Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons^™

Magical Genders: The Gender(S) Of Witches In The Historical Imagination Of Terry Pratchett's Discworld, Lian Sinclair

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Fruitfully explores the similarities between Pratchett’s theory of narrative causality and the gender theories of Butler and Foucault; all deal with an urge to fit gender performance into an established story. Pratchett’s witches engage in a balancing act between the gender expectations of their society and their own quests for agency and power.

Brienne Of Tarth And Jaime Lannister: A Romantic Comedy Within Hbo's Game Of Thrones, Inbar Shaham

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

“Romantic comedy” is not a genre whose conventions one would readily associate with the television series Game of Thrones, but this article makes a case for the evolving relationship between Brienne of Tarth and Jaime Lannister as an intrusion of the “green world” of spring and summer into the bleak winter of the show. The unconventional ways in which both characters perform their genders are part of the interest and challenge of this relationship.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

The majority of articles in this issue of Mythlore have to do with a selection of female characters in fantasy and their issues of agency, visibility, relationship, and gender roles.

Tolkien Sidelined: Constructing The Non-Combatant In The Children Of Hurin, Victoria Holtz-Wodzak

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Gives close attention to Morwen, Niennor, and Aerin, comparing them to Éowyn before she rode to battle and to Tolkien’s own mother Mabel and wife Edith. Also considers the situations of several male characters unable to or uninterested in serving in war, particularly Sador, Gwindor, and Brandir, and Tolkien’s own experiences on being sent home to England with trench fever.

Chaoskampf, Salvation, And Dragons: Archetypes In Tolkien's Earendel, Tibor Tarcsay

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Study of world-wide mythical archetypes in relation to Tolkien’s Eärendil. Lays out a broad array of evidence attesting to a complex of characteristics associated with a mythical morning-star character, chief among them an association with water, horses, boats, constellations, being a messenger or herald, and monster-slaying, particularly of monsters associated with chaos.

St. Jerome's Narnia: Transformation And Asceticism In The Desert And Beyond The Wardrobe, John Gavin

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Compares “two exercises in Christian myth-making”—C.S. Lewis’s Narniad and The Life of Paul the Hermit, the earliest work of the ascetic St. Jerome. Both are entertaining, and even whimsical at times, and feature communication with intelligent animals and a restoration of Paradise. Both also feature characters who model the value of asceticism and the solitary contemplative life.

Constructing Lothiriel: Rewriting And Rescuing The Women Of Middle-Earth From The Margins, Karen Viars, Cait Coker

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Examines the presence and absence of female characters in Tolkien, in the Peter Jackson films, and in fanfiction, paying particular attention to a “footnote character,” Lothíriel, and what the body of fanfiction built around her brief mention as the daughter of Imrahil and wife of Éomer reveals about reader engagement with Tolkien’s texts.

Isn't It Romantic? Sacrificing Agency For Romance In The Chronicles Of Prydain, Rodney M.D. Fierce

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Addresses the vexed question of Princess Eilonwy’s gesture of giving up magic and immortality to be the wife of Taran and queen of Prydain. Was it a forced choice and a sacrifice of the capable and strong-willed girl’s agency and power, or does it proceed logically from her depiction throughout the series?

Tolkien's Dialogue Between Enchantment And Loss, John Rosegrant

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Examines the tension between the theme of loss underlying so much of the content of The Lord of the Rings, and the enchantment of the form of the work; the balance between the two generates a melancholy beauty that brings readers back to the book over and over again. Tolkien’s own biography is used as an example of this balance of loss and enchantment playing out in real life.

"Because I'M A Girl, I Suppose!":Gender Lines And Narrativeperspective In Harry Potter, Melanie J. Cordova

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Explores one of the interesting challenges in reading the Harry Potter series: the reader must eventually face the fact that Harry is not a totally reliable narrator or viewpoint character, especially as far as the female characters closest to him are concerned. Hermione especially suffers from his “teenage boy myopia.”

"My Own Little Home": Historical Places Of Peace In British Literature, Erin Kayla Choate

Tenor of Our Times

No abstract provided.

Mother's Bed: Gender Representation In Children's Literature, Karin Hanni

Senior Theses

This children's book and accompanying research paper both address gender inequity in children's literature. There is a significant imbalance of gender representation in children's literature, with the number of central male characters almost doubling that of central female characters. Additionally, the roles of males and females still tend to be stereotypical: boys are action-oriented and heroic, while girls are nurturing and passive. Further, it is believed that boys will only enjoy books about boys, while girls will enjoy books about both boys and girls. This imbalance in children's literature hurts both genders. Children not only learn to read from books, …

Station Eleven, By Emily St. John Mandel. Reviewed By Jason Fisher., Jason Fisher

Mythprint Book Reviews

Mythprint is the quarterly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion, and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local discussion groups.

Asunder, By Jodi Meadows. Reviewed By Shiloh Carroll., Shiloh Carroll

Mythprint Book Reviews

Mythprint is the quarterly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion, and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local discussion groups.

Young Adult Dystopian Literature As Social Change Evolution, Rachel L. Scherzer

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

In recent years, the mass popularity of young adult dystopian novels has led literary scholars to question the rise in popularity and the impact of such novels. This project explores the social justice potential of dystopian fiction, especially young adult dystopias, to act as a model for the way that rebellion can be an important and useful tool in standing up against injustice in society.

Using Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games, this project argues that young adult dystopian fiction can model for young people a personal evolution in understanding social change and the revolutionary possibility of actively standing up …

The Best Children's Books Of The Year [2016 Edition], Bank Street College Of Education. Children's Book Committee

The Center for Children's Literature

Includes more than 600 titles chosen by the Children’s Book Committee as the best of the best published in 2015. In choosing books for the annual list, committee members consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes.

