Sharon’s Comments (group member since Aug 31, 2011)

Sharon’s comments from the Redwall group.

Christopher wrote: "ive been trying to finish the rogue crew for months and just havent been able to do it, cause when i finish that means its going to be all over ;("

I had that problem myself. It took me months to finish it! Finishing it was bittersweet.

That's a good point! Maybe it depends on mindset of the reader. I know some kids who would have stereotypes cemented, and others who would not have that problem.

I wish that there were more examples!

I'm so glad that I could do my thesis on Redwall! I'm not sure what my topic would have been otherwise. :)

I actually have a whole chapter (it was also the longest chapter) in my masters thesis on the series (and more specifically, what children can learn from the books) about this. I spent a lot of time of Blaggut (I love that character!), but I also talked about Gingervere and Squire Julian, being cats who do not act like the rest of the species. I also talk about Veil, and the fact that he does show a capacity for good, which can be seen in his saving Bryony and by not killing the dormice.

Here's the conclusion from the end of that chapter (sorry it didn't copy over the greatest; the numbers 12 and 13 correspond to footnotes, which I included at the end of my quote):

One thing is clear, the Redwall series allows many opportunities for young
readers to learn about themselves and those around them. Through the texts, they can
gather information about morals and what they reflect, how important it is to be cautious
around those that you do not know, the dangers of and errors that can occur when
stereotyping and judging, and the fact that people can change despite their backgrounds
and choices, whether through making conscious choices to be different from one’s
upbringing or prior decisions, or through maturing. All of these things can be learned
through other means. Why is it so important that they can learn these things from a world
that is populated by anthropomorphized animals instead of humans? The reason is this –
when entering the world of fantasy, there is a willful suspension of disbelief. Professor
Tolkien feels that it might be “easier to work the spell,” this act of making all things
possible, even for a short time, “with children” (38). 12 With this suspension of disbelief,
mice can talk and wield swords, ferrets can seek revenge against those they believe have
done them wrong, and wildcats can choose not to eat rodents. While readers can bring
some of their own ideas to the texts, such as rats not being good, they are less likely to be
set in their ideas about the various types of creatures and, because of the atmosphere of
anything being possible that pervades the fantasy genre, they can form new ideas, ideas which they can apply to their lives.13 This is less likely to happen if they are asked first
to change ideas about people and situations that they are already accustomed to in their
day to day lives. They can make changes in their perceptions of themselves and those
around them if they chose to. Readers are more likely to learn and absorb messages,
these life lessons, if they make the choice to do so. They are more likely to take the
messages that they can glean from the Redwall series to heart if the learning is fun or if
they do not realize that they are learning at all. The willful suspension of disbelief, or the
expansion of belief, something that can happen more easily in an age group that still uses
their imagination, facilitates the learning that can occur when young minds read these
texts.

12 It should be noted that Tolkien said that this is a possibility that he is unsure of (38).

13 It can be said that “[a]s an agent of education, the power of fantasy to renew and refresh what is inertly
familiar creates an activity of mind whose enemies are habitual states of mind” (Crossley 288). It is
through the examples found in the Redwall series that adolescents can learn about stereotypes that they
might not be exposed to very often in their daily lives. These lessons are important for them to learn if they
are to help societies, and themselves, break from the act of stereotyping.

So, while there is a striking dichotomy of what species is good and what species is evil, I think that there are some characters that can be viewed as teaching kids that they can break away from how they are raised and what's expected of them.

It really does raise interesting questions for people to think about a discuss!