Censorship and expurgation of the selected children's literature

Abstract

Criticisms and reviews challenge literature to its stand accordingly to what it desires to project. People thought that all literary works is a fine expression of values, innocence and a mirror on how the society formed; picture to stand out and unconsciously builds exaggeration and lacked of consideration. Children, as commonly the basic target audiences of every child literature are a body that need to be considered upon publishing a certain literary piece because of stages and the type of interpretation they may developed and embrace upon reading a certain issue on the extent of literary genres who happened to unconsciously published an issue of obscenity, violence, offenses in language, and profanity in the selected children’s literature. The hard core of this study is to project critical theories of today to assess and provide solutions for literary troubles. However, to further understand the concept of censorship and expurgation, the study will be using the formalistic approach, stylistic approach, sociological approach which drives by Social Interactionist Theory which accounts to examine the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition as he believed that community plays a central role in the process of making meaning. Psychoanalytic criticism as used pertains on how the language of literary pieces influenced the language development of young readers as perceived in the contact between young readers and the books as studied in the Theory of Imitation. The Speech Act Theory is an attempt of the study that examines the subfield of pragmatics concerned with the ways in which word can be used not only to present information but also to carry out actions and this could be assessed by the levels of actions at which utterances are said to perform. The significance of this study will be based on the issues of censorship and expurgation in the works of James Barrie, Brothers Grimm, and Rudyard Kipling and are stressed in following: Firstly, for the readers of literary pieces for this study will be contributing to the development of interests and influences, in reading and embracing literature, leading the readers to have profound interpretation. Secondly, for the teacher in which this study will be leading them to improve their knowledge and skills in teaching Literature with an intellectual approach, fullest passion and interest for the students to be influenced in embracing the concept of Literature and in helping the teachers to adapt new style of influences from literature. Lastly to raise literary sensitivity for the concern of identifying the kind of readers or audience may be encountering texts that are uncensored and unexpurgated. This is a thesis entitled “Censored and Expurgation of the Selected Children’s Literature”. The researchers problems are the following: what words in the selected children’s literature must be censored, and how are these works expurgated to maintain the texts’ authenticity in terms of forms, meaning and the universality and what instructional materials in the selected children’s literature can be design to meet the standard of censorship. This study utilized different theories and approaches of literary criticism, formalistic approach, stylistic approach, and sociological approach, Applying descriptive method with the used of content analysis as the approach. It is in this regard that the problem of the study will be answered in the following manner: Problem one, what words in the selected children’s literature must be will be answered through the literary criticisms and approaches. Problem two focuses on how are these works expurgated to maintain the texts’ authenticity in terms of form, meaning and universality. Problem three, what instructional material in the Selected Children’s Literature can be designed to meet the standard of censorship. The researcher will use synonyms and light language to make text authentic and readable to all kinds of readers. The following are the findings based on analysis of the selected children’s literature: 1. Censored words in the selected literature of James Barrie (Peter Pan), Brothers Grimm (Hansel and Gretel) and Rudyard Kipling (Jungle Book) and how are these expurgated to maintain the texts’ authenticity in terms of forms, meaning, and universality. a. Peter Pan . The texts that caused the theme to be censored are the following: (a) cockier boy which was used and exposed in the sexually explicit manner. (b) kiss which eroticized childhood and shows obscenity. (c) silly ass and fool developing a symbolic and thematic view of offenses and triggers up human emotion to the elocution of words against character. (d) gay appears ambiguous and somewhat causes external interpretation distorting the stand of its meaning. The used of (e) sharp-pointed materials and rebellious actions among characters marked a record of violence contrary to real purpose of a children literature. (f) pretending gives children false hope and assumptions which could affect their emotional level of acceptance or the so called trust. b. Hansel and Gretel. The expletive oaths the story used were (a) fool and stupid goose and (b) to real purpose of a children literature. (f) pretending gives children false hope and assumptions which could affect their emotional level of acceptance or the so called trust. b. Hansel and Gretel. The expletive oaths the story used were (a) fool and stupid goose and (b) you wicked children, are texts that gives an account to pinpoint someone’s personality and level of thoughts, labeling someone’s thinking low and lack of knowledge which appears so offensive on the utterance of words. Another censored part is the concept of intimacy which best regards as the act of erotizing childhood in the portrayal scene of (c) kiss unsuitable for young readers because of incest relationship that sends a message of breaking society morality. c. The Jungle Book. Core concepts in the representation of nature in the Mowgli stories are ‘hunting’ and ‘killing’. The identified parts of the story that need to be censored is the portrayal of (a) killing that promotes violence to community and in the issue of executing such violence in front of the children held tolerable. The word (b) fool that shows offense to someone’s point of view and thus records a not healthy criticism to our social practices when reflected to real setting. 2. The effects of the censored parts to the forms, meaning and universality of the text. a. Forms. Obscene words such as kissing and ordering babies in this book as the expected form and symbol of appreciation and friendship; killing and the use of sharp-pointed objects uttered affects of violence to community and in the violence issue of executing such violence in front of the children held tolerable. The word (b) fool that shows offence to someone’s point of view and thus records a not healthy criticism to our social practices when reflected to real setting. 