There and Back Again – The Hobbit

‘This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected’ (Tolkien, 2015, p. 1)

I grew up watching Lord of the Rings at least once a year and grew to love the epic saga thanks to my brother’s obsession, so I was excited to see The Hobbit, its prequel, on the elective books list for our YA Lit course. I was expecting a simple children’s book akin to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz but was pleasantly surprised by the complexity of the story. Even though it follows the episodic formula many books for children do – the party faces danger, they find a solution/fight the evil, on they go until they come across the next danger, rinse and repeat (Appleyard, 1991) – , it was still enjoyable to read as an adult because it is funny with touches of irony and cynicism. Tolkien created a story which depends upon the nature of Faerie, that is ‘enchantment, [which] produces a Secondary World into which both designer and spectator can enter, to the satisfaction of their senses while they are inside’ (Tolkien as cited in Austin, 2002, p. 2). Because of these reasons, The Hobbit is extremely suitable for children, while adolescents and even adults will find themselves lost in Tolkien’s world. Most readers of epic fantasy want just that – to distance themselves from the ordinary.

…the story depends on the nature of Faerie…

The Hobbit is the classic tale of a Hero’s Journey; our hero is a fifty years old hobbit Bilbo Baggins who is called to action and discovers a world much bigger and more exciting than his cosy hobbit hole. Even though Bilbo is an adult at the beginning of his journey, his character at times seems childlike because of the sheltered hobbit life he has lived. So, in a way, this tale is a coming-of-age story where Bilbo discovers the world and himself. Over the course of this adventure, Bilbo meets elves, goblins, and trolls while he also exhibits ‘all the virtues of the quest hero: bravery, skill, leadership, and supernatural protection [simple luck]’(1991, p. 19).

‘I have got you out of two messes already, which were hardly in the original bargain, so that I am, I think, already owed some reward. But ‘third time pays for all’ as my father used to say, and somehow I don’t think I shall refuse’ (p. 212).

As Bilbo is ‘forced’ to help the dwarves time and time again, his confidence in himself grows while he stays honourable and generous. Bilbo and his party teach young readers about human traits, emotions, acceptable and unacceptable behaviours. Children read to gather and organize new information about the world (Appleyard, 1991) and even though The Hobbit takes place in a fantasy world with imaginary beings, young readers can learn how the world works because most of the characteristics and behaviours are recognizable. Austin (2002) reflects on the reasons why the imaginary worlds have the power to awe us: ‘[because of] the stories they tell: stories which, if they are to move us, must deal with recognizable human problems and be true to either our experience of life or our sense of how things could or should be’ (p. 7). This familiarity gives us a sense of understanding of what is going on in these epic sagas. And then we come across the strange: the trolls, the elves, the dragon. But even these are familiar to us because of centuries old folklore and myths.

While on this fantastic adventure, Bilbo does not let us forget his wish to be back in his cosy hobbit hole: ‘”Bother burgling and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!” It was not the last time that he wished that!’ (p. 31). This turmoil is created by the Took vs Baggins genes.

‘It was often said (in other families) that long ago one of the Took ancestors must have taken a fairy wife. That was, of course, absurd, but certainly there was still something not entirely hobbitlike about them, and once in a while members of the Took-clan would go and have adventures’ (p. 2).

While from his mother’s side (the Took-clan) he is thirsty for adventure even though he will not admit it, from his father’s side (the Baggins-clan) he just wants to be an ordinary hobbit doing ordinary hobbit things. Adventures are not something a Baggins would usually do; until Bilbo’s calling.

A guide and a protector

During class discussions, we noticed something that Tolkien does regularly: the narrator appears on occasion to address the reader. For instance, when we are introduced to Gandalf:

‘If you had heard only a quarter of what I have heard about him, and I have only heard very little of all there is to hear, you would be prepared for any sort of remarkable tale’ (p. 3).

We believe Tolkien chose to use these direct comments to make it feel as if the story is told by an oral storyteller; to create an atmosphere similar to when he used to tell these stories to his children.

Another example would be when Bilbo realizes the weakness in his plan to use the barrels to save the dwarves:

‘Most likely you saw it some time ago and have been laughing at him;’ (p. 182).

Also known as authorial intrusion which ‘establishes a one to one relationship between the writer and the reader where the latter is no longer a secondary player or an indirect audience to the progress of the story but is the main subject of the author’s attention’ (Literary Devices, 2018), these comments acknowledge the readers as clever observers. However, the narrator quickly expresses sympathy and affection towards Bilbo as well: ‘but I don’t suppose you would have done half as well yourselves in his place’ (p. 182).

