Time as Another Cultural Border
For my final post for Re-landscaping the Hero's Journey, I want to explore one more type of fantasy stories that cross cultural borders, which is time travel.
If a child travels far back in time, such a journey forces the child to confront a different culture, which is very similar to the Stranger in a Strange Land concept. Even better, the following books feature child protagonists who belong to an American cultural minority.
The Devil's Arthimetic by Jane Yolen is about a 12 year old girl Hannah who travels from 1988 back to 1942 in Poland, where she is trapped in the body of another Jewish girl Chaya, who is taken to the concentration camp, where she sacrifices her own life for a friend. The novel ends with Hannah returning to her own time and remembering Chaya's experiences.
The Legend of Zoey by Candie Moonshower is told from the diaries of two girls: modern 13 year old Zoey, a girl struggling with her Native American heritage, and 13 year old Prudence, whose family is settling in the Missouri territory during the early 1800s. When Zoey is transported back to Prudence's time, Zoey experiences a clash of cultures in their clothes and ignorance of modern day medicine. While saving Prudence's family before the big earthquake, Zoey also learns more about the Native American Indians and resolves her issues with her heritage before she returns to modern times.
In Archer's Quest by Linda Sue Park, the time traveler is not the child protagonist but a historical figure, Chu-mong, legendary ruler of ancient Korea over 2000 years ago. In 1999, Korean-American sixth-grader Kevin is working on his boring history homework when Chu-mong appears in his bedroom. By the end of the day, Kevin must figure out how to return Chu-mong back to his time period or history and the present would be forever changed. As he teaches Chu-mong about everyday modern inventions like the computer, electric lights, telephones and cars, Kevin himself is learning more about Korean culture and history.
In all three novels above and completely following the traditional hero's journey and Stranger in a Strange Land plot line, at the end, the multicultural contemporary child protagonist returns to her/his own time period enlightened with amazing historical knowledge and memories that should never be forgotten.
If a child travels far back in time, such a journey forces the child to confront a different culture, which is very similar to the Stranger in a Strange Land concept. Even better, the following books feature child protagonists who belong to an American cultural minority.
The Devil's Arthimetic by Jane Yolen is about a 12 year old girl Hannah who travels from 1988 back to 1942 in Poland, where she is trapped in the body of another Jewish girl Chaya, who is taken to the concentration camp, where she sacrifices her own life for a friend. The novel ends with Hannah returning to her own time and remembering Chaya's experiences.
The Legend of Zoey by Candie Moonshower is told from the diaries of two girls: modern 13 year old Zoey, a girl struggling with her Native American heritage, and 13 year old Prudence, whose family is settling in the Missouri territory during the early 1800s. When Zoey is transported back to Prudence's time, Zoey experiences a clash of cultures in their clothes and ignorance of modern day medicine. While saving Prudence's family before the big earthquake, Zoey also learns more about the Native American Indians and resolves her issues with her heritage before she returns to modern times.
In Archer's Quest by Linda Sue Park, the time traveler is not the child protagonist but a historical figure, Chu-mong, legendary ruler of ancient Korea over 2000 years ago. In 1999, Korean-American sixth-grader Kevin is working on his boring history homework when Chu-mong appears in his bedroom. By the end of the day, Kevin must figure out how to return Chu-mong back to his time period or history and the present would be forever changed. As he teaches Chu-mong about everyday modern inventions like the computer, electric lights, telephones and cars, Kevin himself is learning more about Korean culture and history.
In all three novels above and completely following the traditional hero's journey and Stranger in a Strange Land plot line, at the end, the multicultural contemporary child protagonist returns to her/his own time period enlightened with amazing historical knowledge and memories that should never be forgotten.
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posted by Emily Jiang at 11:12 PM
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