Winnie The Pooh Themes

Winnie-the-Pooh has been one of the top children’s books for the past 150 years (BBC.com). By looking at Winnie-the-Pooh, one can see that A.A. Milne included the themes of adventure and imagination because the story was written for his son Christopher Robin Milne. Many children and adults across the world have fallen in love with the connection between Christopher Robin and his best friend Winnie-the-Pooh. Alan Alexander Milne was born in London, England on January 18, 1882, he was the youngest of three boys David Barrett Milne, Kenneth John Milne. He was raised by his parents Sarah Marie and John Vine Milne, the headmaster of a private school named Henley House. Milne had started to attend his father’s private school, among his teachers

Several years later war broke out in Europe, and Milne, though a pacifist, felt that he had to do something. He believed that this war was a “war against war”, to use Owen Seaman’s terms (Pooh Corner). Milne had wrote to his friend Eswar Marsh (at one time, Churchill’s Private Secretary) at the Admiralty to see if he could find any work for him. Apparently, Marsh could not. Milne was determined, though, and volunteered himself on February 10,

Travelling by Canadian Pacific Railway, his train made a stop at White River in Ontario, where he noticed a man further along the station platform with an American black bear cub tied to the arm of the bench on which he was seated. He struck up a conversation and, learning that the man was a trapper who shot and killed the cub’s mother, Colebourn offered him $20 for the young bear. The trapper eaderly accepted the offer and the cub was taken to Quebec, where she became the mascot of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade, as Harry had been assigned to the Headquarters of that formation. One of the units in the 2nd Brigade was the 6th (Fort Garry) Battalion, which had been formed from Harry’s old unit, the 34th Fort Garry Horse. In December 1914, the 2nd Brigade was preparing to move to France in great secrecy. Colebourn decided it was unsafe to take her into battle; so, while passing through London on the way to France on December 9th, 1914, he visited London Zoo and asked them to care for the cub until his return. It was not until 1918 that Colebourn returned safely to London. Seeing that the bear, now known affectionately by her keepers and visitors as Winnie, was happy and content in her new home, he decided to leave her there.