Other times, instead of providing extra information or making a snarky comment, the narrator decides to tease the reader by revealing juicy titbits of adventures to come only to rip it out of our reach. For example, when we are first told about the battle of Five Armies, the narrator quickly switches lanes:‘But as that comes in at the end of this tale we will say no more about it just now’ (p. 113). By doing this, Tolkien creates suspense and desire to continue reading. He does it again a couple chapters later, to create even more excitement for what is coming:

‘now we are drawing near the end of the eastward journey and coming to the last and greatest adventure, so we must hurry up’ (p. 186).

With a sense of urgency, we read, read, and read on until our hero returns to his cosy hobbit hole.

Bibliography

Appleyard, J.A. (1991). Becoming a Reader. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

Austin, A. (2002). Quality in Epic Fantasy. Retrieved 17 March 2019 from  http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/quality-in-epic-fantasy

Literary Devices. (2018, December 19). Authorial Intrusion. Retrieved from https://literary-devices.com/content/authorial-intrusion/

Tolkien, J.R.R. (2015). The Hobbit or There and Back Again [Kindle Edition]. London: HarperCollins. (First published 1937)

Forever, popular? – Forever

‘I think it’s just that I’m not ready for forever’ (Blume, 2014, p. 208)

‘It’s so exploratory it almost borders on non-fiction’

Reading Judy Blume’s Forever as an adult for the first time, felt like I was instantly transported back to my sweet sixteen and first serious relationship. While reading the book, I was transformed into that giddy teenager who was learning about IT once again. I remember going through the same emotions as Katherine, the main character: experiencing the same turmoil inside me, trying to find the answer to ‘when was the right time’. One very familiar pattern we found in the story is doing things for the first time: first glances, kisses, hugs, snuggles and the first time going all the way. Blume was able to create a story which is real; I enjoy Dawson’s description: ‘There’s still something pure and undiluted about the examination of sex in Forever. It’s so exploratory it almost borders on non-fiction’ (2015). Adolescents reading this book will be able to identify with the characters and they will feel involved in their love story because of its realism (Appleyard, 1991). Even if they have not yet experienced their first love, every generation can learn something from Blume’s depiction of first love.

With the awakening of the Second Wave Feminism in the 60s, women fought for many issues to be recognized: reproductive rights, domestic violence, and women’s shelters among others. However, most media that tackled teenage relationships, would choose to portray them with disastrous consequences: pregnancy, abortion, death upon delivery, or the ‘you ruined your future’ plot. We realised that Blume gave us a straightforward story of two high school seniors who fall in love and have consensual, responsible sex – Katherine starts taking the Pill, which in the 70s was the epitome of responsible sex. They banned the book left and right in the US because it describes sex explicitly.

‘A person has to think… a person has to be sure… I’ll have to control my body with my mind’ (p. 51)

In my opinion, this book is absolutely age appropriate for any teenager in today’s world. Adolescents have questions about sex, they did in 1974 as well, except now they have the internet which is full of information, images and videos, often, out of context which can be more damaging. So, why not allow adolescents to read a story of first love, from start to finish? Thanks to the internet, kids mature faster and start exploring Erikson’s sixth stage earlier – exploring intimate and loving relationships with other people (1970). Our main character Katherine finds herself at this stage as well and proves to be a great role-model for girls. Michael tries to pressure her into having sex several times before she is ready, but she makes her wishes perfectly clear: ‘A person has to think… a person has to be sure… I’ll have to control my body with my mind’ (p. 51). Michael shows restraint and understanding of what consent means. I thought this was incredibly realistic and an important point of any relationship that adolescents must be made aware – it is absolutely okay to say no, and the other person must understand what this means.

Katherine does not go through this by herself; she has her parents who seem to be a great influence and example of what true love looks like. Furthermore, they have an honest and open relationship which includes talk about sex as well: ‘…you have to be sure you can handle the situation before you jump into it… sex is a commitment… once you’re there you can’t go back to holding hands…And when you give yourself both mentally and physically…well, you’re completely vulnerable’ (p. 84). Research by Borawski, Ievers-Landis, Lovergreen, and Trapl (2003) concludes that ‘trust established between an adolescent female and her parents continues to be a strong deterrent for risky behaviors’ such as unprotected sex. We can see how Kath’s relationship with her parents, based on trust and honesty, influences her decisions when it comes to losing her virginity with Michael – she goes to Planned Parenthood and starts taking the pill.

