Should children be exposed to any violence in literature? It was suggested to me that it is inappropriate for children to experience any kind of violence in books. Excepting graphic and gratuitous violence as unacceptable at any age, classic tales do contain violent elements at time which lend to the story. When there are witches and villains they do need to be slain.
I had always thought that classic tales contained this element of good triumphing over evil as an empowerment for children. It says that you can fight evil and win. In life it is unfortunately not always so easy to know the evil or to subdue it. But life is filled with good and bad. It is unrealistic to not let children in on this secret which they probably have figured out by the age of four at any rate.
Do we ban the Jabberwocky with its brilliant language? It suggests that it is run through and through even though we don’t really know what it is. Even though the poem makes no sense Alice says it makes her have thoughts, even though she doesn’t know what they are. Wouldn’t it better to have a thought than have all your thinking done by someone else.
Most of the tension in good literature is between good and evil. That seems to be the tension of life choosing the good over the evil. The ten commandments have dominated our thoughts and cultures with a set of laws that tells us what is good and what is not.
The best teaching of young children is to help them have thoughts. We give them language so they can think about things. We give them experiences so they can think about things. And in the final analysis thinking is of more value than rote learning.
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Hi I am doing research on violence in young children’s literature for a class I am taking I also teach preschoolers. What are your feelings on stories like Hensel and Gretel. Wouldn’t young children be afraid that their parents could leave them. Should these stories be introduced at a young age?