First Love: Cal by Bernard Maclaverty

Who doesn’t remember their first big love? I certainly do. I can still feel my heartache. But seriously. For me personally, my first big crush was when I was 4 years old. I was in love with a boy called Maurice and he moved away to a foreign country. It took me years to get over it. As an adolescent I met my long-time partner when I was 19. We have been together for more than 21 years. So that I can consider my big love.

Cal, the protagonist of this story and Marcella, his love, aren’t that lucky. Cal is only 19 when he falls in love with Marcella, whilst Marcella is 9 years older, around 28. Their love story is drenched with guilt, desperation, self-pity and deceit. I was a young girl when the IRA and the situation in Northern-Ireland was at their highest and can remember the news on the television about bombings and violence between the Catholics and Protestants. Of course, as a little girl, I didn’t understand much about these political and religious disputes.  By reading Cal I got a little bit more insight in the troubles that were really going on back in the eighties. The effect the insecurity of violence and war has on adolescents is clearly portrayed.  The love story of Cal is not a very positive one. It is drenched with Cal’s guilt for being involved in the killing of the husband of his love whilst Marcella is desperate to find real love, as it was absent in her marriage. The love story is unhealthy.

In class we discussed the fact, that Cal hasn’t had good role models for love. The role of Cal’s parents is unobtrusively present.  His mother passed away when he was 8 years old and his father never found a new love nor gave any positive affection to Cal. The loss of his mother may have made him desperate for a loving woman while the cold attitude of his father may have influenced his self-esteem and made him insecure in love. Shamy, Cal’s father is emotional unapproachable to Cal. The story is not a very positive example of first love for teenagers, as the reasons for falling in love are more based on desperation than on admiration. But still, everyone has a love affair falling apart at least once in his or her life, so it is worth reading about. As sited by Appleyard (1991) adventure, romance and historical fiction are popular among young adult readers and the characters are believable, even though it is a love story going bad. The historical elements of the violent and tense situations with the IRA in Northern Ireland in the eighties can grab the readers’ attention.

The book is suitable for children older than 15 years, because of the complicated psychological developments of the characters. Cal is not being honest about his involvement with the death of Marcella’s husband. He also feels very guilty about this and he is stalking Marcella by spying on her. Marcella is in desperate need of love and attention, which is also not a very healthy reason to fall in love. Eventually the love doesn’t last and falls apart. This can also be explained according to the theory of Erikson (1970) because of the lack of success they both already had in relationships. This often leads to failing relationships and loneliness. The book is according to Appleyard (1991) suitable for young adult readers because the book deals with sex, death, sin, good and evil and violence which are all mixed throughout the story. As a reader you become an observer of the tragic love story and the story can give you something to evaluate as you have had full access to the protagonists’ thoughts and feelings and their anxieties and self-questionings.

Bibliography:

Appleyard, J.A. (1991). Becoming a Reader. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press

NB The articles “The Reader as hero and Heroine” and “The Reader as Thinker” both

come from this book.

Erikson, E.H. (1970). Reflections on the dissent of contemporary youth. International Journal

of Psychoanalysis, 51, 11-22.

Maclaverty, B. (1984). Cal. London. King Pinguin.

Search for Identity: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a classic novel. A novel with various responses. The story is not very positive, the protagonist is far from positive and can be seen as a negative and annoying person. Yet it is a popular novel for young adult readers. The young adult can become an observer and evaluator of self and others and therefor they are also interested in stories that do not relate to their own world and experiences. They take lesson from other situations and perspectives (Appleyard, 1991).

I must have read this book when I was in secondary school. But I cannot remember I did. I do remember, that I saw a movie “Leaving Las Vegas” and that this story came into my mind whilst watching that movie. During my work as a youth worker with adolescent children with neglect and trauma experiences I see a lot of resemblance with the behaviour of the protagonist Holden in this story. The constant doubt and negative self-esteem and the rejection seeking of the kids I worked with is similar to what is described to be Holden’s behaviour.

In class we discussed the possible causes of Holden’s behaviour. The protagonist in this story suffers from multiple crises within the story. The reader sees Holden as an outcast from the beginning of the story, a boy who is alienated from the people around him and separate from his school and classmates. Various scenes show Holden in different clumsy interactions with his classmates and friends, all reflecting on the separation between him and them. We linked this to the stages of psycho social development according to Erikson (1970). Basic conflicts as mistrust, shame and (self)doubt, guilt and inferiority are developed in early years between 0 and 11 years old. They are caused by lack of attention and lack of success in personal control, social behaviour and educational achievements. This can cause an identity crisis in the phase of adolescence. The book is not very clear about the cause of the identity crisis of Holden, we only know about the loss of his brother and the effect it had on the relationship with his mother. The roll of the parents is not very obvious in the story, but we do know that Holden knows he is disappointing them with his behaviour.