Some still try to ban the book (see Parker v. Hurley, 2008) instead of taking the opportunity to have a conversation with their children about birds and bees and how it is portrayed in Forever. I do think schools should allow this book on the list of optional reading materials because students as young as sixth-graders, according to Worthy, Moorman, and Turner’s reports, are interested in both scary books but also teen magazines which often include relationship advice (as cited in Edwards, 2014, p. 2). As I was researching the author, I came across stories of people reminiscing about reading this book in secret when they were as young as 11. Most of the time, it was because of the media attention that they were dying to read it. I have to agree with the Executive Director (of the National Coalition Against Censorship) Joan Bertin: ‘A parent whose ‘child is exposed to sensitive topics or information at school remains free to discuss these matters and to place them in the family’s moral or religious context, or to supplement the information with more appropriate materials’” (Parker v. Hurley, 2008). Luckily, the Netherlands has Sex Education for kids as young as four (de Melker, 2015) and are not afraid of these topics, so I do not think it would be a problem to recommend this book to adolescents in the Dutch school system. Lastly, this book would be absolutely perfect for any Sex Ed class because it does not shy away from topics like: sex, the Pill, teen pregnancy, adoption and abortion. It needs to be pointed out that the novel is dated with its nonchalant view of STDs.

Banned Books Week Review: http://bibliovermis.com/archives/174

Bibliography

Appleyard, J.A. (1991). Becoming a Reader. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

Blume, J. (2014). Forever [Kindle Edition]. Macmillan Children’s Books (Originally published 1974)

Borawski, E. L., Ievers-Landis, C. E., Lovegreen, L. D., & Trapl, E. S. (2003). Parental monitoring, negotiated unsupervised time, and parental trust: the role of perceived parenting practices in adolescent health risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 33(2), 60-70

Dawson, J. (2015, September 6). Judy Blume’s Forever: the first and last word on teen sex?. Retrieved 28 March 2019 from https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/sep/06/judy-blume-forever-teen-sex-james-dawson

de Melker, S. (2015, May 27). The case for starting sex education in kindergarten. Retrieved 28 March 2019 from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/spring-fever

Edwards, S. ed. (2014). Creating a literary Environment for Young Adolescents [PDF document]. Retrieved 28 March 2019 from https://hubl.hu.nl/archive/file/23535

Erikson, E.H. (1970). Reflections on the dissent of contemporary youth. International Journal of Psychoanalysis.

Parker v. Hurley. (2008).

(In)Sanity Check – The Wasp Factory

‘I suppose I’ll have to tell him what’s happened to me.’ (1984, p. 104)

Iain Banks’ The Wasp Factory is told from the POV of Frank Cauldhame, sixteen-year-old boy, who grows up home-schooled and isolated from the world because he does not have a birth certificate or national insurance card. We know that bureaucracy can be a pain in some countries, nevertheless, we are left in the dark until the very end of the book as to why Frank’s dad, Angus, would never get it sorted. The world Frank lives in is grey and morose, and through the isolation, he never learns to negotiate what it means to be away from home and in other social settings. Most children go through these stages when they first attend a kindergarten and later school where they are allowed to explore their identities outside their family life. If the home schooling against his will was not enough, how about some casual and very secret hormone therapy done on Frank without his consent? Thus, Angus, perhaps unknowingly, through his actions creates a dysfunctional child/teenager who has skipped crucial stages of Erikson’s development (Erikson, 1970). The outcome of going through these stages in a person who had a safe home environment and experiences traditional social engagements, is a ‘wide and integrated set of life skills and abilities that function together within the autonomous individual’ (Edwards, 2019). Frank, isolated and with an aloof father, experiences life in a different way.

‘I want to look dark and menacing; the way I ought to look, the way I should look, the way I might have looked if I hadn’t had my little accident. Looking at me, you’d never guess I’d killed three people. It isn’t fair.’ (1984, p. 20)  

Angus plays another role in Frank’s developing character. By observing his father, Frank develops obsessions which have ‘a quality of pedantic order and rationality’ (Mullan, 2008). This is apparent in the Wasp Factory itself, an elaborate mechanism, which Frank uses to kill wasps in various ways. The manner in which they die then predict Frank’s victims’ deaths.

