e. Children’s Fiction and Allegory
Children’s Fiction and Fairy Tales
The first story we will be looking at today is a class: the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Have a look at the following recollections of Little Red Riding Hood, particularly the original by the Brothers Grimm (entitles ‘Little Red Cap’). You can access various versions of the story here.
However, fairy tales change over time, and new generations view them in new ways. have a look at the following poetic version of Red Riding Hood’s adventure as retold by Roald Dahl:
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Children’s Fiction and Allegory
Allegory: a device in which characters or events represent or symbolize ideas and concepts. It is the strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text.
Children’s fiction often employs a literary technique known as allegory. Allegories allow for seemingly simple stories to convey deep and complex messages, often without the reader even being aware. This is why childrens stories may at first appearance appear quite simple, but can carry a considerable deeper meaning. An example of this can be seen in the story Feathers and Fools by Mem Fox:
Consider the following questions as you read the story:
- What aged child do you think the book is aimed at?
- What could the different birds represent?
- What is the message of the book / What lesson does the book try to teach its audience?
- How do the illustrations contribute to the story’s message, and would it be as powerful without these images?
- Why would someone want to present this message to this audience and in this format?
- Can you think of any real-world examples that reflect the situation depicted in the book?
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Another example of allegory can be seen in The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss. Many of Dr. Suess’ stories have strong allegorical messages, and The Sneetches carries a message that bares strong similarities to that contained in Feathers and Fools. You can watch a cartoon version of The Sneetches below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3yJomUhs0g
Consider the following questions as you watch the story:
- What is the source of the conflict between the two types of Sneetches?
- What do the star-bellied Sneetches gain from having stars?
- What impact does this conflict have on the Sneetches’ society?
- After the plain-bellied Sneetches go through the machine the first time, the star-bellied Sneetches say: “We’re still the best Sneetches and they are the worst.” What makes the star-bellied Sneetches think that there is still something different about the plain-bellied Sneetches?
- What is the role of Sylvester McMonkey-McBean? Should he be seen as a hero, a villain, or something else?
- What ultimately resolves the conflict between the two different types of Sneetches?
- What issues do you think Dr. Seuss is exploring through The Sneetches? What would you say is the moral of the story?
- What parallels can be drawn between this story and the real world? Can you think of any real-world situations which are similar to the conflict seen between the star-bellied and plain-bellied Sneetches?
- Do you think that The Sneetches is, overall, a positive and uplifting story? What does it teach us about human nature?
Between 1992 and 1995 there was a war in the former country known as Yugoslavia. During this war, there was extensive ‘ethnic cleansing’, where people committed various atrocities against their former countrymen who were of different ethnic descents. As many as 200,000 men, women and children were killed and over two million others were forced to flee their homes. Following this conflict, the NATO peacekeeping force had 500,000 copies of Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches translated into Bosnian and distributed the books to school children.
Keep in mind that this action was aimed at young school children, not adults. Why do you think they chose to use this book and send it to so many students? Do you think a children’s story such as this can be an effective means of changing a society’s point of view?
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Allegory and Constructing Meaning
Plato was an famous ancient Greek philosopher who lived around 400BCE. He wrote many influential and enduring pieces of writing which dealth with deep philosophical issues. One of these pieces of writing was The Allegory of the Cave. Watch the following version of Plato’s classic story:
“And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: Behold! human beings living in an underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the cave; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets. . .
“And now look again, and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive some one saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision.”
~ Plato’s “Alegory of the Cave”, from Book Seven of The Republic (circa. 400 BCE)
Now write your own answer to the following question: How do you interpret The Allegory of the Cave?
- Do not simply look up someone else’s answer: this will not prove anything! The greatest value in allegory is through reaching your own interpretations and conclusions. What meaning can you attribute to the story?
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Children’s Fiction and Young Readers
Children’s fiction also has another purpose beyond merely educating young minds. It is also designed to try and engage and ‘hook’ an often distractable and highly imaginative audience on this thing called ‘reading’: an activity that requires time, paitence and focus.
Children’s authors can often be amongst the most zany writers around. One of the most successful Australian authors of fiction for younger audiences is Paul Jennings. Read through this short story of his and think about how he has written this story with a child audience in mind, and how he is trying to appeal to this group of readers:
Now have a go at constructing a children’s story of your own. Remember that children’s stories can often be dark and thought-provoking, but they will also be written with their audience in mind. Think about the language that you use and what ideas you want your audience to be thinking about. Craft a story of your own that utilises the following prompt of the fabled “Opticalyptus Tree”:
