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Darkness In Kate Dicamillo's We Do Not Battle Alone

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“The truth is this: we all do battle with the darkness that is inside of us and outside of us. Stories that embody this truth offer great comfort because they tell us we do not do battle alone” (We Do Not, DiCamillo 9). Some people believe that children’s stories should not have darkness in them but Newberry Award Winner, Kate DiCamillo, believes the opposite. She believes that children, like ourselves need stories that reflect our personal experiences. Everyone has some darkness in our own lives, and these stories allow us to know that we don’t “battle alone.” Kate DiCamillo offers her own tale of darkness in her Newbery Speech, “We Do Not Battle Alone.” She tells a story about a back staircase in her childhood house in Philadelphia, PA. Her …show more content…

The story is also written with a technique in which the narrator speaks directly to the reader, this allows the reader to be comforted by the narrator. One instance where this occurs is, “Reader, do you know what ‘perfidy’ means? I have a feeling you do, based on the little scene that has just unfolded here. But you should look up the word in your dictionary, just to be sure” (The Tale of Desperaux, DiCamillo 45). The narrator guides the reader through each of the stories, and because there are several stories going on at the same time, the narrator reminds you about other characters. “Reader, you did not forget about our small mouse, did you?” (The Tale of Desperaux, DiCamillo 176). In an interview, Kate DiCamillo stated that she didn’t realize she was doing this consciously, she was only trying to get the story written down on paper. (Interview, DiCamllio and Brown). She says this is a different story for her to tell and that she was talking herself through the story. Each character is relatable to the reader, Desperaux yearns for love and acceptance. And even though he is faced self-doubt, he never gives up. Some people might relate better with Miggory Sow, a girl who desires to be a princess, while others might relate well with Roscuro because he want something so badly but is afraid of the persecution by those around him. When Roscuro first sees the light, he wants its more than anything. “He let the light from the upstairs enter him and fill him. He gasped aloud at the wonder of it” (The Tale of Despereaux, 93). When Roscuro mentions Botticelli persuades him that rats do not belong in the light, this discourages Roscuro from going for

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