Anne Of Green Gables - Essay
Anne Of Green Gables - Essay
Anne Of Green Gables is a work of children’s literature written by Lucy Maud Montgomery and was first published in 1908. The social and cultural understanding of children depicted during the period in which this novel is set differs greatly from the understandings and expectations of children in today’s society. In the novel Anne Of Green Gables, children are depicted as more of a possession to be moulded by their families, children were expected to act ‘respectably’ and ‘sensibly’ even from an early age and to listen to and show respect to their elders, which differs from today’s society where children are allowed to play and any inappropriate behaviour can be chalked up to ‘kids being kids’. There are still some similarities to today’s cultural understanding of children and those displayed in the book. For example, in Anne Of Green Gables the importance of schooling and education is one of the key elements and this is also recognised in today’s society as being a vital aspect of a child’s upbringing. Another difference in cultural understanding is the aspect of a child’s part in the family, particularly orphans. In the time the novel is set, orphans are down cast and regarded virtually as ‘slaves’. However, not only orphans played different roles in the family, all children were expected to do more housework and contribute more constructively to the running of a household than what is expected in today’s society. Anne Of Green Gables also shows the slightly sexist stereotypes of male and female roles in the family and the behaviour expected of both of them. This essay explores all of the above points, and provides commentary from both a literary and historical point of view.
Within the work of children’s literature Anne Of Green Gables the importance of a child’s schooling is clearly evident. This is first seen when Marilla Cuthbert, not even having ‘officially’ adopted Anne Shirley yet merely placing her on ‘trial’ decides to
Anne Of Green Gables is a work of children’s literature written by Lucy Maud Montgomery and was first published in 1908. The social and cultural understanding of children depicted during the period in which this novel is set differs greatly from the understandings and expectations of children in today’s society. In the novel Anne Of Green Gables, children are depicted as more of a possession to be moulded by their families, children were expected to act ‘respectably’ and ‘sensibly’ even from an early age and to listen to and show respect to their elders, which differs from today’s society where children are allowed to play and any inappropriate behaviour can be chalked up to ‘kids being kids’. There are still some similarities to today’s cultural understanding of children and those displayed in the book. For example, in Anne Of Green Gables the importance of schooling and education is one of the key elements and this is also recognised in today’s society as being a vital aspect of a child’s upbringing. Another difference in cultural understanding is the aspect of a child’s part in the family, particularly orphans. In the time the novel is set, orphans are down cast and regarded virtually as ‘slaves’. However, not only orphans played different roles in the family, all children were expected to do more housework and contribute more constructively to the running of a household than what is expected in today’s society. Anne Of Green Gables also shows the slightly sexist stereotypes of male and female roles in the family and the behaviour expected of both of them. This essay explores all of the above points, and provides commentary from both a literary and historical point of view.
Within the work of children’s literature Anne Of Green Gables the importance of a child’s schooling is clearly evident. This is first seen when Marilla Cuthbert, not even having ‘officially’ adopted Anne Shirley yet merely placing her on ‘trial’ decides to