ChildLit: Section B Text Quotes

Enola Holmes, Children of Blood and Bone, The Hunger Games, The Graveyard Book, When Shadows Fall, Eight Pieces of Silva, This Side of Home

“Where she comes from, it is unthinkable for a female to venture out at night without the escort of a husband, father, or brother.

• strict gender roles - women are constantly under the supervision of men

• desperation of the mystery - these gender roles are a restriction that prevent her from properly doing her job

Enola Holmes

“my mother named me “Enola,” which, backwards, spells alone.” “You will do very well on your own, Enola,”

• prepared for independence from birth, perhaps because her mother knows that the scandal of her birth means that she will be shunned from society

• her independence is what allows her to be a good detective - freedom from adult restrictions

• independence versus isolation

Enola Holmes

“ And then, you understand, my mother would love me.”

• Craves adult affection - suggests that adults have the power and Enola shapes her character towards their desires

• Even though she is independent and defiant - her main motivation is adult approval

Enola Holmes

“While it was not her place to scold me, she made her views plain.”

• hypocritical - she feels restricted by the societal roles of her gender and age, but reinforces the social hierarchies that giver her power

Enola Holmes

“In London there were royalty and cutthroats.” “Approached the two Londoners”

• refers to her brothers as Londoners - highlights their lack of relationship

• London brings status - an exotic location with thrill and danger

Enola Holmes

“I stood mute and stupid”

• Adult presence dominates her confidence, reinforces the theory that the independence of child detectives comes from the absence of adults

• Becomes the thing that they see her as - perhaps because she craves their approval and doesn’t know how to gain it

Enola Holmes

“the two best thinkers in England” “could reflect the innate untidiness of a woman’s mind”

• How Sherlock and Mycroft refer to themselves - arrogance, value ordered and deductive logic

• Contrasts with their emotional unintelligence

• Also acts as satire/parody, as their arrogance is then undermined by their inability to solve the mystery

• their prejudiced arrogance is the reason that they cannot solve the mystery - prevents them from understanding their mothers mindset, a barrier that Enola doesn’t have

Enola Holmes

“I solved the sypher” “I would set about finding my mother”

• active voice, singular pronouns - independent, powerful

• Cannot rely on her brothers

Enola Holmes

“This was London? Where were the theatres and the carriages”

“My heart ached; I wanted to awaken those children and give them money to buy bread and meat pies.”

• the classism that she drew power on at the start of the novel is confronted

• Seeing the reality of London forces her to recognise the privilege she possesses

• Maturing - she is able to empathise for the children and has desire to help them

Enola Holmes

“This time Tewky whimpered. And simultaneously I rose to my feet”

• subverting gender roles - her pet name for him is infantilising, he feels vulnerable.

• Contrasts with her immediate desire to take action - autonomous

Enola Holmes

“my bustle […] or should I say my luggage” “the penknife […] I had stored in my bust enhancer”

• throughout the novel, Enola’s clothes act as her protection

• Ironic - her clothes are supposed to be symbols of feminine delicacy, but they conceal her weapons

• Clothes are usually also symbols of restriction, but she uses them as a source of emancipation

Enola Holmes

“that once despised garment had become my most precious possession” “its steely protection saved my life”

• can exist within the social role you are given whilst still subverting it

• has the power to transform sources of restriction into sources of protection

Enola Holmes

“Inference: she told him about me” “Conclusion: it must have been Madame Laelia”

• Internal focalization allows us to see Enola’s internal monologue

• Can see her structured, deductive reasoning

• Links to ideas about detective novels being a way of constraining sources of fear, brining order to the chaotic.

“I swallowed my terror and did what I had to do to survive”

• Katniss frames herself as her family’s defender and restricts emotional expression as a source of strength

• deontic modal “had to” - Katniss feels the responsibility to fulfil her father’s role, rejects her grief

• the same thing that she does when she volunteers her life to protect Prim’s

The Hunger Games

“I steal myself” “Prim, let go I say harshly”

• Katniss during the reaping

• contains her emotions and makes a silent sacrifice

• she is commanding and has authority over her family

• perhaps drawn from her role as their provider

The Hunger Games

“Katniss” “Prim” - Onomastics

• Katniss root is a food, “as long as you find yourself you’ll never go hungry”. It is functional, it provides.

