In Susan Warner’s The Wide, Wide World, it is quite evident that the roles of parents are very crucial to the development of a child’s life. Throughout the text we see various examples of how the influence of parents and strangers instruct and shape Ellen Montgomery into a proper, God-fearing lady of the nineteenth century.
The text encourages the ideal that the role of parents is to instruct, and children are to absorb this knowledge with respect and strict obedience. Throughout the text we see Ellen following instruction given by various adults. The Doctor, for example, comes to the home and on multiple occasions instructs Ellen on how to be a good nurse to take care of her mother. I believe the role obedience is very different regarding the relationship between mother and daughter. For Ellen, “love to her mother was the strongest feeling her heart knew.” (pg. 25) and this love caused her to have a stronger will to obey and honor her mother. After many tears were shed over the thought of a near separation, Mrs. Montgomery states that she “cannot bear this much longer.” (pg 26) and Ellen’s tears ceased immediately.
The roles of mothers and fathers in the text are clearly different. Mr. Montgomery is absent throughout the majority of the text, although the reader can still sense a level of great respect from Ellen for her father. He still is the highest authority figure in her life, but he is rarely present. He is described in the text as a man “not readily touched by anything,” (pg 74) and I believe this is true to his daughter as well. He seems to take little interest in his daughter’s upbringing, leaving the responsibility of raising Ellen solely upon his ill wife. Mrs. Montgomery’s parental role is to instruct Ellen in how to be a proper lady and strong in her faith with the Lord. Mrs. Montgomery goes to great lengths in order to provide Ellen with the tools necessary for Ellen to be a success in society. This is shown especially in the passages on their day shopping for Ellen’s things.
I believe that Ellen views her mother as someone who is to be respected and obeyed. But there is a major role reversal present throughout this entire text. Ellen is both child and parent in many instances. Ellen must care to her mother while she is ill and she takes great joy in this role. “She treated it as a very grace affair.” (pg 25). She wishes to provide her mother with the best that she can offer. She also finds great joy in giving her the birds from the old gentleman. While walking with the gentleman he asks, “would you rather have something for yourself or your mother?” (pg 65) and Ellen without hesitation chooses her mother, showing all the more how much she longed to express her love to her mother. I believe that Ellen also viewed her father with respect, but they clearly had a different relationship, if a relationship at all. Much of her interactions with her father were of her following orders.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Constructions of Childhood
There are many theories for analyzing children and childhood literature throughout the nineteenth century. This was a time of great change and expansion not only in physical terms, but also in opinions and ideas. Based on both MacLeod's "Children's Literature for a New Nation" and Sanchez-Eppler's introduction to Dependent States: The Child's Part in Nineteenth-Century American Culture, five specific theories can be developed.
The idea that children were to be protected and loved was a new concept in the nineteenth century. This was a time were children’s “specialness was beginning to be valued in emotional terms rather than economic.” (Sanchez-Eppler). This reconstruction of households caused transitions from punishment to love.
Morality was the primary focus of most children’s literature. MacLeod explained that this was due to an American belief that a “high level of individual morality was indispensable if the promise of the nation’s future was to be fulfilled.” Before the nineteenth century authors wished for literature to be entertaining. With the adults of America discovering that their future, and the future of the nation they were becoming so proud of, was in the hands and minds of the children, adults realized that the children needed to be morally upright. As MacLeod continues, “moral didacticism was their sole reason for being.”
Authors of children’s literature gave little attention to the surroundings or their narratives. They believed that the topics were so important that anything to distract from the ultimate point should be left out. MacLeod explains that “complexity could only have obscured the messages.” Another noteworthy reason could be that by eliminating a setting, the message then becomes universal. Every child reading the narrative would be able to relate to the message and be able to put into practice the lessons learned.
With the authors of children’s literature being adults, the subject of most literature was what adults desired children to be. “Adult desires – desires in the very act of constructing that child as the object of its speech.” (Sanchez-Eppler).
Similarly to the theme of morality in children’s literature, another theory for analyzing nineteenth century literature would be through the appearance of both good and bad characters. The plot lines were very predictable and simple so children could easily understand the messages. The good character always finding great success and the bad character finding great misfortune. These characters faced “narrow escapes” where “wrongdoing always had consequences.” (MacLeod pg. 6). This just affirms that each story line was complete with a moral teaching.
The idea that children were to be protected and loved was a new concept in the nineteenth century. This was a time were children’s “specialness was beginning to be valued in emotional terms rather than economic.” (Sanchez-Eppler). This reconstruction of households caused transitions from punishment to love.
Morality was the primary focus of most children’s literature. MacLeod explained that this was due to an American belief that a “high level of individual morality was indispensable if the promise of the nation’s future was to be fulfilled.” Before the nineteenth century authors wished for literature to be entertaining. With the adults of America discovering that their future, and the future of the nation they were becoming so proud of, was in the hands and minds of the children, adults realized that the children needed to be morally upright. As MacLeod continues, “moral didacticism was their sole reason for being.”
Authors of children’s literature gave little attention to the surroundings or their narratives. They believed that the topics were so important that anything to distract from the ultimate point should be left out. MacLeod explains that “complexity could only have obscured the messages.” Another noteworthy reason could be that by eliminating a setting, the message then becomes universal. Every child reading the narrative would be able to relate to the message and be able to put into practice the lessons learned.