2. The effects of the censored parts to the forms, meaning and universality of the text. a. Forms. Obscene words such as kissing and ordering babies in this book as the expected form is a form and symbol of appreciation and friendship; killing and the use of sharp-pointed objects uttered effects of violence, war and conflicts, the form of these things used is supposedly an application of defense and on how to ensure security. The utterance of the words silly and fool touches an effect of fouling utterances translating it to the language brutally frank making children question about disposition and self-worth. b. Meaning. These literature aims to give reader a moral lesson on valuing family, security and moralizing values treated by chances in the society challenged with the style on presenting the idea affecting the construction of words appear ambiguous. The gay and fool words identified may be interpreted as discriminatory and offensive in social setting. The meaning of kiss in an innocent state is just an intimacy of friendship and closeness. The use of weapon and the engagement of children to pointed and sharp objects appear to be violently symbolic and as contradicting to the theme and meaning projected in the literature. In the jungle book, influences must derive a meaning of valuing cultural practices, community relationship and ensuring security; the book has established meaning and symbols of animal cruelty, rivalry for the pursuance of strength and greatness to avenge from the others appears unlikely to the real meaning in the story. c. Universality. The Universality of the text is affected as it is treated as something that should be acceptable to readers and the study views it as something that should be exposed to children as the story created for the influence of Children Literature in shaping moral values. 3. Expurgation is maintaining the texts’ authenticity in terms of forms, meaning and universality. The text cockier boy in peter pan could be expurgated with words boastful boy or arrogant boy to whom it lessens the exposure of the text towards sexual loom. The term silly ass could be expurgation. The themes killing and shooting identified in the works of Barrie and Kipling has established violent actions to be eliminated by young audiences as it is portrayed in manner like conflicts resulting bloody exchanging strengths of violence, the author may expurgate the theme of encounter into magical way. In magical way, the use of sharp-pointed objects was no longer in use for the fight scenes in killing is on act of exchanging magical control. The term “kiss” in the relationship between “Peter Pan and Wendy” and “Hansel and Gretel” sets a theme of sensuality towards intimacy and is not suitable to be felt and interpreted by young audiences. This term could be expurgated with the term “embrace” or “shake hands” as the expression of strong attachment to someone to avoid ambiguity to the form, meaning and universality of the text. The last to be treated in expurgation is the involvement of the text gay children to point out an attitude or behavior in the Peter Pan story. The term gay could be expurgated in gender sensitized way making readers not discriminative and sexiest to something that’s cheerful, elegant and happy. 4. Instructional materials designed to meet the standard of censorship in the selected children’s literature. The use of books, journals, and electronic sources in forming this instructional material supplied the needed of elements to operate censorship and expurgation. The information of this instructional material was edited and compiled in audio video presentation (AVP) to make the idea of censorship and expurgation concrete and visionary to the eyes of audiences more concern for literary lecturers in interpreting words used in these selected children’s literature and in avoiding issues of ambiguity. This instructional material firstly defined Book Censorship and how does the words censored in the book being expurgated to maintain the authenticity of the text in terms of forms, meaning and universality. It also explains the definition and function Expurgation in the selected children’s literature. This instructional material classified into three reasons of expurgating texts whether it is sexually explicit, off-color words and violent word violent words that believe to influence readers’ especially young readers. In the light of the findings of the story, the following were the conclusions that the researcher had drawn: 1. The selected children’s literature written by James Barrie Peter Pan (1911), Brothers Grimm Hansel and Gretel (1812), and Rudyard Kipling The Jungle Book (1890) used words that by definition appears sexually explicit, violent, and offensive contradicting to children literary forms. The authors of these books gave different as to how expressions uttered by different characters as evidence in establishing a tone, diction, style and characterization in supporting the forms which shaped the selected children’s literature. 3. Issues can be drawn from the different themes utilized in these books which established different emotions and aggressions which lead to challenging scenes. In relation with the findings and conclusion of this paper, the following are recommended: 1. The authors of the selected children’s literature must also consider the act of developing empirical picture in the story where the language is observed and the motivation to consider the psychological impact of every in the development and acceptance in the reader to upholding acceptance to language and interpretation. To exaggerate things just to project a heavy state of emotions, the author must also identify the characterization, utterance of the language, words used, and theme to be censored and expurgated to preserve the authenticity of the text in terms of forms, meaning and universality. This will lessen exaggerations but helps upholding the real motivation of the story. 2. The censored parts must be expurgated to prevent ambiguous thinking and interpretations. This may help the readers further understand the real motivation of the literary pieces established. 3. The researcher recommends using an Audio Visual Presentation (AVP) in treating words in a light manner. This AVP contain words that is censored and expurgated. This is classified into two types of expurgation namely Word expurgation and Theme expurgation. This also focuses on the censored that need to be expurgated where sexually explicit words, off-color words, violent words and thematic projection that are obscene and violent are treated in a light and acceptable manner. The AVP as an instructional material gives reasons for censorship such as its general use, slang, vulgar and the treatment for expurgation uses euphemistic approach.