Before there were other competing schools of theory, people practiced essentialist literary criticism to help the reader understand the text as presented on the page. Essentialism upholds the view, for example that all children should be taught on traditional lines, ideas and methods thereby making the assumption that human nature is fixed. Fairytales written down in the 17th century that were first told orally depended on didactic practices from essentialism in which to construct both childhood and adulthood. On the other hand, 18th and 19th century literary works took on a subversive direction in their construction of the two life journeys. Although children's literature was intended primarily for children, it is more accurate to view such texts as having dual audiences of children and adults. The first step toward understanding some of the timeless ideas embedded in children’s literature requires identifying the recurrent themes, stock characters and …show more content…
An example is given when Alice demonstrates that she does not resent prohibitions of adults as she places the jar back on a shelf so that she will not kill anyone standing below her and before she drank from the bottle that said, “DRINK ME”, for she had read several stories of children who got burnt, eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things. (Carroll 12). One critic, Leighton Carter states that this action points to Alice's internalization of adult worries about children's potentially destructive and irresponsible acts. As a result, in Alice’s first experiences with Wonderland, she clings to the logic and behaviour approved for her reality. Carter’s point can be rebutted however based on the fact that Alice challenges this reliance since its ground rules correspond neither to those of the real world nor to those of