Literature focused on the little ones
Introduction
SEPPIA et al. They express that in children’s literature, productions are found in which siminutive use, complicated onomatopoeia, comparisons and foreseeable rhymes predominate. In addition, the stories are linear and predictable in which the good theme vs. bad and the distribution of the prize or punishment. Other features are the lack of artistic aspirations and the devaluation or fragmentation of the literary texts that occur when making adaptations of the same. The Story Monigote in the Arena de Laura Devetach has different characteristics that help rethink children’s childhood and literature.
Developing
First, the story can be used for various ages and despite the use of simple language, it has a universe of meanings. One of them is the allusion to death. Water, flying leaves and clouds express that the monigote is something passenger. For example: ‘Glubi Glubi, nicing in the sand is something that lasts little, repeated the water, and went to warn the clouds that there was a new friend, but that could be erased.”In the same way that the existence of the monigote is ephemeral, the life of the human being is ephemeral. Other messages that can be interpreted is the rejection of protection, the search for happiness, the importance of another signifier.
A clear example, is expressed in “I am a sandbag. Let’s play, and if I erase me, I will erase myself playing."Water, flying leaves, wind and clouds wanted. Second, the story is unpredictable and presents an unexpected end that allows reflection. Another element to highlight is that the author presents a story whose purpose is the artistic expression, the defense of fantasy and the assessment of creativity and imagination. This story helps to rethink childhood because it allows us to ask ourselves: is protection always useful?;Do we let them decide children?.
Do we let them play?;Do we allow them to find their happiness and course?;How important is creativity, imagination and fantasy in children’s growth and children’s literature? Is the corral or cage? There are several reasons why children’s literature lacks prestige. The first reason is that there is no history of children’s literature in Argentina. Therefore, the evolution and tendencies of the same cannot be perceived and studying. The second is the absence of a criticism whose role is the reading of productions and the construction of opinions about readers.
Another reason is that the interest for considering children’s literature as an object of study is recent and, therefore, addressing it from a theoretical framework built from literary specificity. However, the variety of productions made by specialist are inaccessible due to lack of compilation, lack of classification or lack of publication. All these factors caused children’s literature to be constituted as a hybrid field in which disciplines such as didactics, pedagogy and evolutionary psychology intervene. These disciplines became the "theoretical body" of children’s literature and achieved two effects.
Postpone the social recognition of children’s literature as literature, and link children’s literature with didactics, enabling the adoption of utilitarian, moralizing and prescriptive nuances of the same. In Chapter 2, the various positions related to the concept of childhood are exposed. Aries considers that childhood is neither eternal nor immutable, but is modified according to the historical evolution and sociocultural context. It also mentions the increase in guardianship and control over children. Lloyd de Mause expresses the regulation of relationships between children and adults.
Another very important step in the recognition of childhood was the declaration of the rights of the child in the twentieth century. Currently, we talk about childhoods in order to express the various conceptions of the child around the world and throughout history. In turn, the multiplicity of definitions influences children’s literature. SEPPIA et al. They propose: “Our conception is based on respect for the child as a full subject, bearer of a culture of which he participates and that he has, as a subject in training located in his historical present, his fears, his expectations and his desires."
In relation to literature, the first group of international thinkers of the 30s and 60s expressed the importance of the aesthetic component and the moral, ethical, formative or edifying component. Thus, they determined that children’s literature is an instrument of education and delight that has its own presence and affects the spiritual aspect of the child, since it provides knowledge, reasons and interest. The representatives of this group are: Jesualdo, Enzo Petrini, Paul Hazard and Carmen Bravo Villasante. In Argentina, Marta Salotti introduced the use of stories as the center of subsequent activities and Fryda Schultz de Mantovani express on the importance of child poetry.
In the 70s and early 80s, the second group at an international level, revalued the aesthetic aspect, presented interest in the recipients and revealed the ideological burden present in children’s literature. The theorists of this group are Marc Soriano, Gianni Rodari, Michel Tournier and Denisse escarpit. In Argentina, Dora Pastoriza of Etchebarne and Ruth Pardo Belgrano also adhered to this position. María Luisa Cresta de Leguizamón focused on the freedom of the writer, the importance of plurality of frames, the value of critical reading and flexibility in relation to the age stripes.
The restoration of democratic governments caused literature to achieve social consideration and the National Book Directorate organized reading workshops. These conditions allowed the enhancement of child production and the emergence of publishers dedicated to children’s and youth literature. To this national group belong the following thinkers: María Adelia Díaz Rönner, Susana Itzcovich and Graciela Montes. These theories considered literature as art committed to language, showed that literature should be free from the disciplines that had limited it and expressed the pleasure of reading as a goal.
In addition, they express how the conception of childhood in children’s literary productions affects and in this way, asymmetry relationships between adults and children are revealed and, the danger in "protecting" and "limit" childhood. Current children’s literature maintains some elements such as insistent rhymes and fantasy. In addition, some stories despite maintaining simplicity, have a universe of meanings, that is, they can be interpreted and analyzed with different ways and in depth. However, children’s literature has adopted certain themes such as diversity, sex education, freedom of choice and the value and power of children.
conclusion
The stories are not linear or predictable, but present freshness, turning points, humor, complex characters, invented words, various emotions and aesthetic aspirations. Another aspect is that some traditional stories were recreated and in this way it is allowed not only to adapt the story to the current sociocultural context, but it makes it possible to reflect on some speeches that have limited the human being or have imposed a model or stereotypes. Finally, current children’s literature helps to reflect, to develop critical thinking, to consider empowering the child and opens a door to rethink the thought.
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