Tag Archives: children’s fiction

Native Americans & Colonial Racist Stereotypes in 1940’s WOW Comics no. 10

2017 Canadian Whites, WOW Comics, , , , , , , , ,

INTRODUCTION

Native Americans are now known for being spiritual, environmental, and nomads and unfortunately, colonizers have used stereotypes to create an alternate assumed identity with this knowledge. Previous to now the stereotypes of the Native identity was wrong, but as time has progressed it has slowly corrected itself. Thanks to the education high school now offers on the basics of native heritage and history stereotypical aspects have faded slightly and the presumed slights have become less prominent. This is a step in the right direction to reconciliation for the atrocities Indigenous North American communities have faced, from residential schools to cultural assimilation to the numerous issues surrounding reserves and broken treaties.

The “right step forward” to reconciliation mentality in North American society has not always prevalent in history. Throughout the 1800 and the 1900s, First Nations fought and defended Canada in both World Wars but were not given the right to vote. Indigenous people were consistently depicted as the enemy in mass consumed media even in medias geared towards children. In the collection of comics called the “Canadian Whites,” it was common to find this villainous depiction. Even more so it was common to see the reliability these comics had on racist, propagandistic stereotypes of the Indigenous community. In order to understand this racism, analyzing how Canada has treated Native Americans in the past will explain how these people and society interacted. Researching into the specific comic “WOW, no. 10” (published in January of 1942) and the origins of the racism found in this specific comic created numerous questions.

Why is the native populace depicted in mass consumed media negatively and in a severely racist way without the care for separate tribal identities? Even with Native Americans aiding the war effort greatly through enlistment the government refused to acknowledge the help until much later. Instead, deciding to show off propagandistic comics that portrayed “true” Canadians to be solely white Canadians who are superior and used this belief to fuel what the government of past and present 1940s wanted for Canada’s imagined future. Examining the Native influence on Canada prior, during, and after the war, the understanding of how this racism and altered depiction of Natives will become more clear and highlight that the imagined identity was a predominantly white, European, Christian population. All those who were not these characteristics, be it those who were First Nations or otherwise, were to be expunged or assimilated.

THE IMAGE OF THE “RED SKINNED SAVAGE”

In the short story found in WOW no. 10 called “The Iroquois are Back,” by Kathleen Williams, the time period revolves around the mid 1600s. The features three young men; Henri, Jaques, and Louis, all who venture out of the community against previous discretion due to “red devils,” the Iroquois being seen in the surrounding area. First Nations people have survived on this land for thousands of years, promoting spirituality and prosperity. As colonization became the dominant identity to cultivate the land for its resources, Native Americans became closed off on reserves, far off from society all while colonizers lived on the ground that the tribes once claimed. The use of ‘red devil’ is used as a depictor of the red undertone skin (a racist stereotype of First Nations people) and disassociates any good inherent reason for the Iroquois to be in the area or attack. It makes Indigenous people the enemy before they had really caused any issues, an enemy who is weaker and less formidable than other white people.

Colonization created a bias against Natives and that is shown when Henri, Jaques, and Louis single-handedly kill Natives for over two hours, a feat that is then congratulated when they are rescued by others from their community. They slaughtered many Native Americans to represent that they are protecting themselves from the “red deviled savage.” The murder of people was celebrated because they were the antagonist of the story for existing in an area that was once theirs solely. They were villainous for existing as Indigenous tribes and people were viewed as “primitive, strange and alien” (Sangster. 191-200) and were shamed for acting like “the behavior of the Eskimo.”(Sangster. 1991 200) The actions and values of the First Nations were shamed as the “cultural hierarchy that cast white, Euro-Canadian modernity as preferable and superior” (Sangster. 191-200) was always considered better.

This “savagery” is seen again in the story “Jeff Waring” by Murray Karn when the Native chief and his soldiers arrive on a Native war canoe and automatically it’s assumed that the natives torture and kill them. It then progresses to Jeff Waring, and his friends being tied to be burnt at the stake and are only saved when the chief’s son is cured by the “white man’s” medicine. Savagery is assumed in the comic just as common nature for the  Indigenous creating only negative, primitive depictions of the supposed tribe. The need to immediately resort to burning them on the fire as an act of savagery and then only transitioning from an evil portrayal when the white man’s medicine is used to help save the chief’s son paints all tribes as primitive. It all relies on the dependence for progress that the colonizer can bring to the Indigenous community.

CREATING MIXED CULTURES

The war changed many aspects of society, altering acceptance and economic prosperity. The decriminalization of Japanese Canadians who were put into internment camps and Italian immigrants were no longer viewed as “enemy alien” after 1947. 

