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Nathaniel Hawthorne's Effect on Children's Literature In my essay I will reflect on Nathaniel Hawthorne's effect on children's literature. I will try to prove my opinion that Hawthorne had a drastic effect on literature and public views on family relationships and the role of children in them. I will analyze two fairy tales form the most distinguished books of Hawthorne: The Pygmies from the book Tanglewood Tales and The Golden Touch from A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys. Each of the stories represents and generalizes the subjects and the goals of each of the books.
In my analysis I will discuss the main characters, the imagery and themes, setting and style of the stories. Finally, I will drive to the conclusion at the end of my essay where I will summarize the facts that will confirm my statement about the considerable impact of Hawthorne's works on childrens literature. The Pygmies in Tanglewood Tales is about the relationships between the two opposite worlds: the world of adults and the world of children. Both the worlds are represented by means of mythological imagery: children are portrayed in Pygmies and, naturally, grownups can be viewed in Giants. Thus, Pygmies and the Giant are the main characters of the fairy tale. Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces them right at the beginning of the story and emphasizes that they are all born by Earth, and in this way, they are equally important: A great while ago, when the world was full of wonders, there lived an earth-born Giant, named Antaeus, and a million or more of curious little earth-born people, who were called Pygmies. [ 2 ].
The image of Antaeus was borrowed from the Greek mythology. The Giant was big, like a mountain, had one eye. As to his character, it seems to be less heroic than the old myths used to describe, instead it is filled with kindness, love and care for his small neighbours. In sum, Antaeus is more patronizing and friendly in Hawthorne's fairy tale. But, being the son of Mother Earth, as they likewise were, the Giant gave them his brotherly kindness, and loved them with as big a love as it was possible to feel for creatures so very small. [ 2 ].
However, in the second half of the story, when Antaeus met another Giant, a creature who belonged to the same world, he showed his hostility, angry and even cruelty (the scene of the battle with Hercules). I think that the hostility and cruelty of the Giants symbolizes corrupted manners and arrogance that dominate in the world of adults. When Antaeus imagined his possible meeting with someone like himself, the first thing that came to his mind was to fight with his rival in order not to share his domain with anybody else: Even if he had met another Giant, Antaeus would have fancied the world not big enough for two such vast personages, and, instead of being friends with him, would have fought him till one of the two was killed. [ 2 ]. In contrast, the image of Pygmies appeals by its innocence, affection to Anteaus, sincerity and even somewhat childish naughtiness. Pygmies built their own kingdom, which reflected all the attributes of a real society: it had its own authority, laws, religion, culture and ethics.
Also Pygmy's kingdom had cities, streets and squares within it: It must have been very pretty to behold their little cities, with streets two or three feet wide, paved with the smallest pebbles, and bordered by habitations about as big as a squirrel's cage. The king's palace attained to the stupendous magnitude of Periwinkle's baby house, and stood in the center of a spacious square, which could hardly have been covered by our hearth- rug. [ 2 ]. It is interesting, that Pygmies lived like a united community: they made their decisions together, carried war with cranes and avenged their friend with cohesion. On the whole, Pygmies are funny (their attitude to an owner of crane's tail feather), compassionate that is shown in the way they sympathized to Anteaus: "Poor creature!" they said one to another. "He has a very dull time of it, all by himself; and we ought not to grudge wasting a little of our precious time to amuse him.
He is not half so bright as we are, to be sure; and, for that reason, he needs us to look after his comfort and happiness. [ 2 ]; and loyal (the scene when they decided to revenge Anteaus death). Evidently, all these characterizing features of Pygmies were aimed at showing the nature of a child. They are coloured with authors love to and finally make the reader perceive and understand childrens world. Another important thing in the story lies in relationships between the main characters.
Love and sympathy of the opposite worlds to each other are depicted together with their interdependence and interrelationships. Pygmies felt sorry for Anteaus because he was lonely and half so bright as they were. In his own turn, Anteaus cared about Pygmies as they were small, tiny, weak and vulnerable. "Ho! ho! ho!" quoth the Giant, shaking his mountainous sides. "What a funny thing it is to be little! If I were not Antaeus, I should like to be a Pygmy, just for the joke's sake. " [ 2 ].