With the authors of children’s literature being adults, the subject of most literature was what adults desired children to be. “Adult desires – desires in the very act of constructing that child as the object of its speech.” (Sanchez-Eppler).
Similarly to the theme of morality in children’s literature, another theory for analyzing nineteenth century literature would be through the appearance of both good and bad characters. The plot lines were very predictable and simple so children could easily understand the messages. The good character always finding great success and the bad character finding great misfortune. These characters faced “narrow escapes” where “wrongdoing always had consequences.” (MacLeod pg. 6). This just affirms that each story line was complete with a moral teaching.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
All About Me
Hi y’all!
My name is Allison Burns and I am a sophomore Early Childhood Education major from Aledo, Texas. I loved growing up in a small town where the world would literally shut down for Friday night football and where the opening of a Sonic was front-page news for a week. Although I love Aledo, it has been nice living back “in town.”
I have always enjoyed working with children and growing up with a teacher as a mom and getting to see how she has impacted her students, it did not take long for me to know that I was meant for a career in the field of education. My senior year I had the opportunity to work at the elementary school next door to my high school in a HeadStart program for four-year-olds. The students were so sweet! It was so awesome to see how they would learn in different ways. I remember the week that we were learning about the ocean and all of the creatures in the ocean. Watching how excited they were was so great. So many of the students had never even heard of an ocean before. Being able to teach children something they have never heard or imagined is such a great way to spend a day at work I think. And each time I am able to work in classrooms for my education courses here, I just get more excited about my future job. I not only became very close with the kids in the class I worked with, but I also gained a friendship with the teacher, an alumnus of TCU. She helped me research different colleges with excellent education programs (each conversation going full circle back to how much she enjoyed TCU). After a few college visits I obviously decided on TCU, and I could not be more happy with my decision. I just love TCU and being a horned frog!
If I became the Chancellor at TCU, I would definitely have to do something about this parking situation. I know that parking is such a cliché problem to fix, but it needs to be taken care of. It is crazy that there are people who pay for tuition and parking passes and show up to class but just can’t find a parking spot. Oh, so what do they do? Oh, they just give up and stop where they are and become a really big obstacle. Parking is like a really not very fun arcade game in real life. I am the poster child for “TCU needs a parking garage.” If I could go to dinner with three people, I would have to choose my great granddad that used to always call me bumblebee who passed away before I could hear all of his amazing stories, my lifelong best friend who goes to school too far away, and probably Brad Paisley because I have always wanted to meet him. Three things that you should know about me is that I am a nanny for two precious little kids. Second, I absolutely love being outside; swimming, running, hiking, hanging out on the lake, fishing, really just anything. Third, I love getting to know new people and sharing laughter with people.
I signed up for this class because I needed a literature course and this one seemed interesting when I was looking online. After hearing more about it on the first day I am so glad that I enrolled in this class! I enjoy reading, but I have trouble finding time to read for pleasure due to required readings and textbooks that have taken over my life in college. When I do get time to read a book, I enjoy reading fiction. I have read, understand, and agree to the syllabus of ENGL 20503.
My name is Allison Burns and I am a sophomore Early Childhood Education major from Aledo, Texas. I loved growing up in a small town where the world would literally shut down for Friday night football and where the opening of a Sonic was front-page news for a week. Although I love Aledo, it has been nice living back “in town.”
I have always enjoyed working with children and growing up with a teacher as a mom and getting to see how she has impacted her students, it did not take long for me to know that I was meant for a career in the field of education. My senior year I had the opportunity to work at the elementary school next door to my high school in a HeadStart program for four-year-olds. The students were so sweet! It was so awesome to see how they would learn in different ways. I remember the week that we were learning about the ocean and all of the creatures in the ocean. Watching how excited they were was so great. So many of the students had never even heard of an ocean before. Being able to teach children something they have never heard or imagined is such a great way to spend a day at work I think. And each time I am able to work in classrooms for my education courses here, I just get more excited about my future job. I not only became very close with the kids in the class I worked with, but I also gained a friendship with the teacher, an alumnus of TCU. She helped me research different colleges with excellent education programs (each conversation going full circle back to how much she enjoyed TCU). After a few college visits I obviously decided on TCU, and I could not be more happy with my decision. I just love TCU and being a horned frog!
If I became the Chancellor at TCU, I would definitely have to do something about this parking situation. I know that parking is such a cliché problem to fix, but it needs to be taken care of. It is crazy that there are people who pay for tuition and parking passes and show up to class but just can’t find a parking spot. Oh, so what do they do? Oh, they just give up and stop where they are and become a really big obstacle. Parking is like a really not very fun arcade game in real life. I am the poster child for “TCU needs a parking garage.” If I could go to dinner with three people, I would have to choose my great granddad that used to always call me bumblebee who passed away before I could hear all of his amazing stories, my lifelong best friend who goes to school too far away, and probably Brad Paisley because I have always wanted to meet him. Three things that you should know about me is that I am a nanny for two precious little kids. Second, I absolutely love being outside; swimming, running, hiking, hanging out on the lake, fishing, really just anything. Third, I love getting to know new people and sharing laughter with people.
I signed up for this class because I needed a literature course and this one seemed interesting when I was looking online. After hearing more about it on the first day I am so glad that I enrolled in this class! I enjoy reading, but I have trouble finding time to read for pleasure due to required readings and textbooks that have taken over my life in college. When I do get time to read a book, I enjoy reading fiction. I have read, understand, and agree to the syllabus of ENGL 20503.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