Enemy aliens “referred to people from countries, or with roots in countries, that were at war with Canada…. during the Second World War, people with Japanese, German and Italian ancestry.” (Patricia Roy, Canadian Encyclopedia) This was not something that transferred to Native Americans, who by this point still were not given the right to vote federally (July 1, 1960 legislation passed to federally vote) and were viewed in disregard as during the war. This lack of acceptance was shown best in the depiction of two separate tribes; the Iroquois and a tribe from the Amazon. They have no relation to one another in any way be it physical, environmental, time period, nor are in the same story of the comic book yet look identical to each other in both the “Jeff Waring” and “The Iroquois Are Back.” These outfits are identical in the comics, both using similar furs and feathers.

Traditionally the Iroquois used “furs obtained from the woodland animals, hides of elk and deer.” (Kanatiyosh. 1999) whereas Amazonian tribes wear woven plant-based clothing or body paint. This was common especially during the time period of “Jeff Waring” as the cloth used by westerners was harder to make and obtain. This is due to the temperature difference and the cultural significance of clothing. Traditionally in the Amazon the fewer clothes one would wear the higher the rank in the tribe similar to the more body paint worn the higher the rank as well. Whereas clothing in the Iroquois tribe is beaded, has bells, and sewn on designs to show rank as the weather in Canada is much more frigid, especially in the 1600s when the comic “the Iroquois are back” takes place.

This link of identicality is seen in the way the faces are constructed in the illustrations. Both drawings have shown Natives with high cheekbones, dark eyes, large foreheads. These identities, that are very different, look identical for the purpose to show that all Natives are the same in appearance, culture and savagery. This represents ideas of assimilation into colonization as the Native community was not even worth an actual identity and instead is just clumped together as one. This ideology of missing individuality was the “ultimate goal of eliminating the “Indian” as an entity apart from the mainstream of Canadian society.” (Sheffield. 17) The lack of identity also shows that they are less superior to those who have actual defining features and differences, specifically that they are less important, in both the comic and real life than the white westerners.

THE MOCCASINS ON THE GROUND.

In the comic book as a whole, there is not a single mention of positive actions that the Native Americans had done. During “The Iroquois are Back” it depicts violence as if that is all the Natives are capable of with statements such as “the Indians closed in for the kill, hatchets raised, tomahawks waving.” (Williams. 29) War heroes are the pride of a nation and meant to hold their heads up with glory. They receive medals, are put on the local news at six, and written about in the paper. All acts of heroism during these wars are assumed to have already been discussed except there is never any mention of the aid the Indigenous tribes provided to the war effort.

Violence is promoted in the comic as second nature to the Natives but highlights nothing of the violence that some Natives were told to do while enlisted. It promotes a figurative “one-sided” coin alluding to this being only true depiction with accuracy as to how Indigenous tribes act. This ideology is further emphasized during “Jeff Waring” where the first interaction with the Indigenous tribe in the Amazon was a war canoe approaching the heroes boat. Instantly, the Natives are a threat once again. This portrayal has created conflict as there was, during its publication, Natives fighting for Canada in Europe. With no mention as to Indigenous men and women in the military, it has “resulted in narratives that are selective, partial, biased and distorted” (Harvey et al. 257) Natives were known in the armed forces for “voluntary enlistment and conscription of thousands of First Nations men.” (Sheffield. 43) The Society of American Indians, a group that helped the fight for Native rights to citizenship, even went as far as to put in their Journal that “Already we hear the tread of feet that once wore moccasins; already the red men are enlisting.” (Sabol. 268) Yet the history books have erased their participation as until later in the search for the Canadian identity was it acceptable to be native. The narrative stayed consistently negative until the tropes and stereotypes that are found in the comics became less politically correct closer to the beginning of the 2000s and were filtered out.

RECONCILIATION

Reconciling on past governmental and societal mistakes is an everyday goal in Canada as the acknowledgment of Native cultural genocide becomes more well known across the country. In doing this, images and tales such as those found in “the Iroquois are Back” and “Jeff Waring” become slowly more obsolete. There have been recent steps backward such as Johnny Depp in the movie “The Lone Ranger” but as the populace began to understand the sacrifices that Native Americans have suffered at the hands of colonization and it has become a topic more serious and more informed. Reconciliation started in Canada and the United States when the US granted citizenship to Native Americans as “Congress passed the law to reward Indians for their service and commitment to the country at a time of great need.” (Steven. 268) Unfortunately, all efforts were put on pause during the 1930s as it was the Great Depression. Tensions were rising in Europe which forced reconciliation to be pushed back until the 1960s, when voting in Canada federally was granted to all Native Americans. After that historical event that came into effect July 1, 1960, reconciliation has tardily progressed into slow positive change.

