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FINAL Current Developments at the Intersection of British Children ONLINE VERSION
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- Susan Cooper
- Diana Wynne Jones
Roald Dahl
(1916-1990), British writer of Norwegian parentage, 66 has marked children’s fantasy of the second half of the twentieth century with his unforgettable characters and ruthless treatment of adults. No other author has been so contested because of his portrayals of children and adults in his works. Even today, Dahl divides readers in two distinct, incompatible camps. Whereas mainly children and adults with a good sense of black humour adore his anarchic figures and enjoy the various conflicts between evil adults and mischievous children, there are those who simply dislike him heartily. Between these two positions no shades of grey seem to be discernible. Dahl’s novels 67 live off the crass representation of the daily battle between children and adults. In accordance with the “traditional childhood fantasy that children will prevail in battles with evil adults“, 68 the author’s child protagonists heroically ward off nasty grown-ups. Many critics take offence to this harsh treatment of adults as representatives of authority, respect and order. However, very much to the delight of his fans, the author presents heavily exaggerated specimen of cruel and abusive adults to the readers, only to ridicule them mercilessly afterwards, paying no heed to any possible consequences. What fascinates his admirers is his “uncanny ability to think as a child”. 69 For young readers, memorable characters like Jack, Charlie or Matilda are very easy to identify with, since the logic motivating them is stringent and understandable for every child and supported by short, clearly structured sentences. Clear-cut, over-exaggerated black and white contrasts between good and evil draw the reader onto the side of the “good” child protagonists and the narrator – a pact of mutual understanding between narrator and reader is formed. Despite marvellous incidents, magic as such is used only sparingly in Dahl’s low fantasy novels. When applied, however, magic has a huge impact on the events, resulting in rather brisk changes from realism into fantasy and back 70 with radical turns of the story. The author’s recipe for success is complemented by a lot of action, farcical as well as pantomimic 66 Compare Carpenter; Prichard, The Oxford Companion, p. 143. 67 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964/ 1967), Charlie and the Glass Elevator (USA 1972/ UK 1973), Jack and the Giant Peach (1961), The Witches (1983), BFG (1982), The Twits (1980) or Matilda (1988), to name the most famous ones. 68 Cullinan; Person, The Continuum Encyclopedia, p. 216. 69 Clute; Grant, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, p. 245. 70 Compare Kümmerling-Meibauer, Klassiker der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur, p. 270. 63 elements, 71 absence of moral undertones with a tendency towards anarchy, vulgarity, malicious joy, black humour and a vast amount of word-play and nonsense. Lear’s and Carroll’s influence is discernible, yet taken a lot further into Dahl’s own direction. What Monty Python is to adults, Dahl is to children. With his characteristic irony and black humour he sketches rather bizarre and paradox, even grim scenes, following through to sometimes very wayward and unexpected solutions. Although the scope of fantasy may allow for more rule-breaking than realism, there are limits. Even a Roald Dahl cannot write about everything: Sexual abuse of children is taboo. UK-born writer Susan Cooper’s (*1935) main contribution to children’s fantasy is her The Dark is Rising sequence. Ordered chronologically, the series opens with Over Sea, Under Stone (1965), The Dark is Rising (1973), Greenwitch (1974), The Grey King (1975) and Silver On The Tree (1977). Noticeably influenced by Tolkien’s works, Celtic mythology and Arthurian legends, Cooper develops a world caught in the struggle between good and evil, Light and Dark. Each novel sets a quest whose solution brings the protagonists one step closer to victory and peace. In the course of the novels the children fulfil prophecies and gather symbolic objects of power. Cooper suggests the existence of a magical, timeless world besides the real one, enlarging the spectrum of her narrative considerably and adding a mythical dimension. The Dark may be rising, but in due course it is defeated by the Light. In her sequence, the author fuses and presents a medley of fantasy, sometimes dimmed by her drifting off into clichés. However, from the end of the 1970s onwards, Diana Wynne Jones (*1934) slowly established herself in the genre. Inspired by authors such as Lewis or Tolkien, Wynne Jones pointed the way to the future of fantasy in the 1980s and 1990s. She can look back onto a rich output of intriguing fantasy novels for children. Despite Wynne Jones’ relatively high output of books, we do not find much repetition. Each of her many-faceted and imaginative novels is based on a new idea or concept and is composed in its own, carefully chosen style. Typical of her suspenseful story-telling are concise sentences, irony – often conveyed through stark contrasts of good and bad – and the indispensable humour; the latter tailored individually to the respective situation. Of the contemporary writers of fantasy for children in Britain, Wynne Jones’ spectrum is huge, covering a multitude of worlds and creatures, as well as many styles and topics. In her own individual way, the author treats the central issues of children’s 71 Compare Watson, The Cambridge Guide, p. 192. 64 fantasy: Good versus evil, rite of passage, initiation, friendship and choice-making. The author is probably best known for her Dalemark series 72 and her Chrestomanci series. 73 In The Lives of Christopher Chant Wynne Jones suggests the intriguing possibility of a universe replete with entire “series of alternate worlds;” 74 a topic which has always fascinated writers and readers of fantasy and science-fiction, for example C.S. Lewis in The Chronicles of Narnia . Fire and Hemlock (1984) portrays the immersion of the female main character in a mysterious puzzle of myth and reality, which can only be solved once “she comes to a recognition that she must recreate the travails of the heroine of the Tam Lin ballad.” 75 This mysterious, skilful intertwining of fact and fantasy is Wynne Jones’ speciality. Like Garner’s The Owl Service , the mystery of Fire and Hemlock withstands many readings, turning it into a quest itself. The multiple layers of her novels draw upon psychology, sociology and even politics, 76 adding even more facets to the narrative. 72 Consisting of Cart and Cwidder (1975), Drowned Ammet (1977), The Spellcoats (1979) and The Crown of Dalemark (1993). 73 Charmed Life (1977), The Magicians of Caprona (1980), Witch Week (1982) and The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988). 74 Clute; Grant, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, p. 522. 75 Ibd. 76 Compare Watson, Cambridge Guide, p. 150. |
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