The Last Blog: The Luck of Roaring Camp and Sissy

Throughout this whole semester we have covered many different ideas about children’s literature. In the beginning we are told, “authors gave scant attention to settings of their narratives” (McLeod 90). Now in the reading “The Luck of Roaring Camp” by Bret Harte setting is very important. If we did not know that they were in California, would that have affected the name the men chose to give the child, “Thomas Luck” (Harte 535)? I think the author plays off of the setting to make the plot line make more sense. If they had been in Texas at this point in time, it would have been completely stupid to have Luck in the name. Since they are taking a hold of the idea of making it big, they show the amount of trust in luck that the people who went out in search of gold had. I think that we see how authors have decided to start to use the settings to play into what they really want to point out. At first they just wanted to make sure that the readers would get the point they wanted to make, but now they have decided that using the setting they can make the idea more meaningful.

We also talked about luck when it came to making it big. We are presented with the idea of the “American Dream” at this point in time and everyone is wanting to make it big. Many different people have many different ways or paths they thought would lead to greatness. For Roaring Camp they believed “that the baby had brought ‘the luck’ to Roaring Camp” (533). I think that we see luck portrayed as more common, but not necessarily people receiving benefits from it. People have a weird way of wanting to find that bit of luck. I mean a bunch of men found it in a kid for crying out loud. I think that people are looking for help when they figure out they cant make it on their own, and the author knows this is a general struggle so he plays off of that.

Changes in Reading Habits: Novel v. Short Story

When reading a short story, I find myself diving deeper into each word. I pay closer attention to the small details. When reading a novel we can trust that the author just means what he/she says. We do not think that there are multiple meanings behind a simple statement. When Susan Warner says “to make her mother’s tea was Ellen’s regular business,” (25) she literally means that Ellen made her mother tea. We do not have to add different meanings to all of the words in her writing. Warner has more than enough time to create her plot line. When reading novels I find myself skimming more often and just looking for the more important details. I find myself not worrying about hidden meanings. We place a certain trust in the author to tell us exactly what he/she means.

In a short story, with the lack of time to create a deep plot line, the author uses every single word to it’s greatest potential. I tend to read much more carefully and slowly to pick up every possibility for each word. I have learned to not trust the author to tell me exactly what he/she means. When Charlotte Perkins Gilman says, “I lie here on this great immovable bed—it is nailed down…” (509) we have to look deeper into the meaning of the text. After what we discussed in class, we know that she is either already dead or buried alive. When I take the context into mind I can make that statement mean that the character is in a coffin, and was just comparing it to a bed. I find myself looking for many different details as to what the author is trying to say. I find that I am confused more often by short stories just simply because I do not follow the depth that the author is taking every concept to. I think that when reading a short story that we have to make sure we do not just skim, but instead going ahead and looking at why the author chose each word, and the importance or secret meaning behind the word.

Authorship in Little Lord Fauntleroy

In Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett we see that the role of authorship can have a great deal of an impact that the author makes on people. I find it interesting, now knowing that the author is for sure a female, how little boys are supposed to act as portrayed through Ceddie. In the previous readings we see how little boys are to be independent, witty, and not the perfect little angel we see girls being portrayed to be. We see Ceddie as completely different from Tom Sawyer and Dick. Ceddie is “beautiful” (445), “wished to make every on as comfortable as he liked to be himself” (446), and “seems to be a very mature little fellow” (473). I think the fact that this is a female writer really shows how she was not pleased with the way little boys were portrayed. She completely turns everything that Mark Twain shows a little boy to be on its head. She proves the point that little boys can be sensitive, sweet, and good too.

I think that not knowing what the author’s gender is plays a little role on how we interpret the text we read. If we do not know the gender of the author we just take the text as is written and do not even stop to worry about the background behind why certain points are made. I know we mentioned in class that this story is to be used to help parents raise up the “perfect” son. This idea does not change when we find out the author is a girl. The main thing that changes is the point of view that it is coming from. I think it gives it a little more of an edge, and come to think of it, I could not see a man portraying a young boy this way. If you think about it, in most families, the dad lets the little boys run free and the mom is in charge of the boy behaving. Does that show through in Burnett’s writing? I think so.

