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What Is Mythical Hope in Children's and Young Adults’ Culture? – or: Sharing the Light

Author(s): Katarzyna Marciniak / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The chapter offers reflection on Classical Antiquity as a particularly important source for “Hope studies”. Beginning with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s retelling of Pandora’s myth, we travel beyond time and space – there and back again through poetry, prose, and art – in order to find the roots of Hope and to understand her multiple denotations. The chapter also introduces readers to the whole of the volume focused on showing how the authors of literary and audiovisual texts for children and young adults make use of ancient myths to support their young protagonists on the roads leading to adulthood and to create a powerful, uplifting message for the public.

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Playing with Life Uncertainties of Antiquity

Author(s): Véronique Dasen / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

A number of Attic and South Italian vases depict maidens playing various games together, with young men, or deities such as Aphrodite and Eros. The depictions convey a metaphorical discourse on the perception of love and marriage as risks for girls in prenuptial age. They are often based on verbal puns associated with the double meaning of paizô, ‘play’ and ‘play amorously’, or ‘toy with love emotions’. A divinatory dimensions appears in several games, reflecting the agency of maidens training to control their fate.

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“This Is the Modern Horse of Troy”

Author(s): Rachel Bryant Davies / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The preoccupation with playful pedagogy in nineteenth-century Britain, alongside the burgeoning publishing market, produced many products for children’s consumption in apparently transient formats such as board-games, theatrical souvenirs, and magazines. Classical myth, especially through cheap print, reached a wider social range than only those families with access to traditional, formal, classical education. Charting the Trojan Horse’s reincarnations across these media, this chapter examines how and why the Wooden Horse, usually symbolic of mythical destruction, became a quintessential toy: a hopeful symbol of the social and educational mobility promoted by children’s periodicals. The Trojan War myths were often retold in the guise of playful amusement. This chapter argues that, just as the mythical Horse smuggled Greek soldiers within Troy’s city walls, so entertaining accounts of the Horse secreted moral and ideological instruction, shaped by wider cultural discourses surrounding canonical epic literature and the accessibility of classical education.

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Myth and Suffering in Modern Culture

Author(s): Katarzyna Jerzak / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Using Cassirer’s fundamental ideas on mythical thinking developed in his "Philosophy of Symbolic Forms" (1923–1929), I analyze the persistence of myth in modern literature for children and youth. I focus first on two canonical authors, Oscar Wilde ("The House of Pomegranates") and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ("The Little Prince"), and demonstrate how they both formulate a mythical chronotope that allows for a combining of the two traditional literary forms, the myth and the fairy tale, into a seamless new authorial genre in which great importance is attached to a particular spatiotemporal setting. The issues of overcoming suffering, loss, and death are at the core of the two authors’ oeuvre. I then turn to the contemporary expression of the mythical chronotope. I analyze the direct and somewhat reductive renderings of the ancient Greek myths in Katherine Marsh’s "The Night Tourist" (2010) and "The Twilight Prisoner" (2014), which make overt use of, respectively, the story of Eurydice and the myth of Demeter and Persephone, but stage them both in twenty-first-century New York City and its Underworld. Space is crucial in these texts and combined with an uncanny warping of time, points to a mythical chronotope. In psychological terms, the original novel and its sequel deal with loss and mourning as well as with the role of friendship in adolescence. Last but not least, I analyze the video clips and the lyrics of the French artist Woodkid’s album, "The Golden Age" (2013). The music and the imagery were used by Ubisoft in their video game series "Assassin’s Creed", thus reaching millions of young people and children. I demonstrate how the ostensibly ultra-modern medium employs the mythical chronotope and mythical thinking in the depiction and overcoming of violence, trauma, and addiction. Mythical thinking, it seems, persists up to our era and the mythical chronotope lends itself to the depiction of suffering, grief, and, occasionally, resilience that accompany liminal rites of passage from childhood into adulthood.

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“For the Children”

Author(s): Marguerite Johnson / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This article explores the inclusion of more adult issues in retellings of Greek myths in children’s columns in Australian newspapers with a focus on the topic of the Great War. The case study here is from the column “For the Children”, published in the Australian Christian Commonwealth on 25 September 1914. This was a weekly newspaper from South Australia, first published in 1901, with its title reflecting the federation of the Australian colonies into one nation that year.