The behaviour of Holden can be explained by of a series of traumatic experiences he has had in his life. The loss of this Brother Allie is both tragic as well causing his family to change. His parents’ moods change after the death of Allie and his mother cannot get over the longing for her lost son.    It becomes clear that Holden wants what his dead brother has or what he himself lacks; his mother’s desire.  It is evident he has suffered from a lack of attention at a young age. According to Erikson an identity crisis is formed because of various negative experiences. Children who receive little or no encouragement from their parents will doubt their ability to be successful. This is vital in the development of self-courage and that is exactly what Holden is lacking. Holden is in constant doubt and down-talking anyone that is being nice and good to him. He avoids and runs from difficulties and is rejecting as much as possible.

A big pattern is rejection. Holden is unconsciously looking for rejection. Rejection from school: he drops out, rejection form his peers: he does not show up at the game; rejection form his patents: He lets them down because he fails at school and he walks away; rejection of new friends and meeting people: He is rude and insensitive and the only person who is nice to him he rejects the most. This all leads back to the death of his brother and the lack of affection ge got from his mother after this death. When Holden tells the reader: “My mother, she still isn’t over my brother Allie yet” (Salinger, 1951), or “She hasn’t felt too healthy since my brother Allie died”, it becomes clear that Holden wants what his dead brother has or what he himself lacks; his mother’s desire and affection.

The book is suitable for children from about 15 years old. The language is quite explicit and the psychological situation of Holden is difficult but is very interesting for readers who like to reflect critically about people’s thoughts. According to Appleyard (1991) readers can identify a character as a participant in the story, rather than to identify with the character. They are aware of the differences between a character and their own development. But on the other hand, readers can also identify and mirror the character to people or experiences they know. So even though The Catcher in the Rye is not a happy story, it is very popular because the readers can correlate with the moody character with or without own reflection.

Bibliography:

Appleyard, J.A. (1991). Becoming a Reader. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press

NB The articles “The Reader as hero and Heroine” and “The Reader as Thinker” both

come from this book.

Erikson, E.H. (1970). Reflections on the dissent of contemporary youth. International Journal

of Psychoanalysis, 51, 11-22.

Salinger, J.D. (1951). The Catcher in the Rye. Little, New-York. Brown and Company

Disillusionment: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

One of the most famous books in English young adult literature is Lord of the Flies by William Golding. When I first read it, I was shocked by the cruelty and violence of the children surviving on a desolated island. What struck me most, was the insights and the description of the developments in the group and the group process. The ability of boys to take care of each other in the absence of parents or women. I personally liked the religious metaphors in the book, revering to the good and the evil. For example, how Simon the messiahs or Jesus like figure is killed and offered to the sea. But I did not like the group pressure and the effects of it like the unnecessary killings of Piggy and Simon because of the primitive and aggressive thinking and behaviour of the boys. The boys are not obeying the rules, they are creating an anarchy.

In class we discussed the negative atmosphere of the book and the ability of children to kill. Golding must have lost his faith in society to be able to write such a horrific story.

The book is filled with symbols and metaphors that represent religious statements about good and evil, criticizes political and social institutions of civilization through questioning the human instincts for survival versus setting rules and boundaries in order to live peacefully.  Golding uses a lot of patterns in the story: The glasses of Piggy represent the wish to be saved, yet in a second the children do not take notice, the fire is already out. And the reckless behaviour with Piggy and his glasses, which cause them to break.  The conch is a big pattern. The urge for order and democracy, the possibility to speak and to be heard. And the beast who represents fear, a fear of something that isn’t there nor real.

The characters in the book represent stereotypes in adult live. Ralph represents order and civilization whilst Jack represents anarchy and savage live. Piggy represents science intelligence and reasoning and Simon the goodness of God or Jesus.

In class we discussed the absence of the role of the parents and women. Both are absent in the story. The children behave in the way they think their parents would behave. But for example, Piggy wonders and questions the way of their behaviour and compares it with the adults. According to Appleyard (1991), youth is struggling to achieve a mature identity amid the problematic choices adults normally make. This is one of the essential themes of the book. Are the children making the right choices? Are they behaving like the adults would, can they survive without adults? The kids struggle with rebellion and crisis, ambition and drive. “The mature society is copied, but the children do not know how to shape it.” (Appleyard, 2012).

