The Voice of the Child in American Literature

The Voice of the Child in American Literature

Author: Mary Jane Hurst

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2014-07-15

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 0813163498

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

We as adults are reflected in our children, those in our literature as well as those in our familes, and so it is natural to want to examine their presence among us. Children and child speech are important literary elements which merit careful critical analysis. Surprisingly, comprehensive studies of the child in American fiction have not been previously attempted and fictional child speech, even that of individual characters has been almost totally ignored. Nevertheless, the language of fictional children warrants attention for several reasons. First, language and language acquisition are primary issues for children much as sexual development is primary issues for adolescents. Second, because vast linguistic efforts have been directed toward language acquisition research, a broad base of concrete information exists with which to explore the topic. And, third, language is a key which opens many doors. An understanding of fictional children's language leads to discoveries about various critical questions, sociological and psychological as well as textual and stylistic. This study examines the presentation of children and child language in American fiction by applying general linguistic principles as well as specific findings from child language acquisition research to children's speech in literary texts. It clarifies, sorts, and assesses the representations of child speech in American fiction. It tests on fictional discourse linguistic concepts heretofore applied exclusively to naturally occurring child language. The aim is not to evaluate the degree of realism in writers' presentations of child language, for that would be a simplistic and reductive enterprise. Rather, the overall object is to analyze fictional child language using linguistic methods.


Book Synopsis The Voice of the Child in American Literature by : Mary Jane Hurst

Download or read book The Voice of the Child in American Literature written by Mary Jane Hurst and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-07-15 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We as adults are reflected in our children, those in our literature as well as those in our familes, and so it is natural to want to examine their presence among us. Children and child speech are important literary elements which merit careful critical analysis. Surprisingly, comprehensive studies of the child in American fiction have not been previously attempted and fictional child speech, even that of individual characters has been almost totally ignored. Nevertheless, the language of fictional children warrants attention for several reasons. First, language and language acquisition are primary issues for children much as sexual development is primary issues for adolescents. Second, because vast linguistic efforts have been directed toward language acquisition research, a broad base of concrete information exists with which to explore the topic. And, third, language is a key which opens many doors. An understanding of fictional children's language leads to discoveries about various critical questions, sociological and psychological as well as textual and stylistic. This study examines the presentation of children and child language in American fiction by applying general linguistic principles as well as specific findings from child language acquisition research to children's speech in literary texts. It clarifies, sorts, and assesses the representations of child speech in American fiction. It tests on fictional discourse linguistic concepts heretofore applied exclusively to naturally occurring child language. The aim is not to evaluate the degree of realism in writers' presentations of child language, for that would be a simplistic and reductive enterprise. Rather, the overall object is to analyze fictional child language using linguistic methods.

The Voice of the Child in American Literature

The Voice of the Child in American Literature

Author: Mary Jane Hurst

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 1990-01-01

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 9780813117232

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A companion to The Directory of rural development projects, Voices... encourages networking the exchange of significant means to sustainable development. The effective principles require accomodation to the subject country's culture, system of government, stage of economic growth and resource availability related to local needs. A study of the child figure in American fiction and of the language of children in literature, based on close readings of novels and short stories, from the classics of Hawthorne, James, and Cather to modern and contemporary works by Henry Roth, William Peter Blatty and Toni Morrison. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Book Synopsis The Voice of the Child in American Literature by : Mary Jane Hurst

Download or read book The Voice of the Child in American Literature written by Mary Jane Hurst and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 1990-01-01 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A companion to The Directory of rural development projects, Voices... encourages networking the exchange of significant means to sustainable development. The effective principles require accomodation to the subject country's culture, system of government, stage of economic growth and resource availability related to local needs. A study of the child figure in American fiction and of the language of children in literature, based on close readings of novels and short stories, from the classics of Hawthorne, James, and Cather to modern and contemporary works by Henry Roth, William Peter Blatty and Toni Morrison. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Infant Tongues

Infant Tongues

Author: Elizabeth Goodenough

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9780814324318

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Using various critical approaches and disciplines, 20 contributors examine the representation of children in literature from the Renaissance to the present. The essays cover problems in imitation of speech and dialect, uses of narrative voice, creative development of child writers, and shifting cultural conceptions of childhood, illustrating the way children's voices have often been mediated, modified, or appropriated by adult writers." -- Book News, Inc.


