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FINAL Current Developments at the Intersection of British Children ONLINE VERSION
Children of the Lamp
. Modern-day teenagers, John and Philippa, the twin main characters of the novels discover their djinn heritage, origin and endowments. In the course of their explorations, the twins embark on adventures, soon finding themselves surrounded by an atmosphere of the oriental 1001 nights. In The Akhenaten Adventure 95 its dangers become apparent. Not only do people fall victim to poisonous snakes 96 but also feral mutilations are mentioned almost casually in passing. 97 In The Blue Djinn of Babylon, 98 Philippa finds herself in the same situation as the legendary Scheherazade. At the mercy of a French djinn, Philippa 92 Ibd., p. 287. 93 Ibd., p. 294. 94 Ecocriticm, ecotopia and ecopoiesis as approaches to readings in children’s literature are for instance discussed in Clare Bradford; Kerry Mallan; John Stephens; Robyn McCallum. New World Orders in Contemporary Children’s Literature: Utopian Transformations . Basingstoke; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, pp. 79-104. 95 P.B. Kerr. The Children of the Lamp. The Akhenaten Adventure. London: Scholastic Children’s Books, 2004. 96 Ibd., pp. 189, 252. 97 Ibd., p. 206. 98 P.B. Kerr. The Children of the Lamp. The Blue Djinn of Babylon. London: Scholastic Children’s Books, 2005. 116 stays alive as long as she has a story to tell. 99 This act of psychological violence is soon topped by John’s dilemma. As a test, he has to kill his own father. 100 Certainly, his act of parricide is moderated by the following realisation that it was not his own father after all. Nevertheless parricide, in a book intended for children, presents a serious breach of a taboo. More graphic violence is not long in coming: The so-called Bocca Veritas. Instead of being made from stone like its Roman counterpart, in Kerr’s novel it consists of a human head severed from its body, 101 condemned to eternal life. Apart from the heroic death of a squirrel, Tyler’s The Time Wreccas do not show a high death toll, but the frequency and intensity of graphic violence increase in contrast to the publications mentioned previously, Tyler’s novel portrays much physical violence and verbal abuse, such as bullying, mobbing and systematic beatings. Amongst the barbaric Wreccas acts of violence are used either for purposes of scare tactics, punishment, for abreacting or just for fun. The second volume, The Time Apprentice, follows up this fundamental separation of the two levels, above and below ground, and their inhabitants, Guardians and Wreccas. Whereas in the first novel only Sofi and Seth change sides from Wrecca to Guardian, The Time Apprentice permits at least a partial cross-over when the Wrecca women find refuge above ground and some Guardians venture into the Wrecca domain of the Underneath. Only Wreccas can overcome class barriers and improve their status – Guardians do not sink below their level. As the moral of The Time Apprentice strives to show, willpower, openness and the willingness to make the first move help getting rid of prejudices and further mutual misunderstanding. Apart from psychological threats, intimidations and cruel but failed plans, the most memorable scene of graphic violence in the novel is that of Stench’s death. He unintentionally gets in the way of a swinging pickaxe. 102 In current British fantasy for children it can be noticed that the higher one moves on the open-ended scale of violence, the more likely it is that the novel in question is a popular book or even a bestseller. This suggests a reciprocal relationship between the popularity and success of a topical novel on the one hand and its extent and form of violence on the other. Obviously, this development is at its most conspicuous where British fantasy novels for children possess a high sales volume. This raises the question why they are so successful and 99 Ibd., p. 219-220. 100 Ibd., p. 256. 101 Ibd., p. 268. 102 Val Tyler. The Greenwich Chronicles. The Time Apprentice. London: Puffin, 2007, p. 95. 117 popular. On analysing the content of violence in British fantasy novels for children it becomes apparent that violence is the outlet via which this sensation hunger is stilled, and that the sales potential of a publication rises exponentially to the content of violence. Graphic violence has become an essential element of the form and structure of the fantasy novel and is used to emphasise the conflict and the difference between antagonistic characters and their philosophy towards their fellow beings. Indifference and thirst for power further violence and its use. However, graphic violence is not restricted to evil characters. The heroes can also avail themselves of quite dubious methods and forms of violence against evil, only distinguished by their intention, interpretation and aim. A good example for the symbiosis between detailed cruel deeds and literary as well as commercial success in the subgenre of animal fantasy is Jacques’ Redwall series. The author’s recipe for success follows the same basic pattern in the single volumes. One or several villains unlawfully threaten the abbey of Redwall and/ or its protégés. They thus pick a battle, only to lose it every time. Unable to learn from mistakes, the villains pay with their lives for their wicked deeds. As peaceful and idyllic some scenes of the secluded life in the forest are portrayed to be, the obligatory battles dominate the events. Even if Jacques tries to re- establish the harmony at the end of the novels, the endings appear artificial. What remains is the impression of the respective battles and the numerous losses, behind which the story suffers. Sometimes one cannot help feeling that these excesses of violence are intended to compensate for weaknesses of the plot. In Jacques’ Redwall series, the villains are associated with tyranny, lust for power and a taut pecking order. The latter entails unquestioning obedience towards seniors on the one hand and merciless behaviour towards juniors on the other. Outside the hierarchy, the mob is dominated by chaos and despotism. So it does not really come as a surprise that short work is made of anyone not complying with the evil leader’s will. On the agenda are the taking of hostages, mutilations, executions and massacres. Other novels from our corpus can take Jacques’ Redwall series on any time. There still seems to be much leeway at the upper, open-ended scale of graphic violence when we look at publications such as Foremans’s Keepers and Seekers, Baddor’s The Looking-Glass Wars or Rowling’s Harry Potter heptalogy. Further fantasy novels with prominent graphic violence encompass Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Taylor’s Shadowmancer, Shadowmancer: The Download 1.22 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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