IN CONCLUSION

In the creation of Canada, Native American people have been treated as second-class citizens and have been the public enemy for an extended amount of time. From the fight to conserve their traditions and values to the consistent work towards continued reconciliation. As society progressed to be more inclusive, once again Natives were left in the dust and forced to continue the fight for equality. The images, text and subliminal messages in the comic book WOW comics no. 10 are present due to consistent colonial influence and racist stereotypes that emerged from that time period, continuing even to this day. The results of reconciliation have slowly chipped away at these stereotypes but these remarks still leave a lasting mark on the Native community in Canada.

WORKS CITED

Sheffield, R. Scott. The Red Man’s on the Warpath. UBC Press, 2004. pp 43 https://books-scholarsportal-info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/en/read?id=/ebooks/ebooks0/gibson_crkn/2009-12-01/3/404358 Accessed 10 Oct. 2018.

Karn, Murray. “Jeff Waring.” Wow Comics, no.10. pp 15-25, http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e447/e011166673.pdf. accessed 10 Oct. 2018.

Williams, Kathleen. “The Iroquois are Back.” Wow Comics, no.10. pp 27-29, http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e447/e011166673.pdf. accessed 10 Oct. 2018.

Sabol, Steven. “In search of citizenship: the society of American Indians and the First World War.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, 22 June 2017, p. 268+. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/apps/doc/A499696071/AONE?u=rpu_main&sid=AONE&xid=0c276e89. Accessed 10 Oct. 2018.

Raynald, Harvey L., et al. “Conflicts, Battlefields, Indigenous Peoples and Tourism: Addressing Dissonant Heritage in Warfare Tourism in Australia and North America in the Twenty-First Century.” International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 7, no. 3, 2013, pp. 257-271. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/docview/1412780619?accountid=13631. Accessed October 16/2018.

Sangster, Joan. “The Beaver as Ideology: Constructing Images of Inuit and Native Life in Post-World War II Canada.” Anthropologica, vol. 49, no. 2, 2007, pp. 191-209. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/docview/214174078?accountid=13631. Accessed October 16, 2018.

Sheffield, R. Scott. “Veterans’ Benefits and Indigenous Veterans of the Second World War in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.” Wicazo Sa Review, vol. 32 no. 1, 2017, pp. 63-79. Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/article/674309 Accessed October 16, 2018.

Kanatiyosh. “Iroquois Regalia.” Haudenosaunee Children’s Page. 1999. http://tuscaroras.com/graydeer/pages/childrenspage.htm Accessed November 20, 2018.

WORKS CITED: PHOTOS

ALL PHOTOS FALL UNDER FAIR USE POLICY. RYERSON UNIVERSITY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES CAUSED.

Brazilian Natives in Traditional Clothing. *Royalty free* Released free of copyrights under creative commons CC0. https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1254856 Accessed November 12, 2018.

Fair use expired copyright- “The Iroquois are Back.” Wow Comics, no.10. pp 29, http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.chttp://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e447/e011166673.pdfa/e/e447/e011166673.pdf. accessed 10 Oct. 2018.

Fair use expired copyright- Goody, Edmond. WOW Comics, no.10 Front Cover page. January. 1942. http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e447/e011166673.pdf. Accessed November 12, 2018.

The Probationer: Women and Romance in the Edwardian Era

2014, Children's Books and War, , , , , , , ,

© 2014, Christina Anto, Ryerson University

Probationer01 - Cover
Fig. 1. P.B. Hickling’s cover illustration and design for The Frantic Misfortunes of a Nurse, or, The Probationer, by A. M. Irvine

Introduction

Amy Mary Irvine’s The Frantic Misfortunes of a Nurse, or, The Probationer is a romance novel published in 1910 by S.W. Partridge in London, England. Illustrated by the prolific, but little-known, artist Percy Bell Hickling (see fig. 1), it follows the story of a young woman’s ascent from the position of graceless and spoiled probationer to assistant nurse at a children’s hospital.

1910 also signals the end of the prosperous Edwardian era, an (approximate) decade of peace characterized by its shift away from Victorian morality and featuring the beginnings of Modernism. Britain’s entrance into the First World War in 1914 dramatically changed British economy and industry, and the roles of women changed with it. Both authors and readers of the Edwardian era were straddled between two perspectives, and the Great War changed this perspective into the Modern era.

The Probationer reflects Victorian ideas of femininity, maternity and romance. The novel is characteristic of popular Edwardian romance as it reinforces the ideal, but mandatory, behaviour of a woman as she enters adulthood. However, the novel also shows characteristics of the Modern, anticipating women’s rights by portraying an independent and gifted female protagonist’s professional and personal coming-of-age. The novel, like the Edwardian Era, straddles the past and the future and combines seemingly opposing sensibilities that reconciles the fantasy and the real.

