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RE: Tight Times and Poverty
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From: Hendon, Alison <A.Hendon_at_BrooklynPublicLibrary.org>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2011 14:46:36 -0400
Angie wrote: But as you make your point and ask your new question, I'm thinking about children's and YA literature specifically, and yes... what an excellent question! Certainly when the first McGuffey Readers came out in the well into the days of Sally, Dick and Jane with the polished, middle class sensibilities... there was no hint at poverty or need in books written or used by children. Beyond text designed for reading instruction, I believe older children's picture books were by and about middle class individuals, with the exception of fairy tales and nursery rhymes meant to address the plight of the have-nots or those down on their luck... such as Hansel and Gretel, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and Old Mother Hubbard.
And I add: The Horatio Alger stories which were very popular in their day are definitely rags to riches tales. Many of Louisa May Alcott's stories deal with poverty (not just Little Women, but her short stories as well.) The Five Little Peppers books start in the little brown house, where the poverty is extreme (though so is the happiness.) Maybe the Victorians/Edwardians didn't mind portraying poverty as much? I have to say, that in most if not all of these books/stories, poverty is either overcome by a generous patron/relative/employer, or is seen as somehow a beautiful thing, uniting the family against a common foe.
Alison
Alison Hendon
Received on Thu 12 May 2011 02:46:36 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 12 May 2011 14:46:36 -0400
Angie wrote: But as you make your point and ask your new question, I'm thinking about children's and YA literature specifically, and yes... what an excellent question! Certainly when the first McGuffey Readers came out in the well into the days of Sally, Dick and Jane with the polished, middle class sensibilities... there was no hint at poverty or need in books written or used by children. Beyond text designed for reading instruction, I believe older children's picture books were by and about middle class individuals, with the exception of fairy tales and nursery rhymes meant to address the plight of the have-nots or those down on their luck... such as Hansel and Gretel, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and Old Mother Hubbard.
And I add: The Horatio Alger stories which were very popular in their day are definitely rags to riches tales. Many of Louisa May Alcott's stories deal with poverty (not just Little Women, but her short stories as well.) The Five Little Peppers books start in the little brown house, where the poverty is extreme (though so is the happiness.) Maybe the Victorians/Edwardians didn't mind portraying poverty as much? I have to say, that in most if not all of these books/stories, poverty is either overcome by a generous patron/relative/employer, or is seen as somehow a beautiful thing, uniting the family against a common foe.
Alison
Alison Hendon
Received on Thu 12 May 2011 02:46:36 PM CDT
