David Rudd's Defence of the Works of Enid Blyton - Essay Example

? DAVID RUDD’S DEFENCE OF THE WORKS OF ENID BLYTON By English 20 Feburary Children literature is a genre of literature that has been popular since post world war two. Enid Blyton appears to be one of the pioneers and the trend setters who introduced and initiated this new genre. However in the point of view of various critics Enid Blyton’s works follow a monotonous pattern that not only observed to be boring but is also irritating for some as there is a repetition of the same types of characters and plots of the stories. When Blyton’s works are compared with the works of other contemporary writers of the twenty first century such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Northern Lights there appears to be a marked difference in Blyton’s works and other authors’ works. Hence such a comparison highlights the good and bad qualities of Blyton’s works. Some of the short comings of Blyton’s works that have been extensively discussed and criticized include lack of richness and variety in figurative language, flat characters and repetitive plots and settings. Rudd states that, “Blyton’s writings have been accused of being cliche ridden seventy five percent so, according to Peter Hunt’s analysis of one passage” (172). However this does not means that Blyton did not have a good vocabulary it is just that that she preferred to keep her language easy since her target readers were kids and hence she never wanted her readers to be confused by figurative association or more than one suggestion of meaning in her texts. The claim that Blyton’s characters are flat and plot repetitive are interlinked. As far as the characters are concerned they are not flat but it is just that since she does not makes use of figurative language consequently there are no psychological aspects of their personalities that can be explored. Moreover since the target readers are children it is not particularly necessary. Although the monotony that is observed in her works when it comes to plots of her stories is a redeeming factor that cannot be neglected. As it is also stated in the text, “Enid Blyton demonstrated that children are so hungry for stories that they will read the same story over and over, slightly disguised, Elaine Moss claims” (173). Regardless of the criticism Blyton’s works receives the phenomenon that she was popular and is still one of the favorites of the children reiterate the fact that although adults are against her writing style yet children love her and this illustrates her success as a children’s writer. Although the critics are of the point of view that Blyton’s use of language lacks the richness of diversity yet it is observed that even her use of simple language help the readers in learning new things as she is observed to be manipulating and playing with the conventions. For example, the dog Timmy is apparently bestowed with the special quality of being able to judge a character and consequently he keeps growling and barking at Mrs. Janes who is old and haggard. Through out the story the dog’s growling hints at her being an evil woman although in the end is proven innocent. This surprise ending on a deeper level suggests that reality is very different from the reality that seems to be true on the surface. So this skill of utilizing little conventions as a tool to teach diverse lessons is a technique that occurs repeatedly in Blyton’s works. As Charles Sarland puts it, Blyton skillfully teaches readers the basic grammar of narrative stance and narrative function” (Rudd, 174). Although both the writers Blyton as well as Pullman wrote under the genre of fantasy and fiction yet the manner in which the two writers depict their thoughts is very different. In Blyton’s case her fantastical stories border on the edge of being boring for the adult readers. While Blyton talks about Noddy, Big Ears and the escapades of the wishing chair Pullman talks about the adult and child relationship in Northern Lights and hence provides the readers with a psychological insight of the workings of human minds of various age groups and subsequently presents the readers with a variety of figurative aspects to be explored. However on the other hand the reason for the popularity of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series does not lies in the use of figurative language or round characters but it is the diversity and the uniqueness of the storyline, plot and setting of the novel that keeps the children and the adults engrossed in her books alike. Although Watson denotes that Enid Blyton’s works have also been an inspiration for Rowling as he mentions, “…reversioned for girls by authors including Enid Blyton in her Malory Towers series with its stock cast of characters…and its stock events…”(288). This further proves that Blyton’s works have some substance because of which even in the twenty first century her works act as an inspiration for the new writers. While Rowling and Blyton write about fantasies in their respective books Northern Lights by Pullman has a bent towards psychological realism that is amalgamated with fantasy. “As he said, ‘if I write fantasy, it's only because by using the mechanisms of fantasy I can say something a little more vividly about, for example, the business of growing