Adults know best?

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 101884

David wrote:
> A PhD student at James Cook University at Cairns in Australia, Ms 
> Giardina, claims that childrens literature has a 'pro-adult' agenda 
> (my words):

Del replies :
I went to read that article. My first comment is : if Ms Giardina
meant to talk about children's literature, what did she choose HP for
?? JKR herself said that those books aren't kids books. They are books
she writes to please herself, and she's not a kid.

Ms Giardina wrote :
> "On the surface the text seems to say, 'Look kids! This is your 
> culture. We're on your side, especially against adult authority 
> figures'," Ms Giardina said.

Del replies :
I guess I wasn't a normal kid. I never felt like I was living in
another world, or had another culture than adults did. And I sure
never felt like adults were an enemy to fight ! Some specific adults,
yes, and some specific kids too, but not adults as a whole.

Ms Giardina wrote :
> "But a closer analysis demonstrates that the writer is merely using 
> this strategy to sell adult ideas such as: 'adults know best', 
> and, 'parents are a source of security when things get tough'," she 
> said.

Del replies :
What's wrong with those ideas ??? When I was a kid, I did believe that
*usually* adults know best, and that usually parents are a source of
security.

I just don't understand where this idea that kids and adults are at
war comes from.
OK, teenagers are another matter, but even they usually believe that
there are adults out there who are right and safe.

And as far as HP is concerned, I'm not so sure the books defend the
idea that adults know best. Sure, DD is the Wise Man Who Knows Best,
but he's pretty much the only one and he makes huge mistakes anyway.
Many other adults are shown as being right sometimes, but wrong at
other times. And the only character apart from DD who's been
repeatedly shown to be annoyingly right is a kid : Hermione, who also
happens to be greatly wrong once in a while. As for Harry himself,
he's got times when he realises that he should have listened to the
adults, sure, but he also has times when he can be proud he followed
his own idea.

Morevoer, the books don't distribute the roles stricly between the
kids and the adults. There are good and bad people both among the kids
and the adults, and in OoP it's made quite clear that kids and adults
should work together as equals. In fact, considering that Sirius's
death could probably have been avoided if the kids had been granted
full membership in the Order, I'd say one of the major lessons of OoP
is that kids should not be treated like cattle. Now, if *this* is not
PRO-kid literature, I don't know what is :-)

Del