In critically examining children’s literature, we might (or should?) ask questions that are central or insightful to children, and the remarkable thing about children is not so much that they are small, but that they are growing. Part of growing up is forming one’s identity and translating ideas about identity into practical, daily self-conception. It seems natural, therefore, that questions about identity would be prominent in children’s literature. In A Wizard of Earthsea, LeGuin illustrates identity through literal, physical forms by the power of fantasy, such as when Ged uses magic to change his own shape. At one point he transforms into a bird so he can make an escape, and from that experience he learns of the dangers of losing one’s identity. His mentor Ogion has to help restore him to his man-shape because his identity has become so engrossed in the bird-shape he has taken he has forgotten himself. Susan Bernardo and Graham Murphy, in their critical companion to Ursula LeGuin, relate the ideas of identity and consciousness in Earthsea to the writings of Carl Jung. They see the instances in which Ged is helped by his friends (namely Ogion and Vetch) as therapy, which Jung believed was essential to understanding and transcendence of the self. Ged certainly does get by with a little help (and wisdom) from his friends, and eventually he fully comprehends that the shadow he has released is a part of himself. His longing to know the name of this shadow ends when he calls it Ged, thus conquering the darkness by allowing it into his being and his light. He identifies even the darker parts of himself as his own self, and then can no longer be controlled or possessed by other dark forces.
Ged learns difficult lessons about himself, and the reader benefits by seeing these struggles in physical and perilous images that are not readily present in our “real” world. I imagine the power this story could have on a young adolescent, who is constantly tempted to transform her or his identity (and at times, especially for girls, her shape). Through Ged’s experience the reader learns not only the pitfalls of an overly flexible identity or one that is not willing to accept its darker portions, but also the value of wise friends.
Works Cited:
Bernardo, Susan M. and Graham J. Murphy. Ursula K. Le Guin: A Critical Companion.
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006.
Hi Molly,
ReplyDeleteInteresting entry. A couple of quick thoughts: 1) Though you implied this, I think it's important to distinguish b/w manipulating and losing one's identity--at least in this story, since it's in manipulation that the danger of losing lies. I'm interested in all this, too, b/c I think the whole conversation about identity is often hamstrung by the questionable idea that there's something in us, in kids, that's not in flux--some sort of unchanging essence. I don't know about this.
Another thought: you know more about this than I do, I suspect, but I'm trying to think of Fairy Tales (ala Grimms) in which embracing/not running from the dark (the unpleasant troll or whatever) is key. I'd like to get clearer on where else this trope(?) shows up in stories for children.
Finally: In your last paragraph, you refer to the way in which Earthsea, and maybe much fantastic lit, functions as allegory: struggles unfold, play out in ways that map to the problems/challenges kids face in contemporary life. Do I have this right? Is this what you're saying? In this way, we could say that LeGuin in making arguments about a human being's inner landscape. What are these claims? How are hers similar or different to Pullman's or Rowling's or Tolkein's or etc?
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I think you articulated what I was generally getting at (perhaps without entirely realizing it). It seems that children's lit does often have an allegorical aspect. I think even when the literature is not overtly didactic, there are still quite often other "lessons" or maybe even just observations/truths about life that are teaching children, and often this is accomplished more fluidly and interestingly through allegory.
ReplyDeleteI would like to think more about other stories/tales that encourage embracing darkness and not running from our foes. The first that comes to mind is Harry Potter, but my instinct is that with more reflection we would easily find this in many other classics as well.
Molly,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think reading books can have a major impact on a child as they develop in their formative years. I think often times if a child is struggling with something a character in a book can put things in a new perspective. Kind of like satire allows you to say things more overtly than you normally would in literature without being offensive. The fantastic world can teach a child or adolescent a valuable lesson in a way that they are able to hear it and really take it in.