassicists and satirists, but Pope is an optimist who argues for acceptance of fate, and Fielding is a realist who argues for chaos and reasonable acceptance of human limitations.
Abstract This paper argues that certain themes conspire to create a uniquely American literary voice. It contends that specifically these motifs are a very staunch Christian ethos, a sense of American exceptionalism most vividly captured in the work of James Winthrop. Also a firm if not vehement commitment to individuality, personal industry and liberty are mentioned.
From the Paper "There can be little question that a nation's spirit is found in its national canon. The reason for this is that people rarely set pen (or quill) to paper to write something when they could far more easily just say it. The act of writing, the labor involved, presupposes that - in most instances - what a writer has to say is important to him or her. As it pertains to America, it is clear that certain things are especially important to Americans and those "things" or concepts animate American literature in a very special way. This paper will argue that certain themes conspire to create a uniquely American literary voice. Specifically, these themes (they may also be called motifs) are a very staunch Christian ethos, a sense of American exceptionalism (most vividly captured in the work of James Winthrop) and a firm if not vehement commitment to individuality, personal ..."
This paper analyzes and compares the following contemporary books: 'Trash Culture', 'The Death of Literature', 'The Medium is the Massage' and 'What was Literature?'.
Abstract This paper discusses four books about literature today. The author of the paper's ideas are the following: Richard Keller Simon's book 'Trash Culture' encourages studying classic literature and both its classical and contemporary interpretations. Leslie Fiedler's book 'What Was Literature?' states that the examination of the art novel is a pass? exercise; that our approach is flawed if we cannot cater to the detective novel, the pornographic fancy, or the comic strip. Marshall McLuhan's book 'The Medium is the Massage' discusses messages as well as the importance of themes in novels. Alvin Kernan's book' The Death of Literature' advocates negative views against television. The paper also includes examples of modern movies and television shows and compares them to certain books.
From the Paper "Richard Keller Simon, in his book 'Trash Culture' advocates the simultaneous study of classic literature through its traditional forms and contemporary interpretation, highlighting the importance of promoting popular culture in conjunction with classic literature in order to comprehend the crucial perspective in which the books materialize. (R. K. Simon, California, 3-5) In rejecting Stallone's interpretation and condensation of the Iliad as not having the ability to convey any of the inherent messages of its classic counterpart, we deny popular culture as a possibly influential schooling device. (Spectrum, Australia, 1) "
Abstract The paper relates to individuality and community. The premise of the paper is that it is said that there needs to be a balance between individuality and community. The works of Kwame Gyekye, Confucius and Charles Taylor are examined in detail. These are chosen due to their diversity. The main conclusion of the paper is that many philosophers believe that there needs to be a balance between individuality and community.
From the Paper "Philosophy asks many interesting questions about individuality and community. Is the individual more important then the community? Is the community more important then the individual? Or are the individual and the community equally important? These questions have been treated differently by different philosophers and by different philosophic traditions. This essay will argue that many philosophers believe that there needs to be a balance between individuality and community. In order to prove this argument, the works of Kwame Gyekye, Confucius and Charles Taylor will be examined. These works were chosen because they are from radically different philosophical traditions."
Abstract This paper focuses on World War II literature, particularly literature produced during the war itself, as well as the the immediate post-war period. The writer of this paper examines how the traumatic narratives used in these particular works of writing are circulated and perceived throughout culture. The writer contends and explains the manner in which these traumatic narratives share theoretical space with memory. This paper also examines the correlation between the reality of events that actually occurred to those associated with trauma and memory. This paper analyzes the studies that situate literature within the network of its then contemporaneous political field that tended to avoid exploring the mechanisms responsible for the appearance of historical events in texts written during this period.
From the Paper "There are many questions raised by such a description of trauma. First, since trauma is precisely the absence of the event, or the haunting of the present by a displaced experience that was never experienced nor understood at the "proper" time, it seems paradoxical that I would favor it as a method for foregrounding individual experience. But if it is true that memory is itself subject to many of the same epistemological problems raised by the study of trauma, then ultimately trauma is perhaps the best method for foregrounding individual experience. However, the subject of suffering does pose a larger problem for this notion of trauma; Scarry observes in The Body in Pain that pain is unsymbolizable, hence one can never adequately communicate what she or he is experiencing. This posits an interior space unavailable to the signifying field, revealing a limitation of the method I am outlining here."
