Essay On The Ocean At The End Of The Lane

In The Ocean at the End of the Lane it is clear that adults and children see the world differently from believing in the impossible, to a child’s curiosity, and the “undefeatable” adult.
As children we live in a world of wonder and curiosity and this book has several examples of that. The first instance of this we see in chapter four. “And, because Lettie was speaking the language of shaping, I understood what was said. The thing in the clearing was being bound to that place for always, trapped, forbidden to exercise its influence on anything beyond its own domain.” (Gaiman, 58). The fact that the narrator is not even phased that Lettie is speaking a completely different language to trap some “creature” from a different domain shows the open mindedness of children. Any other normal human being would have run in the other direction; however, any child even if they are
In chapter eight the narrator states “But, Lettie was hast a girl, even if she was a big girl, even if she was eleven, even if she had been eleven for a very long time. Ursula Monkton was an adult. It did not matter, at that moment, that she was every monster, every witch, every nightmare made flesh. She was also an adult, and when adults fight children, adults always win.” (Gaiman, 114). Children believe that adults are unstoppable beings that can only be beaten by other adults. In his mind all he can ask himself is how can he fight someone with so much more power than I? The way he describes Ursula also shows that he fears adults. “They will make me go back with them, and then she’ll lock me in the attic and let my daddy kill me when she gets bored.” (Gaiman, 124). To kid’s adults can be the good guys or the bad guys. However, if they do turn they are more terrifying then the creatures that bump in the night. Our parents are supposed to be the ones to protect us not hurt us. So how is a seven-year-old supposed to react when his father tries to kill