Through the first person POV, the reader becomes intimate with the inner thoughts of Frank. We discussed how it was especially intriguing to read about his plotting the murders and his feelings towards his brother, claiming Eric to be mad and himself to be sane. After we examined his actions further, we have concluded that Frank committed these heinous crimes as a child because he lacked the homelife where he could have felt successful. Most children would experience success at school through good grades and other accomplishments; while Frank was constantly quizzed by his father, he did not care or feel success because of the isolation he experienced. For him, these killings, and getting away with them (just like Dexter), were the successes he craved. During Erikson’s 4^th stage – school age – children want to feel competent (Erikson, 1970).  

Another pattern of the novel is Frank’s attempts to explain a mystery by trying to get into his father’s study at different intervals throughout the story. He hopes that one day the study doors would be left unlocked. ‘In the way of a fairy-tale or a gothic yarn, we know that we will enter this mysterious chamber before the novel ends’ (Mullan, 2008) and so, Frank, and the reader, finds out the truth through what I like to call an M. Night Shyamalan style twist ending. The revelation, in hindsight, makes complete sense. After Frank’s incident, the mother abandons them and Angus develops a hatred towards women and this hatred rubs off on Frank. Angus’ little experiment came to existence at this moment as well. ‘My [Frank’s] greatest enemies are Women and the Sea. These things I hate. Women because they are weak and stupid and live in the shadow of men and are nothing compared to them…’ (1984, p. 43)

The book’s main appeal is its dark themes: violence, murders, secrets, identity crisis, the exploration of a psychopath’s mind. These themes in fiction must be balanced between the strange and the familiar according to Alec Austin (2002, p. 2). I believe, The Wasp Factory does a decent job balancing these elements. Adolescents will be able to identify with the insecurities Frank experiences and some readers will be familiar with the realities of a single-parent household. On the other hand, Frank’s murderous character will provide something new and bizarre. ‘Two years after I killed Blyth, I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different reasons than I’d disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmeralda, more or less on a whim. That’s my score to date. I haven’t killed anybody for years, and don’t intend to ever again. It was just a stage I was going through.’ (1984, p. 5).

Not only the themes are appealing, but also how the reader arrives at the twist. Although the book is short, it manages to pack a lot of action and revelations.

Starting with the matter-of-fact remark about the three murders (see quote above), what the title means, and his supposedly crazy brother, Eric, made me crave more. I wanted to explore each murder, I wanted to know what happened to Eric and whether the stories floating around him were true, and I wanted to explore the relationships between characters. I can see how this book with its dark themes could get some students into the habit of reading and discovering the joys of it too. If I was a teacher at a school whose curriculum included this book – highly unlikely, because although the book offers gender fluidity themes, these happen in a negative connotation -, I would create a court room activity, in which students would prosecute or defend either Frank or Angus.

Bibliography

Austin, A. (2002). Quality in Epic Fantasy. Retrieved 17 March 2019 from  http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/quality-in-epic-fantasy

Banks, I. (1984). The Wasp Factory. [EBook]. London. Abacus.

Edwards, S. (2019, March 17). “Transcript for ‘The search for identity’”. Retrieved from https://hubl.hu.nl/session/search-identity?combi_course=778010

Erikson, E.H. (1970). Reflections on the dissent of contemporary youth., International Journal of Psychoanalysis.

Mullan, J. (2008, Jun 28). Behind it all. John Mullan on the use of explanation as a device in Iain Banks’s The Wasp Factory. The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2019 from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/28/saturdayreviewsfeatres.guardianreview31

‘Jolly good show. Like the Coral Island’ – Lord of the Flies

‘Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heat, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.’ (1954, p. 158)

Episode no. 192 – ‘Das Bus’

My first encounter with William Golding’s Lord of the Flies was through an episode of The Simpsons which I enjoyed immensely as a youngster – especially because it also involved girls. In various internet communities, I have come across high praises for this book, so I was excited to get my hands on a copy.

Straight away I was pulled in with the survival aspect of the novel and my inner Bear Grylls lit up, imagining how I would have dealt with being stuck on an island. I identified with Ralph’s leadership skills and wanting to ensure everybody was safe until rescued. The carefree attitude of many of the other characters left me feel annoyed and angry. I will not lie, reading this book for the first time as an adult, at first, I somewhat disliked the execution of the storyline and characters to the great annoyance of my fellow colleagues who have read this book as teenagers and loved it. After all, this book does checks Appleyard’s three boxes of ‘what young people look for in books’: involvement and identification with the book and characters; the realism of the story; and that the story makes the readers think (1991, p. 6). The more I looked at the story with a critical eye, the more I started seeing the ‘beauty’ of it.

