Midterm
- Term explanation
1. Onomatopoeia
An onomatopoeia is a word that phonetically imitates, resembles or suggests the source of the sound that it describes. For example, “meow” is a cry of a cat, and ”tick tock” is a sound of a clock.
2. nonsense
Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have used nonsense in their works, often creating entire works using it for reasons ranging from pure comic amusement or satire, to illustrating a point about language or reasoning. For example, On the Ning Nang Nong is a nonsense poem by Spike Milligan.
Nursery rhymes are traditional poems or songs for children in Britain and many other countries, and are often used to help children go to sleep. For example, Humpty Dumpty, London Bridge Is Falling Down, and Jack and Jill are nursery rhymes.
4. Fantasy
Fantasy is a fiction genre that uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. Take The Blue Bird for example.
Charles Perrault was a French author and the initiator of the literary fairy tale genre. The best known of his tales include Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, and so on. Charles Perrault published a collection of tales in1695, Tales of My Mother Goose, which marked the first authenticated starting-point of Mother Goose stories.
- Essay
1. What is children's literature? Are there certain specific characteristics detaching children’s literature from adult’s books? If yes, what are they? If no, why are we here to study this subject?
Children’s literature is a good quality trade books for children from birth to adolescence, covering topics of relevance and interests to children of those ages, through prose and poetry, fiction and nonfiction
In my opinion, there are certain specific characteristics detaching children’s literature from adult’s books. First, children’s literature often contains illustrations to attract children’s attention and increase their motivation of reading. Second, children’s literature usually has a simpler plot, rather than a complicated one, which is easy to understand and get involved in. Last, it’s common to see animal characters in children’s literature, for example, Charlotte’s Web, Winnie-the-Pooh, and The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
2. The climax is the high point of the story, where the culmination of events creates the peak of the conflict. In the plot of narrative work, a resolution consists of a series of events that follow the climax, and thus serves as the conclusion of the story, even though not all stories have a resolution. Could you (1) relocate where the climax of Charlotte's Web is and (2) analyze your resolution that (3) associated with the idea of conflicts?
(1) As far as I’m concerned, the climax in Charlotte's Web is Charlotte was dying, knowing that Wilbur’s life was saved, and Wilbur succeeded in saving Charlotte’s baby.
(3) I think the conflicts are whether Wilbur will be made into bacon, and Wilbur is just an ordinary pig or is really a some pig.
(2) Charlotte weaved webs to save Wilbur’s life and made him a some pig, who is terrific, radiant, and humble. She said she will not let Wilbur be eaten and she indeed kept her word. For Charlotte, Wilbur is a lovely and sincere friend, and he is really a some pig.
3. We’ve watched an enchanting film, "Miss Potter," based on the life of Beatrix Potter, the best-selling author of children's books of all time, this semester before the midterm. One of the phrases that opens and ends the whole movie is the voice of the title protagonist, “there's something delicious about writing those first few words of a story. You can never quite tell where they will take you. Mine took me here, where I belong.” Could you paraphrase what that means in the context of your understanding of Miss Potter’s works, life, as well as your life experience and expectation?
Find what you are interested in and just do it. For Beatrix Potter, she enjoyed writing, even though her book had been rejected by some publishers. She persevered in writing, although she didn’t know where her words would take her. Maybe there would be a worse situation, but she never give up, knowing that writing would take her to the place where she belonged.
Life is unpredictable, so it’s important to enjoy my life and make may life meaningful. Don’t hesitate to do what I desire to do and listen to my heart sincerely. For me, I love music, and I visit it from time to time. It takes me to the place where I have lots of fun and I know I belong to there. I cherish the time spend with it, and it’s certain that I will never leave it behind.
4. Who is Mother Goose? Is she real?
Mother Goose is an iconic figure in literature, associated with both fairy tales and nursery rhymes. References to Mother Goose date back to the 17th century, and usually included the idea that she spun fairy tales in addition to poems. The answer to whether Mother Goose is real seems to be negative. There have been several hypotheses that a real Mother Goose at one point existed. However, as most people believe, more likely, Mother Goose was a reference to any farmer woman who might raise geese, or who might care for children and collect them about her in flocks to tell tales. In modern time, Mother Goose is merely depicted as a goose sometimes.