Book Synopsis Infant Tongues by : Elizabeth Goodenough

Download or read book Infant Tongues written by Elizabeth Goodenough and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Using various critical approaches and disciplines, 20 contributors examine the representation of children in literature from the Renaissance to the present. The essays cover problems in imitation of speech and dialect, uses of narrative voice, creative development of child writers, and shifting cultural conceptions of childhood, illustrating the way children's voices have often been mediated, modified, or appropriated by adult writers." -- Book News, Inc.

My Mother's Voice

My Mother's Voice

Author: Adrienne Kertzer

Publisher: Broadview Press

Published: 2001-12-11

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1460403894

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

How do children's books represent the Holocaust? How do such books negotiate the tension between the desire to protect children, and the commitment to tell children the truth about the world? If Holocaust representations in children's books respect the narrative conventions of hope and happy endings, how do they differ, if at all, from popular representations intended for adult audiences? And where does innocence lie, if the children's fable of Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful is marketed for adults, and far more troubling survivor memoirs such as Anita Lobel's No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War are marketed for children? How should Holocaust Studies integrate discourse about children's literature into its discussions? In approaching these and other questions, Kertzer uses the lens of children's literature to problematize the ways in which various adult discourses represent the Holocaust, and continually challenges the conventional belief that children's literature is the place for easy answers and optimistic lessons.


Book Synopsis My Mother's Voice by : Adrienne Kertzer

Download or read book My Mother's Voice written by Adrienne Kertzer and published by Broadview Press. This book was released on 2001-12-11 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do children's books represent the Holocaust? How do such books negotiate the tension between the desire to protect children, and the commitment to tell children the truth about the world? If Holocaust representations in children's books respect the narrative conventions of hope and happy endings, how do they differ, if at all, from popular representations intended for adult audiences? And where does innocence lie, if the children's fable of Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful is marketed for adults, and far more troubling survivor memoirs such as Anita Lobel's No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War are marketed for children? How should Holocaust Studies integrate discourse about children's literature into its discussions? In approaching these and other questions, Kertzer uses the lens of children's literature to problematize the ways in which various adult discourses represent the Holocaust, and continually challenges the conventional belief that children's literature is the place for easy answers and optimistic lessons.

Ethnic Literary Traditions in American Children's Literature

Ethnic Literary Traditions in American Children's Literature

Author: M. Stewart

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2009-11-23

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0230101526

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Esteemed contributors expand the range of possibilities for reading, understanding, and teaching children's literature as ethnic literature rather than children's literature in this ambitious collection.


Book Synopsis Ethnic Literary Traditions in American Children's Literature by : M. Stewart

Download or read book Ethnic Literary Traditions in American Children's Literature written by M. Stewart and published by Springer. This book was released on 2009-11-23 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Esteemed contributors expand the range of possibilities for reading, understanding, and teaching children's literature as ethnic literature rather than children's literature in this ambitious collection.

When I Was a Child I Read Books

When I Was a Child I Read Books

Author: Marilynne Robinson

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2012-03-13

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0374709416

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Marilynne Robinson has built a sterling reputation as a writer of sharp, subtly moving prose, not only as a major American novelist, but also as a rigorous thinker and incisive essayist. In When I Was a Child I Read Books she returns to and expands upon the themes which have preoccupied her work with renewed vigor. In "Austerity as Ideology," she tackles the global debt crisis, and the charged political and social political climate in this country that makes finding a solution to our financial troubles so challenging. In "Open Thy Hand Wide" she searches out the deeply embedded role of generosity in Christian faith. And in "When I Was a Child," one of her most personal essays to date, an account of her childhood in Idaho becomes an exploration of individualism and the myth of the American West. Clear-eyed and forceful as ever, Robinson demonstrates once again why she is regarded as one of our essential writers.