My colleagues loved this book as teenagers because it explores darker themes – survival, violence and death among others. According to Appleyard (1991), adolescents want to explore these darker themes because they ‘have discovered that the conventions of juvenile literature do not match the complexity of their new experience’ (p. 14). Readers at this age often experience the ups and downs of life for the first time and so they want to explore stories which reflect the often darker realities of their lives, because they can now relate to these more.

Children and teenagers often fantasize about independence from their parents, and as a school teacher, Golding also toyed with this idea. The characters in the book explore different roles, activities and behaviours through this new-found independence (Erikson, 1970, p. 11).
With no adults around, Ralph takes on the role of an adult by trying to keep everyone safe and fed until rescued. While Ralph acts beyond his age, Jack displays immature, selfish and aggressive behaviour. Ralph represents the ‘civilization with his parliaments and his brain trust’, Piggy, while Jack, ‘in whom the spark of wildness burns hotter and closer to the surface than in Ralph’ represents anarchy (Epstein, 2006, p. 160).

The evil is not externalised as in many juvenile books, though the characters try to externalise evil by creating the myth of the beast not realising that they have become the beast, and the ending is not exactly a happy one. So, one thing is for sure, juvenile students should wait until adolescents to read this book because of how Golding explores the darkest side of human nature – the transformation from school boys to savage animals who are ready to kill anything and anyone who stands up to them. We discussed how Golding managed to create suspense, by creating a pattern of fights which could have easily turned into something more. Golding the tease. However, this does not happen until the second half of the book where we arrive at the first human victim of the savagery. Simon figures out the truth about the beast and is killed by the others as if he were the beast:

The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws. (p. 118)

Simon’s discovery launches the readers onto a wild ride. The fact that the characters’ ages range from 6 to 12 (perfect age range for juvenile books), makes these events much darker and more surprising.  When Piggy, alongside Ralph, challenges Jack’s group by asking them whether it is better to be painted like a pack of Indians, hunting and killing or to have rules, law and rescue, (p. 141) he ends up killed by Roger who sends a huge boulder bounding onto him. The conch, and with it democracy, destroyed, the hunt for Ralph begins. As Simon observed, ‘maybe there is a beast…maybe it’s only us’ (p. 68), this book can open up great discussions about human nature in the classroom. The book does contain some tricky vocabulary like vicissitudes, strident, corpulent, or derision. It is something to consider when assigning this book, especially to second language learners.

Simon’s discovery launches the readers onto a wild ride. The fact that the characters’ ages range from 6 to 12 (perfect age range for juvenile books), makes these events much darker and more surprising.  When Piggy, alongside Ralph, challenges Jack’s group by asking them whether it is better to be painted like a pack of Indians, hunting and killing or to have rules, law and rescue, (p. 141) he ends up killed by Roger who sends a huge boulder bounding onto him. The conch, and with it democracy, destroyed, the hunt for Ralph begins. As Simon observed, ‘maybe there is a beast…maybe it’s only us’ (p. 68), this book can open up great discussions about human nature in the classroom. The book does contain some tricky vocabulary like vicissitudes, strident, corpulent, or derision. It is something to consider when assigning this book, especially to second language learners.

Bibliography

Appleyard, J.A. (1991). Becoming a Reader. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

Erikson, E.H. (1970). Reflections on the dissent of contemporary youth. International Journal of Psychoanalysis.

Golding, W. (1954). The Lord of the Flies. London. Faber and Faber.

Golding, W., & Epstein, E. L. (2006). Lord of the Flies: A novel. [E-book]. New York: Penguin.

The Age of Innocence

‘There is no place like home.’ (Baum, 2008, p.17)

I picked up L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz last summer. The first thing that jumped out to me was the introduction at the start of the novel where L. Frank Baum claims that, his main goal was to write a modernized fairy tale ‘in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out’ (Baum, 2008, p. 3). His reasoning behind this was that morality has been part of the, then, modern curriculum and therefore, there was no reason to include horrible incidents so often found in the fairies of Grimm and Andersen. This gave me the impression that I would be entering a world full of happiness and fun adventures. However, as I was reading, there were more and more gruesome instances albeit always with a happy ending. This prompted the discussion of differences between the 1939 film adaptation and the novel.

