Moral Ambiguity
Jul. 25th, 2015 08:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bloodyrosemccoyGot to thinking about taking children's books literally versus figuratively when I read this post on Robert Munsch's Love You Forever. I know a lot of people who think this story is super creepy, and it totally is if you take it literally. But the thing is, I never did take it literally. Consider who this is written for--little kids. At that age your anxiety is related to whether your parents, whom you depend on for pretty much everything, will always be there. This book assures you that they will always love you, even if you do things that make them angry.*
And then I started thinking about other children's books that have debated morals--like Marcus Pfister's The Rainbow Fish. I was always pretty much indifferent to that book, but suddenly it struck me that you could interpret it in some crazy ways. On the one hand you've got your "the only way people will like you is if you rip pieces of yourself off and give them away" moral. On the other you've got a couple more layers of figurativeness where the shiny scales represent privilege,** and the moral is to be aware of it and try to overcome it.
"Dang," I thought. "This book could be controversial. I wonder what I'll find if I look on Amazon's reviews ..."
So I did, and you guys, it's GLORIOUS. Accusations of socialism and crushing of individuality, along with some gratuitous cheap shots at The Swiss, fly thick and fast, and I think the interesting thing is that an actual story gets kind of lost in the shuffle. How do you put yourself in the place of the Rainbow Fish if it's several conflicting metaphors? Would you take away your individuality because another fish asked? Okay, but do you think people who were born with more shinies than they need should share their shinies? Well, depends--what do the shinies do? Do they allow the other fish to enjoy a better standard of living, or are they just, y'know, shiny? Does tearing off the scales hurt? Do they regrow? Do they eventually degrade when not affixed to living tissue? Do the fish agree that, aesthetically, it looks kind of dumb for each fish to have ONE shiny scale? Does the fact that the Rainbow Fish is still multicolored while all the other fish are monochromatic play in at all? And what happens when the fish realize that they are easier for predators to spot now that they do have shinies? NOW do you want more shinies? Is the original fish who demanded a scale some kind of Buffalo Bill serial killer fish who wants to wear the Rainbow Fish's skin? WE NEED ANSWERS, DAMMIT.
Suddenly this book I never cared much for has become completely fascinating to me. Sure, like anyone, I've done some kids' lit crit before, but it was always a casual thing. Now I kind of want to plumb the depths of other kids books with really metaphorical controversies. Anybody know of any good ones?
Discussion Question: Has anyone mentioned Matthew 19:16-22 with relation to the octopus's advice? I'm always puzzled as to how often self-righteous Christians who bitch about their hard-earned wealth ignore this passage. THAT'S RIGHT I JUST BROUGHT IN THE BIBLE TO LITERARY CRITICISM OF A SWISS PICTURE BOOK. IT IS ON.
*And also it was a good way to guarantee your mom would get choked up at storytime. It was kind of unsettling.
**I kind of hate what the word "privilege" has become, which is stupid of me, because it is very useful in describing a social concept. I think my problem with it comprises a general aversion to buzzwords and a disgust with the twits to use it to just be assholes.
And then I started thinking about other children's books that have debated morals--like Marcus Pfister's The Rainbow Fish. I was always pretty much indifferent to that book, but suddenly it struck me that you could interpret it in some crazy ways. On the one hand you've got your "the only way people will like you is if you rip pieces of yourself off and give them away" moral. On the other you've got a couple more layers of figurativeness where the shiny scales represent privilege,** and the moral is to be aware of it and try to overcome it.
"Dang," I thought. "This book could be controversial. I wonder what I'll find if I look on Amazon's reviews ..."
So I did, and you guys, it's GLORIOUS. Accusations of socialism and crushing of individuality, along with some gratuitous cheap shots at The Swiss, fly thick and fast, and I think the interesting thing is that an actual story gets kind of lost in the shuffle. How do you put yourself in the place of the Rainbow Fish if it's several conflicting metaphors? Would you take away your individuality because another fish asked? Okay, but do you think people who were born with more shinies than they need should share their shinies? Well, depends--what do the shinies do? Do they allow the other fish to enjoy a better standard of living, or are they just, y'know, shiny? Does tearing off the scales hurt? Do they regrow? Do they eventually degrade when not affixed to living tissue? Do the fish agree that, aesthetically, it looks kind of dumb for each fish to have ONE shiny scale? Does the fact that the Rainbow Fish is still multicolored while all the other fish are monochromatic play in at all? And what happens when the fish realize that they are easier for predators to spot now that they do have shinies? NOW do you want more shinies? Is the original fish who demanded a scale some kind of Buffalo Bill serial killer fish who wants to wear the Rainbow Fish's skin? WE NEED ANSWERS, DAMMIT.
Suddenly this book I never cared much for has become completely fascinating to me. Sure, like anyone, I've done some kids' lit crit before, but it was always a casual thing. Now I kind of want to plumb the depths of other kids books with really metaphorical controversies. Anybody know of any good ones?
Discussion Question: Has anyone mentioned Matthew 19:16-22 with relation to the octopus's advice? I'm always puzzled as to how often self-righteous Christians who bitch about their hard-earned wealth ignore this passage. THAT'S RIGHT I JUST BROUGHT IN THE BIBLE TO LITERARY CRITICISM OF A SWISS PICTURE BOOK. IT IS ON.
*And also it was a good way to guarantee your mom would get choked up at storytime. It was kind of unsettling.
**I kind of hate what the word "privilege" has become, which is stupid of me, because it is very useful in describing a social concept. I think my problem with it comprises a general aversion to buzzwords and a disgust with the twits to use it to just be assholes.
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Date: 2015-07-27 04:20 pm (UTC)Even if I put aside personal feelings about self-worth and individual self-care, there's a very good reason that you're instructed to put your own air mask on before you help anyone else. If you've got no resources to sustain yourself, you can't care effectively for anyone else.
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Date: 2015-07-27 06:29 pm (UTC)