up’” (Montgomery, 225). “Today the experience of reading for the young is mediated through the mass media and marketing so that the pleasure and meaning of a book will often be prescribed or dictated by convention” (Watson, 290). The balance between convention and practicality proves to be the key to the success of a children literature book. However in Blyton’s times the definition or taste of the children ran more towards fantasy world stories although those conventions or trends have under gone changes with the passage of time. Another interesting fact that is stated in the text is that in today’s times the basic element for popularity of a book is the ordinary subject that it deals with. As Watson says, “…Rowling’s novels… are easy and delightful to read, carefully manicured and packaged, and they sell extraordinarily precisely because they are so cute and ordinary” (292). This is another similarity shared in the books of Rowling as well as Blyton’s because even in Enid Blyton’s books her characters are also observed to performing ordinary actions yet each action or activity opens a new door for adventure and fun. While on the other in Pullman’s case who is popular for his complex and diverse plots and storylines success and fame does not results as frequently as in the case of Rowling and Blyton. As the text also suggests that in order to make something phenomenal it is necessary that the new idea should be with in the bounds of conventionality (293). Another element that is necessary in a good piece of children literature is that the text or the plot of a story should not be bound by the limits of writing meaning that a children’s story should have the capacity or room for additions that can be made when retelling a story. In other words a story should be able to merge more than one plot when read orally. For example Rudd states, “The Saucepan Man, a popular character from Faraway Trees series for instance can easily be reintroduced as Noddy. In this manner oral tales have more in common with soap operas they are open ended, ongoing…even changes in a character’s appearance” (175). This another quality associated with a good story since oral story telling is a popular tradition with the children. Similarly the expeditions of Harry Potter also have a similar capacity of addition if the readers desire them since it is also open ended in a way because it not only keeps the readers predicting Potters next actions and adventures but also keeps the readers’ engrossed. In the eighteenth century when the trend of children’s literature was being initiated the expectation and interest of the reader and the concentration of the writer used to be more on the production of a story that was a mixture of fairy tales and folk stories as observed in the case of Blyton. However with the passage of time these trends have undergone a change. For example Pullman’s Northern Lights reflects an exploration of family bonding and relationships and its effects on a child. This new idea gained a lot of popularity because in Pullman’s times both the adults and the children wanted to divert from the fairy tales to something new and more original and hence Pullman presented the readers an exploration of parent and child relationship as well as the sexual awareness according to Freud’s perspective as observed in the case of Lyra’s dysfunctional family. Then in the twenty first century Rowling’s introduction of magic and wizard schools became the trend because her idea was not only new but also very unusual in every respect because never before had anybody used magic as an eccentric power gifted to a little child. Hence the changing trends illustrate that children literature like any other branch of literature has a variety of subdivisions that can be explored and used as themes to write about. The changes in the thematic concerns of the three texts do represent the times in which each book belongs. The eighteenth century novel reflect a fantasy and dream like world setting which also acted as a means of escape from the bitter realities of war. Since Pullman’s novels deal with realism with an amalgamation of fantasy shows the gradual progression from escape to acceptance. While on the other hand Rowling’s projection of wizard school, magic and adventure illustrates the mind set of the twenty first century children who believe that nothing is impossible in this world and they are individuals who have the power of making anything possible on the basis of conviction and confidence. Blyton’s novel project the mind set of a shy and lost childhood while Pullman’s novel reflects the ascent to a new beginning and a wonderful change in the mind set of the children and their up bringing. This gradual change in thinking is brought in to full light in Rowling’s novels where a child has his own identity and his independence begins to show even in his childhood. Hence it is observed that every writer regardless of the time period he belongs to has a unique writing style and a perspective of life that is exclusively his own and they utilize words to depict their individual ideas so that the young generation can learn and make their own personal interpretations of various aspects of life. Reference: Carpenter, H. and Prichard, M., 1999. The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press Read More