Tom Sawyer: What it takes to be a little boy

In Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, we see the little boy thriving in the country. In class we mentioned all different things that tie little boys to the country and how the country is their ideal place. We see the character of Tom as this smart little boy when it comes to people, but would we consider Tom the next Valedictorian of his class? I think not. We see Tom take the pansy his new love throws over the fence, take it and put it in his jacket “…next to his heart—or next his stomach, possibly, for he was not much posted in anatomy…” (419). I honestly get from this that he doesn’t have to necessarily have to be the brightest crayon in the box. I think that boys have more of a focus placed on them being tough little boys, not on being intellectual.

From that same selection we see Tom being the typical little boy that doesn’t want to be caught with emotions. When he picks up the flower, he “…stops within a foot or two of the flower, and then shaded his eyes with his hand and began to look down street as if he had discovered something of interest…disappeared round the corner.” (419). Why would Tom be so scared to just pick up a simple flower? I think that Twain is teaching little boys to not show emotion. He also is putting a major emphasis on being cool, which Tom was the epitome of. Tom was good at manipulating people, not being manipulated by a girl. I think that Twain, without knowing it, is telling boys to be the one’s in charge of the situation, and not let people know what they are feeling.

Ragged Dick: from rags to riches

In Ragged Dick we are first introduced to the classic American little boy. We have already learned what to expect from little girls in this time period through what we have already read. Now we are shown the many differences between little girls and little boys and the roles they play.

We see many lessons being taught in the story. We see Ragged Dick as little boy that is working for his own good. We see him as an independent, ambitious, and very sarcastic little boy. We get the idea that this is the way a little boy is supposed to act. When we see that Johnny doesn’t make as much money as Dick, we have the fact that, “That boy…ain’t got no ambition,” (351) brought to our attention. The reader then knows that ambition is an important thing for little boys to have to make sure they can support themselves. We also see that Dick is a very confident little boy in the fact that he will joke and be sarcastic with complete strangers. When Dick is talking to Mr. Whitney we see him being sarcastic about staying at the “Box Hotel” (361). Little boys are taught to be able to support themselves, have the work ethic to do a good job of this, and to be funny and sociable in a different way than little girls.

As for the fictionalized characters, I believe we see the switch from sole man powered jobs to more corporate jobs. We see that more thought and power is given to those in nice clothes. When Dick receives the gift of a change of clothes, we see men working the entrances of shops encouraging Dick and Frank to “walk in, young gentlemen” (373) and they are given more respect than Dick received when he was dressed in rags. I think that we are shown how more importance was slowly being given to the men who could afford a more luxurious life-style. Men used to be very down to earth, but now we see the difference between Dick and Frank that show the morphing of our society at the time.

Ragged Dick: from rags to riches

In Ragged Dick we are first introduced to the classic American little boy. We have already learned what to expect from little girls in this time period through what we have already read. Now we are shown the many differences between little girls and little boys and the roles they play.

We see many lessons being taught in the story. We see Ragged Dick as little boy that is working for his own good. We see him as an independent, ambitious, and very sarcastic little boy. We get the idea that this is the way a little boy is supposed to act. When we see that Johnny doesn’t make as much money as Dick, we have the fact that, “That boy…ain’t got no ambition,” (351) brought to our attention. The reader then knows that ambition is an important thing for little boys to have to make sure they can support themselves. We also see that Dick is a very confident little boy in the fact that he will joke and be sarcastic with complete strangers. When Dick is talking to Mr. Whitney we see him being sarcastic about staying at the “Box Hotel” (361). Little boys are taught to be able to support themselves, have the work ethic to do a good job of this, and to be funny and sociable in a different way than little girls.

As for the fictionalized characters, I believe we see the switch from sole man powered jobs to more corporate jobs. We see that more thought and power is given to those in nice clothes. When Dick receives the gift of a change of clothes, we see men working the entrances of shops encouraging Dick and Frank to “walk in, young gentlemen” (373) and they are given more respect than Dick received when he was dressed in rags. I think that we are shown how more importance was slowly being given to the men who could afford a more luxurious life-style. Men used to be very down to earth, but now we see the difference between Dick and Frank that show the morphing of our society at the time.

