The secular angel in contemporary children's literature: David ...

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Materials, and finally to observe the humanized angel as he treads between right and wrong, and chooses the path he will follow, aiding and being aided in the process by a half-human half-angel. What I aim to show and argue through the analysis of the following three chapters is the fact that the three authors in question have selected a stereotypically religious figure, but placed it within a secular, albeit still spiritual, framework. Within it, they complicate and challenge ideas of religion, responsibility, and good and evil, while emphasizing, through their characters, that morality and ethical codes can and do exist outside religion and in the absence of a God figure. 44
CHAPTER ONE DAVID ALMOND’S SKELLIG Introduction Skellig is a work of magical realism written for children and young adults in 1998 by David Almond. The book has three protagonists: two humans, Michael and Mina, and a creature that is ‘‘something like a beast, something like a bird, something like an angel…” that defies definition and raises many questions pertaining to both religion and science (Almond, 2007, 167). Apart from these three characters, there is one more figure who dominates the story and actively influences the characters and their actions, and that is William Blake. As briefly discussed in the Introduction, Blake provides an intertextual framework for the story and assumes the role of an active participant in the narrative, for it is not only his songs that are sung and his poems recited; certain ideologies and beliefs that the poet and artist held also become vital to the novel and, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that Almond uses the story to explore Blake’s ideas and show how they are still relevant in the secular contemporary world. Therefore, the first issue to be analysed and discussed in this chapter is intertextuality in Skellig and the work of William Blake. I will look at the collection of poems Songs of Innocence and of Experience more closely, and through them I argue that Almond’s engagement with Blake is not only used aesthetically or in a supplementary manner to simply construct and complete the characters of Mina and her mother, but the characters are identified most closely with Blake’s ideologies—which will be explored later in the chapter. Instead, his poems, as well as some of his more general convictions towards several issues, such as education and the natural world, are organically fused within the narrative. Mina and her mother personify and teach these beliefs, what their benefits are, and the extent to which embracing them can be radical and eye-opening. Skellig, on the other hand, appears to be a 45
Page 1 and 2: THE SECULAR ANGEL IN CONTEMPORARY C
Page 3 and 4: ABSTRACT This thesis explores the r
Page 5 and 6: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I believe this thes
Page 7 and 8: Faith vs. Science & Innocence vs. E
Page 9 and 10: INTRODUCTION This thesis explores t
Page 11 and 12: to one’s morality based on the et
Page 13 and 14: part-angel, part-human, and through
Page 15 and 16: subject of angels, is indicative of
Page 17 and 18: the Book of Enoch (or 1 Enoch) and
Page 19 and 20: God with the scientific notion of D
Page 21 and 22: (Keck, 1998, 69). McNish’s angels
Page 23 and 24: your small existences?’ ‘But yo
Page 25 and 26: 1980, 7). In order to grasp Blake a
Page 27 and 28: and, in the final analysis, its som
Page 29 and 30: was the strongest and kindest of al
Page 31 and 32: This reference to Blake points to o
Page 33 and 34: deconstruction-, its function “is
Page 35 and 36: childhood. Almond has mainly used d
Page 37 and 38: argument, and the heroes of the sto
Page 39 and 40: act of killing God, to the slow sec
Page 41 and 42: mentioned, the intertextual element
Page 43 and 44: meaning of words” (Allen, 2000, 3
Page 45 and 46: Transformation Transformation is a
Page 47 and 48: narrative the process is set into m
Page 49 and 50: secondly, it bears testament to Fre
Page 51: the crude awakening of the fact tha
Page 55 and 56: appalling at first. His first meeti
Page 57 and 58: him, and serves as a mirror through
Page 59 and 60: are some of the parallels that can
Page 61 and 62: Blake & Intertextuality William Bla
Page 63 and 64: With these verses she is signalling
Page 65 and 66: Blakean passages that Almond has in
Page 67 and 68: a process which ultimately leads hi
Page 69 and 70: Michael’s mother, who faces a cer
Page 71 and 72: are not only symbolic and allegoric
Page 73 and 74: the first time, whereas Skellig has
Page 75 and 76: Mina read the sentences out loud. S
Page 77 and 78: see and closely observe the two met
Page 79 and 80: Mina is the one who teaches Michael
Page 81 and 82: however, does not constitute the ep
Page 83 and 84: that such a change in our nature an
Page 85 and 86: trepidation, there is no surprise w
Page 87 and 88: doctors whose responsibility it is
Page 89 and 90: have ultimately learned and exercis
Page 91 and 92: This very process of change, of bot
Page 93 and 94: may be offered along the way, this
Page 95 and 96: of by doctors, Michael tries to hel
Page 97 and 98: this entire process for Michael and
Page 99 and 100: in Almond and McNish’s work, as b
Page 101 and 102: witnesses the wings on his own back
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character and an idea. The artist
Page 105 and 106:
Pullman wished for this story to re
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concepts. As a result, the Fall’s
Page 109 and 110:
case of these three authors it is i
Page 111 and 112:
Malone, who often voices opinions s
Page 113 and 114:
Roger, true fear and loneliness ove
Page 115 and 116:
egins by gathering all the elements
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intertextual umbrella under which t
Page 119 and 120:
driven by malevolence and revenge.
