Nursery Realms: Children in the Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror

by Westfahl, Gary; Slusser, George Edgar

• ISBN13: 9780820321448
• ISBN10: 0820321443
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr

Summary

Child characters are surprisingly common in horror, fantasy, and science fiction literature and films. Children represent innocence and virtue and symbolize the classic question of fantastic literature: What is the future of the human race, and how will science and society improve or impair that future? This collection of essays explores the roles of children in the literature and film of the fantastic. The works vary in critical approach from textual analyses to psychological, historical, and gender- and ethnicity-based interpretations and draw their subject matter from contemporary and classic literary and film pieces."The Triumph of Teen Prop: Terminator II and the End of History" is a playful discussion of teen propaganda movies and social issues. "E.T. as Fairy Tale" examines how Stephen Spielberg's combination of science fiction, fantasy, and fairy tale elements blends logic and childhood magic. Howard M. Lenhoff connects mythical creatures with biology in "A Real-World Source for the 'Little People': A Comparison of Fairies to Individuals with Williams Syndrome." The literary selection ranges from Alida Allison's study of childhood in Isaac Bashevis Singer's writings to Bud Foote's interpretation of childhood roles in the characters of selected Stephen King works. Other essays consider Henry James'sThe Turn of the Screw, Anne Rice'sThe Witching Hour, and the childhood classicPeter Pan.

Author Biography

Gary Westfahl teaches at the University of California, Riverside. George Slusser is a professor of comparative literature and director of the Eaton Program for Science Fiction and Fantasy Studies at the University of California, Riverside.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction: Return to Innocence	p. ix
Fantastic Children: Overviews and Case Studies
Infant Joys: The Pleasures of Disempowerment in Fantasy and Science Fiction	p. 3
The Humpty Dumpty Effect, or Was the Old Egg Really All It Was Cracked Up to Be: Context and Coming of Age in Science Fiction and Fantasy	p. 20
Narrative Uses of Little Jewish Girls in Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories: Mediating Between Civilization and Its Own Savagery	p. 29
The Triumph of Teen-Prop: Terminator II and the End of History	p. 48
The Children of Science Fiction
The Forever Child: Ender's Game and the Mythic Universe of Science Fiction	p. 73
The Child as Alien	p. 91
Baby's Next Step: Uberkinder and the Burden of the Future	p. 100
E.T. as Fairy Tale	p. 111
The Children of Fantasy and Horror
Child Vision in the Fantasy of George MacDonald	p. 131
If Not Today, Then Tomorrow: Fact, Faith, and Fantasy in Isaac Bashevis Singer's Autobiographical Writings	p. 142
A Real-World Source for the "Little People": A Comparison of Fairies to Individuals with Williams Syndrome	p. 150
Coming of Age in Fantasyland: The Self-Parenting Child in Walt Disney Animated Films	p. 161
Nasty Boys, Feminine Longing, and Mourning the Mother in J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan and Anne Rice's The Witching Hour	p. 171
Unsealing Sense in The Turn of the Screw	p. 185
Getting Things in the Right Order: Stephen King's The Shining, The Stand, and It	p. 200
Contributors	p. 211
Index	p. 213
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