[HPforGrownups] One Last Thing About Children's Literature

[Herald Talia]

No: HPFGUIDX 25239

 
<snipped some stuff about Dunnet, not my cup of tea.>
> 
> Therefore I have nothing but sympathy for anyone who says that they 
> feel the integrity of the Harry Potter story-arc won't (by its own 
> virtue) bear too great extremes of pain, sorrow, temptation, and 
> torture.  There's a wry, gentle humor JKR uses that seems to defuse 
> even the worst scenarios -- a tragicomic touch that (like Dunnett's) 
> 
> causes hope to spring eternal in the reader's breast.  To some, it 
> would probably be a disappointment on the order of betrayal if 
> REALLY 
> Bad Things happened to Harry and his nearest and dearest.  
> 
> The whole thing's complicated, however, by the fact that these books 
> 
> *are* children's books -- that is, children read them, have 
> appropriated them, and are the central market for them.  People 
> worry: because they're afraid of handing a Dunnett-like series to 
> young people and saying here, read this.
 
	First of all, as someone who lost a parent in childhood, I'll say that
REALLY bad things already happened to Harry and Neville. That's one of
childhood's worst fears. Today, with rampant divorce etc, many kids face
those kind of fears daily. To a child, an absent parent *is* dead in many
ways. I've seen this in play therapy - children sometimes make sense of
the absent parent's absence with deathlike metaphors. So this is a
current, valid fear. You also hear kids with a lot of magical thinking -
I'm worried about my dad. If I'm not around, something could happen to
him, what if he dies? Lenore Terr, in her excellent book "Too Scared to
Cry" points out that the child is "trying on" the fear by thinking this
way. 
	I think it is good for kids to deal with some of the darker issues in a
"safe" way - such as in children's literature. Real life often ain't too
rosy, and this is a good way to practice dealing with real life issues,
existential fears, and fears about the loss of relationships. 

You then wrote:
  I mean, if *I* was a 
> parent 
> I'd do some serious thinking it over.  And even for my own sake, I'd 
> 
> worry about the impending darkness of the next books.  The only 
> thing 
> to reiterate is that you can't escape from Books With Bad Things 
> Happening by reading children's literature, and these worries about 
> the story's integrity being compromised by dark stuff has more to do 
> 
> with the story's integrity rather than its genre.
> 
> Well, I think that about does it.  I'm headed off to bed.
> 
> Lisa I.
That having been said, I'll admit it - I always hope for a happy ending.
(Call me unsophisticated.) I want a living, breathing, happy Harry at the
end. I would feel sad and betrayed if he's dead. 
I also do plan on censoring my daughter's reading list somewhat. However,
if she is a very serious reader, and our relationship is as good as I
hope it will be :P, she will come to me with more difficult or possibly
objectionable books, and I'll probably let her read them, provided she
discusses them with me first.  My mom did that with me, and I read a lot
of books that other kids probably wouldn't have been allowed to read (or
been interested in, but that's another issue.)
I'd let my kid read the Harry books, but warn her so that she can make an
informed decision. I know that I read Steven King at 12, and wished I'd
been warned. I had the wisdom not to pick up his books again till age 17,
which worked for me. Otherwise, I would have had a lot of sleepless
nights. I also know that other "children's lit" can be dark and have a
profound affect on kids BECAUSE of the darkness 
"The Year of Impossible Goodbyes" 
"Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry"
"The Well"
Those books, which I read in young adulthood, helped form my
understanding of things like racism, prejudice, and hate. These are not
simple topics. I just object to the idea that 1) childhood is pure,
untainted, and easy
2) children's literature is fluff. 
JKR's strength is the fact that she takes "difficult" topics like
orphans, death, prejudice, and even the media's power over our concept
formation, and makes them accessible, and somehow non - threatening. I
find that refreshing. 
I'll pick up another thread now, and give it another spin...(couldn't
resist the pun)
As far as JKR's dealing with sex. 
Mindy was on a good track, though some of the criticism of her was valid.

What I find refreshing about JKR is the lack of sleazy sex in the
wizarding community. 
Yes, there are sexual issues - where there are people, there are sexual
issues, or there wouldn't *be* people. We're built that way. 
But sex doesn't take over and become sleaze. We're living in a society
where 11 year old girls are having unprotected group sex because the
plain old way is boring - and this is happening in upscale neighborhoods,
not the inner city. I can't shop for my daughters in stores like K-Mart.
Can someone tell me the logic of pleather minis and tank tops for the ten
and under set? Those types of clothes have a purpose. There's a reason
Britney Spears wears them - and it's not a purpose that I see as
conducive to the developmental tasks of childhood. I mean, what happened
to normal ten year old wear being T-shirts and jeans? Surely these
clothes are intended for sports other than soccer. 
So yes, Ron and Hermione may have sexual undertones in their
relationship. Harry may fantasize about Cho. But Hermione's not going
down on Ron to preserve her virginity. Cho doesn't do a striptease to get
Harry 's attention. What I find refreshing about Rowling is her
*realistic* portrayal of (so far) preteen sexual matters - it's a
concern, but by no means the only one. 
	Is sex dirty? No. In fact, it's so holy and beautiful, it should remain
more private than it does today. JKR doesn't play the sex card. She lets
her characters mature normally, and doesn't sacrifice them on the altar
of the avant-garde. 
	Basically, I'm all for including all the normal ticklish subjects -
death, love, hate, prejudice, coming of age etc. But I'm not for
freakishness. Let's not have all the  students capturing a Veela and
raping her, please. Let's keep it in the realm of the normal (while being
in the realm of the magical, of course.)
Sorry to rant. It's getting late, and that brings out the worst in me. 

Robyn


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Donald heard a mermaid sing, Suzy spied an elf.
But all the magic I have known,
I've had to make myself- Shel Silverstein
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