The theoretical and historical context reflects on the reader of the novel. The Probationer had a young female readership a decade after its 1910 publication. The front inscription of the CLA’s copy indicates that the book was given to a young woman on her completion of

Fig. 2. Inside cover inscription. "Presented to Hilda Stebbins for Attending + Prep. of Lessons. March 14, 1919"
Fig. 2. Inside cover inscription. “Presented to Hilda Stebbins for Attending + Prep. of Lessons. March 14, 1919”

prep school lessons (see fig. 2). The societal context of the reader in post-war Britain would affect a reading of the novel, allowing a re-interpretation of the female protagonist that would foreshadow medical fiction, women’s rights and the rise of literary feminism.

The popularity of romance novels continued into the Edwardian era in their Victorian era form, and Edwardian perspectives of femininity were continuing Victorian ideas (Kullman 74). The Probationer, while a traditional Victorian formula romance, appears to have had a continued readership throughout the 20th century due to the copy’s inside cover inscription. The post-war reader differed greatly from the Victorian or Edwardian, and this longevity allows the book to be reinterpreted as a Modernist romance.

Summary of Contents

Probationer005 MESS TWO
Fig. 3. P. B. Hickling, “I whirled round at a muffled shriek from her” p. 57

The Probationer follows the story of an idle young woman from a wealthy family as she attempts to become a nurse. She envies an older family friend’s nursing occupation, and so she decides to become one herself. Her fantasies of rewarding, glamourous work are immediately dispelled upon her arrival, and the work proves to be gruelling and difficult. Her previous idleness is reflected in her ineptitude, and she drops pans, burns lunch, and endures all other sorts of mishaps that initially cause her to feel shame but contribute to her growing humility (see fig. 3). During these mishaps she begins to receive the teasing attention of the hospital’s leading doctor, Mr. Fleming. A fellow probationer tells her that Mr. Fleming is her fiancé, and Agnes is heartbroken until he refutes this claim. He confesses his love for her, and they decide to become engaged once she finished her term. The pro eventually receives the glowing compliments of her superiors, and decides to stay on at the hospital (fig. 4).

P.B. Hickling illustrates the six black-and-white plates included at key moments in the book. Each one shows Agnes Atherton at various moments in her journey from probationer to signed nurse.

Edwardian Era and Romantic Fiction

Fig. 4. P. B. Hickling, "I gazed at the fateful paper, and scrawled my name in the space indicated."
Fig. 4. P. B. Hickling, “I gazed at the fateful paper, and scrawled my name in the space indicated.” p. 177

The Edwardian Era is not exactly a literary era, and romance is not exactly a literary genre (Hynes 1). Critics are rarely in agreement to the definition of either, as the Edwardian Era extends to either 1910 or 1914 (Hynes 1), and definitions of romance are often reduced to a collection of features (McCracken 79). Virginia Woolf explains Edwardian literature as existing as a genre between genres (Hynes 9), and Edwardian romance novels straddled Victorian ideas of womanhood with the early shadows of Modernity (Hynes) and, ultimately, feminism. An Edwardian romance novel contained features of both prescribed Victorian propriety and the reinterpretation of femininity and womanhood of the war years and Modernity.

The Probationer quintessentially represents the features of a romance novel. Agnes is the perfect misunderstood heroine (the femme incomprise) (McCracken 78). Her object of desire (her fabula) is seemingly unattainable (barriers, or sjuzet). Only her ultimate acceptance of subordinate feminine to masculine authority allows her to overcome the barriers and receive her object of desire (McCracken 86), and she achieves this when she transforms into the idealized woman.

Agnes desires the love of Mr. Fleming, but it is also apparent that she desires acceptance and success in her profession. While her desire of the masculine authority figure is characteristic of the formula romance, Agnes’ self-actualization occurs outside of her romantic interests and this ultimately allows for a re-interpretation of the novel beyond Victorian tropes.

“Outer” Barriers to Love

Probationer03 - mr fleming
Fig. 5. P. B. Hickling, “He regarded me much as a naturalist might examine a new sort of animal” p. 160

The “outside” barrier to Agnes achieving her object of desire, Mr. Fleming, is Agnes’ fellow probationer Nurse Cotteril. Agnes’ peer confides in her that she is engaged to Mr. Fleming and this revelation sparks Agnes’ jealousy and passion for Mr. Fleming. Nurse Cotteril forbids Agnes from revealing this secret, citing a loss of position and stature for both herself and Mr. Fleming should their secret be exposed. Agnes’s jealousy thus has no outlet, and she translates this discontent into passive aggression towards her friend and Mr. Fleming (see fig. 5). Women are thus seen as competitive and spiteful, according to Victorian theories of biological determinism that explain the “natural” differences between men and women (Tanenbaum 60). Agnes, as the romantic heroine, is a representation of the typical, but imperfect, Victorian woman, and this imperfection is her sjuzet.

