Neil Gaiman Epigraph

Neil Gaiman opens The Ocean at the End of the Lane with the Maurice Sendak epigraph to foreshadow the idea that children are wiser than adults realize; both the epigraph and the novel suggest that children can appreciate some underlying truths about the world better than adults. The Sendak epigraph states, “I remember my own childhood vividly. I knew terrible things. But I knew I mustn’t let adults know I knew. It would scare them.” I think this epigraph truly ties in with the thesis, because they both, although in different ways, convey that children often understand the world, and are aware of many things that adults don’t. I agree with this quote, and I think most children would, because children are not as naive as adults believe. I

Lettie Hempstock and the narrator represent “” One example of this in the book is when his father tries to drown him in the bathroom, “I kicked out, and I flailed at him, neither of which actions had any effect of any kind as he plunged me down into the cold water. I was horrified [...].” (pg. 95). This excerpt shows the level of “evil” that adulthood is portrayed as in this book. In the novel, adulthood is almost completely represented by Ursula Monkton and other evil. I think this is quite unique, as in most stories, adults are depicted as guides and mentors. It is also very surprising that a father would attempt to hurt or even kill his own son like this. An example of children being wiser than adults think, and appreciating underlying truths is when the narrator tries to sacrifice himself for the greater good. The narrator explains, “I did not want to die at all. Understand that. But I could not let everything be destroyed, when I had it in my power to stop the destruction.” (page 208). The narrator, being a child, shows great maturity, wisdom, and judgement when he makes the heroic decision to sacrifice himself to the hunger birds to save the world. Although his efforts did not work out the way he wanted it to, I think this still proves that he is wise