Term Paper on "Coping With Loss in Literature for Young"
Term Paper 6 pages (1963 words) Sources: 1+
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Coping With Loss in Literature for Young Adults: Bridge to TerabithiaThe use of 'realism' and 'realistic' characters in a young adult text about death
Dealing with the death of a friend while one is still a child can be one of the most difficult things for a student to cope with in his or her young life. The medium of young adult literature, however, though such realistic though fictive examples as Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia (1978) provides an outlet for students to explore this thorny issue, hopefully before it happens in their own existences. The text is especially effective because the death of Jess Aarons' best friend Leslie Burke does not only revolve around the girl's death. The girl, although a strikingly intelligent and unusual child, does not strike the reader as 'star crossed' from birth, destined for an early, mythical demise. Rather, Leslie seems both ordinary yet destined for a promising and imaginative future.
Thus, by creating a realistic fictional world about two prepubescent children weaving a fantasy community of their own called Terabithia (the creation of fantasy worlds being, in and of itself, a very common occurrence and practice in children's imaginative lives) the reader feels for the main characters, and the author creates realistic characters that the young reader can identify with, fallible human beings as well as simply people who confront death too soon.
Definition and purpose of the genre of realism
In some ways, the two characters meet more as future adversaries than friends. Jess Aarons is aspiring to be the fastest runner at Lark Creek Elementary School but th
download full paper ⤓
However, the lesson of the book is not simplistically cautionary, that one must be careful about danger, for Leslie's death is fairly ordinary -- like pretending to be rulers, it is merely part of a childhood rite of passage and play, only in the case of Leslie's death, a bit of play gone horribly wrong. She does not die because she disobeys some omniscient adult will, but because she herself exercises poor judgment and experiences an accident. The book thus teaches that death is not a punishment, but is a sadness that occurs without blame by refusing to frame the girl's death as a morality tale, or as something that occurs with a great deal of narrative foreshadowing.
Thus, the children are encouraged to identify with the realistic characters, and to understand that when bad things happen in fiction and in life, it is not necessarily a way that the universe is apportioning out blame. "Children try to emulate characters they like and take in the lessons these characters learn in the books." (Lambarski, 2005, p.1) Even though Jess' initial theological framework from his conservative rural background may encourage him to apportionate out blame to himself and others, the book does not endorse this viewpoint. This marks a decided departure from traditional characterizations of young people in children's literature in the era before the book was written: "In the vast majority of pre-twentieth-century children's literature, child characters are used as models for young readers. They are virtuous beyond measure, good and kind, pious, obedient and humble. In many cases, as we read these texts today, the characters seem either ridiculous or hopelessly sentimental," in contrast to the male and female protagonists of Paterson's text. (Nikolajeva, 2001, p.2)
Statement of Importance: How it enhances the text
Leslie's fearlessness is seen as admirable in the book. She is not merely physically fearless, as is evidenced in her running prowess, and the remote location of Terabithia, which must be crossed by a precarious footbridge of a branch. She is unafraid to admit to her family's eccentrics, such as not possessing a television. Because of Leslie's fearlessness, Jess learns from the girl, and forges ahead in his own exploration of art, something he would not have done, in defiance of family and societal convention, had he never met Leslie. Leslie provides a teaching tool for Jess and for the entire community. "By this definition, all characters in children's fiction...naturally lack experience and knowledge and are therefore inferior to adults. But even a brief glance at a number of classical and contemporary children's novels demonstrates that this is not the case. Characters in children's novels are empowered in a variety of ways," even compared to adults, in their world, when they are shown dealing with realistic crisises in an engaging and evolved way. (Nikolajeva, 2001, p. 1)
At first, it seems as if their environment rewards the two children's talent for creativity. "Lord, what he wouldn't give for a new pad of real art paper and a set of those marking pens-color pouring out onto the page as fast as you could think it," thinks Jess at the beginning of the book. (Paterson, 1978, p.15) Later, he is given a "Prince Terrien box of watercolors with twenty-four tubes of color and three brushes and a pad of heavy art paper. 'Lord,' he said. 'Thank you.' He tried to think of a better way to say it, but he couldn't. (Paterson, 1978, p.62) but this easy reward and punishment dynamic for Jess' creativity is not obeyed consistently throughout the narrative -- Jess goes to the museum with his teacher for the first time, Leslie dies, but although the two events at first seem related in his mind, the event is not a punishment, he comes to understand.
