GENDER ROLES IN LITERATURE

A detailed Summary of GENDER ROLES IN LITERATURE


Many people think that boys in our culture today are brought up to define their identities through heroic individualism and competition, particularly through separation from home, friends, and family in an outdoors world of work and doing. Girls, on the other hand, are brought up to define their identities through connection, cooperation, self-sacrifice, domesticity, and community in an indoor world of love and caring. This view of different male and female roles can be seen throughout children’s literature. Treasure Island and The Secret Garden are two novels that are an excellent portrayal of the narrative pattern of “boy and girl” books.

When thinking of books that seem to be written specifically for young boys, Treasure Island is a book that comes to many minds. Treasure Island is the epic tale of thrill seeking and adventure.


These reasons are just a few for why Treasure Island and The Secret Garden follow the male and female narrative patterns that are often found in children’s literature. They seem to portray gender-specific roles such as Jim seeking adventure and Mary loving to work in the garden. Also, the authors follow certain patterns in how they set up the climaxes in each of the novels. These two novels are perfect examples of how gender roles are illustrated in literature.

Stevenson’s main character is a small boy, Jim, who gets to go away from his mother and embark on a trip across the ocean. There are sea fearing pirates, sword fight, and bloody killings. These are typically things that interest boys. Stevenson also follows the literary pattern described by Perry Nodelman in his book, The Pleasures of Children’s Literature. He describes that

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Approximate Word count = 581
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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