Abstract This paper discusses individual rights versus public order and argues that public order takes precedence over individual rights. The paper assesses the duties of both citizens and of government and then details various situations in which there are tensions and conflict between the two.
From the Paper "In this report, the notion of individual rights and public order are examined and an argument advanced in favor of the primacy of public order over the rights of the individual. Generally, as Levinson has commented, in..."
Tags: public order, individual rights, Immanuel Kant, U.S. Constitution
Abstract This paper deals with the individual, society and technology. In this article, the writer takes the negative view. The writer discusses the view that society is being taken over by technologies and that the individual would be enslaved. The topic of surveillance is also covered in this paper.
From the Paper "Many films have examined the relationship between the individual, society and the coming communication universe. The most important of these films have been 'Wagging the Dog', 'Simone' and 'The Matrix'. Each of these films demonstrates how communication technologies can be used to shape reality. 'Wagging the Dog' demonstrated how the news media can shape the political realm, 'Simone' showed how a computer generated person could fool everyone into believing that she was a real person and 'The Matrix' suggested that an individual's entire reality could be generated by computers, virtual reality and multimedia technologies."
Abstract This paper analyzes the life of Robert A. Johnson as shown by his book "Balancing Heaven and Earth." The paper notes the meaning of individuation, Jung's view of it and how Johnson applied the idea to his own development as a person and as a psychologist, with the process of individuation seen as a process of becoming and of unguided development over time.
From the Paper "The Jungian idea of individuation can be observed in one's own life and also in accounts of individual experiences with sufficient psychological insight, such as the personal memoir in the book "Balancing Heaven and Earth" by Johnson and Ruhl (1998), an account of experiences by R.A. Johnson, one of the leading Jungian analysis in the country. The book is identified as both a guide and a memoir ands links in its subtitle "visions, dreams, and realizations." Johnson reports on his own dreams and links these to his development as a human being, finding in these dreams and in how they affect him evidence of Jung's ideas about individuation. Jung's analytical psychology depicts dreams as deriving from certain primordial images found in the collective unconscious and representing symbols whose meaning is found within this collective unconscious."
Abstract The evolution of literature in America has been an extraordinary process, where its development from humble descriptions of exploration to extraordinary works of fiction demonstrates a comparable form of development within the American people. This paper explores the concept of "American Literature" in respect to its evolution from the Columbian period through the Ante- Bellum period.
An examination of the different ways prejudice can be approached in children's literature, focusing on Terry Pratchett's "The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents" and Karen Levine's "Hana's Suitcase."
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 2 sources, 2005, $ 26.95
Abstract This paper examines the incident and approach to the matter of prejudice in children's literature. The paper discuss how this has been accomplished in Terry Pratchett's "The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents" and Karen Levine's "Hana's Suitcase." The paper discusses the different ways in which these two authors approach prejudice and how difficult a topic it is to address in children's literature.
From the Paper "Dealing with Prejudice in Children's Literature This paper examines the incident and approach to the matter of prejudice in children's literature. Because this can be a difficult subject at any age level, dealing with it in children's literature can be especially difficult. Below, I will discuss how this has been accomplished in Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents and Karen Levine's Hana's Suitcase. Sometimes, addressing prejudice is done in a very straightforward fashion. Readers are never question the fact that prejudice is one of the primary themes of the work. This is the case in Hana's Suitcase. However, other writers approach the subject more subtly and less directly, preferring to dance around the matter with allusion and metaphor. This is Pratchett's approach in The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rats."
Abstract This paper is comprised of six short summaries of examples of world literature form the 'Norton Anthology of World Literature', 2nd edition, Volumes A and B. The summaries include the 'Genesis Tree of Life', 'Gilgamesh', the 'Pardoner's Prologue and Tale', 'a Conference of Birds', and 'Ovid's Metamorphoses'. The final page comments on the historical timeline of these stories and their significance.
From the Paper "The tree of life is a part of the creation myth in the Bible. It is an additional icon in the Garden of Eden, usually overlooked in favor of focus on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The fruit of this tree grants immortality. The can be ascertained from the name of the tree but also from a brief description of the tree that Good gives in Genesis 3:22. Of course, it is little wonder that the tree of life does not figure a larger place in the creation story: it is only mentioned twice in the entire book of Genesis. It is first mentioned in Genesis 2:9, which reads, "the tree of life also in the midst of the garden" (58). Of course, this doesn't tell us much about the tree of life. "
