Child Narrative

[xxhannyjxx]

I'm an A level student, hoping to apply for English Literature and Creative writing next year. I'm currently working on my personal statement, in which I mention Harper Lee's use of child narrative through Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird. My lecturer has warned me that this will invite questions in an interview! Can anyone help we by letting me know authors who have adopted similar techniques so that I can compare and contrast to prepare myself!
Thanks

 

[silverseason]

By child narrative, I assume you mean that an adult story is being told from the child's point of view and the narration is limited to what the child could know and understand.

The danger of this approach is that the reader may assume that this is a book for children and, indeed, children may read it but cannot understand as much as an adult does of what is going on. Two examples that come to mind are Alice in Wonderland and Huckleberry Finn. Alice is not told in first person, but just the same, it all happens from her point of view. Her matter-of-fact acceptance of strange happenings and sensible responses are what make the story work.

Huckleberry Finn is notorious for arousing readers who fume "Why couldn't he have seen that slavery is wrong!" So long as Huck accepts conventional morality (slavery=property rights=good) he is acceptable in the community. When his moral compass heads north and he helps an escaped slave, then he has to head south.

Neither of these books can be fully appreciated by children, although children tell the story.

 

[xxhannyjxx]

Thanks very much, two excellent recommenations, I'm sure
The idea of slavery will tie in with some of the themes in To Kill a Mockingbird. Also, Lewis Carroll uses a lot of mathematical ideas in his Alice novels, which I will be able to link to my Maths A Level. You're brilliant, I can't tell you how much you've helped!

 

[Stewart]

Off the top of my head, narratives told from the point of view of a child are The Catcher In The Rye (JD Salinger), The God Boy (Ian Cross), Black Swan Green (David Mitchell), and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (Roddy Doyle).

 

[abecedarian]

Death in the Family by James Agee is a good one, told through the eyes of a six-year old boy.