The Artist and the Writer
The artist and the writer are increasingly seen as ‘the guiding light, the revealers of truths.’ (Bunce 1994) Through the study of two pieces of children’s literature, demonstrate how the widely acclaimed ‘rural idyll’ comes to be represented.
The representation of the ‘countryside’ is one of the most ‘stubbornly resilient and ideologically freighted of ideas’ (Horton 2003: 73) in society today. The conventional rural idyll is often associated with adjectives such as ‘picturesque, tranquil, and harmonious’, and general scenes of contentment and plenty; it is how people come to this conclusion is what is of interest here. Social representations are ‘a mixture of personal experiences and traditional handed down beliefs propagated through literature, the media, the state, family, friends and institutions. People then use these representations to order and organise complex reality.’ (Haartsen, Groote and Huigen 2003: 246) Children’s literature is therefore highly influential in shaping the representation children have of the countryside – many carrying them into their adulthood years. Through the comparison of two pieces of children’s literature, this paper will show that this is never an entirely innocent practice, but representations are ‘simultaneous speakings and readings in which meanings are embodied, inscribed and re-inscribed.’ (Gregory 1994: 141) They bring together the studies of power, knowledge and space; which will be shown through a study of the interior analysis of the novels in question. For these purposes, the primary sources used are the classics, ‘Swallows and Amazons’ by Arthur Ransome, and ‘Carrie’s War’ by Nina Bawden, alongside a number of secondary sources, whereby academics have made their interpretations on these representations.
The rural idyll as represented through the countryside has a number of origins – one being through discourses, which Gregory terms are; ‘not just another word for conversation...they refer to all the ways in
The representation of the ‘countryside’ is one of the most ‘stubbornly resilient and ideologically freighted of ideas’ (Horton 2003: 73) in society today. The conventional rural idyll is often associated with adjectives such as ‘picturesque, tranquil, and harmonious’, and general scenes of contentment and plenty; it is how people come to this conclusion is what is of interest here. Social representations are ‘a mixture of personal experiences and traditional handed down beliefs propagated through literature, the media, the state, family, friends and institutions. People then use these representations to order and organise complex reality.’ (Haartsen, Groote and Huigen 2003: 246) Children’s literature is therefore highly influential in shaping the representation children have of the countryside – many carrying them into their adulthood years. Through the comparison of two pieces of children’s literature, this paper will show that this is never an entirely innocent practice, but representations are ‘simultaneous speakings and readings in which meanings are embodied, inscribed and re-inscribed.’ (Gregory 1994: 141) They bring together the studies of power, knowledge and space; which will be shown through a study of the interior analysis of the novels in question. For these purposes, the primary sources used are the classics, ‘Swallows and Amazons’ by Arthur Ransome, and ‘Carrie’s War’ by Nina Bawden, alongside a number of secondary sources, whereby academics have made their interpretations on these representations.
The rural idyll as represented through the countryside has a number of origins – one being through discourses, which Gregory terms are; ‘not just another word for conversation...they refer to all the ways in
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