It's the end of Narnia as we know it

[vovat]

My goal of re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia has now come to fruition, now that I've completed The Last Battle. This might be my least favorite book in the series, because it's kind of a downer. Yes, I know all the good guys get to live in Paradise at the end, but there's still the sense that they couldn't win their own way, and the protagonists being frustrated in their goals often makes for a less pleasant read. And really, is Narnia's end particularly grand? The land had survived and recovered from the White Witch's enchantment and the Telmarine occupation, yet an ape con-man who dresses a donkey in a lion skin in an attempt to get a bunch of fruit and nuts marks the end of the world. The Narnian world seems to be very short-lived anyway. C.S. Lewis' own timeline says that it was only around for 2555 years. Even the most fervent Young-Earth Creationists say that our own world has already lasted longer, and Jadis in The Magician's Nephew speaks of Charn's final stage (with the red, cold sun) as having lasted "hundreds of thousands of years." I did like the appearance of Tash, though.


The single-volume edition of the Chronicles also includes an essay by Lewis, entitled "On Three Ways of Writing for Children." These three ways are writing what you think children want, writing with particular children in mind, and writing a children's story because it's the best way of saying what you want to say. He refers to the first one as "generally a bad way," and I think I would have to agree. That's the kind of thinking where people use half-assed marketing research and pop psychology to come out with something that's supposedly what some narrow audience wants, and it probably results in crap more often than not. Lewis goes on to defend children's fantasy, writing, "I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children's story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children's story." He also makes a good point when he says, "They accuse of arrested development because we have not lost a taste we had in childhood. But surely arrested development consists not in refusing to lose old things but in failing to add new things?" That's part of why I tend to get annoyed when people insist they've "outgrown" some book or band or something. Perhaps the word is appropriate in certain cases, but it carries the connotation that this something must be childish and immature. I remember an argument on the alt.music.tmbg newsgroup about whether it was possible to "outgrow" They Might Be Giants. My thought on the matter was that, yes, some people stop liking them as their tastes change, and that's perfectly fine. But to use the word "outgrow" implies that people who still like TMBG as they grow older are somehow immature.

This also ties into something I was thinking of not too long ago, regarding how I see the terms "adult" and "grown-up." To me, the former is mostly a matter of responsibility, and the latter a matter of dignity. "Grown-up" seems to me to carry a sense of snootiness and imagined superiority than "adult" doesn't. Does anyone else see it that way, or am I alone?

You scored as Jean Grey. Jean Grey is likely the most powerful X-Man. She loves Cyclops very much but she has a soft spot for Wolverine. She's psychic so she can sense how others are feeling and tries to help them. She also has to control her amazing powers or the malevolent Phoenix entity could take control of her and wreak havok. Powers: Telekinetic, Telepathic </td> Jean Grey 50% Nightcrawler 45% Wolverine 45% Colossus 40% Cyclops 40% Storm 35% Iceman 35% Rogue 35% Beast 30% Gambit 30% Emma Frost 25% Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

HARTFORD! You scored 48% Style, 36% Climate, and 45% Culture!

You are Hartford, Connecticut. Hartford, located at the end of the navigable portion of the Connecticut River, was settled in 1623 as a Dutch trading post. In 1636, a group of English settlers left Massachusetts and formed a colony here. The settlers made peace with the local Algonquin Indians, who called the town Saukiog, and renamed it after Hertford, England. Shaped by the social and economic forces which gave rise to industrial growth in America, Hartford grew and prospered as successive waves of immigrants came to work, build and settle in the community. This ethnic and cultural diversity continues to be a prominent part of Hartford's heritage and one of the city's greatest assets. Hartford also became an important cultural and communications center. The nations oldest public art museum, the Wadsworth Athenaeum, was founded in 1844. Supported by prominent benefactors like J.P. Morgan, the museum grew to become one of the top ten art museums in the country. Authors like Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe were drawn to the area, because, as Twain said "of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see, this is the chief." You have landed yourself in a more laid back city because you are not fond of typical city crowds and city folk, but would probably be happier in a smaller town. You also don't mind the change in seasons, even though you prefer more sunshine and warm weather to the opposite. You probably enjoy a good film or art show every now and then, but more often than not, you just like to kick back and enjoy the outdoors and nature. You could stand to be a bit more open-minded because it would make you all the more well-rounded. Hartford fits you alright, although you'd probably do well in the countryside, too, far from the hustle, bustle, and stress of the city.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 80% on Style You scored higher than 47% on Climate You scored higher than 29% on Culture

Link: The Which Major U.S. City Are You? Test written by weeredII on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

That's pretty cool. I get the feeling that I'd enjoy living in New England, if it didn't get so friggin' cold and snowy in the winter.

This was zimbra1006's quiz, which I might have actually taken before, but I can't remember.


