| 1. |
- Alkestrand, Malin, 1986-, et al.
(author)
-
A Cognitive Analysis of Characters in Swedish and Anglophone Children's Fantasy Literature
- 2018
-
In: International Research in Children's Literature (IRCL). - : Edinburgh University Press. - 1755-6198 .- 1755-6201. ; 11:1, s. 65-79
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In Justice in Young Adult Speculative Fiction, Marek C. Oziewicz argues, 'it is possible to study scripts through the lens of the author's cognition, through the reader's cognition, or as a textual matter with an implied author and reader' (9-10). Here we propose a fourth method for studying scripts in children's literature: as a textual matter. Unlike previous research in the field, we argue that neither the implied author nor the implied or real reader's cognition is necessary for a cognitive analysis to offer insights about a literary text. A cognitive analysis of characters can demonstrate how each character's cognitive embodiment of their intersectional subject position contributes to the progression of a text's plot and themes. By analysing the mimetic, synthetic and thematic dimensions of character (Phelan), we maintain an ontological distinction between humans and characters - a prerequisite for applying cognitive theories to characters. In order to demonstrate the broad applicability of our approach, we analyse the cognitive scripts of the protagonists in two portal-quest fantasies form two different countries. Taliah Pollack's Saga Sward: Omskakare och varldsresenar [Saga Sword: world shaker and traveller] was published in Sweden in 2012; Tahereh Mafi's Furthermore dates from 2016 and was published in the US.
|
|
