The purpose of this post is to show you how childhood is portrayed in literature. For my project, which is about a happy childhood, I will follow some guidelines. My choices include two books I read in elementary school and a poem that also had a significant impact on my childhood.
Childhood is a period of carefree, fun, innocence, and joy, which is recorded in the consciousness of every person especially. During this time, we get to know the world, shape our personalities, develop our worldview, and meet our closest people. Childhood is undoubtedly a special period that hugely impacts who we are as adults. Children also play an important role in literature, where their functions and portrayals are very different. This motif was especially popular in the era of positivism, although it also appeared in other epochs.
The title character of the philosophical story - "The Little Prince" is an extremely sensitive, truthful, noble, sincere, and at the same time naïve child who straightforwardly perceives the world and is devoid of cynicism, hypocrisy, and hypocrisy. He believes in love, friendship, and honesty, which is why he always tells the truth and tries to be helpful. Visiting successive planets inhabited by people, he inadvertently points out their flaws and shows the grotesqueness of their behavior. Although he is a child, his view of the world turns out to be much more true, reasonable, and complete than the absurd and selfish ideas of adults. The Little Prince "theme of a child is used to criticize human vices, such as the desire for power, greed, or self-interest, and at the same time draws attention to the fact that the greatest treasure is not money, power, or one`s own ego, but another person, love and friendship..." Little Prince "The Prince" shows that a child`s view of the world, naïve, carefree, and devoid of the corruption of adulthood, allows us to see more than the rational and often emotionless approach of adults.
"Anna of Green Gables" - in this case, the portrait of the child appears to be extremely realistic, because that`s what the title character is - true to pain. Her fate is difficult because she lost both parents at a very young age, which is why she is brought up in families whit strangers until one day, by chance, she ends up at the Cuthbert estate, where she permanently settles in. Anna Shirley, because that`s her name, is tall and thin, and her complex is red hair, and an overactive imagination, which she probes by giving names to things, animals, and places so as not to feel lonely. Her energy and friendliness make other children like her and are drawn to her. Anna Shirley`s portrait is certainly carefree and typically childlike, which reminds the reader of times of early youth. At the same time, due to life difficulties and negative features of the main character, talkativeness, stubbornness, absent-mindedness, and recklessness, as well as the numerous troubles she gets into, her portrait becomes very real and close to reality. Communicating with Ania, one has the impression that she is a child of flesh and blood who could live in today`s world.
Leopold Staff`s poem entitled "Childhood" describes the memories of the lyrical subject from childhood, but from the perspective of a mature man, as a lost paradise to which one willingly returns one`s mind. The mentioned seemingly ordinary objects evoke a smile and are associated with various events: "the poetry of old wells, broken clocks, attics, and mute violins broke, without a fiddle player. "Sometimes they took on a new, different meaning, like keys. They were surrounded by a forest of witchcraft. It was a period when the subject collected various things. It was a period in which the subject empirically got to know the world and sought the truth about it. It can be concluded that he was happy then because he calls his childhood a crazy journey through a world full of adventures. He says about it - a dream sweet, absurd, like happiness.... like happiness...
Childhood in literature can be presented as an innocent state lost over the years, full of happiness, joy, and fun. However, it always remains in your memories and allows you to break away from reality. As Mickiewicz wrote in the Epilogue of Pan Tadeusz: " Country of childhood! He will always be Holy and pure as the first love, Not undermined by illusions, Not changed by the stream of accidents. Where I seldom cried and never gnashed, I would gladly greet these countries with my thoughts. The countries of my childhood, where a man runs around the world like a face, and he only knew flowers Miles and beautiful, poisonous threw, To the useful ones he did not turn his eye."
I researched books because they are inspired by children. Children who see the world differently, learn self-responsibility. It is interesting how their view of the world changes from an early age. For example, "The Little Prince" shows us that without any science, without anything, he can take care of other beings himself and still be happy. This is what I want to show in my pictures - the happiness of children. Like "Anna of Green Gables" she was left alone without her parents at a young age, but she is portrayed as a happy child. Children show their emotions, they are not afraid of tears, or joy, and they are shy but happy. Adults hide their feelings more, while children are ideal models because even when they are shy, this shyness is shown in the pictures. In my sessions, I intend to present children in different situations to bring joy and happiness to them, and these books have helped me understand that children can also be responsible for another being, regardless of age. There will probably be some people who disagree with me. The problem is that I don't really know what children want, so taking pictures of them is difficult. As soon as they don't get what they want, they will do everything they can to get it. Despite the fact that I don't have children of my own, I think you can always find a way to interest them. Then you need to take pictures while you can. This is exactly what I would try to use in my pictures. Give a bit of freedom to make the session run smoothly. It will be a challenge but I think it will be fun at the same time.
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I think it looks better now. Let me know if you think anything else is missing. :)
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