Fairy Tales

When I think about my childhood and fairy tales it is hard to assess the impact that these stories may have had on me then, and how these effects may have molded me into what I am today. I remember growing up watching the Disney version of all the popular stories such as Peter Pan. I was always more excited by the action type films and stories. I grew up with one older brother and we were active in sports and loved the outdoors so I think that may be why the stories of adventure and action appealed to me. With all fairy tales having some occurrence of magic I think that the prospect of another world enchanted with the supernatural was fun to think about and fun to be absorbed in while watching a movie. To a child this world that is shown to them is possible. Yes they may know that realistically the things that they are seeing cannot happen, but at a younger age it is acceptable and encouraged to dream and believe. These stories are the inspiration for children running around pretending they are flying or pointing sticks at each other and casting spells. Fairy tales offer children a chance to be someone that they cannot be in the real world. They can talk to animals and conspire on adults who are oblivious to the magical workings of the fairy tale world.
Being what I consider as a practical person, I don't think that fairy tales enhanced my imagination. I have never been a dreamer. What I do think that fairy tales did for me was to help provide for a naturally happy and fun childhood. Fairy tales are in general very light and good spirited. There are no bad endings where the hero of the story fails. One may think that this may be a very insignificant contribution to a life, but I think that being happy and having a magical place for your mind to go to as a child can make all the difference. Doesn't it seem that many of the people who turn out to be troubled in some way have had, if not traumatic, generally unhappy childhoods? Not to suggest that happy children never turn out bad, but I would guess that statistics show that happier children tend to lead better lives. I would also mention that fairy tales are not the key to a happy childhood, just that in my past they may have been one piece of that happiness. I think the purpose, to teach a lesson, of fairy tales may take root in some people and may have taken root in me. However at such a young age when these stories appeal to children it is hard to determine what you have learned that applies to real life.

Good Children's Books

Park makes a good point about the need for quality children's books when these works have the opportunity to make such an impression on the mind of a young person. I found the idea that poorly written books may actually hinder a child's ability to learn to be interesting. I think that by reading books, a child learns much more than he/she would by not reading books, whether their choice of literature is of particular merit or not. If a child likes reading the books made from a cookie-cutter by the so called "celebrity" authors than I have no problem with letting them read those works. In my mind, the larger problem is the lack of exposure children get to a variety of book styles, authors, genres, etc. This is where the system has failed. It is not the fact that the most popular books are worse in a literary sense, it is that these books get all the focus and attention of readers young and old. Park points out that publishing is a business in this article, but she fails to address the fact that writing is part of that same business. Authors ultimately write books to make money. Every choice made in writing a book is the choice of the author and his/her publishers, editors, etc., who are all in business together.
In class we have read from both ends of the spectrum. We have studied books from the "celebrity" authors as well as from your everyday normal book writer. The distinction, at least to me, in reading these books is that I find the works from the "celebrity" authors are more enjoyable. I am partial to the more adventurous type books and from my experience these are the books that some criticize for literary reasons. Isn't reading books supposed to be fun and enjoyable? So what is so wrong about a book that can captivate a reader? Anyhow, the other less enjoyable books we have read like Copper Sun and Esperanza Rising may have more merit or be more acceptable to critics like Park but do not spark my interest in the same way. These books are more devoted to character development illustrating cultural and social messages than they are to entertaining an audience. Granted, these books are great for the classroom setting and can offer a learning experience, they are just not something that I would read on my own.

Alternate Value Stances

Sometimes with multicultural literature, as the article points out, it is difficult for students to understand actions and viewpoints of the main characters due to differences in culture, race, gender, economic, or social factors. While this can present a challenge, I do not think that it is cause for too much concern when considering the students ability to understand themes in multicultural books. Things such as character development, plot, literary techniques, symbolism, and other underlying messages are still able to be detected.
This problem with understanding of different cultures can be seen from a few of the books we have read in class already. In Copper Sun students may have trouble understanding why Amari and her tribe do some of the things that they do. For example, students may nit understand the custom of welcoming any and all visitors with a great feast and celebration. In Esperanza Rising the theme of family is clearly evident. Students may find it strange that the grandmother lives with the rest of the family, or that the two families live together once they move to America. These two examples are situations that, because of cultural and social differences, some students may find hard to understand in multicultural reading.
Students who have not been exposed to other cultures may need to have some background information presented to them before reading these type of books so that they are not hindered in understanding the context. Classroom and group discussion may also be a valuable tool to use so that students are able to learn from each other on these type of issues.

Research Paper

For my research paper this semester I would like to analyze the role that poverty plays in adolescent literature. Poverty is a common theme in adolescent literature and I would like to take this opportunity to examine why authors choose to present this in their works. It is possible, as I suspect that poverty for the characters in a story is a way for the author to get across some point or lesson to the reader. Life struggles and coming of age stories are all too common in adolescent literature and the role of poverty in these types of pieces can also enhance the purpose that the author has intended.
I plan to try to study this theme in multicultural literature, not just the commonly taught books. There may be similarities and differences in the situations and reasons for the use of poverty among different groups of literature. This may show cultural, social, or economic divides that may exist between groups and have found their way into literature.
Included in the theme of poverty, I will analyze the situation that these circumstances are presented in. Has the character lost their wealth and become poor or started poor and gained riches? Is the theme of poverty constant throughout the story or limited in some sense? These aspects of this theme can also be important in establishing a motive for their use.
Finally, most of my research will be on the poverty that deals with economic status, but if I find situations where an author presents another form of poverty, such as a character being poor in love, I will attempt to find the reasoning behind its use.