Constructions of Childhood

One theory to keep in mind when analyzing children’s literature is that many of the writings reflect how people felt about what was happening in society during that period of time. In MacLeod’s, “Children’s Literature for a New Nation,” she states that, “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.” Children’s literature was a way for adults to express their feelings about society and the future. A second theory to note while analyzing children and childhood literature is that the primary concern of many of the writings was to teach children good and strong morals. MacLeod points out that, “They were written to teach, and specifically, to teach morality.” Adults want children to lean the difference between what is “right” and what is “wrong”. Many of the plots focused on the conflict between “good” and “bad” and that the “good” always prevails. Another theory important to the analysis of children’s literature is that writings reflect that society at this time was excited about the changes and growth of the nation, but many individuals still yearned for the stability of the past. “Even while they moved with their society, responding vigorously to economic and social opportunity, many Americans also yearned toward the stability of the past, and worried over the direction of the future” (MacLeod). MacLeod points out that one way in which this is seen is in children’s literature is through the depiction of the cities as “evil” and the suburbs as the “safe” place. “Most juvenile books suggested that all Americans were better off in the country, which was both moral and healthy, than in cities” (MacLeod).

The idea that childhood is a period of both freedom and powerlessness is important when analyzing children’s literature. In “Dependent State” Sanchez- Eppler describes childhood as, “a period of both remarkable freedom and inherent powerlessness, something to be yearned for and to escape.” Childhood is a period of a person’s life in which they are free from many of the rules and obligations that structure older individual’s lives. During childhood one is free to explore and make mistakes. Along with this freedom there is also a sense of powerlessness involved with being a child. Children do not get to choose when they are taught or what is deemed as important. Decisions for children are made by society, not children themselves. The final theory for analyzing children’s literature, which connects to the idea that children are somewhat powerless, is the theory that literature is based on social priority. In simpler terms this means that many of the writings are about what adults want in society. Sanchez- Eppler states that, “For most scholars changes in the statues of children are note for what they indicate about shifts in social priorities—that is, about changes in the desires and experiences of adults.” The morals that are taught to children are based upon the ideals of how adults picture society. In a broad sense this theory sums up the idea that if analyzed correctly, there is much more to children’s literature then one might expect.