Posted by David Bamford on December 14, 2003 at 21:57:19 from 203.10.110.131 user David.
In Reply to: Re: Hanging Johnny posted by Ed Kiser on December 14, 2003 at 17:10:32:
It's amazing the gruesome things that children can cope with in literature. While my two sons were still in primary school I read "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" to them as a bedtime story. I am pleased to report that none of them has any antisocial tendencies, and we didn't have screaming nightmares as a result. They do, however read books like there was no tomorrow, and disregard TV.
I think that the insulation for them comes in not appreciating the gory and macabre nature of the things [i.e. beheadings] mentioned in the song, chant, story, etc. I suspect that this is tied up with their own belief in their immortality. Roald Dahl, of course, made this kind of thing his own specialty.
Gavid.