Both the worlds co-existed and were mutually complementary. The Giant protected and assisted Pygmies, and Pygmies paid him with their love and friendship, they truly became his family. the Giant needed the little people more than the Pygmies needed the Giant. For, unless they had been his neighbors and well wishers, and, as we may say, his playfellows, Antaeus would not have had a single friend in the world. [ 2 ]. Thus, Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrated interdependence of adults and children in family relationships. On the whole, The Pygmies is narrative, it starts with A great while ago, when the world was full of wonders, there lived the words that are characteristic for fairy-tales.
However the language of the story is simplified and excursive. The scene of battle between the two Giants is described in a pathetic but funny way: the strength of blows and kicks is exaggerated, Mother Earth groans with pain, but the whole scene produces the impression of an ordinary tussle. Also this fairy tale lacks wonders, witchcraft, or any references to Olympic gods, as all Geek myths had. Thus, The Pygmies is more realistic than other works of this genre, and deals with contemporary problems (paternity, childhood innocence). In other words, Nathaniel Hawthorne modernized his fairy tales.
Another bright illustration of Nathaniel Hawthorne literary value is the story The Golden Touch from the book A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys. It should be noted, that The Golden Touch continues the theme of family relationships between children and parents however the stress is shifted to family values. The main characters are - father, King Midas, and his daughter, Marygold. The author attempted to reconsider the problem of worth of love and care in family by means of the well-known myth about Midas and his golden touch. Unlike the Greek mythology, Hawthorne wrote a happy end King acknowledged his erroneous view on material wealth and brought back to life his daughter. In this way, the author turned the old Greek myth into a fairy tale.
In addition, the character of Midas in Hawthorne's story acquires the features of a contemporary man. Midas is a handheld; he is competent in economy and possesses the knowledge of a philosophical dialectics. "It is no great matter, nevertheless, " said he to himself, very philosophically. "We cannot expect any great good, without its being accompanied with some small inconvenience. [ 1 ]. More than this, he can sneer at his troubles and he is able to admit he was wrong and afterwards changes himself. At the end of the story the strange resumed about Midas: "Your own heart, I perceive, has not been entirely changed from flesh to gold. Were it so, your case would indeed be desperate. But you appear to be still capable of understanding that the commonest things, such as lie within everybody's grasp, are more valuable than the riches which so many mortals sigh and struggle after. [ 1 ].
Naturally for Hawthorne, that the right opinion in the story was held by the child. The polemics about the real value of gold was sharpened with the illustration of Marygold's unhappiness. When Midas transmuted his roses, the reaction of his daughter was the following: It was not a great while before he heard her coming along the passageway crying bitterly. [ 1 ]. The child claimed the worth of gold in the following words: "I don't care for such roses as this!" cried Marygold, tossing it contemptuously away. "It has no smell, and the hard petals prick my nose!" [ 1 ]. Further, Marygold managed to teach her farther, that gold was not everything. The author depicted this crucial moment in the following way: He bent down and kissed her.
He felt that his little daughter's love was worth a thousand times more than he had gained by the Golden Touch. [ 1 ]. In this way I think Hawthorne concluded his opinion on family values: parents love to children is worth a thousand times more than material well-being. More than that, love can not be substituted for gifts, or money, or gold. That is why King agreed to rid himself of Golden Touch and get back to his precious daughter.
Midas finally pronounced the words that become the core, the main idea, of the whole story: "Gold is not everything And I have lost all that my heart really cared for. " [ 1 ]. In conclusion, I would like to say that the impact Nathaniel Hawthorne produced on childrens literature may be viewed in the following: 1) Hawthorne wrote a great number of books that remained popular throughout the period of more that one hundred years; 2) the author attracted public attention to family and its values (children, love and care, paternity); 3) Hawthorne taught the values with the help of ancient Greek heroes; 4) the writer attempted to modernize the ancient Greek mythology and introduce it in accordance with our morals, culture, and modern outlook. Bibliography: Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE GOLDEN TOUCH. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, Eldritch Press, 2004, March 2, 2005 < web > Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Pygmies.
Tanglewood Tales. Read Books Online, for Free. Page by Page Books. 2000, March 2, 2005 < web >
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Research essay sample on Nathaniel Hawthorne Effect On Children Literature
