The power of belief: Innocents and innocence in children's fantasy fiction

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Atkinson, Haley Elizabeth

Contributors dc:contributor

• Annette Wannamaker, PhD, Chair
• Amanda Allen, PhD

• children's literature
• English Language and Literature

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/483

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-1854