A Whisper in the Dark

Insanity and insane people in A Whisper in the Dark travels away from what we know so far about children’s literature. It is, as we said in class, a part of the gothic genre of literature, and by no means innocent in nature. This is the first time we see insanity in literature. Insanity is not an easy topic, so it makes this not an actual children’s literature example, but an example of children in literature. In A Whisper in the Dark we see Sybil battle the stress of being put in an insane asylum. At first we are unaware of where she is, since the story is written in first person. She eventually finds out that her uncle has put her there and claimed that she was insane. The problem is that whenever Sybil tries to defend herself, get out, or even just throws a tantrum she is just ignored thinking that she is crazy. When Sybil pleads to go see Madame we see, “my uncle did not answer me, but covered up his face with a despairing gesture, and hurried away from the room; the lawyer followed, muttering pitifully, ‘Poor thing! Poor thing!’” (236) Sybil is completely ignored because she is “insane.” Once Sybil is in the insane asylum the book completely changes pace, and gets the eerie “things aren’t what they seem” mood. We see Sybil start to turn mad. “Carpet worn like mine, the windows barred like mine” (237) we see Sybil as she has started to lose her mind, and she ahs begun pacing like the person above her does. With the story still in the first person, we do not fully believe Sybil but still feel the sense of hopelessness for her.

The mother daughter relationship we see in the previous novels is changed in Sybil and her mother. We do not see the normal relationship built on love, but a relationship that starts when Sybil’s mother has already gone insane. “My mother had been melancholy mad since that unhappy rumor of my father’s death; this affliction had been well concealed from me.” (240) If we were to put this kind of story around Ellen and her mother’s relationship, I do not think that anything could happen to her mother without Ellen not knowing. Sybil’s mother still helps get her child out of the trouble she is in by her “unerring instinct of a mother’s heart” (240). Her mother still loves her, but we find this out later since the story was written in first person. We have to rely on Sybil to tell us the whole truth throughout the whole story, even when she is mad. We eventually find out that we knew the truth all along, but this story was different to read since of the point of view it was written in.

Uncle Tom's Cabin: Complication on what we already know

Uncle Tom’s Cabin completely is different from what we view as “classic” children’s literature. First off we see that the selection we read is not really written for a child to comprehend, and does not have a child as the main character. For example the first sentence of the selection has very intricate words the average child would not understand like, “It is impossible to conceive of a human creature more wholly desolate and forlorn than Eliza, when she turned her footsteps from Uncle Tom’s cabin.” (243) While the first sentence from The Lamplighter is, “It was growing dark in the city.” (79) Stowe’s book is obviously not written to the lower vocabulary level that Cummins’ book is. I find it interesting also that Stowe has primarily adult characters. I feel that Stowe did this for a reason. I bet that Uncle Tom’s Cabin was used to impact the adults and get them to teach what they think about the book to their children.
I know that we talked about how slavery was a topic that would be talked about, but I feel that Stowe is aiming for the older audience to impact the younger audience. I feel that slavery is an important enough of a subject it cannot safely be translated down to the children and still have the same effect. I think that slavery also shows that no matter if you are good or bad, things for the slaves always end up badly. “’Lucy,’ said the trader, ‘your child’s gone; you may as well know it first as last.’” (327) Lucy had been a very good person, obeyed her masters, went with the strangers, and was a good Christian, yet her child get’s stolen. Personally I do not feel that as a good incentive to be a good, obedient Christian. I think that there is a disconnect between Stowe and the other selections we have read because of the point Stowe was trying to make, and the fact that the main lesson wanted to be obtained was a very serious event, and there is no way to make slavery an easy to accept or listen to thing. Stowe obviously did a great job with her writing, but I do not feel that it is necessarily “children’s literature”.

Description and Who Decides the Best?

