Children Vision of “Home”: From the Myth to the Wake of Home by Virginia L. Wolf (1990) Summary In each and every generations, children have been introduced into values through the literary culture through children books and so many other literary works in so many traditional forms such as fairy tales, legend stories, folk tales that contain myth with so many different kinds of genres. This is also is one of the ways to keep the genre and forms of myth alive by passing it through children from generation of one another. Mythology is a complicated subject that touches on so many aspects such as literature, history, anthropology, psychology, religion and even science. Technically, mixing all the aspects together is basically what mythology is. The main focus of outcome from any sources of myth is about the knowledge and moral lesson that can get and can be reflected in our life. Growing up as children, one must have been exposed in any kind of stories that contain myth in it. It is either been told by their older generation, through their own reading of literary works or being exposed through different types of mass media. Being able to gain information and get to know these old folklores somehow did impact on inner side of the children itself either it is through their emotion, spiritual or knowledge. However, the changes that happened from these stories of community or traditional belief is determine on how the children think themselves. This literature writing is about a myth that has been put in children from generation to another which subject to home that portrays as a literary place that one imagines as a wonderful place as been told in so many literary works, focusing on literature for children, based from Virginia L. Wolf article. However, she reveals that the myth of being at home giving comfort-ness and safety much more subjective than what is showing from the surface. Starting with on Adrienne Rich literary work titled “In the Wake of Home”, Virginia L. Wolf raised a question “And what would comfort be?” as the starting point to elaborate the relation of the common myth where home is a significant place in many of literary writing as symbolic and wonderful. She also quoted a few of literary work that rejected the idea of one place that can be full of wonder and comfort. All of those belief is myth. Based on Rich’s literary work that mentioned earlier, Virginia L. Wolf stress that it is true that most of people do cling to the idea that attached to myth where children is sacred. It is also been said from Rich that implies attachment to myth is childlike where one belief child’s innocence, energy and enthusiasm, a child need security and certainty, also persistence in the face of contradictions. Differ with adult literature, wailing that homelessness and reflects the fracture or misfortune in folk tale and myth, children’s literature seems likely to recognize home and affirm the point of view in myth. Creating imaginary houses in such children’s literature, for example a house in woods where birds singing and animal walk around pretty or any other variety of imagination whether it is a garden, island or river have been noted by many critics. There are a lot of examples of writing for children that emphasizes the important of cozy places throughout the history of children’s stories and writing especially in twentieth-century literature for younger age. There is also next question have been raised that is why adult’s product of literature is different from younger age’s product of literature. As if adult’s belief that something that outside of material order, such as alien, it is been said that the theory is more likely adult also can’t get away from myth. However, it has been focused here on how conception of children’s literature has been attacked these days. Quoted by Jacqueline Rose, she suggested that things that happening in children’s literature is not only refusal to knowledge of difficulties but also has many contradictions in relation to childhood. This also implies that adults are doing the same in denying those difficulties in relations to oneself. To be more specific, this is more on how the myth of childhood that has a great beginning can at least be made good even though it is been said how this denied in many sufferers regarding children on many things such as abuses, class privilege, language, economic and politics to both sides of children and adults. Indeed, Rose also attack on the myth of childhood that have been said which it resembles other deconstructionist and postdeconstructionist exploration on origin myths. The outcome of these study, it can be identified that the meaning behind home as the cultural ideas and not as universal or transcendent truths. This idea also can be mean that the contradictory and relative nature of language and knowledge somehow resulted in creating the visions of the imaginary home that has been told in most of the children’s literature. On children development point of view, it is been said that the children that uncovered from these kinds of imaginary home creation can cause them confusion as the awareness of the children increases on their own separateness and subjectivity. Meaning that, the children’s own subjective point of view and information that have been gathered to produce his or her own points of view from other possible points of view that matter and much more important. As the children grow up, eventually their understanding of how the world works will improve. They will understand that how other people experience life differently and beyond the control of their own self. However, this is not easily achieved and it takes many years for the children to understand the illusions of power, certainty and safety until they get over their own original perception. Children learn to see the value of the world as what have been portrayed and showed to them. That is as simple as how children see the world. It is important for children to see the world as a home or a safe place for them to grow up. However, we cannot deny that everything happen in the world is as perfection as it seems. Everything around them are responsible in shaping how children see the world, and that includes literary form that have been exposed throughout their childhood. Thus, we can say that it is important to control of what kind of material that we need to let children dive into so that their vision in seeing the world can shape them and somehow improve their cognitive development into better thinker and decision maker in the future. Keywords: