Naive Narrators and Double Narratives of Racially Motivated Violence in the Historical Fiction of Christopher Paul Curtis

Abstract

Christopher Paul Curtis's historical fiction uses naïve character narration to engage readers and create double narratives that present stories about racism and racial violence both truthfully and safely for potential readers of differing levels of readiness to grasp distressing historical realities.

Through Lines: Exploring Past/Present Connections in Middle Grade Novels

“…Regarding historical fiction that addresses racial injustice specifically, Barker (2013) offers the works of Christopher Paul Curtis as examples of child-appropriate texts that "invite an engagement between reader and narrator which positions readers as witnesses to the consequences of racial violence, not as victims or as activist heroes, thus avoiding arousing traumatic, manipulative, or sensationalistic emotions " (p. 197). The nuanced descriptions of racial violence in Curtis's books can bring about awareness of historical atrocities-and inspire further investigation among those who are readywithout being so explicit as to eliminate them from curricular consideration by adult gatekeepers who might deem them too upsetting for children (Barker, 2013).…”

Βιβλιοπαρουσίαση: Ράγκος, 2018

“…Άλλωστε, όπως επισημαίνεται, το να αφαιρέσεις τη βία από τις αγριότητες της Ιστορίας είναι σαν να θέλεις να εξοστρακίσεις ή να αποκρύψεις την ίδια την αγριότητα (Connoly, 2003). Η ηθική επιταγή να γράφουμε με ειλικρίνεια για παιδιά για το κακό στην ανθρώπινη και πολιτισμική ιστορία, ώστε να μπορέσουν εν τέλει να το κατανοήσουν και να το απορρίψουν, είναι πολύ δυνατή (Barker, 2003).…”