A Nerd!
Your quest for knowledge makes you blissfully
unaware of things like fashion and pop culture.
You are the smartest person in every room you
walk into. You have a hard time approaching
members of the opposite sex, but that's okay,
because you'll most likely become a millionaire
some day and finally get that cheerleader or
sexy chess team captain to go out with you.


What Kind of Social Outcast Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


Last night, bethje gave me my final Christmas present, which was a DVD set of the two Ghostbusters movies. I'd been wanting to watch them again, so it was a good gift. I actually knew about it beforehand, so it wasn't a surprise or anything, but still.

Comments

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Ooo, I want to read that essay! This is in the multivolume book that has the big golden Aslan head on the cover? I think my library has that edition. I know I definitely fall into the third way to write for children, with my own writing-- I mean it's not like I ever set out to write CHILDREN'S books, that's just the stories that come out. Although it probably has more to do with me primarily READING nothing but children's books in the first place. And I'm way for the "I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children's story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children's story" theory. Ah, Clive, I knew there was a reason I loved you!

Hey, I gave my hubby that Ghostbusters DVD set for Christmas, too! I like the little booklet inside.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

This is in the multivolume book that has the big golden Aslan head on the cover?

Yes, that's it exactly.

I mean it's not like I ever set out to write CHILDREN'S books, that's just the stories that come out.

Yeah, I think other children's authors have said the same kind of thing. Didn't J.K. Rowling say that she wasn't really setting out to write a children's book when she came up with Harry Potter? Of course, the main characters in that series are children, so that might have sealed the deal for the publishers, even if it didn't for Rowling herself.

I haven't actually opened the Ghostbusters box yet, but I'll be sure to check out the booklet when I do. Speaking of which, Beth and I noticed that the front of the box doesn't credit the guy who played Winston. What's with that?

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

J.K. Rowling said she didn't set out to write a fantasy, either, which I remember caused a bit of a stink with people claiming that she said she didn't think HP was a fantasy, or worse that she didn't LIKE fantasy, which was all just perfectly silly. I think probably Setting Out to write a Specific Kind of thing is probably a bad move in general. Let the genre and reading level flow naturally from the story, I say....

Speaking of which, Beth and I noticed that the front of the box doesn't credit the guy who played Winston. What's with that?
I noticed that too. Maybe they thought he wasn't famous enough to be listed with the other more famous guys? In which case, it's a vicious circle, isn't it?

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, I think part of the problem is that people see "fantasy" as having to fit a specific mold, rather than just being a type of story in which fantastic stuff can happen. Like, I've seen a few people on the discworld community bring up the idea that they don't think Discworld is fantasy, because it's satirical and deals with larger philosophical issues. I don't see how that's incompatible with being fantasy, though. I guess it's just that, when there are a lot of people writing mass-produced, by-the-numbers Genre Fiction, the authors who come up with GOOD books (or, in some cases, the people who read those books) want to distance themselves from the actual genres.

Maybe they thought he wasn't famous enough to be listed with the other more famous guys?

Probably. When it comes down to it, though, I can't think of anything else that Harold Ramis was in either.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

I think he was a writer and director mostly-- maybe he got top billing because he actually made the movie?

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's probably the case.

[loz]

It has to be said, there were moments where Lewis really knew what he was talking about. His comments in regards children's literature are especially asute, even more so when you consider the era he wrote them. The history of children's literature (both its existence and its perceived value) is so tarnished, it is a wonder we have any at all.

However, I believe there is a certain measure of writing what you think children want, or at least, writing what an audience would want. You have to be aware of conventions and know how to use them, even if, when the time comes to it, you break them.

Most children want a linear narrative - and no this isn't true for all children, but you have to be aware of this. Similarly, most children like reading about a protagonist who is slightly older than themselves and like having an antagonist or source of conflict. As a general rule, books with 5 or more words per page which a child does not understand is not a book children will want (or be able) to read.

Most of these are general narrative conventions which appeal to adults also and appear in adult literature. So whilst I agree that if you're only writing a certain way because you think this is what children want and you can make lots of money sponging off their impressionable minds and their parents' wallets, you're a bad writer - I also think that you have to consider what children do want and be in touch with the child's perspective (not so different from an adults in some ways, and oh so different in others). It more often comes down to why you "think" you know what children want.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

However, I believe there is a certain measure of writing what you think children want, or at least, writing what an audience would want.

Yeah, you're probably right. In a way, it comes down to the difference between "this is something I think a kid would enjoy" or "this is something I would have liked as a kid" on one side, and "this is something that follows the proper formula" on the other. I think when people say they aren't writing with an audience in mind, they're usually at least hoping that it will be something that SOMEBODY else would enjoy reading, and making certain choices with that in mind. It's rare for anyone to write in a total vacuum, after all.