Literature, mythology, folklore, children development Introduction According to HJ Rose (1958), the word "Myth" originates from the Greek word mythos which signifies "word", "discourse", "story" or "story" and that is basically what a fantasy is: a story. Some would restrict this expansive definition by demanding that the story more likely than not substantiated itself deserving of getting customary. A myth can be identified as story that convey orally one through another and also in written form. Other than that, it can be in other form such as music, painting, sculpture, dance, drama, song or movies. However, the myth that going to be focused on in this writing is related to children literature, more specifically is how the children view on “home” in various literary work that set them to hope of a perfection place and opposite of realness in this world. The questions that can be ask from this, is home is as what portray in many literatures? Delightful and lovely as it seems. Is it important for children on how their view on what they called “home”? Several works have been shown in Virginia L. Wolf (1990) writing titled From the Myth to the Wake of Home: Literary Houses, about a view of a home or safe place that need a critical view from readers. “For the most part, writers for adults portray us as both deprived of a familiar home and free in an unfamiliar universe. Implicitly, they show that comfort, or the belief that one can be at home in the world, is myth.” Virginia L. Wolf (1990) The phrase that quoted from Virginia L. Wolf (1990), stated in her writing indicates that her view in how most of literary works that portray home or “a safe place” is unreal or myth. Based on literary work from Adrienne Rich’s titled In the Wake of Home (1986), it is stated in Wolf’s writing that her implication of our attachment to myth is childlike, where alluding to literary works that commends home and attest confidence in myth. Concept: Home in Children’s Literature Various images that have been portrays in many children literary works. Not only such as a peaceful house in woods, but also different types of places such as an island, in flowery garden, in green forest, busy town and many more. Many review and critics noted the view of home in children literature and emphasizes the important of cozy and comfortable home is and use it in producing in their own literary works. Roger Sale, Phyllis Bixler, Lois Kuznets, Anita Moss and Jon Scott are some of the writers stated in Wolf’s writing of twentieth children’s literary works that using these kinds of setting to portrays home. The writers stated are some of the writers that see children as glorify and pure. However, this concept of children has been attacked by many other writers, who see this as refusal to acknowledge difficulties and contradictions related to childhood. Jaqueline Rose, Mary Kelley and Witold Rybczynski are some of the upstanding writers, explore this and told that the outcome of this myth of childhood where at the beginning, everything is perfect and can be at least made good in everyone’s view. Unfortunately, there are many kinds of sufferings happened in childhood of every children in the world where they did not see home as the safest and lovely place as been portrayed. Abuse in many ways to children of sexuality, economic, language, education and many others is the realness childhood look like. This also has been said as contradictory, deconstructionist and post deconstructionist of myth in childhood. Cognitive development To add on, by depending to myth, it somehow affects the nature of cognitive development. This have been elaborated by Jean Piaget through his contribution work on children development. Piaget explains, in short, children will confuse themselves, take on their points of view as absolute and eventually understand through maturity even though it takes years to happen. In addition, this also suggest of that is why myth persists in adult mind, because of the cognitive development. It is also reflected that children’s sense of place is unaffected by time and change. For normal cognitive development, it is the reason why mythic places it treated differently for different ages in literature. These changes reflect the historical evolution from myth to irony. Examples of literary works There are five different types of children’s literary works, that represent different myths of home or safe place have been put in through this writing as example of views to reader to make clear of Wolf’s point in this writing. The Animal Family, The Borrowers, The House in Norham Gardens, One Eyed Cat, and Ask Me No Questions are literary works example that portrays of houses, arranged from romantic to ironic. In The Animal Family by Randall Jarrell, the central of the illusion is about timelessness and permanence. The story is about different kind of creature that live together, become a family in a same place setting. It evokes all the intimacy of snug and cozy place. All setting of the house is very ideal to describe the realness of the world to the reader. Another source of timelessness is the cycle of the season where in this book shows that living in the sea as timeless, different with land with the concept of season changes. This is a celebration of human life, differences and satisfying illusion of permanence. Great family values from each character also represent real community of human, mythical and animal life. By offering real life, time and eternity, the book shows to the reader that earth can be paradise as it called. The Borrower by Mary Norton also offers a world similar of our own. The story setting is in an English country, a five- or six-inches people living in normal house which home is under the floorboards of this house’s kitchen, Firbank Hall. The story is full of adventure, depends on one another and full of danger. The small home is also portrayed snog and cozy in the beginning, not until the danger arrive. Somehow, readers are showed friendship within different people. The story also offers tragic views where the little people chased by powerful evil person and threatened of losing their home. For some logic reason, the book is a bit disturbing, somehow it connects intellectual and emotion. Adventure of little people might seem a bit odd, even for fantasy. By looking at The Borrowers, we can see that myth is moving toward realism of the world. House in Norham Garden by Penelope Lively has been said even the grater one and more innocent. Even so, it offers a little horror, however protects