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Bandar-Log in Action

Author(s): Jan Kieniewicz / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The expression “bandar-log” was popular in Poland in the first half of the twentieth century among readers of Rudyard Kipling’s "The Jungle Book". Before WWI, in families of both the landed gentry and the intelligentsia, “bandar-log” served to describe unruly children. Thus, it referred to boisterous, frolicsome behaviours that clashed with the standards for proper child-rearing. Yet well-heeled children did have the right to vent their emotions – hence, the concept of “bandar-log”, borrowed from a “suitable” book, permitted acceptance, albeit fleeting, of behaviours otherwise frowned upon. The concept lost its meaning with the decline of good manners and the acceptance of a “playground model”, in which children’s behaviour was regulated not by readings, but by adaptation to their group. Nonetheless, “bandar-log” did persist after WWII in rump form, as an echo of a bygone world. My chapter addresses children’s behaviours during the wrenching transformations that are part and parcel of war and revolution, and their reflection in literature and mythology. Thus, I examine the loss of childhood as coupled with the destruction of the world – and its subsequent recreation.

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Ayi Kwei Armah’s "Two Thousand Seasons" and "Osiris Rising" as Pan-African Epics

Author(s): Divine Che Neba,Daniel Nkemleke / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The neocolonial theory formulated by Frantz Fanon ("Wretched of the Earth") continues to serve as an inspiration to most postcolonial writers, including Ayi Kwei Armah (b. 1939 in Ghana). Writers invested in this doctrine continue to inspire post-independent youths, who for many decades have been misled into believing that an upward trend in development in Africa is “a long day’s journey into the night”. Known for his extremely high visionary symbolism, poetic drive, and firm Pan-African vision, Armah, besides his engagement with the neocolonial theory, has taken another leap into dredging up the Egyptian regeneration myth of Osiris and Isis and other related myths in "Two Thousand Seasons" (1973) and "Osiris Rising: A Novel of Africa Past, Present and Future" (1995) as tools for reconstructing what has been fragmented by slavery, colonialism, and neocolonialism. Most of the characters in his writing are placed on an epic journey to liberate the Africa he envisions and they give hope to the new generations in the context of the immediate developmental needs of the continent.

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The Utopia of an Ideal Community

Author(s): Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This chapter focuses on the depiction of Atlantis in James Gurney’s "Dinotopia: The World Beneath" (1995). The island of Dinotopia is populated by humans and dinosaurs, who live together peacefully. Dinotopia originates from the sunken kingdom of Poseidos whose fate is inspired by the Atlantis myth. Furthermore, the Atlantis myth is connected with the history of Ancient Egypt, the Sumerians, Old China, and Classical Antiquity, thus creating a meta-myth. Moreover, the time frame of this meta-myth is extended into the past and the potential future by encompassing the Mesozoic era – the period of the dinosaurs – as well as references to advanced alien societies in outer space. The hybrid conceptual blending of these diverse cultural and mythical concepts provides a utopian social system. The peaceful cohabitation of dinosaurs and humans and the refusal of colonialism, suppression, and intolerance set up an exemplary and timeless model by transferring the Atlantis myth from a given historical moment to our present time.

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Mystery, Childhood and Meaning in Ursula Dubosarsky’s "The Golden Day"

Author(s): Elizabeth Hale / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Exploring the impact of classical intertextuality and historical references in literature for adolescent girls, this chapter focuses on "The Golden Day" by Australian author Ursula Dubosarsky. It considers how aspects of Australian and classical historical, mythological, and literary intertextuality contribute to presentation of young adult subjectivity and maturation in adolescent girlhood. Analysing the novel reveals how aspects of gothic, of mystery, of loss, of war, and of love, sex, art, and fantasy combine in a literary portrayal of adolescent girlhood and coming of age in 1960s Australia.

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When Is a Robot a Human?

Author(s): Babette Puetz / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This chapter discusses the role of hope in Bernard Beckett’s New Zealand young adult novel "Genesis" (2006). It looks at how the author employs allusions to ancient myth and philosophy (Plato) to place the topic in a wider context, in particular to shed light on the notion of false hope. Mainly, this chapter focuses on the novel’s protagonist Anax’s (false) hope, as expressed in her uncritical belief in her state’s ideology. It also explores the crucial part which myth plays in creating this false hope and how hope, in combination with myth, is employed by the author to give readers the misleading impression that Anax is human, rather than a robot. "Genesis’s" allusions to ancient myths help its readers place Anax’s and Adam’s (a human character) views and actions into a wider context and understand how hope, as an emotion which is central to our humanity, has always been a decisive motivator for human decision-making (both on the personal and on the state level) and for cultural progress, and will still be in the future.