Book Synopsis When I Was a Child I Read Books by : Marilynne Robinson

Download or read book When I Was a Child I Read Books written by Marilynne Robinson and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2012-03-13 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marilynne Robinson has built a sterling reputation as a writer of sharp, subtly moving prose, not only as a major American novelist, but also as a rigorous thinker and incisive essayist. In When I Was a Child I Read Books she returns to and expands upon the themes which have preoccupied her work with renewed vigor. In "Austerity as Ideology," she tackles the global debt crisis, and the charged political and social political climate in this country that makes finding a solution to our financial troubles so challenging. In "Open Thy Hand Wide" she searches out the deeply embedded role of generosity in Christian faith. And in "When I Was a Child," one of her most personal essays to date, an account of her childhood in Idaho becomes an exploration of individualism and the myth of the American West. Clear-eyed and forceful as ever, Robinson demonstrates once again why she is regarded as one of our essential writers.

The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature

The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature

Author: Hana Wirth-Nesher

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-12-09

Total Pages: 1254

ISBN-13: 1316395340

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This History offers an unparalleled examination of all aspects of Jewish American literature. Jewish writing has played a central role in the formation of the national literature of the United States, from the Hebraic sources of the Puritan imagination to narratives of immigration and acculturation. This body of writing has also enriched global Jewish literature in its engagement with Jewish history and Jewish multilingual culture. Written by a host of leading scholars, The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature offers an array of approaches that contribute to current debates about ethnic writing, minority discourse, transnational literature, gender studies, and multilingualism. This History takes a fresh look at celebrated authors, introduces new voices, locates Jewish American literature on the map of American ethnicity as well as the spaces of exile and diaspora, and stretches the boundaries of American literature beyond the Americas and the West.


Book Synopsis The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature by : Hana Wirth-Nesher

Download or read book The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature written by Hana Wirth-Nesher and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-12-09 with total page 1254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This History offers an unparalleled examination of all aspects of Jewish American literature. Jewish writing has played a central role in the formation of the national literature of the United States, from the Hebraic sources of the Puritan imagination to narratives of immigration and acculturation. This body of writing has also enriched global Jewish literature in its engagement with Jewish history and Jewish multilingual culture. Written by a host of leading scholars, The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature offers an array of approaches that contribute to current debates about ethnic writing, minority discourse, transnational literature, gender studies, and multilingualism. This History takes a fresh look at celebrated authors, introduces new voices, locates Jewish American literature on the map of American ethnicity as well as the spaces of exile and diaspora, and stretches the boundaries of American literature beyond the Americas and the West.

The Man Who Loved Children

The Man Who Loved Children

Author: Christina Stead

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2012-10-23

Total Pages: 733

ISBN-13: 1453265252

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“This crazy, gorgeous family novel” written at the end of the Great Depression “is one of the great literary achievements of the twentieth century” (Jonathan Franzen, The New York Times). First published in 1940, The Man Who Loved Children was rediscovered in 1965 thanks to the poet Randall Jarrell’s eloquent introduction (included in this ebook edition), which compares Christina Stead to Leo Tolstoy. Today, it stands as a masterpiece of dysfunctional family life. In a country crippled by the Great Depression, Sam and Henny Pollit have too much—too much contempt for one another, too many children, too much strain under endless obligation. Flush with ego and chilling charisma, Sam torments and manipulates his children in an esoteric world of his own imagining. Henny looks on desperately, all too aware of the madness at the root of her husband’s behavior. And Louie, the damaged, precocious adolescent girl at the center of their clashes, is the “ugly duckling” whose struggle will transfix contemporary readers. Named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by Newsweek, Stead’s semiautobiographical work reads like a Depression-era The Glass Castle. In the New York Times, Jonathan Franzen wrote of this classic, “I carry it in my head the way I carry childhood memories; the scenes are of such precise horror and comedy that I feel I didn’t read the book so much as live it.”


Book Synopsis The Man Who Loved Children by : Christina Stead

Download or read book The Man Who Loved Children written by Christina Stead and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2012-10-23 with total page 733 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This crazy, gorgeous family novel” written at the end of the Great Depression “is one of the great literary achievements of the twentieth century” (Jonathan Franzen, The New York Times). First published in 1940, The Man Who Loved Children was rediscovered in 1965 thanks to the poet Randall Jarrell’s eloquent introduction (included in this ebook edition), which compares Christina Stead to Leo Tolstoy. Today, it stands as a masterpiece of dysfunctional family life. In a country crippled by the Great Depression, Sam and Henny Pollit have too much—too much contempt for one another, too many children, too much strain under endless obligation. Flush with ego and chilling charisma, Sam torments and manipulates his children in an esoteric world of his own imagining. Henny looks on desperately, all too aware of the madness at the root of her husband’s behavior. And Louie, the damaged, precocious adolescent girl at the center of their clashes, is the “ugly duckling” whose struggle will transfix contemporary readers. Named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by Newsweek, Stead’s semiautobiographical work reads like a Depression-era The Glass Castle. In the New York Times, Jonathan Franzen wrote of this classic, “I carry it in my head the way I carry childhood memories; the scenes are of such precise horror and comedy that I feel I didn’t read the book so much as live it.”