Agnes is also indiscriminate in her feelings, and these feelings translate into giddy and consuming preoccupation with her male object of desire. Rafford Pyke, in a 1901 treatise on “What Women Want in Men” explains that young, inexperienced women “flutter and blush” when the object of their affection is nearby, and that this is a distinctly British trait (46). Moving through her early years of maturity, the young woman is attracted to men of distinction, who inspire deference and admiration in their peers, rather than good looks (Pyke 47). As Agnes rarely comments on the attractiveness of her object of affection, her love for him appears to stem from his unattainability as both an engaged man and a learned doctor. The unattainability of Mr. Fleming underlies the conflict in the novel, and this conflict is mirrored in Agnes’ failure to be a proper, domesticated probationer.

Agnes’ Inner Conflict

Agnes’ “misfortunes” are also a feature of romantic fiction, as these represent an “inner” barrier to achieving her object of desire. She is the femme incomprise (Pyke 47), an identifiable and pitiable figure to the reader of a romance novel (McCracken 90). Agnes casts aside the traditional conventions of both the hospital and femininity by speaking her mind and displaying her ignorance. At first, these frank utterances are laughable, and her demands for the comforts of her previous life are juxtaposed with her domestic failure in the new setting of the remote children’s hospital. As she grows to be less demanding and more competent, her tactlessness becomes an endearing feature to the characters and the reader. By the end of the novel she receives praise from the head doctor, the head nurse, and her Mr. Fleming. This is the result of her transformation into the ideal woman while retaining her status as femme incomprise, the misunderstood woman that the reader identifies with.

These two barriers represent Agnes’ struggle to find love, which create the conflict in the novel. The barriers stem from her non-idealized feminine immaturity, and her maturation reflects contemporary ideas of the ideal woman in Victorian society.

Female Children’s Literature

Agnes’ barriers in the novel highlight the Victorian and Edwardian conceptions of girlhood, maturation and femininity. Pyke refers to young, maturing women as “young girls” as the stage of “young adulthood” did not exist as we know it today.

But children’s literature was a popular and surging genre of the time due to the growing acceptance of the child as a life stage and the rights of children expanding beyond the idea of required duty (Darton 299) The Victorian era abounded with classic, canonical children’s literature (Darton 293). Contemporary belief held that girls read more literature (Darton 305), and gift books were more often given to female children as novels were thought to be more accessible to girls (Darton 305). Tales for girls were written about adults, as girls were seen as more mature (Darton 305), and the stories took place in “adult” spaces. Darton calls this the shifting of the age curve, arguing that that girls grew up quickly in the Edwardian era.

World War One and Women in Britain

The onset of World War One for Britain definitively changed the remaining Victorian values of the early 20th century and ended the Edwardian era, and this impacted how women and children read literature after 1914.

Women began participating on the home front by supporting the men who went out to fight. The growing unequal gender distribution on home impacted the lives of children growing up in the early 1900s. Patriarchal lineage and household organization was questioned due to the lack of male adults in the home. This experience of young readers mirrors the experience of Agnes for multiple reasons. Agnes is transplanted into an intimidating occupation, and she is surrounded by women who offer little sympathy for her ineptitude and unfamiliarity with her new situation. Young readers would be suffering the loss of the familiar leadership of brothers and fathers, and The Probationer’s heroine is relatable in both her sudden loss of contextual familiarity.

As a nurse, she also represents the new representation of women in the workforce. Agnes leaves her home for her fantasy of noble work as a nurse, and has this fantasy replaced by a realistic, but still rewarding, occupation. Young women who acted as nurses were revered and romanticized, and those who read the book would also relate to the difficult, exhausting work that it was. However the book would still act as escapist fiction, since the nursing involves ill children, not war-torn soldiers, and it is not bloody or gory in any sense. It combines what McCracken explains as the romantic realism, the combination of real life into a romanticized and idealized setting. In this sense the novel still offers the satisfying children’s entertainment, but readers post-war would have engaged with Agnes’ profession in a unique way to readers of the Edwardian period.

She leaves the comfort of home for the noble cause, and this mirrors the showing of literature that says women should work outside of the home to support the troops. She believes in the noble cause despite the initially hard, unrewarding work, and its ultimate role in her happiness acts as propaganda for helping the nation achieve its war goals.

Probationer04 - coverside
Cover spine, illustrated by P. B. Hickling

Nursing itself becomes an interesting position of the book, as nursing was a popular and gendered occupation in the war.  The detailed aspects of nursing shown in the book foreshadows the rise of the genre of medical fiction.

Conclusion

The Probationer, as an Edwardian formula romance published on the cusp of the Great War, can be read as both a Victorian and a Modern novel, which prompts unique readings. As a product of the Victorian era, the novel can be seen as an affirmation of what was deemed to be proper women’s behaviour and the general role of a working woman in society. However, as the book was given to a young women in 1919, it can also be seen as a wartime or post-war story championing the independent heroine as she grows in her profession as a nurse.

