Advent of Denial of Death in Children's Literature

After creating and sustaining highly Romanticized notions of childhood, society begins to protect children from the dangers that supposedly exist exclusively in adult reality, particularly death. Taking into consideration society's attitude towards childhood, this thesis closely examines the different ways in which authors deny death in children's literature. Nineteenth-century authors often use enchantment to create ways for children to survive in an otherwise cruel and deadly Victorian world. As social issues slowly begin to improve, death in children's literature moves away from an event that without magic cannot be ignored, to an occurrence far less likely to happen during childhood. However, as a result of such improvements, when death does occur during childhood, denial becomes an unavoidable emotional response to death. By evaluating the different ways in which authors deny childhood death in their literature, this thesis makes a connection between contemporary attitudes of children and denial of death.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in English (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis (open access)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Literature and Philosophy

Year dc:date.available

2008

Author dc:creator

• Sasser, Marvin Tyler

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mary Villeponteaux
• Caren Town

• ETD
• Denial
• Death
• Children's literature
• Childhood
• Fairy tales
• Enchantment
• Grimms
• Andersen
• Carroll
• Collodi
• The Adventures of Pinocchio
• Barrie
• Peter and Wendy
• Burnett
• The Secret Garden
• White
• Charlotte's Web
• Patterson
• Bridge to Terabithia
• Death in literature

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/166

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1166