• Primrose flowers - symbolise spring and youth, they are beautiful and healing, but not functional

• When Peeta plants the primrose at the end of Mockingjay, it symbolises the new life they are about to lead, and the healing that Katniss is now able to undertake.

The Hunger Games

“Little Duck” versus “A young woman who stitches bleeding wounds”

• motif that is used for Prim throughout the series - diminutive, needs protecting, takes Katniss a while to notice that she has grown out of this pet name

• she becomes an active agent, a force in the rebellion effort in her own right

• Motif returns when Prim dies - reminder that even though she is capable of being the strong healer, she is still just a vulnerable child that is a victim of the war.

The Hunger Games

“you left Baba for your stupid stick?” “I didn’t abandon him, I’ve stayed every day this week”

• There is an expectation that as a girl, she stays home and acts as a caregiver

• double standard - her brother isn’t expected to do the same

• undermines her weapon, diminishes its power

• also doesn’t recognise the value it has as a connection to her mother and her culture

Children of Blood and Bone

“we sew in silence as we prey for the guards to go away”

• protection from restrictive gender norms - means that the women are underestimated

• similar to Enola Holmes’ use of clothes to conceal her weapons

• narrow minds of men prevents them from understanding that the women are a threat

Children of Blood and Bone

“Her spirit blows me with the ocean wind” “Her sea salt soul rages like an ocean storm” 

• always used by Inan to describe Zelie - highlights how she contrasts with him as the ordered soldier

• shapes her character as being impulsive and strong - cannot be controlled by orders as she is an independent spirit

• she is volatile and wild - reflects the impulsive decisions that she makes to protect the people that she cares about

Children of Blood and Bone

“All father saw was weakness. After all this time, I think it might have been strength” “I cannot end it like this. If I do that, I’m no better than him”

• Inan reflecting on Amari’s refusal to hurt him despite her father’s orders to do so

• Amari has the chance to kill her father but chooses not to do so.

• Question about what it means to be brave - committing acts of violence versus taking a stand against authority

• Demonstrates Amari’s moral strength - her skill lies in her ability to empathise with others and choose the moral high ground

• Also contrasts with Zelie’s volatile character

Children of Blood and Bone

“A queen. I am the Lionnaire”

• Reflects Amari’s character development throughout the novel

• she goes from being a silent princess to being the brave leader - a matriarch

• Lionnaire - interesting mix between the mundane of our world and the magic of their world, perhaps allows the reader to draw on the connotations associated with lions whilst attaching additional ideas of magic

Children of Blood and Bone

“I have to get this virus out of me” “she must’ve infected me” “maggots”

• How Inan talks about his magic

• infection and disease - his disgust reflects his fear, an unwanted intrusion, his physical being has been harmed

• the magic is in control of him, rather than him being control of it, uncomfortable for a rigid soldier

• Contrasts with the language of beauty and strength that Zelie uses to describe her magic

• “maggots” - the Maji are subhuman, a slur that reflects their views as being dirty, and underdeveloped.

Children of Blood and Bone

“Kill her. Kill Magic. My duty writhes in my mind until it takes hold of my core”

• Inan talking about Zelie

• As we see his mentally stability decline his internal monologue is increasingly fuelled by simple statements - animalistic, not thinking with cohereance or nuance

• Equates killing one girl to killing the whole of magic - dehumanises her as just a pawn in his greater mission

• driven by duty and responsibility rather than independent thought

Children of Blood and Bone

“it rumbles in my core, warming me from the inside out. It beats like a second heartbeat”

• Zelie describing the feeling of her magic returning to her

• the magic is part of her, rather than controlling her, they work in tandem - unlike Inan

• her magic is associated with life and warmth, not disease and death

• links to the fact that the diviners do not harm people with their staffs unless necessary - being Magi is not inherently dangerous, but fearmongering has made it this way

Children of Blood and Bone

“Silva’s an adult, so she can do what she wants”

• Interesting ideas about the boundary between childhood and adulthood - this novel makes it appear as thought is quite clear cut

• Turn 18 - unlimited freedom, no longer need protecting, but is this really the case?

Eight Pieces of Silva

“Silva’s territory” “I’ve always had most of my things scattered around the flat anyway”

• Descriptions of space contrasted to highlight that Silva is secretive and private

• “territory” - her room belongs to her, it is not a shared space, but it is also a small space - she is making a strong claim over the little piece of the world she can control

• Becks has no secrets, she spreads out in the shared space - but also feels more comfortable in that space

• Are Silva’s secrets a reflection of her discomfort in the family? She is separate.

Eight Pieces of Silva

“When I’m with him the shadows fall to the darkness” “The light in the hallway had been left on”

• Silva talking about her relationship

• Her grief is described as shadows - they are dark, they conceal the light - seeks out affection rom strangers to find a source of light

• Doesn’t realise the source of light is within her own home because she has turned her backs on them - they have left the light on for her until she comes home, a familial loving act

Eight Pieces of Silva

“I don’t want you to do this for me” “Why do adults think children don’t know what’s going on?”

• Becks dad trying to help her solve the mystery - reflects the power dynamics between adult and child

• He attempts to conceal knowledge from her to protect her innocence, doesn’t recognise that she can see through this

• reflects the awkward stage of adolescence - teenagers are seeking autonomy but adults are not willing to give it

• the child sleuth - can only act when adults are not present, because children are not viewed as autonomous problem solvers

Eight Pieces of Silva

“Silva’s got hold of me. My sister’s got strong hands too”

• a victim can also be a warrior, a protector, a sisterly bond is strong even when Silva is feeling weak 

• highlights the awkward power dynamics of adolescence. Silva is older than Becks, she is legally an adult - becomes her protector

• But mentally and emotionally she is still a vulnerable child, who needed adults to take care of her

Eight Pieces of Silva

“Is this my London? I feel like I’ve been seeing the whole city wrong. The whole world wrong”

• interesting that this is the exact same comment made in Enola Holmes

• As the child detective solves the mystery, they lose their childhood innocence, they start to see the harshness of reality

• But for Becks this is more uncomfortable because London is her home, whereas for Enola it is somewhere exotic

• Realisation that your home can also be a place of danger and secrets

Eight Pieces of Silva

“Mum wanted to be with Justin more than me” “Was everything Silva did a lie” “Did she just pretend to like me?”

• When Becks is on her own her internal monologue becomes less ordered and is more emotional - contrasts with the structure of when she is solving the mystery, and with what we would expect from a detective

• Secrets in her family spread her doubt - she starts to question her established relationships, spreads like an infection

• are her emotions helping her solve the mystery or are they distracting her from solving it?

“She’s the one shining, not him. My warrior sister”

• Links to the motif of light and darkness in the novel

• Silva can produce her own light to fight the darkness of grief, doesn’t need the man to do it for her

• doesn’t realise her own strength or worth, which makes her vulnerable, Logan took advantage of that

Eight Pieces of Silva

“He was, for the most part, obedient” “He would pester the graveyard folk with questions”

• Children are considered if they are silent and listen to the orders of grown ups - passive recipients

• “Pester” - questions are viewed as a nuisance or inconvenience, rather than respected as natural inquisitiveness

• Children are natural detectives of life, but adults discourage this behaviour

The Graveyard Book

“Why amn’t I allowed out of the graveyard?” “their answers were often vague, or confusing or contradictory”

• As a child, Bod has to accept rules, is not allowed to question them

• Home is a symbol of safety and protectionism, but this protection can also be oppressive to a child’s natural inquisitiveness

• Edited and child friendly versions of the truth or censorship - don’t protect children, just confuse them further

The Graveyard Book

“Here we keep you safe. Outside, anything could happen”

“He had broken the rules of the graveyard and everything had gone wrong”

Bod’s physical agency is restricted beyond the Graveyard to protect his safety, but it also means that his intellectual agency is restricted – he learns from Ghosts with outdated information, he only understands his own existence as far as the Ghosts will allow him to  

Home is where adults have control - they are agents of Bod’s behaviour - to them a loss of control means a loss of safety.

The narrative punishes Bod for acting against the adult’s wishes - conflicting message in the novel, can only have freedom and independence when his parents say so

The Graveyard Book

“I want to see life” “I want everything”

• active voice

• “want” - about desire, not necessity

• Contrasts with previously in the novel, where Bod’s desires and agency were restricted by the need to keep him safe

• Perhaps represents the transition into adolescence? Bod grows within the novel and so do the privileges that he has

• The end of Bod’s coming of age journey - it is his choice to leave the graveyard

The Graveyard Book

“The world is a bigger place than a little graveyard on the hill, and there would be dangers in it and mysteries” 

• End of the novel, very different message to the start

• Almost now encouraged for him to experience danger rather than avoid it - because he is older?

• is this really freedom at all? He is leaving the home because his parents now allow him to - still follows their will.

The Graveyard Book

“He looks like nobody but himself” “I know my name. I’m Nobody Owens”

• Onomastics

• Bod rejects the man Jack’s offer to tell him his real name - he accepts identity that he has built for himself over one that Jack could give him

• Also highlights that even though he is aging and becoming independent, it is still possible for him to remain connected to his parents, who gave him the name

• “Nobody” - No previous expectations, his parents gave him the freedom to build his identity

• But could also highlight the lack of identity he feels at the start of the novel

• Contrasts with the “man Jack”, all have the same name, no individual identity

The Graveyard Book

“Wake up. Get Dressed. Listen to a speech in our honour. Train”

• Katniss talking about her routine on the Victor’s tour

• Simple, sentences - creates abrupt tone

• Highlights the lack of passion or meaning to what she is saying

• Her existence is orchestrated to act as propaganda - she becomes the face of the hunger games

The Hunger Games

“I look very simply, like a girl. A young one. Innocent. Harmless”

• Clothes are used throughout the appearance to construct a public identity for Katniss

• How she needs to be perceived is affected by how she is dressed - interesting that this is a tool of femininity

• At the end, she is made to dress younger because adults associate childhood with innocence - diffuses her rebellious potential.

The Hunger Games

“Action!” “Soundstage” “Studio”

• Descriptions of when Katniss is filming propaganda for District 13

• It takes on the same artificial sense as the propaganda she constructs for the Capitol

• Is Katniss the leader of a rebellion or is she an advertisement for a rebellion?

• Even as a rebellious adolescent, her autonomy is limited to how adults choose to portray her

The Hunger Games

“She’s still a girl and you made her look 35”

• How District 13 dress her for their propaganda

• When they want to frame her as a leader, she is made to look older

• Contrasts with when they need her to seem innocent - adulthood commands more authority, ignores the fact that the tragedy of the Hunger Games is that they are children

• Katniss’ body is malleable to the demands of the adults that control her

The Hunger Games

“That’s why we have to join the fight” “No! We have to leave before they kill us.”

• Katniss is not a natural revolutionary, her main motivation is usually the protection of her loved ones, and that happens to coincide with the revolution

• Even though her main motivation is protection and survival, these cannot exist in Panem as it stands

• Does she choose the life of rebellion or was she placed into this role because she fit it?

The Hunger Games

“The point of my arrow shifts upward” “I release the string”

• Interesting shift from active to passive voice

• Particularly in Mockingjay, Katniss spends the book being part of the “star squad”, nothing that she does comes from genuine belief

• In the end, she is the one that makes the final choice to kill Coin

• Highlighting that the agency of children cannot be restrained

The Hunger Games

“Hiding my white hair under its dark hood” ““Her hair was straight as a blade before, but now it bunches in tight spirals” 

Zelie’s body becomes transforms as she feels closer to her once marginalised identity – external bodies can be representative of internal changes 

Interesting that it becomes curly – black hair is closely linked to black identity because of its unique texture, Zelie goes from hiding her hair as a symbol of shame to having her curls on show 

Anthropomorphism

• Conceals narratives of difference and marginalisation with animal characters

• Could argue this distances the narrative from additional political complexities

• Avoids providing appropriate representation

• Social Justice Books (2018) - more likely to see animals in children’s literature than an Asian child

Yoko

Images of food

Could argue that the foods from different cultural backgrounds are represented without hierarchy

All in their different colour boxes, no clear order to how they are presented, pastel colours so that they are all appealing

but, still all presented separately - do not mix

“she rolled up a secret treasure” “tucked in the rice rolls”

• Metaphore “secret treasure” adds whimsy to the descriptions, presents the food as special

• Also uses caring language, food is an active of love from mother to daughter

Yoko

“Mrs Jenkins Knew the Friendly Song was not enough”

• Narrative acknowledges some of the complexities of multiculturalism

• These barriers are rooted more deeply than the superficiality of friendship