Ideology and Language in Selected Texts of Katherine Paterson
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IDEOLOGY AND LANGUAGE IN SELECTED TEXTS OF KATHERINE PATERSON PAUL MARCH Thesis submitted for degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 University of Technology, Sydney Certificate of Authorship/Originality I certify that the work in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree nor has it been submitted as part of the requirements for a degree. I also certifythat the thesis has been written by me. Any help that I have received in my research work and the preparation of the thesis itself has been acknowledged. In addition, I certify that all information sources and literature used are indicated in the thesis. Signature of Candidate Acknowledgements Rosemary Johnston has shown infinite patience and her expert guidance and insights during this journey have been invaluable. My family has been wonderfully supportive during this journey and my heartfelt thanks will always be with Joyce, Rodney, Audrey and Les. The CREA research group and my colleagues at UTS have been very supportive andI am appreciative of their encouragement - special thanks to Barbara Poston-Anderson and Lesley Ljungdahl for their advice. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Katherine Paterson - A Bibliography of Primary Works - Novels 3 Preface to the Introduction 4 Chapter One - Introduction - An Overview 8 Chapter Two - Ideology 23 Chapter Three - Language 49 Chapter Four - The Early Years - The Oriental Novels 91 Chapter Five - Social Issues 135 Chapter Six - Personal Issues 167 Chapter Seven - Conclusion 205 References 212 2 Abstract This thesis explores connections between ideology and language in selected works of Katherine Paterson witha view to understanding the ways in which her Christian ideology informs the language and narrative. The tools of analysis are literary and linguistic: the thesis brings together the triangulationof literary criticism, postmodern literary theory and linguistic structuralism as the means of analysingtext. Ideology is strongly identifiable in Katherine Paterson’s work and represents a profoundly Christian worldview, especially in relation to the theological notionof grace as ‘unconditional love ’. However, the texts do not have to be readas ‘Christian’ and offer options of multiple readings through strongly identifiable positive values. The overall narrative design in the novels is to tell stories of diverse experiences of childhood, through what is represented as the focalizedvoice of the child. The family and one’s place in it become critical issues, as does the role of fathers in the family structure. The child’s journey can be seen in metaphorical terms as both dark and light, the former representing the deep, intense spiritual struggle within (often initiatedby abjection), the latter representing emergence from the struggle into a more positive, mature future with hope. The study demonstrates how linguistic analysis provides a tool for identifying focalization in texts and examiningthe voice of the child thus revealed. This, in turn, helps to reveal ideology. The study confirms how literary theory and linguistic analysis complement andreinforce each other. It also notes that despite the overt Christian ideology espoused and declaredby the author, readers can still read Paterson’s novels and enjoy them without either understanding or sharing that ideology. The thesis explores, again through both linguistic and literary analysis, concomitant ideologies that reflect Paterson’s social context. Thus, her works give voice to female protagonists and reveal values, attitudes and assumptions relating to such issues as the importance of education as an agent of social empowerment; the connections between poverty, class and education; the value of loyalty; the significance of creativity and imagination, and the value of finding an identity and place for self in both the family and community. 3 Katherine Paterson - A Bibliographyof Primary Works - Novels In Order of Publication 1973. The Sign of the Chrysanthemum. Illus. Peter Landa. New York: Crowell. 1974. Of Nightingales That Weep. Illus. Haru Wells. New York: Crowell. 1976. The Master Puppeteer. Illus. Haru Wells. New York: Crowell. 1977. Bridge to Terabithia. Illus. Donna Diamond. New York: Crowell. 1978. The Great Gilly Hopkins. New York: Crowell. 1980. Jacob Have I Loved. New York. Crowell. 1983. Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom. New York: Lodestar. 1985. Come Sing, Jimmy Jo. New York: Lodestar. 1988. Park's Quest. New York: Lodestar. 1991. Lyddie. New York: Lodestar. 1994. Flip-Flop Girl. New York: Lodestar. 1996. Jip: His Story. New York: Lodestar. 1999. Preacher’s Boy. New York: Clarion. 2001. The Field of the Dogs. Illus. Emily Arnold McCully. New York: Harper. 