Annotated Bibliography: Midterm Paper

Annotated Bibliography

Gilead, Sarah. "Magic Abjured: Closure in Children’s Fantasy Fiction." PMLA
106.2 (1991): 277-93. JSTOR. Web. 9 March 2010. . Gilead examines children’s literature from the adult reader’s perspective. She suggests that “a return-to-reality closure” often happens in children’s fantasy literature, “reestablishing the fictional reality of the opening” of the story (Gilead 277). She states that although this pattern seems to occur often in this type of literature there are three different types of mode and meaning with a return-to-reality ending. “The Return as Bildung”, in which the child undergoes either moral, psychological, and intellectual development during their journey through the fantasy, “The Return as Narrative Repression” that rejects the fantasy by failing to understand its meaning and ignoring its power of influence, and “The Return as Tragic Ambiguity” where the return becomes unclear and the child misses the closure between what is fantasy and reality (Gilead 285). This article is useful for those that wish to explore not only the different types of fantasy fictions, but the psychological process that the child hero undergoes through their influence of the fantasy realm.

Morgan, David. "The Father's Shadow/Father's Body." Journal of Religion and Health 34.3 (1995): 219-32. JSTOR. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. . Morgan stresses the importance of the father’s shadow for his son living a significant life. He first finds this essential meaning of the father’s shadow in the myth of Cronos and his son Zeus. This myth conveys how Cronos’ son is able to connect to his father’s body through his illusive shadow. The valuable meaning of the father’s shadow is based on research conducted by a developing men’s group. Morgan takes a phallus dream analyzed by C.G. Jung that highlights the importance of the father and son body connection in determining the success of the son’s imaginative growth. This article will be useful for those researching a son’s creative development and how it can be influenced by their relationship with their father.

Payne, Michael. "What Difference Has Theory Made? From Freud to Adam Phillips." College Literature 32.2 (2005): 1-15. JSTOR. Web. 9 Mar. 2010. . Payne recognizes that Adam Phillips has gained a reputation in understanding and explaining Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Therefore through Adam Phillips work, we can better comprehend Freud’s theory and our understanding of children. He suggests that psychoanalytic theory has been useful in viewing the child’s perceptive of life, and how it is possible for a child to comprehend their own gender experience. He greatly affirms the idea that theory is how we view the world, how we see our mistakes and are able to learn from them. This article can be useful to those interested in understanding Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and its effect on understanding child development and our view of the world.

Peters, R.S. "Freud's Theory." British Journal for the Philosphy of Science 7.25 (1956): 4-12. JSTOR. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. . Peters takes Sigmund Freud’s theories and summarizes them in this article, so that it may be useful to compare his theories with others. He begins with the preservation of equilibrium where he discusses human instincts, and then discusses the mechanisms or “techniques of defence” on the ego. He then summarizes the development of sexual desires and its stages in the mind, and lastly the genetic expectations of childhood influences and how they become impressionable through development of character. Morgan’s effort is to compile as clearly as possible Freud’s main principles.

Stott, Jon C. "Midsummer Night’s Dream: Fantasy and Self-Realization in Children’s
Fiction." The Lion and the Unicorn 1.2 (1977): 25-39. Project Muse. Web. 4 March 2010. . Stott explains the two types of structural patterns of a journey that the child hero in literature experiences. The first one is the linear journey where the hero ventures from Point A to Point B. It is clear to the reader why the protagonist goes through the journey and how he or she reaches their final destination (Stott 25). However, Stott chooses to focus on the second type of journey, the circular journey, in which the hero returns to the same point he started from. Stott states that the hero in this type of journey desires to escape his “normal” world and thereby enters into a fantasy world where his experiences allow him to return home changed and matured. Although fantasy worlds stray away from reality they serve an important purpose of inner growth and supply a clearer understanding of life. This article is useful for those trying to understanding the usefulness of a child exploring their imagination and what they can learn from it.