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Hungry and Hopeful

Author(s): Helen Lovatt / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

A girl holds the key to the future of humanity: she has to choose between sacrificing herself and creating a new human race. In one version she is Iphigenia, in another Pandora. Mike Carey (or M.R. Carey) has now produced three versions of this story, all of which follow the child character Melanie through horrific trauma, which she navigates with the help of Greek myth. The first was a short story called "Iphigenia in Aulis", which appeared in an anthology of dark fantasy school stories, called "Apple for the Creature". This then developed into both a novel and a film script, both with the title "Girl with All the Gifts", referring to the myth of Pandora that takes over from Iphigenia. None of these are written for children, but they play with the conventions and expectations of children’s literature, especially the short story with its school setting. They feature strong focalisation, simple words, a child protagonist, and a child’s perspective. But Melanie is not just a child. All three stories also feature strong language, violence, and intensely adult themes. The novel and film were particularly successful among young adult audiences. The myths first emerge in the school-room, where Melanie falls in love both with them and with her teacher. They shape her identity as she struggles to understand her place in the world. Is she human or monster? Should she sacrifice herself and her kind, or carry out a generational coup? Greek myth, it seems, has quite a repertoire of characters who fear children at the same time as exploiting, even consuming them. This coming-of-age story shows a child setting the past in dialogue with the future in order to address some very big questions about what it means to be human and what it means to hope.

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"Percy Jackson" and Israeli Fan Fiction

Author(s): Lisa Maurice / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Adaptations and rewriting of existing works have been around as long as the works themselves have existed; in the words of Lev Grossman, “When Virgil wrote "The Aeneid", he didn’t invent Aeneas; Aeneas was a minor character in Homer’s "Odyssey" whose unauthorized further adventures Virgil decided to chronicle”. The Internet, however, has given new shape and life to a specific type of such reinterpretation, namely fan fiction. One of the most popular genres for fan fiction is fantasy, as amateur authors reinvent, rewrite and recast events and characters of their favourite novels. Series such as J.K. Rowling’s "Harry Potter" and Stephanie Meyer’s "Twilight" have given rise to a vast and ever growing number of fan fictions. Most interestingly for our purposes, Rick Riordan’s "Percy Jackson" books and their subsequent film versions, which were enormously popular in Israel, have given rise to a large body of such fiction. This paper provides an overview of fan fiction and its importance, and then examines "Percy Jackson" fan fiction in general, before honing in on such fan fiction in Israel, discussing how and why young Israeli fan-fiction writers have used the Percy Jackson series as inspiration for their own writing and exploring how this interpretation of Greek mythology enables them to engage with their own contemporary society.

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Images of Hope

Author(s): Katerina Volioti / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In this chapter, I discuss the text and illustrations in books of classical myth for children aged four and above. I place two books about the Olympians and Dionysos in the context of Modern Greece and examine the degree of Greekness in the illustrations by comparing them to ancient works of art, folklore elements, and contemporary material culture. I argue that the gods’ comfortable and carefree lifestyle could be a parody of (upper) middle-class living in the Western world. The gods may look modern, but they do not serve as credible models of happiness. Classical myth is cast back in the realm of a fantasy world, giving hope to young and adult audiences as fiction and entertainment. Readers may find additional hope as they develop a sense of belonging to a global community, sharing but also criticizing a consumerist lifestyle.

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Growing Up Manga Style

Author(s): Ayelet Peer / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Is Olympus our paradise or our cage which we must ruin? In children’s and young adults’ literature, growing up narratives or coming-of-age stories occupy a considerable part of the genre. The young hero is faced with difficult challenges, some of them life-threatening, which he must overcome in order to save others and be saved him- or herself. In order to become truly an adult, he or she must also find his or her way – alone, or with the help of friends. The crystallization of our hero’s character is constantly refined (and redefined) through his or her relations with the surroundings – measuring up to his or her rivals – as well as through interaction with his or her friends. This literary trope is very common in the Japanese medium of manga, especially the one aimed at young boys (shōnen manga). The prepubescent hero often finds himself alone (orphaned or as a cast-aside in a dysfunctional family) and he must prove his worth by gaining strength and, along the way, growing up. In this paper, I shall review how "Arion", an adolescent boy, the alleged son of Poseidon, is fighting his inner and outer demons on his own, in his quest to save his mother in Yoshikazu Yasuhiko 1980’s manga, "Arion". In the story, Olympus is a symbol of power, corruption, a broken promise. Our hero must break free from Olympus in order to form his own identity.

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"Et in" (Disney) "Arcadia ego"

Author(s): Anna Mik / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

"Fantasia" by Walt Disney Productions might be perceived as a true marriage of the so-called high and low culture – in this case classical music and children’s animation. Although those two blend and it is hard to distinguish what is for children and what for adults, this movie certainly might be perceived as a true masterpiece combining various motifs, both from popular culture and art. Among them stand out motifs received from Antiquity – full of hopes for the world to come – serving also as a metaphor for cosmic and social isolation.In the 1940s, war was obviously one of the major everyday topics, and this also is reflected in "Fantasia" – even if not literally. The fight takes place somewhere else – at the foot of the Mountain Olympus – where centaurs have been trapped in an oppressive social cage. Chauvinism, racism, and general social conflict are still there, very often criticized, but never reformulated. In the article I investigate where to find the mythical hope, an important factor in creating children’s perception and sensitivity in a world constantly faced with intolerance.

