The power of belief is a reoccurring theme in fantasy fiction for children and young adults. Oftentimes such belief merely affects the internal make-up of children or child-likecharacters,giving them the confidence that they need to act upon the world, but at other times belief acts to magically impose an imagined reality onto a physical reality. Fairies are brought back from thedead, destinies are divined through a golden compass, phantom stags lead the way to hidden swords. This thesis explores the power of belief and its associations with the innocence of childhood as found in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and Wendy, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Each of the novels that I explore features child characters whose belief in an imagined reality produces a profound effect on the world around her or him.
","abstract_html":"<p>The power of belief is a reoccurring theme in fantasy fiction for children and young adults. Oftentimes such belief merely affects the internal make-up of children or child-likecharacters,giving them the confidence that they need to act upon the world, but at other times belief acts to magically impose an imagined reality onto a physical reality. Fairies are brought back from thedead, destinies are divined through a golden compass, phantom stags lead the way to hidden swords. This thesis explores the power of belief and its associations with the innocence of childhood as found in J.M. Barrie’s <em>Peter Pan and Wendy</em>, J.K. Rowling’s <em>Harry Potter</em> series, Philip Pullman’s <em>His Dark Materials</em>, Lewis Carroll’s <em>Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland</em> and <em>Through the Looking-Glass</em>, and L. Frank Baum’s <em>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.</em> Each of the novels that I explore features child characters whose belief in an imagined reality produces a profound effect on the world around her or him.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Atkinson, Haley Elizabeth"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"English Language and Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Annette Wannamaker, PhD, Chair","Amanda Allen, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-06-06T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-06-06T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:51Z","subjects":["children's literature","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/483","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Annette Wannamaker, PhD, Chair","Amanda Allen, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Atkinson, Haley Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-09-13T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English Language and Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["children's literature","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/483"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The power of belief is a reoccurring theme in fantasy fiction for children and young adults. Oftentimes such belief merely affects the internal make-up of children or child-likecharacters,giving them the confidence that they need to act upon the world, but at other times belief acts to magically impose an imagined reality onto a physical reality. Fairies are brought back from thedead, destinies are divined through a golden compass, phantom stags lead the way to hidden swords. This thesis explores the power of belief and its associations with the innocence of childhood as found in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and Wendy, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Each of the novels that I explore features child characters whose belief in an imagined reality produces a profound effect on the world around her or him.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The power of belief: Innocents and innocence in children's fantasy fiction"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Annette Wannamaker, PhD, Chair","Amanda Allen, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Atkinson, Haley Elizabeth"],"dc:date.available":["2013-09-13T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The power of belief is a reoccurring theme in fantasy fiction for children and young adults. Oftentimes such belief merely affects the internal make-up of children or child-likecharacters,giving them the confidence that they need to act upon the world, but at other times belief acts to magically impose an imagined reality onto a physical reality. Fairies are brought back from thedead, destinies are divined through a golden compass, phantom stags lead the way to hidden swords. This thesis explores the power of belief and its associations with the innocence of childhood as found in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and Wendy, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Each of the novels that I explore features child characters whose belief in an imagined reality produces a profound effect on the world around her or him.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/483"],"dc:subject":["children's literature","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["The power of belief: Innocents and innocence in children's fantasy fiction"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English Language and Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:51Z"}