‘She [Wicked Witch of the East] thought of a new way to kill my love for the beautiful Munchkin maiden, and made my axe slip again, so that it cut right through my body, splitting me into two halves.’ (2008, p.24)

The film seemed to stay true to the features of a modernized fairy tale though they made the decision to go the musical route. I think it was a smart decision – the songs are iconic. The novel, on the other hand, has scenes such as the Tin Woodman explaining how he became a tin man after the Scarecrow questions the Woodman’s want of a heart instead of a brain. The Wicked Witch of the East enchanted the Woodman’s axe which then ‘accidentally’ chopped various parts of the Woodman’s body off – joyful? No. Gruesome? Yes!
These scenes were strangely entertaining, not found in the film adaptation, it opened up the creative process of imagining them – and as an adult with plenty of horror film viewings under my belt, my imagination painted some pretty wild scenes.

As the story unfolded, I became less excited and more bored because of the uncomplicated, repetitive (or episodic) structure of the tale. Dorothy and her companions encounter numerous obstacles; however, each time they find a way to solve their problem with the help of their smarts, courage or just pure luck.
For instance, Dorothy gets so mad that she pours a bucket of water over the Witch – her one weakness:

‘”Didn’t you know water would be the end of me?” asked the Witch, in wailing, despairing voice. “Of course not,” answered Dorothy. “How should I?”‘ (2008, p.64).

According to Appleyard (1991) this structure is often used in children’s books because ‘children between ages 7 and 12 are limited in what they can cognitively grasp and affectively identify with’ (p. 5). Children at this age need stories which feel reassuringly familiar because they are still learning how their world operates. Through these books, via the heroes and heroines, children are able to face and concur an endless variety of danger, evil or crime. Because of this, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is perfect for pre-adolescent children.

It is described to us in the beginning that Dorothy lives in Kansas on a grey and struggling farm. We learn that Dorothy is an orphan and lives with her uncle and aunt who are described as stern and solemn. There are multiple views of why it is common for the heroine to be motherless. One of the views according to Appleyard (1991) is that ‘[because] family issues are not the subject of the books children ages 7 to 12 read, the heroes and heroines of these books have to be at least psychologically parentless if they are to be convincing models of world mastery’ (p. 19). Since the book came out in 1900, we deduced that Baum was referring to the Dust Bowl and the depression. So, I was quite surprised when Dorothy lands in Oz, a beautiful land of many wonders, the only thing she can think about is her home and how worried her aunt and uncle must be. We came to the conclusion that this huge change in environment – going from a simple, familiar, quiet life on the great plains to a world full of bizarre creatures – would be pretty scary for a child.

‘No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.’ (2008, p.17)

Even though Dorothy is worried, she puts on a brave face and begins her journey along the Yellow Brick Road. Soon, her party of two becomes a party of five. The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion are the adult characters who support, comfort and help Dorothy on her way to the Wizard of Oz. Without their assistance, Dorothy would not have been able to overcome the numerous obstacles. These characters serve another purpose. Each of them has a wish, something they long after: the Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Woodman wants a heart, the Cowardly Lion wants courage, and Dorothy wants to go home. Readers can relate to at least one of the characters and learn that they have had what they were missing all along. Alongside Dorothy, the readers learn about courage, love, caring, and intelligence. Unfortunately, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Lion are simpletons who need the physical gifts from the wizard to truly be happy.

The four witches

While discussing further patterns in the novel, we realized that the female characters are unusually strong. Traditional fairy tales are abundant with damsels in distress; however, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is ‘the earliest truly feminist American children’s book, because of spunky and tenacious Dorothy,’ writes Michael Patrick Hearn in the foreword to The Annotated Wizard of Oz (2000). It is entirely possible that Dorothy’s character was based on Baum’s mother-in-law, the radical suffragette Gage; Dorothy stands up for herself and deals with her problems rather than waiting for a prince to rescue her (BBC Culture, 2014). The one character who was supposed to save her, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, turns out to be a fraud, a former ventriloquist and circus performer from Nebraska, who happened to also land in Oz by accident.

The wizard might have been an old fraud without any powers, but the four witches of Oz were the real deal. All of them have magical powers and serve a purpose to the story. The good witches tried to help and set others free, just like Dorothy did with the Winkies demonstrating her power of good. While the bad witches enslaved others and so, were defeated by our heroine. Let us not forget that, without Glinda the Good Witch of the South, Dorothy wouldn’t have learned that she could have flown home all along if she just clicked her heels together.