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Between Hope and Destiny in the Young Adult Television Series "Once Upon a Time", Season 5, Episodes 12–21 (2016)

Author(s): Elżbieta Olechowska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

"Once Upon a Time" (2011–2018), a seven-season-long television series inspired by fairy tales, especially those from the Disney library, includes ten episodes that dig deeper into the past, reaching the world of Greek mythology, also in its Disneyan variety. Heroes and villains armed with hope struggle for a better future against their destiny and longstanding stereotyped image. The motif of fate – less as an implacable and unavoidable Fatum, and more as the uplifting sense of destiny – is accompanied by the concept of hope, essential for maintaining the interest and viewing pleasure of young audiences.

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Kotick the Saviour

Author(s): Jerzy Axer / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Rudyard Kipling’s short story "The White Seal", published in 1893 and incorporated into his "Jungle Book" a year later, is amenable to multiple interpretations. Today, the dominating approach to this story is influenced by criticism of postcolonial literature. The author offers a different insight by considering an underexploited layer of the text. He proposes to unravel the web of mythological/religious references and radical ecological demands – a web that determines the story’s originality and makes its animal protagonist, Kotick the White Seal, a bearer of hope for the readers also in our times.

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All Is (Not) Lost

Author(s): Krzysztof Rybak / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The article is a case study of "Bezsenność Jutki" [Jutka’s Insomnia] by the Polish author Dorota Comrzyńska-Nogala (2012). The eponymous character is imprisoned in the Łódź ghetto, where the only way to forget about the horror of the Holocaust is by listening to her grandfather’s bedtime stories, including the Cretan myth about Daedalus, the Minotaur, Theseus, and Ariadne. Drawing on bibliotherapy, I argue that these stories serve as therapeutic tools for Jutka and give her hope for a better future. Simultaneously, "Bezsenność Jutki" may be seen as a book granting the young readers hope, despite representing the Holocaust and atrocities of WWII.

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Orphic Resonances of Love and Loss in David Almond’s "A Song for Ella Grey"

Author(s): Owen Hodkinson / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

David Almond’s "A Song for Ella Grey" (2014) is a thoroughly modern young adult novel, which explores the loves (familial, romantic, friendly, and “complicated”) and the losses of a group of ordinary-seeming seventeen-year-old school pupils in the north of England, by weaving the myth of a returned, young-again Orpheus into their lives. The narrator Claire is the best friend of Ella Grey, who dies unexpectedly after being bitten by adders (Britain’s only venomous snake – but not venomous enough to kill humans) shortly after a makeshift “marriage” to Orpheus conducted on the beach by their friends. Claire and her friends learn much about love and loss through their shared experiences throughout the novel, while their learning about literature at school provides one frame of reference for making their very individual and localised stories (complete with Tyneside dialect as well as scenery) universal. Claire and other characters question the relevance of “ancient” stories to their real lives, thus inviting the reader to pose similar questions. In a metaliterary manner, Claire, as narrator, also problematises the novel’s integration of ancient myths that “have no place” in the modern world, and that cannot be explained in that world’s terms; as a character, she questions whether the events she described could really have taken place, only to dismiss such doubts – but again, the reader is invited to ask the same questions, and to wonder whether it was simply “the madness of being young, the madness of knowing love for the first time”.

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“I Found Hope Again That Night…”

Author(s): Katarzyna Marciniak / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The tale of "Beauty and the Beast", rooted in the ancient myth of Eros and Psyche, ranks among the most engaging stories of our culture, as the overwhelming success of its recent Disney version attests. It appeals to both young and old, because it deals with the timeless ideas of love, loyalty, courage, loss, and the search – beneath surface appearance – for authentic values worthy of the highest sacrifice. Among the myriad versions of the tale (Disney’s 1991 animation and 2017 movie being the most famous ones), a very particular retelling has been chosen as the subject for this chapter – the TV series "Beauty and the Beast" (1987–1990) created by Ron Koslow and his team. Deemed “too strange to succeed”, it was nonetheless broadcast globally and followed by more than 19 million viewers at its acme, and still enjoys hosts of devoted fans today. Set in New York, the global metropolis in the New World that has never severed its ties with the Old Continent and its ancient history, the series lifts contemporary civilization into the realm of myth. It universalizes the emotions of young and mature protagonists and acquaints the audience with classical culture – in the broadest meaning of the term – through numerous references to such authors as Virgil, Ovid, Shakespeare, Dickens, and Rilke, and to masterpieces of music by Schubert, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, and Vivaldi. The chapter offers an analysis of the ancient heritage present in the series, with a particular focus on the first season’s episode 8, “Song of Orpheus”, which deals with the most traumatic experience – the death of a loved one – and which shows how a seemingly devastating descent into the Underworld might turn into a quest for hope.

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