Essay Plan for This Term

Essay Plan from Last Term

Babar

Babar is about an elephant who, after his mother is killed by a hunter, leaves the jungle and enters the city, where he learns about civilisation. He returns to the jungle, wiser, and becomes the king of the elephant kingdom. This book has been heavily criticised for attempting to justify colonialism. The writer Adam Gopnik, in his article Freeing the Elephants, thinks that the book is more about the lure of organised civilisation, and the safety and easiness of it, is something that elephants can feel too – “"while it is a very good thing to be an elephant, still, the life of an elephant is dangerous, wild, and painful. It is therefore a safer thing to be an elephant in a house near a park.""

Little Black Sambo

A children’s book first published in 1899, which has been revised many times as black people have gained more equality over the course of the 20th century. Sambo is an indian boy who meets some tigers while he’s on a walk, and gives them his clothes in exchange for them not eating him. The tigers argue over their new clothes, and melt into butter. The caricature of a black child was hurtful to black children who read it, and as early as 1932 it stopped being recommended to school children. The book has been remade and rebranded by many writers and illustrators, who have changed it to names such as “little kim”, “the boy and the tigers” and “chibikuro sampo” (a Japanese version, which translates to little black sambo). 

Matilda

The distinctive illustrative style of Quentin Blake shows the story of a little girl who is neglected by her vile parents, and develops telekinetic psychic powers. Quentin Blake said in an interview that his informal style makes his works more approachable, encouraging children to engage with the books. The illustrations of her sitting by piles of books, smiling, particularly speaks to shy, bookish children, who feel that books are their only friends, and lets them know that it’s okay to be like that. Matilda is a brilliant example of a female main character in a book aimed at both girls and boys, something that is surprisingly rare in child-oriented media. 

Paintings of Venus

Venus is the roman goddess of love, sexuality and fertility, being the human embodiment of these things.

She has been painted a lot and here I have looked at two paintings of her, by Titian and Manet. This is Venus of Urbino, a painting by Titian from the 1500s.

 She is inside, a change from her usual depictions (she was born from sea foam so she is often in the sea), and she is looking directly at the viewer, engaging with them. As well as this, the painting is erotic, her body language being inviting and relaxed. However, the dog in the background is a symbol of fidelity, and her hand is delicately hiding her vulva as her servants search for clothes in the background.

 In the Manet painting, which is inspired by Venus of Urbino, she is depicted as a French prostitute, wearing high heeled shoes, an orchid in her hair, a bracelet, pearl earrings, and other things. This also has some marked differences in that the animal depicted is a cat, another indicator of prostitution, and her hand is firmly placed over her vulva, as she looks away from a bouquet of flowers, likely a gift from a client. This painting is also very sloppy and lacks midtones, which was shocking at the time, as it depicts a harsh and sickly goddess, rather than a beautiful fantasy. 

Lecture Notes - 30/1/13

The Hero In Children's Books

Warwick Goble – Jack and the Beanstalk

Teenager – often shown as young boy

Journey! - underprivileged, throughout journey completes tasks and transforms

Cultures have their own versions of this story

Fee fi fo fum etc

Has help given to him by the the giant's wife – a woman

Gold egg laying goose

Grimm's fairy tales are very dark, were cleaned up by the victorians

Roald Dahl tried to have dark stories

Gustaf Tenggren – Tom Thumb

Youngest of several children – seen as weak, has to prove his place in the family

Gets abandoned in the forest with bros and siss by neglectful parents

Retraces his steps using breadcrumbs

An ogre's house – ogre smells fresh meat, very primal/otherworldly?

Takes the ogre's boots – contain some of the ogre's power

Child may be too young to understand some of the deeper themes and meanings

Tom rescues the ogre's daughters, gets help from ogre's wife (a mother figure).

There are good people or bad people, no in-between.

Goes through a transformation to a powerful character

Ed Bryan (Nosy Crow Publishers) – Cindarella

Female characters are usually weak or victims – cindarella is a rare female protagonist.

Step mum and sisters are jealous of her beauty and turn her into a slave.

Ahead of its time, containing a blended family which is a contemporary story theme.

Passive – waiting for her prince to come and rescue her.

Links between this and matilda – nasty family who doesn't appreciate her. Matilda is an empowered child who saves herself, however.

