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Re: Correction: Who threw that stone?
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From: stephanie.greene.books_at_gmail.com
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:11:39 -0500
Thanks for sending that, Charles. D. G. Myers put it in a far more complex way that I could. As a children's book author, I know that the details we put in books are put there for specific reasons. Although we have no control over the interpretation readers may put on what they read, we do control the impression we hope to give. I was struck by the fact that the stone thrower was a boy, in this case, because the story is based on a real incident in the narrator's grandmother's life and she, apparently, "never saw the boy." I tend to think very logically about plot, so my mind immediately went back to the genesis of this family story: Did the grandmother actually say that in that way, or was the assumption that it had to have been a boy? What if she had said, "I didn't see who threw it?" or "I didn't see the person who threw it?"
Since part of our discussion over the past weeks has been about stereotypes - cultural or any other kind - I couldn't help but wonder whether it was decided that it had to have been a boy because boys are bad and often throw stones. What if it had been a man? That would make it a more evil act because a man knows better and also knows that he's strong and could do real harm. If a woman threw it, that would imply feminine spitefulness and, again, premeditated evil. A girl would be a surprising choice because girls are good and don't throw stones.
I don't mean to belabor this, but if I ever have the pleasure and privilege of meeting Tim Tingle, I'd like to ask him about this. At what point in this family story did the thrower become a boy, and if no one really knew who did it, was he concerned to present a boy as the thrower and, in essence, give boys a bad rap?
Stephanie Greene
Sent from my iPad
> On Feb 22, 2014, at 10:44 AM, "Charles Bayless" <charles.bayless_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Good grief. There’s the weekly object lesson of not trying to do too many things at the same time.
>
>
>
> From: Charles Bayless [mailto:charles.bayless_at_gmail.com]
> Sent: Friday, February 21, 2014 7:23 PM
> To: 'stephanie.greene.books_at_gmail.com'
> Cc: 'CCBC-Net Network'
> Subject: Who through that stone?
>
> Stephanie,
>
> D.G. Myers had an intriguing essay about this issue a year or so ago. Search: On the existence of fictional characters by D.G. Myers and you should find it. Myers addresses two issues. First, can we know anything about a character other than what the author has shared in the text? To which Myers answers, No. For example, I don’t recall that Barrie ever describes Peter Pan as white or blue eyed or anything like that. We observe context, we take cues and calculate probabilities which suggest that he probably was white but that doesn’t necessarily make it so.
>
>
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:11:39 -0500
Thanks for sending that, Charles. D. G. Myers put it in a far more complex way that I could. As a children's book author, I know that the details we put in books are put there for specific reasons. Although we have no control over the interpretation readers may put on what they read, we do control the impression we hope to give. I was struck by the fact that the stone thrower was a boy, in this case, because the story is based on a real incident in the narrator's grandmother's life and she, apparently, "never saw the boy." I tend to think very logically about plot, so my mind immediately went back to the genesis of this family story: Did the grandmother actually say that in that way, or was the assumption that it had to have been a boy? What if she had said, "I didn't see who threw it?" or "I didn't see the person who threw it?"
Since part of our discussion over the past weeks has been about stereotypes - cultural or any other kind - I couldn't help but wonder whether it was decided that it had to have been a boy because boys are bad and often throw stones. What if it had been a man? That would make it a more evil act because a man knows better and also knows that he's strong and could do real harm. If a woman threw it, that would imply feminine spitefulness and, again, premeditated evil. A girl would be a surprising choice because girls are good and don't throw stones.
I don't mean to belabor this, but if I ever have the pleasure and privilege of meeting Tim Tingle, I'd like to ask him about this. At what point in this family story did the thrower become a boy, and if no one really knew who did it, was he concerned to present a boy as the thrower and, in essence, give boys a bad rap?
Stephanie Greene
Sent from my iPad
> On Feb 22, 2014, at 10:44 AM, "Charles Bayless" <charles.bayless_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Good grief. There’s the weekly object lesson of not trying to do too many things at the same time.
>
>
>
> From: Charles Bayless [mailto:charles.bayless_at_gmail.com]
> Sent: Friday, February 21, 2014 7:23 PM
> To: 'stephanie.greene.books_at_gmail.com'
> Cc: 'CCBC-Net Network'
> Subject: Who through that stone?
>
> Stephanie,
>
> D.G. Myers had an intriguing essay about this issue a year or so ago. Search: On the existence of fictional characters by D.G. Myers and you should find it. Myers addresses two issues. First, can we know anything about a character other than what the author has shared in the text? To which Myers answers, No. For example, I don’t recall that Barrie ever describes Peter Pan as white or blue eyed or anything like that. We observe context, we take cues and calculate probabilities which suggest that he probably was white but that doesn’t necessarily make it so.
>
>
---
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Received on Sat 22 Feb 2014 11:12:10 AM CST
