Harry Potter series draws on dark themes (MSNBC article)

[Tandy, Heidi]

No: HPFGUIDX 1363

Without actually mentioning the issue, the "expert" quoted towards the end
regarding the insufficiency of "moral guidance" in the HP books reminds me
of those who think "wouldn't it be COOL if Harry (or Dumbledore, or Ron, or
Hermione) went over to th edark side?!?!?" (which, of course, it wouldn't!)
Also, I know these experts keep saying that teens/kids today have novels to
read which deal with *bleaker subjects than ever before*, but I certainly
read my own share of angst literature when I was a preteen & teenager - and
some of them certainly were a lot more depressing and void of "moralization"
than the HP books - and others, like a bunch of the Lois Duncan books which
I still have in my bookshelves dealt with the supernatural at least as
openly as the HP books do - honestly, I didn't pay any attention to
bookbanning issues when I was reading those books so for all I know they
were banned or restricted in some places (although those original Bobsey
Twins & Nancy Drew books, which were incredibly racist (if you think the
House Elf dialogue in Book IV is problematic, you should check out the
1930's Bobsey Twins books!) weren't, because that was "accepted" in those
days).



Anyhow, enough musincs. Here's the article:

Fear of monsters in the closet, fear of the dark, fear of dying: These vivid
childhood anxieties are often the strongest and most enduring of a lifetime.
The instinct to shield kids from such fears is powerful, and yet some of
today's most popular children's literature confronts death, violence and
evil.
THE HARRY POTTER series by J.K. Rowling is no exception. In Rowling's fourth
book, "The Goblet of Fire," 14-year-old Harry (an orphan and no stranger to
tragedy) witnesses the murder of one of his peers. Even though the book is a
fantasy set in a magical world, Harry's feelings of grief, guilt and shock
are real enough to hit home for young readers. Still, it's nothing new. In
fact, it's characteristic of a long tradition of dark themes running through
literature for children and young adults, a tradition that may be getting
increasingly darker.
       The earliest stories written for children were teaching tools:
moralizing little tales with built-in lessons. Children's literature as a
genre didn't come of age until the 19th century, when improved printing
technology joined forces with a growing middle class and an emerging
consumer culture.
       
DRAWING ON FOLK TALES
       Many of the new children's books drew on folk tales for inspiration.
These traditional stories, many of them gory, had been passed down through
hundreds of generations by adults, for adults. 

         In the first quarter of the 19th century, English translations of
"Grimms' Fairy Tales" and "The Arabian Nights" were printed. Before long,
publishers repackaged the tales in sanitized versions as the popularity of
children's books increased.
       The stories were still scary, but toned down. In early versions of
some popular fairy tales, Cinderella's sisters get their feet chopped off,
Sleeping Beauty is raped and the Little Mermaid dies.
 The originals may seem a far cry from cartoon Disney versions familiar
today, but no matter how dismal, they nearly always spelled out a moral.
However, Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" broke that mold.
       Published during the Victorian Age, this tale used nonsense to parody
the preachy tone of conventional children's stories and told those stories
in the language of children. Despite its ascent to classic status, Carroll's
book was unusual in that it broke from society's idea that children's
literature should be educational.
Debates over morals aside, tragedy has always played a part in the most
enduring children's stories. 
As does the Harry Potter series, they characteristically feature orphans,
villains, deaths of loved ones and epic battles against evil. From Peter
Pan's assertion that age 2 is the beginning of the end to a spider heroine's
lonely death in "Charlotte's Web," children's books play off kids' fears to
help them deal with life's realities.
       "I think it's human nature," said Elizabeth Campbell, an associate
professor of English at Oregon State University.
       "You're born with a sense that there is suffering," Campbell said.
"Children begin their lives crying. They have desires and fears, and they
are unformed fears when children are young, like the monster under their
bed. But they soon begin to take shape as real fears, like the loss of a
parent or a sibling. The moment that happens and they need to have some
answers, that's the moment literature becomes necessary and it becomes a way
of working that fear out."
       
FEELING THEY'RE NOT ALONE
       Today the themes found in children's literature have expanded to even
gloomier topics, ranging from divorce to sexual abuse to explicit violence.
The shift to more reality-based subjects is most obvious in the
ever-expanding realm of young adult literature, which emerged in the 1960s
and '70s for the "12 and up" crowd. 
In 1974, Robert Cormier's groundbreaking book "The Chocolate War" hit the
young adult market with a story about a boy who fights the bullies and
loses. The book's unhappy ending left many critics searching for a moral.
Wasn't the underdog supposed to win? Wasn't the story too depressing for
kids?
       The award-winning book, which was originally rejected by seven
publishers, has been used in classrooms since the mid-1970s, generating both
controversy and praise. Cormier said he believes many adults underestimate
kids' ability to handle books with mature material.
       "I think kids are stronger and more resilient than people give them
credit for being," he said.
       Cormier said he gets letters from young readers who tell him they are
grateful his stories reflect their own lives and make them feel that they're
not alone.
       "Kids say, 'You should see what's going on in our school,"' he said.
       The key, Cormier said, is to write for dramatic effect and not
exploitation. Never talk down to kids, and always write the truth, even if
it's complicated or upsetting.
       
EVEN DARKER THEMES
       Books published in the past five years have delved even deeper into
dark themes. In "The Facts Speak for Themselves," author Brock Cole
describes a 13-year-old girl whose unstable life includes neglect, rape and
an affair with an older man. 
In "What Jamie Saw" by Caroline Colman, an 8-year-old boy sees his mother's
boyfriend abuse his baby sister. Walter Dean Myers' "Monster" follows the
emotions of a teen jailed for murder.
       These novels are only a few examples of literature dealing more
frankly with bleak subjects than ever before, said Eliza T. Dresang,
associate professor of information studies at Florida State University and
author of "Radical Change: Books for Youth in a Digital Age."
       The mass media broke down barriers through the years so topics once
thought taboo now are fair game, she said. Kids are more exposed than ever
to life's problems thanks to television, newspapers and the Internet.
       "Generally there is more respect of what young people can do, how
sophisticated they are, what they can handle, and that's being reflected in
their books," Dresang said. "Children in this Net generation need to be
looked at as capable and needing connections, rather than innocent and
needing protection or depraved and needing to be redeemed."
       
OFFERING HOPE 
But not everyone is a fan of exposing kids to life's harsh reality through
literature. Bleak books with no clear uplifting messages can be just as
negative for children as a steady diet of violence and sexuality in
television and movies, said Karen Shanor, a clinical psychologist in
Washington, D.C., and author of "The Emerging Mind."
       "We know the best way to raise a child is to raise an optimistic
child: not with a Pollyanna view of the world, but knowing if there's a
difficulty, a problem in the world, you can solve it," said Shanor, who said
even the Harry Potter series doesn't provide enough moral guidance to
counteract its dark side.   
           "When we don't offer hope, or we offer overwhelming
fear-provoking feelings, then what the child does is they disassociate,"
Shanor said. "They pull away and kind of numb themselves, and that's very
destructive."
       Parents aren't holding the line, and the result is not group therapy
but more cynical kids, she said.
       But 11-year-old Geneva Walmer Hooten of Portland, Ore., disagrees.
Geneva contends that the sad and scary books she reads are good for her and
that talking the stories over with her mom helps her sort out her feelings.
       "It kind of lets you know how other people's lives are so you can
appreciate yours and know how to help them," she said. "Each book has its
own kind of happiness."


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