Rudd's 'Where The Wild Things Are'

Jenny Goodlin

Collins-Gearing

ENGL 2011

09/03/2016

Journal 1

Reference: Rudd, David. “Theorising and Theories: How does Children’s literature exist?” Understanding Children’s Literature (ed) Peter Hunt, London and New York: Routledge, 1999. Print

Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. Print.

Summary of Reading:

Rudd challenges Jacqueline Rose’s idea that children’s literature is impossible. She argues that it is impossible because children have no voice in it. Further, children do not influence the depiction of the child, but rather it is the adult’s idea of the child and the world around us that is depicted in children’s literature. Rudd argues against Rose’s view with Bhabha’s idea that children’s literature

The white space represents the idea that Max is under the control of his mother, and because she holds the power, she sends him to his room due to his bad behaviour. However, Max’s imagination then goes wild, and he gradually leaves his mother’s control (represented by loss of white space), and gains his own power until eventually he becomes king of the wild things (mimicking his mothers power). This supports Foucault’s idea that power is not just in the hands of authorities, but everyone, even kids, exercise power at times. At a certain point in the story, there are no words or white spaces, and only images fill the pages. When words are present, the constructive child has less of a voice because adults are controlling where the child looks and how the story progresses, however, the child can still interpret the text however he/she choses. When only images fill the pages in Where the Wild Things Are, the child has more freedom of interpretation because he/she can look at certain aspects of the image for however long he/she desires, and draw his/her own conclusions. Further, these are examples of how the constructive child’s voice can be heard within children’s literature, therefore supporting Rudd’s argument, while challenging Rose’s, that children’s literature is possible in this hybrid