Ann Sexton – feminist poet

Guardian article by Adam Philips who points out that the fairy godmother is the person who helps, and the people holding cindarella back were female.

Winnie Fitch – Red Riding Hood

Nobrow and 50-60s aesthetic. Lithography print. Working with texture and limited colour.

LRRH, hero, goes on a journey. The wolf is a metaphor for a sexual predator. Very contemporary issue. Predatory man.

Red is associated with sexuality and passion, her journey is into puberty (woods are the unconscious, where one becomes more mature and knowledgable).

Red hood is a symbol for a prostitute, in 1700 France in particular.

Is rescued at the end by the woodcutter, but in some older versions she does not get away.

Gustave Dore – illustration of her in bed with the wolf.

Herge – Tin Tin

Young reporter, in comic books, based on Herge's ideas as an inventor. Snowy the dog is his companion. Has freedom to travel anywhere, has no family.

Scott McLeod – tintin stories allow readers to mask themselves with tintin and allow themselves to safely enter a sensually stimulating world.

Tintin is a gentleman. Always comes out on top.

W.E. Johns – Biggles

Stories about a pilot's adventures, graphic novel. As he grows and matures, his role changes. Becomes an astronaut. Authority from the author's life as a pilot

Where The Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak

Sent up to bed, bedroom becomes a jungle. Child (Max) goes through transformation. Much smaller than the animals he finds, who are a metaphor for either parents or the child's unheard anger. Child has power over these Wild Things. Overpowers by staring at them. He is their king. Way for a child to work out anger. Banned from many school libraries for a while because they were seen as encouragement to disrespect parents and authority.

John R Neill – Little Black Sambo

Racial stereotypes were normal in the 60s. Cultural terms, were used without question. Character is very powerful, negotiates with lions to avoid being eaten. Gives them his umbrella and clothes. They fight over the clothes and turn into butter...

C Carey Cloud, 1934 – same book, character is a caricature of a black person. Black face and red lips.

Story of Little Babaji – Fred Marcellino – updated version, looks more like a real life child who lives in India.

Barefoot Book of Earth Tales – Anne Wilson

Devon and Cornwall are so white.

Elephant Dance – Sheila Moxley

Stories about british child's heritage in a different country/culture. 1^st/2^nd generation immigrants.

Mia's Story – Michael Foreman

South american girl in extreme poverty. Dad brings home a small dog, who escapes and runs into the mountains, so Mia goes into the mountains on a horse to find the dog. Finds pretty stuff, white flowers (symbol of hope). Comes from a difficult background, and sees that things are hopeful and nice if you want them to be.

Pretty Salma – Niki Daly

African LRRH story. Meets wolf on the way to market. Manages to outwit him, positive female character.

Lost and Found – Oliver Jeffers THERE'S AN ANIMATION

Story about friendship between a boy and a penguin. Takes the penguin home but misses him.

Babar – Jean de Brunhof

Babar is a normal elephant in the jungle, and is camptured, acquires clothing and learns to stand upright, metaphor for colonialisation. Ariel Dorfmann has written a scathing critique of this book and what it represents. Herbert K Kohl and Vivian Paley also thought it was offensive and tried to defend colonialism.

The Empire's New Clothes (Dorfmann) has also written about donald duck and mickey mouse.

Beegu – Alexis Deacon

Story about an alien, representing an outsider, for weird children to identify with when they don't feel they belong to a group. She looks weird because she's an alien, but eventually finds some friends who accept her. Eventually, her mother comes to find her and save her.

Melrose and Crock – Emma Chichester-Clarke

A sausage dog and a crocodile being friends lol

Charlie and Lola – positive female character, story about a brother and sister being friends aww

Wizard of Oz – WW Denslow

Dorothy is a strong female character – archetype of good witch and bad witch, represent good and bad mothers. Children can't see people as both good and bad, have to be one or the other.

Stone Girl Bone Girl – Sheila Moxley

Story about a rare female archaeologist, disproving the creation myth.

Pippi Longstocking – Lauren Child (charlie and lola lady)

Strong fem character for the time she was made, reimagined by lauren child. Does boy things, is assertive and has superhuman strength. Saves contempt for pompous adults. “strength of ten policemen” but is not violent.

Matilda – Quentin Blake