At the beginning of this course we talked about what the basics of children’s literature were, and what to look for. I found it interesting that this story broke a major one of the rules that we really focused on. We talked about how details and description were basically left out on purpose in children’s literature. We talked about how they did this so that the children would focus on the correct information of the story. In The Hidden Hand we are literally hit with details and description from the first page of our selection. “Hurricane Hall is a large old family mansion, built of dark-red sandstone…surrounded on three sides by a range of steep, gray rocks, spiked with clumps of dark evergreens, and called from its horseshoe form, the Devil’s Hoof,” (151) is the first paragraph we read. Why would E.D.E.N Southworth go against the grain to such a blatant extent? I think that Southworth was hoping to really prove a point and use the details provided to affect the effect of what was taught by helping the reader visualize it. Later on in the text we read a brief description of Marah Rocke’s little house. “You enter by the little wooden gate, pass up the moldering paved walk, between the old, leafless lilac bushes, and pass through the front door right into a large, clean but poor-looking sitting-room and kitchen,” (189) is used before we know the past of Marah Rocke and Old Hurricane. Could the author use these sad details to almost make us feel sorry for Miss Rocke? I think that Southworth wants us to feel sorry for Rocke especially after we find out what the minimal information we are given about her past with Old Hurricane.

I find it interesting that during the time period we are studying there are not many American novels included. I personally have really enjoyed all of the books we have read so far and I think that they are of merit. I would be curious and interested to find out what really makes certain books become part of the list. I see that the ones they choose for the most part have been one’s to cause a change. I think that a major American novel should be based on how it is perceived by society. If we took it more off of what people really think, I bet there would be more novels added to the list.

Balance for the Girls

From the 1800’s to the current time in the 2000’s there have been many changes in regards to girls. Some things have stayed the same in what we expect from all little girls. In today’s society girls are expected to grow up into great women. We expect the girls to be well behaved, have a balanced life, and be happy. The video shows us how the girls in our society today are working to deal with maintaining the balance they need to in their life. Girls today will tend to balance school, sports, social life, relationships, and much more.

In Cummins’s The Lamplighter we see how Gerty would like to have the proper balance in life. Back in this time girls were expected to balance a different set of things. Gerty is expected to be well dressed, act properly, and etc. “’Mrs. Sullivan dressed me all up, and brushed my hair,’” (Page 105) shows how important it was after she got to go home with True to be shown how to be an actual woman since Nan Grant didn’t do it. Gerty had a much rougher upbringing than what one would guess Anna in the video had. Basically our views on girls are basically the same it is just the things they are dealing with are a little different.

If Gerty were on the show I think they would have talked about how she lived with Nan Grant and how terrible the woman was for keeping her around because “she did not care to excited inquiries by trying to dispose of her elsewhere" (Page 81). I think that they would talk about how rough it was especially when Nan Grant basically fried her only friend. Instead of talking to her like she was on the same level and more mature I bet that Amy Pholer would talk down to Gerty just simply because of all that she had gone through. I think that Amy Pholer would not be asking for advice or help, but to help her by giving her any help she thinks she needs. I think that she would again help show that the girls are expected to do the similar things as many years ago, just have different obstacles to handle.

The Parents Role in The Wide, Wide World

In Warner’s The Wide, Wide World we can see the relationship between the parents and children to be very cut and dry. There is no way to miss out on the views from the 19th century on how parenting was to happen. In the part of Warner’s The Wide, Wide World, we see that the mother is the one that is to bring up the children. She works out of the home and is in charge of rearing the children. The father is nowhere to be found, and has no apparent relationship with or really cares for the child. The father shows his complete annoyance with his daughter, Ellen, and we see that Ellen does whatever is necessary to no bother her father. For example, before Ellen and her mother go shopping, we find her reluctant to go into the dining room until her father has completed his meal and moved on. I think that Ellen, despite her excitement for the day’s activities is partially afraid of her father. She does not have the relationship with him that she has with her mother. Also, when it is time for her to leave to go to her aunt’s house, Ellen is hugging her mom and sobbing over losing her mother. When her father comes up the stairs he is merely the bearer of bad news, and he barely even says goodbye to his only daughter.
In this story I do believe that the father is an exaggeration of how most would act with their children. I do agree with what is stated and shown about the mother. It is just natural for a mother to have the paternal instincts to care for the child and bring them up to be little ladies or gentlemen. I wonder if Ellen had been a boy then her father would have paid more attention to her? It works well with the story though for her father to ignore her, because then we see how important her parents are. I think Ellen respects her father, but feels neither love nor affection for him. I mean who could blame the girl. Her father completely ignores her and doesn’t even care that he is taking her mother away from her. I think Ellen doesn’t really expect much from her father, but expects the world from her mother. Showing us the true tie to the mother that the children of the 19th century had.