the readers. This is only just some of the product of the character imagination. The house in this story is presented as a bit fancy, church look alike and has nineteen rooms, chimneys, and fire escapes. Magic is involved and part of the story is something mysterious about what the house was storing up. The feeling and values embodied in the mythic house are internalized as perception of reality. Readers might experience this as imaginary dream, but the strange characters, adventure and fantasy is straddling in between fantasy and reality. Psychological projection believes that it is the character desires to remain child and fear of adulthood, which is realistic. Next literary work is Paula Fox’s One-Eyed Cat, which portrays nothing realistic in real life, or even dreams. The house presented in the story is as complicated as House in Norham Garden. But different with the story is that the main character problem, Ned, is not about the potential to lose the house, but the right to live in it. Tragic incident involving gun and injury, probably killing is happening in the story. Add with the family problem between father and a son. Ned is living and confront with the evil inside himself. He has been cast out of his home because of it even though there are so much family love happening in the house before that. As the story goes, it twisted when Ned is given a watch to always keep track of time by his mother for his birthday, after gun shooting incident. So, he has to live outside his house even so he feels the house close to him. Move on from this story, Ned begin to live and help a man, Mr. Scully and go through what we can call strength of life from guilt, sorrow and fear. At the end, myth of dying old god reborn in young god happened, Ned return home with forgiveness to his parents. The last example of literary work, is from Ann Schlee’s Ask Me No Questions. As complicated as the house is portrayed, the love and protection are presented to those in need. Laura, the main character, who leaves her parents’ house to stay with her Aunt Bollinger, away from some problematic back in her place. She begins to experience something that contradict than what she has before back in her place at her aunt’s house. Disgusted by people eating garbage and dirty stuff and die, Laura steals and lies in order to provide food because none of the people there is doing anything to help. People ignore, mind own business and suddenly epidemic breaks out and killed most of the children, because of poor diet and sanitation. Laura withdraw from reality, not like when she is back at her own place in London. She moves back to her house in London, confess everything to her father. Yet, she can’t erase the nightmares she has experienced. It weighs heavily on her. Basically, this story promotes death and evil that invades and hurt people. Laura felt responsible of what happening, even she can’t do anything about it. She does not love, and does not kill, which precisely of what human being are. Conclusion To conclude, Virginia L. Wolf relieved for the feeling that the myth of feeling to save home like portrayed in most of the literature work is revealed. She believes that there is more than a feeling of home in being oneness that affect childhood. “The vision that never was and never will be” is the important phrase that she focused on determine that being real in a real world does not as it seem to be perfection and certainty. Indeed, being unified with this present reality expect us to feel agony and enduring so as to change and development. From these five examples of literary work mentioned, there are many aspects involved such as magic, adventure, family internalized, celebration, guilt and irony, out of being at home. To recognize the value and important of home require more sophisticated reader to read the value through it. A reader can understand the value, appreciate the complexities, but not one of these books that denies the possibility of one can be at home in the real world. This is what to be said as the reality of comfort that offered in children. It is what myth or possibilities to have oneness with the world, that we imagine it should be. Rich’s literary work suggests we should mourn home’s lost, but there is hope to desire a home with the perception of reality. Myth does have what we seek and treasure our experience of perfection, but it is not being one with the real world is about. Freedom from pain and suffering of our own and others is desire to change and growth. It feels good to celebrate mythic houses that we imagine it would be for legacy of comfort. But to reach more potential and contribute to humanity, it must be more that the world that we desire. We must accept for what it is, chaotic, destructive and problematic, yet creative and peaceful. References 1. Rose, H.J., A Handbook of Classical Mythology, 6th ed. (London:Mathuen, 1958), pp. 12-14, myth,saga and folktale. 2. Rose, Adrienne. “In the Wake of Home.” In Your Native Land, Your Life, 56-60. New York: W. W. Norton, 1986. 3. Sale, Roger. Fairy Tales and After: From Snow White to E. B. Whiter. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978. 4. Bixler, Phyllis. “Tradition and the Individual Talent of Frances Hodgson Burnett.” Children’s Literature 7 (1978): 191-207. 5. Kuznets Lois. “Some Contemporary Versions of the Pastoral.” Children’s Literature, 11 (1983): 156-68. 6. Moss, Anita. “The Spear and the Piccolo: Heroic and Pastoral Dimensions of William Steig’s Dominic and Abel’s Island.” Children’s Literature 10 (1982): 124-40. 7. Scott, Jon. “From Here to Eternity: Aspects of the Pastoral in the Green Knowe Series.” Children’s Literature 11(19830: 145-55. 8. Rose, Jaqueline. The Case of Peter Pan, or The Impossibility of Children’s Literature. London: Macmillan, 1984. 9. Kelley Mary. Private Woman, Public Stage: Literary Domesticity in NineteenthCentury America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. 10. Rybczynski, Witold. Home: A Short History of an Idea. New York: Viking, 1986. 11. Piaget, Jean. The Child’s Conception of the World. Trans. Joan and Andrew Tomlinson. Totowa, N.J.: Littlefield, Adams and Co. 1969. 12. Jarrell, Randall. The Animal Family, New York: Pantheon, 1965. 13. Norton, Mary. The Borrowers. New York: Harcourt, 1953. 14. Lively, Penelope. The House in Norham Gardens. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1974. 15. Fox, Paula. One-Eyed Cat. Scarsdale, N.Y.: Bradbury, 1984. 16. Schlee, Ann. Ask Me No Questions. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976.