Works Cited

Allen, Walter. The English Novel: A Short Critical History. New York:

Dutton, 1954. Print.

Darton, F. J. Harvey. Children’s Books in England: Five Centuries of Social Life. 1932. Ed.

Brian Alderson. 3rd Ed. Newcastle: Oak Knoll, 1982. Print.

Hynes, Samuel. Edwardian Occasions: Essays on English Writing in the Early Twentieth

Century. London: Routledge. 1972. Print.

Irvine, Amy Mary. The Frantic Misfortunes of a Nurse, Or, The Probationer. London:

S. W. Partridge and Co., Ltd, 1910. Print.

Kullman, Thomas. “Constructions of History in Victorian and Edwardian Children’s

Books.” Ed. Anne Lawson Lucas. The Presence of the Past in Children’s Literature.

Westport: Praeger, 2003. 73-80. Print.

McCracken, Scott. Pulp: Reading Popular Fiction. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1998. Print.

Pyke, Rafford. “What Women Like in Men.” Ed. Susan Ostrov Weisser. Women and

Romance: A Reader. New York: New York UP, 2001. Print.

Tanenbaum, Leora. Catfight: Women and Competition. New York: Seven Stories P, 2002.

Print.

Nicolas Debon’s A Brave Soldier : Remembering the Young Fallen Soldiers of World War One

2014, Children's Books and War, , , , , , ,

© 2014, Shermein Baluch

A Brave Soldier - Written and Illustrated by Nicolas Debon
A Brave Soldier – Written and Illustrated by Nicolas Debon

 Young Canadian Soldiers:

W hen in August of 1914 public proclamations such as: “Your King and Country Need You! Will You Answer The Call?” were issued to Canadians, many families answered the call but at a great cost.  They answered the call by sending their men and boys to fight the Great War.  Proclamations containing enticements, advertisements and war propaganda created much fervor.  War promised adventure and called out to the fantasies of children as young as 15.  Caught up in the frenzy and excitement, many boys too young to enlist, lied about their age and went overseas to fight.  Service men had to be at least nineteen years of age and older.  However, sixteen year old boys could join the service with the written consent of their parents (Browne p.10).  Many parents, not realizing the gravity of their decision at the time, willfully consented to sending their underage boys off to war.

Debon's illustration of a battle scene.
Debon’s illustration of a battle scene.

Why did young men, aged 15, 16 and17 enlist in the military? Was it to sacrifice their lives in the name of pride, glory, or patriotism?  According to World War One historian Gary Browne the answer may be that, they were more susceptible to propaganda and willing to take orders.  He writes that, “They believed in their indestructibility and had a general incomprehension about risk or danger” (Browne p.14).

Canadian men and their families were under the assumption that the war would end shortly.  They assumed that the boys would be back home by Christmas the same year but their hopes were shattered because the war went on for many years and a great many lives were lost.   Frantic letters and telegrams by parents to those in-charge, pleading for the safe return of their underage sons went unanswered because sadly, it was too late for many.

In Loving Memory of Brave Soldiers 100 Years Later:

3. Farewell
Frank says good-bye

On the 100th  year anniversary of the Great War that started in 1914, the Children’s Library Archive at Ryerson University looks back to honor those who lost their lives in World War One.  Housed in the CLA collection is Nicolas Debon’s A Brave Soldier.  A beautiful book that narrates a tale of loss, separation, war and wisdom.  Rooted in history, Debon‘s story is a fictional account of the journey of one brave young soldier named Frank.  Debon narrates Frank’s journey to the front lines of the battlefield in France during the Great War era.  Debon’s story is unique because it highlights the loss and disillusionment of warfare rather than the glory and victory that are usually associated with war in conventional war stories.

Nicolas Debon’s A Brave Soldier:

Battle scene as depicted by Debon
Battle scene as depicted by Debon

Written and illustrated by Nicolas Debon, A Brave Soldier is a work of fine art.  Debon currently lives in France.  He is a writer and an illustrator of immense talent.  The English edition of this book is published by Groundwood Books, a Canadian company.   Groundwood Books published A Brave Soldier in 2002 as part of a line-up of radical texts.  Radical children’s texts contain a different message than conventional texts geared towards children.  Rather than obedience and complacency, the message here is of critical thinking and questioning authority (Mickenberg & Nel).

Debon’s illustrations are powerful yet subtle.  The illustrations are congruent with the message that war is destructive.   Illustrated using Winsor and Newton acrylics, the images are produced in a painterly style.   A majority of the 34-pages that this hard-cover edition comprises of, consist of Debon’s fine illustrations.  The images are an important part of this book, which is ideal for children as young as four and up.  Even adult collectors of beautiful books would enjoy this piece in their personal libraries.