Explanation of literary element and author's use
The book replicates in a realistic fashion a child's way of morally assigning meaning to the external world in a black and white way of reward and punishment, and then deflates it. "It has taken children's fiction a long time to venture into the ironic mode and depict characters that in addition to being inferior to their parents and other adults, are weaker, physically and spiritually, than their peers. Unlike fairy-tale heroes, these characters are not empowered at the end of the story." (Nikolajeva, 2001, p.3) Jess does become empowered, but not in a way that can 'save' Leslie, even though the girl does not 'deserve' to die.
At first, Terabithia provides a safe place where the children can be themselves, where none of the real enemies of their real lives in school and outside of school such as their teacher Monster Mouth Meyers, their schoolmates Gary Fulcher and Janice Avery, Jess's four sisters, can impinge upon their self-esteem. The kingdom provides an important bridge between that adolescent bridge time of development between childhood and adolescence, a bridge symbolized by the bridge between the real world and the kingdom, the bridge into the next stage of life that is arbitrarily broken for Leslie but not for Jess.
Appropriate examples
Ultimately, the children's everyday problems do not stop at the castle walls of Terabithia, and real life soon invades the imaginary kingdom even before Leslie's death. Leslie is mocked because her family does not have a television set at home. She becomes jealous of Jess' increasingly close relationship with his music teacher Miss Edmunds. She feels abandoned, as she did before when Leslie's family relocated against her wishes to Appalachia. At first, she missed her old, more urban environment and its greater cultural opportunities, before she met Jess. Now, these are opportunities that Jess accesses in a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with one of his teachers.
But again, these visits of 'real life' into the children's relationship and kingdom occur without a clear moral dynamic of right and wrong -- it is not wrong that Leslie feels jealous of Miss Edmunds and misses her old home, nor did her move to Virginia occur as a punishment Leslie's father and mother experience guilt at the move, after their daughter's death, just as Jess in his childlike fashion, mourns: "Trying to profit for himself from Leslie's death. I wanted to be the best -- the fastest runner in the school -and now I am. Lord, he made himself sick." (Paterson, 1978, p.124) This realistic gut reaction is exposed, then dealt with in the book as both normal and inaccurate as a response to grief at a friend's death.
Analysis and Conclusion
The economic differences between the families and the final 'coming together' of both different families, after Leslie's death give further realistic depth to the… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Coping With Loss in Literature for Young" Assignment:
1. Choose 1-3 trade books or novels appropriate for young adults with literary merit.
2. Select any literary elements or techniques exemplified in your novels.
3. Demonstrate how the authors of the books chosen use the element to enhance the text.
4. Consider the effect that the author's use of literary element had on the work as a whole as well as the reader.
5.Use extensive examples (primary source quotations)from the trade books or novels to illustrate your responses.
6.Include secondary sources or critical analysis on your selected novels with APA style documentation.
Rubric:
Introduction (general statement about literary elements)
Definition and purpose of literary element explained
Statement of importance (how it enhances a text)
Explanation of literary element and author's use
Appropriate examples (quotations/parenthetical citations)
Analysis/conclusion
Research/documentation
Requirements: 1,500 words, 1 primary source, 2-3 secondary sources
How to Reference "Coping With Loss in Literature for Young" Term Paper in a Bibliography
“Coping With Loss in Literature for Young.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2005, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/coping-loss-literature/5488799. Accessed 27 Sep 2024.
Related Term Papers:
Experience of Loss and Grief With Children in Children's Aid Society Research Proposal
Loss and Grief
The loss of a loved one is a traumatic event which can take months or even years to overcome fully (Tomita & Kitamura, 2002). Bereavement though, is… read more
Research Proposal 11 pages (3131 words) Sources: 8 Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry
Influence of Vonnegut's Style of Black Humor on Modern Media Research Paper
Vonnegut in Cultural History
As a purveyor of American culture Kurt Vonnegut stands in an interesting position: camped on the ground of his socially progressive descendants he hails from the… read more
Research Paper 8 pages (2683 words) Sources: 10 Topic: Literature / Poetry
Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Leonard Essay
Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
Leonard, John. "A Man of the World' and 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place:' Hemingway's
Unified View of Old Age. The Hemingway Review, Spring; 13 (2):… read more
Essay 2 pages (692 words) Sources: 1 Style: MLA Topic: Literature / Poetry
Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South Term Paper
Elizabeth Gaskell's North And South
Nineteenth century England was a country caught up in the turmoil and excitement of change. As the environment and society changed, people were faced with… read more
Term Paper 2 pages (647 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Literature / Poetry
Grief and Loss Term Paper
Grief and Loss
Although often very painful, grief is a normal and natural response to loss (What pp). Generally, when most people think of loss and grief, they think of… read more
Term Paper 12 pages (3594 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Aging / Death / Gerontology
Fri, Sep 27, 2024
If you don't see the paper you need, we will write it for you!
We can write a new, 100% unique paper!