American Literature and Culture, 1900 - 1960

American Literature and Culture, 1900 - 1960

Author: Gail McDonald

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0470680474

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This introduction to American literature and culture from 1900 to 1960 is organized around four major ideas about America: that is it “big”, “new”, “rich”, and “free”. Illustrates the artistic and social climate in the USA during this period. Juxtaposes discussion of history, popular culture, literature and other art forms in ways that foster discussion, questioning, and continued study. An appendix lists relevant primary and secondary works, including websites. An ideal supplement to primary texts taught in American literature courses.


Book Synopsis American Literature and Culture, 1900 - 1960 by : Gail McDonald

Download or read book American Literature and Culture, 1900 - 1960 written by Gail McDonald and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This introduction to American literature and culture from 1900 to 1960 is organized around four major ideas about America: that is it “big”, “new”, “rich”, and “free”. Illustrates the artistic and social climate in the USA during this period. Juxtaposes discussion of history, popular culture, literature and other art forms in ways that foster discussion, questioning, and continued study. An appendix lists relevant primary and secondary works, including websites. An ideal supplement to primary texts taught in American literature courses.

The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature

The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature

Author: William L. Andrews

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2001-02-15

Total Pages: 514

ISBN-13: 0198031750

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A breathtaking achievement, this Concise Companion is a suitable crown to the astonishing production in African American literature and criticism that has swept over American literary studies in the last two decades. It offers an enormous range of writers-from Sojourner Truth to Frederick Douglass, from Zora Neale Hurston to Ralph Ellison, and from Toni Morrison to August Wilson. It contains entries on major works (including synopses of novels), such as Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Richard Wright's Native Son, and Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. It also incorporates information on literary characters such as Bigger Thomas, Coffin Ed Johnson, Kunta Kinte, Sula Peace, as well as on character types such as Aunt Jemima, Brer Rabbit, John Henry, Stackolee, and the trickster. Icons of black culture are addressed, including vivid details about the lives of Muhammad Ali, John Coltrane, Marcus Garvey, Jackie Robinson, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman. Here, too, are general articles on poetry, fiction, and drama; on autobiography, slave narratives, Sunday School literature, and oratory; as well as on a wide spectrum of related topics. Compact yet thorough, this handy volume gathers works from a vast array of sources--from the black periodical press to women's clubs--making it one of the most substantial guides available on the growing, exciting world of African American literature.


Book Synopsis The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature by : William L. Andrews

Download or read book The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature written by William L. Andrews and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2001-02-15 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A breathtaking achievement, this Concise Companion is a suitable crown to the astonishing production in African American literature and criticism that has swept over American literary studies in the last two decades. It offers an enormous range of writers-from Sojourner Truth to Frederick Douglass, from Zora Neale Hurston to Ralph Ellison, and from Toni Morrison to August Wilson. It contains entries on major works (including synopses of novels), such as Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Richard Wright's Native Son, and Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. It also incorporates information on literary characters such as Bigger Thomas, Coffin Ed Johnson, Kunta Kinte, Sula Peace, as well as on character types such as Aunt Jemima, Brer Rabbit, John Henry, Stackolee, and the trickster. Icons of black culture are addressed, including vivid details about the lives of Muhammad Ali, John Coltrane, Marcus Garvey, Jackie Robinson, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman. Here, too, are general articles on poetry, fiction, and drama; on autobiography, slave narratives, Sunday School literature, and oratory; as well as on a wide spectrum of related topics. Compact yet thorough, this handy volume gathers works from a vast array of sources--from the black periodical press to women's clubs--making it one of the most substantial guides available on the growing, exciting world of African American literature.