The Story:

Set in 1914, this is a story about Frank’s journey as a young soldier to the front line of battle and the wisdom that he acquires once there.  A young Canadian boy named Frank joins the regimen with his older friend Michael.  Without knowing anything about war, Frank enlists in the military. They travel to Europe by ship to fight alongside the British.  Saying goodbye to his father, his mother, and his sweetheart, Frank embarks on a journey to no man’s land.  However, Frank’s initial enthusiasm fades once he confronts the reality of war.  He witnesses death, destruction, disease, and misery in the trenches.  Frank is seriously injured and watches his friend Michael die on the battle ground.  That moment changes his entire perspective.  Needless to say, that this story does not have a happy-ending.  It is sombre and closes with Frank standing alone in a field full of the gravestones of the dead and buried soldiers, including his best friend Michael.  In A Brave Soldier, Debon’s genius is manifested through a delicate storyline that contains a powerful latent message and is told in the most sensitive manner.

Publisher:

Groundwood Books is an independent Canadian publisher operating in Toronto for the last 35 years.  They produce texts of fiction, non-fiction and picture books for children and adults of all ages.  Published by Groundwood Books Nicolas Debon’s A Brave Soldier follows a theme that their other publications for children tend to follow as well.   Some scholars have called these “Radical Texts” (Mickenberg & Nel).  Radical texts tend to be about war, poverty and social inequality.  They emphasize the need to question authority and to speak up against injustice.  Radical texts for children deal with complex social and political issues in a sensitive way, making it easier for children to understand historical, social and political material.  Indeed, they deviate from the conventional lesson of obedience to authority that  children are usually taught.  Radical texts are coded with subversive messages that encourage children to speak up, ask questions and to think critically about the world that they live in.

Reviews:

A Brave Soldier was well received by a number of reviewers.  Canadian educational institutions were among those who appreciated the content and the context of Debon’s work.  Reviewer Victoria Pennel writes that, historical fiction allows readers to “vicariously experience the past through a storyline” (Pennel p.5).  It presents concepts that are sometimes hard for children to grasp such as war.  However, she argues that “historical fiction is generally a more interesting way for children and young students to learn history but in using this approach with students it is important to make them aware that the main aim of this genre is to tell a story and not to provide historical data” (Pennel p.5).  At the same time, Pennel writes that Nicolas Debon’s A Brave Soldier is “sensitive” in its telling of the horrors of war (Pennel p.5).  Other reviewers such as Hazel Rochman of The Booklist, an on-line forum of expert reviewers from the American Library Association, have praised A Brave Soldier for its poignant approach in depicting the futility of war.  Reviewers generally agree that A Brave Soldier is an important text, and recommend that it should be used in school libraries for elementary school children across Canada.

Narrative Structure:

A Brave Soldier resembles the traditional structure of an adventure tale.  The hero leaves ordinary human society in order to accomplish something great but he experiences disillusionment rather than glory in the battle field.  From the beginning, to the middle and till the end, the narrative progresses sequentially from order to chaos, light to dark and from innocence to wisdom.

The story strays from the conventional message of adventure tale because it depicts war as a tragedy.  It does not promote the idea that war is fun, exciting, and necessary.  Instead, it professes the view that, war equals destruction and those who choose war should question their own choices.  A close reading of Debon’s text reveals that it contains a radical and rebellious message.  It emphasizes the need to speak up against war.  Coded within the structure of adventure tale is a tragedy that needs to be confronted.  Michael dies at the end and Frank is injured physically and burdened emotionally.  In this story as in real life, war equals heart-break.

The storyline progresses from order to chaos.  Beginning with the tranquility of home and family, it quickly progresses towards uncertainty of place, insecurity of life and ambiguity of purpose.  This is a narrative of sacrifice.  A brave soldier sacrifices everything and puts his life on the line.  Of all the sacrifices though, the biggest and most ironic sacrifice seems to be of the soldier’s own personal freedom.  Frank exercises his agency by enlisting in the military and by doing so, he willfully consents to forfeit his own freedom.   After he enlists, we see that his personal freedom vanishes completely.  As a soldier Frank is plucked from his hometown, shipped overseas, given orders to follow, provided a uniform to wear and placed on the front line of the battle ground.  Ironically, in fighting for peace and freedom the soldiers give up that very thing, their own personal freedom.

Plot and Theme

6. Injuries
An injured soldier being carried away

The plot revolves around the Great War and a young man’s journey from home and to the trenches.   A boy is removed from his hometown in Canada, and placed in the war-zone in France only to end up in a graveyard.  The two main characters are Frank and his older friend Michael.  Frank survives while Michael dies at the end.

Frank goes to the market.
Frank goes to the market.