The Best Children's Books Of The Year [2015 Edition], Bank Street College Of Education. Children's Book Committee

The Center for Children's Literature

Includes more than 600 titles chosen by the Children’s Book Committee as the best of the best published in 2014. In choosing books for the annual list, committee members consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes.

Reading Aloud: Poetry At Its Finest, Pauline Skowron Schmidt

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Blood Money: The Commodification Of Menstrual Education In The United States, Meghan Radosevic

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

girl’s first menstrual cycle is often considered the first step of the seemingly ritualistic passage into womanhood. However, most girls within the United States who experience menarche fail to view it as a rite of passage, and instead see it as an event they must endure rather than celebrate. Menstruation is a mystifying process for young girls, and the mystification is intensified through the lack of open conversations between pre- and post-menarcheal females. While pedagogical strategies in period education have evolved over time, the one constant within menstrual education is silence. This thesis aims to write into the silence surrounding …

Digital Demonstrations: Examinations Of Protests And Politics In Cory Doctorow’S Young Adult Fiction, Jacob Brown

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies (2015-2021)

Within this paper, I intend to examine the manner by which author and blogger Cory Doctorow utilizes complex themes of digital labor exploitation and intellectual property law within his young adult fiction in order to bring about positive social change, with particular attention paid to the 2008 novel Little Brother and its 2013 sequel Homeland, the 2010 novel For the Win, the 2012 novel Pirate Cinema, and 2014’s In Real Life, a graphic novel written by Doctorow and illustrated by Jen Wang. Throughout Doctorow’s realistic depictions of slightly-fictionalized versions of contemporary life and embellishments of near-future …

The Rise And Fall Of Female Stereotypes In Looking For Alaska, Alina Zabolotico

Audre Lorde Prize

No abstract provided.

Finding Aid To The Collection Of Thomas Bailey Aldrich Materials., Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Colby College Special Collections

Finding Aids

Thomas Bailey Aldrich -- poet, novelist, traveler and editor -- was born in New Hampshire in 1836. His father's death in 1849 caused him to abandon his idea to attend college and move to New York to work with his uncle at age 16. Soon he became a constant contributor to newspapers and magazines and the intimate friend of many Bohemian poets, artists and writers. He was editor of various major newspapers and magazines in New York and Boston from the 1860s to the 1890s. During this time he was also a prolific, published writer of prose and verse. He …

Et Cetera, Marshall University

Et Cetera

Founded in 1953, Et Cetera is an annual literary magazine that publishes the creative writing and artwork of Marshall University students and affiliates. Et Cetera is free to the Marshall University community.

Et Cetera welcomes submissions in literary and film criticism, poetry, short stories, drama, all types of creative non-fiction, photography, and art.

Gender And The Popular Heroines (And Heroes) Of The Young Adult Dystopia, Kara E. Hemphill

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For the past few years, dystopian stories have ruled the young adult fiction aisles and the box office. Taking the reins from similarly popular predecessors like Harry Potter and Twilight, the genre has set itself apart by telling stories of action, war, and heroism that are often led by a young female protagonist. This project examines a variety of gender-related themes in six young adult dystopian novels, chosen for their popularity and subject matter. While it is not a comprehensive look at the genre, it is meant to analyze some of the most widely known works, which is important because …

Expanding The Literary Enterprise: How We Experience The Texts Of The Advanced Placement English Literature And Composition Curriculum, Molly Ostrow

Honors Theses

How we read the texts of the Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition curriculum.

Will You Go Out With Me? Why First Loves Are Painfully Important To Ya Lit, Emilee Hussack, Pauline Skowron Schmidt

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“The More Things Change . . .”: A New Generation Of Historical Fiction, Pauline Skowron Schmidt

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Public Library Experience: Choosing Books To Read From Predetermined Levels And Its Implications, Amy L. Seufert

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to explore the implications resulting from experiences in libraries that parents and children face when they come to the public library with externally identified reading levels that restrict their reading to materials with a particular numerical measure. The volunteer participants included 27 parents and their children who frequent the public library searching for books, particularly leveled books. Participants completed a simple, paper survey which was located at the library desk over a two week period. Based on their in depth answers to survey questions, three parents of first and second grade students were asked …

Male Development In Young Adult Novels: Mapping The Intersections Between Masculinity, Fatal Illness, Male Queerness, And Brotherhood, Ruth Nelson

Departmental Honors Projects

Since 2000, Young Adult (YA) literature has grown exponentially. The subgenres of cancer novels (teen “sick-lit”) and LGBTQ fiction, in particular, have experienced a recent surge in popularity. The novels in these subgenres that feature young men as the affected characters (diagnosed with cancer and/or identifying as gay or queer) are particularly interesting because of the threats that these experiences pose to heteronormative masculinity. Because this fiction is directed at an impressionable audience in the process of forming their identities, the novels’ representations of gender could have a strong influence over readers’ gender identity development. Researchers have begun exploring the …

Dystopian Cinderellas: "I Follow Him Into The Dark", Courtney Lear

All Master's Theses

Research indicates that adolescents use fiction as a template for mitigating problems in their own lives based on the ways that fictional characters handle conflict. Dystopic narratives extrapolate on the potential sociopolitical consequences of contemporary social issues that adolescents face. In recent years, authors of young adult fiction have proliferated dystopian novels about disciplinary societies that conform to Michel Foucault’s Panoptic frameworks. Using the novels Matched, Delirium, Uglies, The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner, and The Knife of Never Letting Go, this project will demonstrate that the agency of female protagonists of young adult dystopian novels is curtailed by …