Page 121 and 122:
have to be considered as they are d
Page 123 and 124:
drawn between the two girls, Lyra a
Page 125 and 126:
the end of the GC where Lord Asriel
Page 127 and 128:
considered preferable or superior i
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act is what brought sin into the wo
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punishment for disobedience is not
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work of the General Oblation Board
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Especially in the case of Asriel, h
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Lyra finds Dr. Mary Malone, a scien
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opposite to the religious one; whil
Page 141 and 142:
subject to the laws of optics. They
Page 143 and 144:
homosexuality to child readers as p
Page 145 and 146:
could be, according to Schweizer, a
Page 147 and 148:
as adults. Although she knows what
Page 149 and 150:
conception of the angel Uriel” as
Page 151 and 152:
however, could be intentional on th
Page 153 and 154:
‘I propose to send a man to find
Page 155 and 156:
substitution of this erroneous fait
Page 157 and 158:
come after death. In this way, Pull
Page 159 and 160:
towards adulthood is not always rel
Page 161 and 162:
Pullman parallels childhood and inn
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double significance. In Lyra’s ca
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Instead, he seems to willingly and
Page 167 and 168:
and its innocence, as well as the s
Page 169 and 170:
eligious views myself, and therefor
Page 171 and 172:
The issue of intertextuality is not
Page 173 and 174:
style: shining, fully-robed, [their
Page 175 and 176:
fails to pass the first time. Freya
Page 177 and 178:
McNish appears to harbour the idea
Page 179 and 180:
species closer together to the poin
Page 181 and 182:
this point, it is important to atte
Page 183 and 184:
guardian angels was as conscious as
Page 185 and 186:
has created his own moral code and
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where Luke and Tate are standing in
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2011, 100). He writes that the Jewi
Page 191 and 192:
with this everlasting feeling of de
Page 193 and 194:
to assist and comfort each other. W
Page 195 and 196:
Faith vs. Science and Innocence vs.
Page 197 and 198:
education, and social structures wh
Page 199 and 200:
in angels is not out of the convict
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McNish’s portrayal of innocence a
Page 203 and 204:
All this changes when Freya first m
Page 205 and 206:
enters a state of experience which
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The debate between state-school edu
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or strict, he also draws attention
Page 211 and 212:
following peer victimization” (Tr
Page 213 and 214:
Stephanie feel accepted and more se
Page 215 and 216:
house. Furthermore, he has also had
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Stephanie wants to become her frien
Page 219 and 220:
called from the window. ‘It’s n
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elationship with Stephanie and its
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This he exemplifies both in Mestraa
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thesis, however, it was argued and
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increasingly accurate perceptions o
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interesting things” (Franks, 2011
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strength of the book, and I made ea
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225
Page 235 and 236:
227
Page 237 and 238:
Anonymous, “A Dark Agenda?” Sur
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Bleich, D. (1978) Subjective Critic
Page 241 and 242:
Chambers, A. (1985) Booktalk: Occas
Page 243 and 244:
Damon, S.F., Eaves, M. (1988) A Bla
Page 245 and 246:
Fairer, D. (2002) “Experience Rea
Page 247 and 248:
Gibbs, N. (1993) “Angels Among Us
Page 249 and 250:
Hunt, P. (1994) An Introduction to
Page 251 and 252:
Kochenderfer-Ladd, B., Troop-Gordon
Page 253 and 254:
Manlove, C. (1999) The Fantasy Lite
Page 255 and 256:
Mishna, F., Scarcello, I., Pepler,
Page 257 and 258:
Pfeiffer, J. (1999) “‘Dream not
Page 259 and 260:
Rosenblatt, L. M. (1982) “The Lit
Page 261 and 262:
Squires, C. (2004) Philip Pullman
Page 263 and 264:
Warner, N.O. (1982) “The Iconic M
Page 265:
Yampbell, C. (2005) “Judging a Bo
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