Throughout history, it has always been suggested that the women need to depend on men as breadwinners; but it seems to always exclude the fact that men need women in order to allow creative and emotional expression. Philippa Pearce, author of Tom’s Midnight Garden and Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia, explore the fundamental roles women play in a man’s life. In both novels, it is being suggested that the female guides are depicted as sources of knowledge which consequently results in the enlightenment of the male characters beyond their frame of mind.
Hatty and Leslie are represented as sources of knowledge throughout the novels, by their actions and the surroundings they are placed in. Hatty spends her days in her garden …show more content…
Hatty teaches him, through their adventures and discussions, to accept the society he is in. There are two societies seen in the novel - the Victorian and the present era. These two different time periods can be associated with the two different time periods in our lives: Victorian with childhood and the Present with adulthood. When Tom is sent to his aunt and uncle’s, a Victorian house turned into multiple flats, he has a negative perspective of the house. He felt as if “[nothing] seemed really to belong to the hall” (Pearce, 5) and that “the heart of the house was empty-cold-dead.” This is his perspective on the society he lives in. The house has been democratized into flats for people’s own benefit, much like the life Tom lives in. When he revisits the house in the past, a Victorian house before its transformation, the description of it is heartwarming and positive. It had a rug contrary to just a cold flagstone and “the walls were decorated with a rich variety of other objects” (22); this is what Tom thinks about his childhood and the past Victorian era. On page 146, Tom and Hatty have a conversation where he compares the two time periods. He would much rather prefer the room she has and the view she has as appose to his in the Present; Hatty notices “a sadness that seemed to have come over him” during this comparison. Tom’s preference and love for …show more content…
Leslie’s different values associated with her higher class, along with her endeavours with Jess through Terabithia, allows Jess to express, his previous bottled up creativity and expression. Jess lives in a southern, conservative and rural family. He has “worn out sneakers” (Paterson, 1) and the majority of their meals consist of fried foods (11); these descriptions are generally associated with a lower class. They are clearly part of the working class as the dad’s job consists of “digging and hauling all day” (6). They are essentially working to survive and don’t see education as a priority. You see this suppression of education on page 9 when the mom is reluctant on giving her daughters money for school supplies. The county itself doesn’t reinforce the importance of education either. Jess, an 11 year old boy, can see this for himself and says that “[his school] is short on everything.” (4) This underfunding of the school is seen as well on page 29 when the kids have to eat at their desks because they’re lacking a lunchroom that had been promised 20 years ago. After a long day’s work around the farm, Jessie “loved to draw” (12). It would send a “peace [that] would start at the top of his muddled brain and seep down through his tired and tensed-up body.” Jessie’s drawings were creative and made him happy. Drawing symbolizes creativity
Hatty and Leslie are represented as sources of knowledge throughout the novels, by their actions and the surroundings they are placed in. Hatty spends her days in her garden …show more content…
Hatty teaches him, through their adventures and discussions, to accept the society he is in. There are two societies seen in the novel - the Victorian and the present era. These two different time periods can be associated with the two different time periods in our lives: Victorian with childhood and the Present with adulthood. When Tom is sent to his aunt and uncle’s, a Victorian house turned into multiple flats, he has a negative perspective of the house. He felt as if “[nothing] seemed really to belong to the hall” (Pearce, 5) and that “the heart of the house was empty-cold-dead.” This is his perspective on the society he lives in. The house has been democratized into flats for people’s own benefit, much like the life Tom lives in. When he revisits the house in the past, a Victorian house before its transformation, the description of it is heartwarming and positive. It had a rug contrary to just a cold flagstone and “the walls were decorated with a rich variety of other objects” (22); this is what Tom thinks about his childhood and the past Victorian era. On page 146, Tom and Hatty have a conversation where he compares the two time periods. He would much rather prefer the room she has and the view she has as appose to his in the Present; Hatty notices “a sadness that seemed to have come over him” during this comparison. Tom’s preference and love for …show more content…
Leslie’s different values associated with her higher class, along with her endeavours with Jess through Terabithia, allows Jess to express, his previous bottled up creativity and expression. Jess lives in a southern, conservative and rural family. He has “worn out sneakers” (Paterson, 1) and the majority of their meals consist of fried foods (11); these descriptions are generally associated with a lower class. They are clearly part of the working class as the dad’s job consists of “digging and hauling all day” (6). They are essentially working to survive and don’t see education as a priority. You see this suppression of education on page 9 when the mom is reluctant on giving her daughters money for school supplies. The county itself doesn’t reinforce the importance of education either. Jess, an 11 year old boy, can see this for himself and says that “[his school] is short on everything.” (4) This underfunding of the school is seen as well on page 29 when the kids have to eat at their desks because they’re lacking a lunchroom that had been promised 20 years ago. After a long day’s work around the farm, Jessie “loved to draw” (12). It would send a “peace [that] would start at the top of his muddled brain and seep down through his tired and tensed-up body.” Jessie’s drawings were creative and made him happy. Drawing symbolizes creativity