Constructions of Childhood

When observing childhood literature there are many different theories and ideas that are important to keep in mind when it comes to analyzing what is being said. One theory that can be gathered from “Children’s Literature for a New Nation” by McLeod is that children are always taught a moral lesson. You will tend to see such things as the good always end up with the better outcome, while the bad always receive harsh discipline in what happens. In McLeod’s work it is stated that “they were written to teach, and specifically, to teach morality.” It is plain as black and white. If we think back to simple stories we were told as children I guarantee you can think of at least on with some sort of a moral lesson.
A main idea can be found from Sanchez-Eppler’s work Dependent States: The Child’s Part in Nineteenth-Century American Culture is that the children are important to the society, thus yielding great control. I believe that is why children’s literature is taken so seriously and has such deep meanings. In Sanchez-Eppler’s work it says, “Children can simultaneously and seamlessly function as both objects and subjects of social control, since in their state of dependency it is precisely what they lack that makes them rhetorically efficacious.” They hold the future of the society.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there will be few details. This is done to keep the work able to be identified with many different cultures and areas. I think it is also done to keep the children’s focus on the moral that is the main goal to be learned. In McLeod’s work it says, “No doubt because their purposes were so selective, authors gave scant attention to the settings of their narratives.”
Keeping in mind that in that time period children were just being used to make adults. In Sanchez-Eppler’s work it says, “Children matter then not as selves, but as stages in the process of making an adult identity.” Children were dependent and so they were not considered an actual person.
One last thing to keep in mind is that all of these works are usually written by adults causing them to be written from the viewpoint of what is felt about what happens, not just told what happens. We see plenty of own thoughts on a subject just from the way an author writes his/her story. In McLeod’s work it backs this thought up, “What the fiction speaks of is not so much what happened in the period as what many quite representative middle-class Americans felt about what was happening.” When reading children’s literature there are many different things to keep in mind to make the understanding of what is really being said or taught.

An introduction

I am Effie Bates from the lovely Hill Country of South Texas. I was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, but by the age of nine months I was moved down to Kerrville, Texas. I am currently a first year student at TCU, but transfered in enough hours that technically this semester I could be considered a sophomore. I am a Movement Science Major with the hopes of becoming a physical therapist. I have a great passion for sports. I grew up on the soccer field and in the gym hitting a volleyball around. My father was very involved in my sports careers from coaching me when I was little in the local soccer leagues, to the advice before and after a game I would receive from him. I have been raised a Christian and am one by choice. I have also been raised hunting and fishing. I love the great outdoors and love to spend my free time there. I have grown up in a church down in Fredericksburg, Texas where my grandfather was the pastor. I actually found TCU through a girl who graduated from here that I went to church with. She basically convinced me that I would thrive better here than at Texas A&M which is where I was set on going since about birth. If I was made Chancellor of TCU, I do not believe I would have much to change. I would probably just implement some new traditions and make sure that TCU was well advertised to the high schools all over Texas and even all the other states. I feel a good teacher is someone who cares enough to be willing to help, but also makes the students learn how to do it themselves. A good student is one who strives for perfection but is not afraid of failure. Three things to know about me would be that I am a morning person and very optimistic, I am a Christian, and I am an athlete at heart but not an athlete for TCU. I am taking this course because yes it is required, but it sounded to me like the most interesting out of the literature courses. I hope to gain a further knowledge of how children were viewed back in the nineteenth century and how the authors tended to write. I read for my classes, but unfortunately am very busy outside of class so my outside reading is limited to my Bible. I primarily e-mail and text, I mean I am a teenager. I would say my blog shows I am very lighthearted by the light colors on my page. It shows that I have school spirit seeing as my profile picture is from the bowl game our football team just played in and I was fortunate enough to attend. I show my roots in my introduction and show that I am a true to heart Texas girl. In the class I hope to bring interesting discussions to the table and look at things in all different kinds of perceptions.