2002. The Same Stuff as Stars. New York: Clarion. 4 Preface to the Introduction Writers for childrenare in a powerful position to influencetheir readership. The early chapters of this study explore the nature of this influence in the writings of one well-known popular author, Katherine Paterson. Barthes (1972) and Fairclough (1989) have reflected on the lack of innocence in texts - every text reflects an ideology, including values, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions. This ideology, whether explicit or implicit, is conveyed in many different ways: through the language (the focalized voice - who speaks when and how); through the metaphor of the language; and through the structure of the narrative itself. This ideology is both overt and covert, layered beneath the surface, not immediately obvious. Likewise it can be an implicit part of the metaphor or narrative structure. For the purposes of this thesis, ideology is defined after the work of Stephens (1992), Nodelman(1996) and Hollindale (1988). For Stephens, it is a ‘system of beliefs by which we make sense of the world’ (p.8); for Nodelman, it is ‘the body of ideas that controls (or at least tries to control) how we as participants in the society view the world and understand our place in it’ (p.67). Hollindale (p. 18ff.) considers three levels of ideology present in texts for children: the most overt consists of ‘the explicit social, political or moral beliefs of the individual writer, andhis [sic] wish to recommend them to children through story’; the second is implicit ideology, that is, the individual writer’s ‘unexaminedassumptions ’; and the third level concerns language which Hollindale describes as ‘the words, rule systems, and codes which constitute the text’. This can also be describedas worldview (Hiebert 1999, pp.375-77; Hiebert 1999, pp.415-21; Wagner 1999, p.538) and the terms in this study will be regardedas synonymous and used freely throughout the thesis as such. Metaphor is considered after the work of Ricoeur (1997): The rhetoric of metaphor takes the word as its unit of reference. Metaphor, therefore, is classed among the single-word figures of speech and is defined as a trope of resemblance. As figure, metaphor constitutes a displacement and an extensionof the meaning of words; its explanationis grounded in a theory of substitution (p.3);... metaphor is the rhetorical process by which discourse unleashes the power that certain fictions have to describe reality (P-7). 5 The first Chapter begins an exploration of connections between ideology and language in selected works of Katherine Paterson. It introduces a discussion of ideology which is continued in more depth in Chapter Two. Paterson’s many achievements as an author are also acknowledged, together with her public declarations both of her strong Christian beliefs and of her commitment to giving expression tothese in her books. There will be a brief overview of Christian belief as it is relevant to Paterson’s novels, with some reference to key themes and incidents as examples of Paterson’s writing in particular texts. For working and analysis purposes this study confines itself to a study of Paterson’s fifteen novels or novellas to date and fully acknowledges the fact that she has written much more than these novels. Picture books, early readers, translations, plays, lectures, articles, speeches andessays, treatises on the Christian faith and even a retelling of a popular thirteenth century poem for children are all part of her total corpus. Also, for analysis purposes, the novels have been dividedinto three different groupings: the oriental novels of the early years; novels with a strong focus on social issues; and novels with a strong focus on personal issues. It must be stressed, however, that these groupings are convenientfor working purposes as many of the Paterson oeuvre deal with similar issues and differences are often ones of degree only. In further developing the concept of ideology, Chapter Two provides an historical overview, tracing it to its emergence in the field of children’s literature criticism. Particular reference will be made to the work of Peter Hollindale (1988) and John Stephens (1992). It then focuses on Katherine Paterson’s understanding of ideology as it is revealed in her own words. These first two chapters discuss the ways Paterson depicts her worldview by attributing her characters ‘voices ’ across several literary genres, from historical fiction to contemporary social fiction. As noted above, these chapters propose that Paterson’s work is not only permeated by a fundamental Christian ideology, but that it is this ideology that colours and, in fact, inspires her strong engagement with social issues in general, and gives voice to female protagonists in particular. 6 Chapter Three explores how ideologies in narrative are necessarily embedded in linguistic frameworks.