Posted by Anne LeVeque on April 23, 1999 at 17:47:30:
In Reply to: Re: Englishness...relevance? posted by Peter Hyland on April 23, 1999 at 13:00:09:
Without some understanding of 'Englishness' AR's writings (at least the
Swallows & Amazons series - I have not read his other works) will not
make much sense. It is not just the obvious things like the bizarre food
they eat, but more subtle things, too. In WDMTGTS the children have been
through an intense experience, both emotionally and physically. We see
both Susan and John either completely repressing their natural urge to
cry or (in Susan's case) hiding their tears. Me? I'd be wailing like a
banshee as soon as I saw my Daddy! The question of whether this rather
stereotypical perception of the English as reserved and repressive of
emotions is still true today is relevant to discussion of AR. Other
aspects of current English culture and society are relevant, too. The
previous discussion of racial terms drew on our perceptions of English
culture in AR's time as well as the present and how we can help our
children discern between what is acceptable now and what was considered
acceptable sixty years ago in England.
I do think Andy might have made some of these connections himself in his
original post (or at least however he connects AR to his observations of
English culture), but I don't think he was entirely off-topic either.
Anne LeVeque