‘” I am glad I was of use to these good friends. But now that each of them has had what he most desired, and each is happy in having a kingdom to rule besides, I think I should like to go back to Kansas.” “The Silver Shoes,” said the Good Witch, “have wonderful powers.”’ (2008, p.102)

Bibliography

Appleyard, J.A. (1991). Becoming a Reader. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

Baum, L.F. (2008, first published 1900). The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [EBook].  

BBC Culture (2014, August 19). The Wizard of Oz: Five alternative readings. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140819-the-wizard-of-oz-hidden-meanings

Baum, L.F. (Author) & Hearn, M.P. (Editor, Introduction by, Notes by). (2000). The Annotated Wizard of Oz. New York, WW Norton & Co.

Me and Books

Growing up in Slovakia and attending a Hungarian primary school, I was always encouraged to read in Hungarian and to never forget the great Hungarian authors. One of my favourite stories was by István Fekete called Vuk, a story about a young fox which was adapted into an animated film, which I used to have on a VHS tape and watch all the time. ‘Great stories involve characters whom you cannot forget’ (Maass, 2002) – a view which is certainly true for Vuk, so much so, that I have a leaping fox tattoo.

However, to be honest, I barely remember other specific books I had read as I was growing up even though I was a frequent visitor to our small town’s library. I also don’t remember my parents reading to me – 3rd child-syndrome. I do remember reading a lot of non-fiction, usually books full of facts about Egypt, animals, Greek mythology, space, and other topics. I used to be a member of a heritage group run by the librarian – we would get together every Saturday, read Hungarian folklore, learn songs, poetry, traditional dances, and regularly perform. My brothers would always taunt me with this famous tongue twister: Répa, retek, mogyoró, korán reggel ritkán rikkant a rigó which translates to Carrot, radish, peanut, blackbirds rarely cry out in the early morning; I can thank this group for my ability to roll my Rs, which is quite crucial in the Slovak and Hungarian language, so I am forever thankful for that time.

Two teachers greatly affected how much I enjoyed reading the required books by how enthusiastic they were about them and how they did not make me feel like any of my answers were wrong – when nobody else would put up their hands to answer the question, I would try to do my best. And everyone in the classroom was grateful for my sacrifice.

I always enjoyed browsing the library shelves and taking home the books to read. As I got older, I was still borrowing a mountain of books, however, hanging out with my friends became a priority so I barely got through even just one of them. I cringe when thinking about how I wanted to keep up the appearance of reading a lot. What was I thinking?!

It all changed when I started browsing the small section of English fiction books when I was around 16. The first English book I have ever read was The Cider House Rules by John Irving. Not exactly the easiest book to pick up but I enjoyed it none the less. Quite surprising considering I probably didn’t grasp the language or the themes behind the book completely – I think I will have to pick it up again and give it a second read.

Next, I read all the Harry Potters (a little late, I know) and continued reading books in English from A Clockwork Orange to Siddharta. Nowadays, I mostly read in the evenings, just before bed. Currently reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand after finishing the assigned books for our literature course.

Next, I read all the Harry Potters (a little late, I know) and continued reading books in English from A Clockwork Orange to Siddharta. Nowadays, I mostly read in the evenings, just before bed. Currently reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand after finishing the assigned books for our literature course.

‘There is strong evidence from experimental and correlational research that confirms that self-selected reading leads to superior development of literacy, including vocabulary, grammar, writing style, reading ability, and spelling’ (Renandya, 2019).

Looking back, the community I was part of greatly influenced my reading habits and I was lucky to have a library, right around the corner, with an enthusiastic librarian – who is still alive and kickin’! At my current internship, I see students enjoying books because the teachers and the school librarian, like mine, create a rich and inviting environment in the classroom and library. Furthermore, beginner English learners at my internship are encouraged to self-select a book to work with over the course of a unit. Thus, their intrinsic motivation is higher and are more eager to develop their literacy.

In this blog, you will have the pleasure of reading about those assigned books from our literature course. First time doing this, so be gentle.

Bibliography

Maass, D. (2002). Writing the Breakout Novel. Published by Writer’s Digest Books

Renandya, W. A. (2019). The Power of Reading: Case Histories of Second and Foreign Language Readers. Language and Language Teaching.

The Journey Begins

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Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton