A Reading of Alan Armstrong’s Whittington Anthropomorphism (animals acting like humans) is used frequently in children’s literature. In Alan Armstrong’s Whittington, the animal persona is part of the charm of the story. It is a successful technique that triggers and feeds the child’s imagination, inducing them to suspend their disbelief. For children, unlike adults, it is a kind of involuntary or spontaneous suspension of disbelief, the child ‘falls’ into it as soon as the story starts. This is also used in audio-visual media as a crucial characteristic of children’s programs, such as cartoons. SpongeBob SquarePants is an example of this. It uses sea creatures endowed with human characteristics to tell a story of human drama.
Similarly,
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The story gives him a sense of purpose. He says that before he hears this story the whole thing seemed like “nightmares” (144). As such, motivation cannot be imposed from without, it springs from within out. And it is like a pulp that is suddenly lit; Ben says about his experience, “It was like coming in out of dark. When I started, it was dark, there were shapes and things but nothing was clear. It was clear and I could see. It was like being born” (185). The story behind the cat’s name ‘Whittington’ is told as a reward and encouragement for Ben. It is told in an interesting way, as a story within the main story. This reflects real life gatherings, the way people, like friends or family members, get together to talk and share stories. In Whittington, the readers are repeatedly taken back in time to the story of Dick and suddenly brought forwards again to the present. This happens when Ben and the other characters ask the cat questions in request for further clarifications. This technique also helps the reader see the impact of the story of Dick on the characters in the barn, such as helping Ben to read.
There are many conflicts, many human dramas, going on in this book. One, major conflict that propels the story forward is between the Lady and