Some of the major themes found in A Brave Soldier are sacrifice, war, propaganda, ignorance and wisdom.  The narrative also touches on the phenomenon of group-think mentality and the importance of independent thought.  For example, when Frank goes to the market and sees the crowds gathered, it is then that his friend Michael influences him to enlist in the military.  Both Michael and Frank follow the crowd and line up to enlist.  Besides, their motives to go to war do not include patriotism.  Both Frank and Michael join the war for superficial reasons, spawned by misinformation.   Their decisions are based on the need for adventure, thrill-seeking and peer pressure.  Michael is looking for an adventure and according to Debon, Frank knew nothing about war but did not want anyone to think that he was a coward.  Their motives indicate the degree of their youth and innocence.  Debon’s characters are not motivated by patriotism nor loyalty to the King.  They are simply misinformed young boys who end up making the wrong choices.

Illustrations:

Debon’s painterly depictions of the narrative are remarkably beautiful and powerful in a subtle way.  Using an analogous color scheme of earthy yellow subdued acrylics and complementary hues of blue, Debon captures both the innocence of the soldiers and the chaos of the war in a muted way.  The faces are expressionless.  There are no sharp edges.  The images seem to melt and fade into one another.  This creates the effect that the reader is viewing a recollection of faded memories.  The illustrations are done with Winsor and Newton acrylics on cold pressed water-color paper.  They are crucial to the story and add a visual layer of meaning that compliments the story.

Debon’s illustrations for A Brave Soldier are rich with repetitions and motifs.  At a closer look, we see that the image of the cross is present in almost every illustration.  Crosses in the context of WWI signify the church, religion, the monarch and death.  However, when the image of the cross is rotated slightly it represents something entirely different but very much within the context of Debon’s message.  The cross rotated represents a negative, something crossed out, wrong, faulty, something to be removed.  It is precisely the lesson that the protagonist learns, that war is wrong and must be avoided.  As well, the expressionless faces depicted by Debon are intense in the effect that they create.  They invite the  reader to respond with empathy.  By filling in the facial expressions through his/her imagination, the reader is more likely to relate to the characters on a personal level.

Forget-Me-Not:

Nicolas Debon’s book A Brave Soldier is a beautifully illustrated text with a highly thought provoking narrative.  As a text of historical fiction for children, this book is a great tribute to the young brave soldiers of the Great War, on the 100th year anniversary of World War One.  It gives voice to those Canadian soldiers who lost their lives, as well as, to those who survived and lived to tell about the horrors of war in the trenches.  It does not glorify those deaths but rather poignantly and silently depicts the destruction of warfare, and the disillusionment felt by a soldier.  This story gives the reader an opportunity to remember the war and its cruelty.  While at the same time, it gives the reader an opportunity to pay respect to, and to meditate on, the great sacrifices made by the brave soldiers of World War One and their families.

War is not glorious and nor is it an adventure but it is a reality.  Although Frank and Michael enlist in the military by choice; however, societal pressure and war propaganda compel them to make that choice.  Nicolas Debon’s A Brave Soldier shows how misinformation that associates war with adventure, and the fear of being called a coward; combined with, appeals to a population’s patriotism in the name of ideology, is the crudest form of war propaganda, and it guides individual behavior.  Debon’s text is a critical look at war.  It is an important text because it seeks to inform and to empower children.  By educating children at an early age about the reality of war propaganda, as well as, about individual agency and the freedom to choose we may change the world and produce a future generation of peaceful critical thinkers.

7. Death
A Brave Soldier – Written and Illustrated by Nicolas Debon

Link to CLA Catalogue

Bibliography

Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory . Manchester, U.K: Manchester University Press, 2009. Print.

Browne, Gary F. Forget-me-not: fallen boy soldiers. St. John’s, Newfounland and Labrador: DRC Publishing, 2010. Print.

Canada.  Canadian Hertitage and Canadian Meuseum of Civilization Corporation. War Meuseum.ca: Canada and the First World War. Web. 10 02 2014. <http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/guerre/home-e.aspx>.

Debon, Nicolas. A Brave Soldier. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2002. Print.

Fisher, Susan L. Boys and Girls in No Man’s Land. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011. Print.

Mickenberg, Julia L. and Philip Nel. “Radical Children’s Literature Now!” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly 36.4 (2011): 445-473. Web.

Pennel, Victoria. “Exploring our heritage: An overview of recent Canadian historical fiction for children and young adults.” School Libraries in Canada 22.3 (2003): 5-11. Web.

Rochman, Hazel. “A Brave Soldier by Nicolas Debon.” Rev. of A Brave Soldier, by Nicolas Debon.  The Booklist (2002): 491. Web.

Royde-Smith, Johm Graham.  “World War I (1914-18).” Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 22 02 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/648646/World-War-I>.