I was considering doing a paper on the roles of children within science fiction. It seems as if children usually fill some sort of mystical, supernatural, or super human role within science fiction stories, such as Ender in Ender's Game and the Brahmins in River of Gods, and I think it be interesting to examine different instances of this phenomenon as well as why it exists.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns?
Nice Monty Python reference. Sounds like an interesting topic
ReplyDeleteIt's a good idea. I think children can be special in science fiction because they are inclined to adapt to changes better than other characters, especially when a new technology is introduced rather than when an alternate version of reality is presented. It can also be a little bit of a cop-out when the author doesn't have to worry about an adult dealing with the cognitive dissonance between their past and the strange new technology introduced in the story.
ReplyDeleteThe Matrix does this "We don't bring people out of the matrix once they pass a certain age," and also with the children who can bend spoons and levitate things. And Star Wars, with Yoda saying, "He is too old to train."
In our class, the Juniper Tree deals with this issue as Roz and her father Jack have to deal with the different people and culture on the moon colony. Roz seems be the one having problems adjusting until Jack kills her boyfriend and all of a sudden doesn't seem to be as okay with the moon culture's attitudes toward sex.
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ReplyDeleteThe headstrong girl in "Under the Lunchbox Tree," whose name I forget at the moment, and Sanjeev in Ian McDonald's "Sanjeev and Robotwallah" both come to mind, Ian, among preadolescent protagonists on our syllabus.
ReplyDeleteAlso, how the moral choices of children are presented in Ender's Game is central to Kessel's critique of the novel, "Creating the Innocent Killer." Kessel writes: "If you ever as a child felt unloved, if you ever feared that at some level you might deserve any abuse you suffered, Ender’s story tells you that you do not. In your soul, you are good. You are specially gifted, and better than anyone else. Your mistreatment is the evidence of your gifts. You are morally superior. Your turn will come, and then you may severely punish others, yet remain blameless. You are the hero."