The book is appropriate for young adult readers, as they want to work out a balance in their newfound sense of possibilities and restrictions between their childhood and the adult life they are headed towards, which is scary and sometimes threatening to them (Appleyard, 1991). Due to the violence and killings of children, the book is suitable for children from 15 years and older. The story will make the readers think and can cause intense emotional reaction because of the shocking scenes. The story is written in a realistic style and can invite the readers to think about the story’s truthfulness and make a judgement about whether this could be possible to happen or not.

Bibliography:

Appleyard, J.A. (1991). Becoming a Reader. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press

NB The articles “The Reader as hero and Heroine” and “The Reader as Thinker” both

come from this book.

Erikson, E.H. (1970). Reflections on the dissent of contemporary youth. International Journal

of Psychoanalysis, 51, 11-22.

Golding, W. (1954). Lord of the Flies. London. Faber and Faber.

Innocence: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

The children’s story Peter Pan has become world famous by the Disney movies. As a mother of 2 children, I have also seen the gorgeous drawn books and films of the adventures of Peter, Wendy, Tinkerbell and Captain Hook. But reading the original book is another story. The book is suitable for readers at the age of 6 to 12 years. The readers in this age group are interested in books with a lot of adventures where the characters face dangers, go on journeys to other worlds and do heroic deeds (Appleyard, 2012). Peter Pan fights off the Indians and Captain Hook, takes everyone to Neverland and saves both Wendy and her brothers as the lost boys for various dangerous situations.

The story is long but has a lot of plots that have fast-moving action and can stand alone. Most of the action scenes have uncomplicated sentences and little description of people and settings. This makes it easy to read for children between 6 and 12 years. Although the story is mostly suitable for them, the vocabulary and the language are not. It is an old book written in 1911 by James Matthew Barrie. The language is old fashioned and the sentences sometimes too complicated and wordy.

The kids will be captivated by the adventures, despite of the underlying character of Peter Pan. Peter Pan is quite annoying in his attitude and not as friendly as the ones shown in the movies.  Barrie describes Peter as frivolous, carefree, and very forgetful. The young readers see Peter Pan for his actions and what he does. He is a hero and fights of all danger and bad guys. This is because children in this age group cannot yet grasp a complex character. It is either good or bad. The characters in Peter Pan are flat and dynamic. They experience a lot of adventures but do not change in behaviour of habit. Peter Pan is called the boy that never wants to grow up, which is a metaphor for men that do not want responsibilities but always want to play. It has even become an informal term in psychology, The Peter Pan syndrome (Dan Kiley, 1983), revering to man like Michael Jackson and Wibi Sourjadi; men that stay childish and extremely fond of children’s toys and interests.

In class we discussed the roles of both Peter and Wendy and the absence of parents in the book. Opposite to Peter, Wendy is behaving extremely responsible towards all the children and towards Peter. Peter calls her his mother and she is over protective and behaves like a mother. “The fictional characters represent what children at this age want to be” (Appleyard, 1991). Although the Darling parents play a little part in the beginning of the book, the mother role is taken over by Wendy and the father role is absent. Although Peter is older than all the boys and they look up to him, he does not behave in an adult way; he is reckless and irresponsible towards the children he has taken them away from their safe haven. But parents do play a role in the book. Wendy is called “mother” by Peter and the boys. She comforts them, cooks their food and cleans up after them, as a mother would do. She also claims to take care of the boys if they want to return home and offers to adopt them. Although her role is traditional, it is very loving and caring to the boys. According to Appleyard (2012) the motherless children are common in children’s books, because of the development of these readers in becoming their own person. They are heading towards the transition to adulthood and reluctantly giving up what they were. The life of endless play and joy has changed into going to school and learning.

Nevertheless, Peter Pan is a wonderful book for children and will make a lasting impression on the reader. It has several unforgettable characters: Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook and Tinkerbell, they are still popular and imaginative characters. The setting is wonderful and adventurous. There is an evident conflict between Good (Peter) and Bad (Hook) that is resolved at the end (Hook is killed), which according to Appleyard (1991) and the article “What makes a great novel for children” are fundamental elements of fiction for young readers.

Appleyard, J.A. (1991). Becoming a Reader. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press

NB The articles “The Reader as hero and Heroine” and “The Reader as Thinker” both

come from this book.

Barry, J.M. (1911). Peter Pan. London. Penguin Books Ltd.

Erikson, E.H. (1970). Reflections on the dissent of contemporary youth. International Journal

of Psychoanalysis, 51, 11-22.

Kiley, D. (1995). The Peter pan Syndrome: Men Who Never Grown Up. London. Avon Books.