Microsoft Word final-current Developments at the Intersection of British Children-online-version doc
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FINAL Current Developments at the Intersection of British Children ONLINE VERSION
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Child heroes Bound up with the quest is the hero as its mainstay. Without him neither quest nor novel would exist. Since time immemorial the hero has been the central figure of fantasy, no matter whether he is a genuine or an anti-hero. In the following we will examine the concept of the hero in fantasy. First of all the traditional hero shall be defined, before we move on to modern child heroes in current British fantasy for children. In order to analyse the hero and his modern aspects, many factors need to be considered. Apart from their role, their character and personality, their behaviour, motivation, morals and guidelines it is also indispensable to see who the mentors are, what kind of enemies and obstacles have to be faced and what the quest is aimed at. 216 In view of the wealth of issues our study inevitably needs to be selective. For this reason those areas have been chosen which, in standard works, are either not treated in this form or at least do not take current developments into consideration yet. Seen as the genre is very innovative at present, the following selection deals with such aspects which play a key role and are thus of great significance for the appreciation of the new elements which enrich the concept of the hero. Firstly, an aspect which is vital for the hero’s self-image as well as for the reader’s opinion is his background, i.e. his culture, society and parents. In this connection 216 Further, more extensive information about and studies on the hero can be found for example in Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces; Margery Hourihan. Deconstructing the Hero: Literary Theory and Children’s Literature. London; New York: Routledge, 1997; Klaus Doderer (Ed.) Neue Helden in der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur: Ergebnisse einer Tagung . Weinheim; München: Juventa, 1986; Gerhard R. Kaiser (Ed.), Der Unzeitgemäße Held in der Weltliteratur. Heidelberg: Winter, 1998; Corinna Kehlenbeck. Auf der Suche nach der Abenteuerlichen Heldin: Weibliche Identifikationsfiguren im Jugendalter . Frankfurt; New York: Campus, 1996; Dean A. Miller. The Epic Hero. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000; Otto Rank; Fitzroy Richard Somerset; Alan Dundes. In Quest of the Hero. The Myth of the Birth of the Hero; The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama, Part II; The Hero Pattern and the Life of Jesus . Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1990. 174 a conspicuous phenomenon has to be mentioned: A striking absence of authority on the part of the legal guardians of underage heroes, something that can already be seen for example in Alice or The Chronicles of Narnia. From this results the necessary scope for both quest and development. Such a lack of stability has to be compensated, which is why instead of parents or family friends and helpers play an important role. Still, even the best friends are not family after all, and so the hero is confronted with a serious crisis. The feelings of loss and the accompanying insecurity are the prerequisite and decisive impulse for the hero’s search for meaning and identity. On his way to maturity, he passes through a phase of transition and orientation, during which several tests and rites of passage eventually lead to a successful initiation. Once completed, the latter entails responsibilities, duties and a new position in society. Another aspect which must not be neglected is the gender of the hero(es) and their number. In current British fantasy novels for children the traditional – mostly male - hero is the main character, supported by his helpers. Current developments show a new trend: The hero is no longer mainly male, but frequently also female. Additionally, he or she is no longer solitary. The concept of the hero can also be split between several characters such as siblings or a pair of male and female, whenever one character alone would not be able to meet the expectations of the entire burden of responsibility and versatility. So instead of being concentrated on just one person, skills and weaknesses are spread among several characters, which again complement one another. This way, a couple or a small group of individual heroes become much more credible than just one superhero – as in Tolkien’s fellowship of the Ring, for instance. Download 1.22 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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