Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 6.08 Literature and Poetry
Presentation #1 Title
The Children are Our Future: Exploring the Role of Children in Appalachian Literature
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Characters such as the nineteenth century's little Eva and Huckleberry Finn to the twentieth century's Holden Caulfield show that children and adolescents have always been central figures in the literature of the United States. Conjecturing why children figure so prominently in American literature is a course of study not always widely followed by scholars, but childhood studies is a growing field that fits nicely with the study of Appalachian literature. In the novels of Appalachian authors, children are often featured as the protagonists, such as Lee Smith's Crystal of Black Mountain Breakdown and Grace of Saving Grace, or Jackie in Denise Giardina's The Unquiet Earth. Even when not the narrators or protagonists, children almost always play an important role in the stories, like in Arnow's The Dollmaker. Therefore, my paper will examine the roles these children play in Appalachian literature by bringing in the theories of child studies scholars such as Caroline Levander and Karen Sanchez-Eppler to explore why Appalachian authors might choose to focus on the lives and issues of children often more than they do their adult characters. Children in Appalachian literature frequently deal with very adult issues including incest, religion, and the loss of parents. I would like to look into these characters and issues and show how they send a message as representatives of the people of Appalachia, and how they even parallel earlier novels of nineteenth century African American literature to accomplish many of the same goals.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Melissa Wiser is a fourth-year PhD student and teaching assistant in the English department at the University of Kentucky. She is interested in studying the role of children and families, gender, and religion in Appalachian and southern fiction.
The Children are Our Future: Exploring the Role of Children in Appalachian Literature
Harris Hall 130
Characters such as the nineteenth century's little Eva and Huckleberry Finn to the twentieth century's Holden Caulfield show that children and adolescents have always been central figures in the literature of the United States. Conjecturing why children figure so prominently in American literature is a course of study not always widely followed by scholars, but childhood studies is a growing field that fits nicely with the study of Appalachian literature. In the novels of Appalachian authors, children are often featured as the protagonists, such as Lee Smith's Crystal of Black Mountain Breakdown and Grace of Saving Grace, or Jackie in Denise Giardina's The Unquiet Earth. Even when not the narrators or protagonists, children almost always play an important role in the stories, like in Arnow's The Dollmaker. Therefore, my paper will examine the roles these children play in Appalachian literature by bringing in the theories of child studies scholars such as Caroline Levander and Karen Sanchez-Eppler to explore why Appalachian authors might choose to focus on the lives and issues of children often more than they do their adult characters. Children in Appalachian literature frequently deal with very adult issues including incest, religion, and the loss of parents. I would like to look into these characters and issues and show how they send a message as representatives of the people of Appalachia, and how they even parallel earlier novels of nineteenth century African American literature to accomplish many of the same goals.
