![]() ![]() ![]() This theme was explored by Ali Smith in her short story The Child - a story for adults - in which a woman finds a racist, sexist baby in her shopping trolley and is obliged to take him home because no one else will have him. This category of stories are as much about parenthood as they are about childhood, and so speak to a dual audience. The adult can’t tell the difference between a tiny tot and a beast. In this way, the child is depicted as a little monster in the house. The mother responds as ever, ‘Not now, Bernard’. The monster explains himself by saying ‘I’m a monster’. The purple monster then takes Bernard’s place in the house, causing mayhem. Bernard tells his mother there’s a monster in the garden and it’s going to eat him, but the adults turn a deaf ear. Thus, these characters are proto-superhero characters in their own way.Īnother example is Not Now, Bernard by Robert McKee, published in 1980. It’s therefore up to Courage to save the day - a take on the superhero story and the lone hero for a younger audience. ![]() The 1990s gave us the cartoon series Courage the Cowardly Dog, which uses this trope over and over, as part of the structure of every episode: Courage sees a baddie, but Muriel (who is short-sighted) and Eustace (who is unkind) never take him seriously. The Lion And The Mouse Story With Moral Lesson And SummaryĬhild characters whose warnings are ignored by adults - even in the midst of clear and present danger - are stock fodder and perennial favourites in children’s stories. ![]()
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