Child stories provide ample discourse for discovering how society creates identity in children. Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Grable and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island are no exceptions in studying children’s literature, especially the societal influence on child development. While the plot and gender are a district in the narratives, the themes of identity, coming to age, and child-to-adult roles are prevalent. Anne’s identity is shaped through suppression and various psychological reinforcement stages akin to Jim Hawkin’s socially acquired copying methods.
The first encounter with Anne in Anne of Green Grable is that of an innocent orphan mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert in Prince Edward Island. The family had decided to foster a boy from an orphanage only to welcome an 11-years old girl. Marilla is dissatisfied with the girl and is ready to send her packing, but Mathew is contented with her liveliness. Things change when Mrs. Blewett, a hot-tempered and strict woman, shows interest in Anne. Mrs. Blewett uprightly tells the girl that a lot is expected of her, “good and smart and respectful. I’ll expect you to earn your keep, and no mistake about that” (Stevenson 42). The sentiment makes Marilla realizes the desperation in Anne’s world; to her, Anne is “a helpless little creature who finds itself once more caught in the trap from which it had escaped” (Stevenson 42). Marilla accepts to adopt Anne because she will behave and become a nice part of the family. Montgomery introduces the readers to a helpless innocent girl who is being introduced into society under the care of new guardians. As a child, she had no clue what awaited her or society’s expectations. It is evident the new family would shape her identity and childhood. Unlike Anne, Jim Hawkins is introduced in Pirates’ Seafarer, similar to that of James Matthew Barrie’s Peter Pan.
The first encounters with Jim depict a violent terrifying seafarer punctuated with deaths from Chapter 1. One cannot fail to notice that Jim is still under the care of both her parents, despite being exposed to a tough environment. He is obedient and respectful and relies on everyone for his guidance. He obeys any order and always responds immediately, even if the directions conflict. When Dr. Livesey asks him not to give Billy Bones more rum, the protagonist temporarily obeys, but he later obliges when Billy demands more rum. However, he is helpless and inferior when added to the responsibility of taking care of Long John Silver; he says, “I began to feel pretty desperate, for I felt altogether helpless” (Montgomery 66). Jim is aware of his helpless nature as a boy among men; Long John affirms this when he says, “It’s a pleasant thing to be young, and have ten toes, and you may lay to that” (63). The child realizes that his life depends on fate and the guidance of the adults who seem more powerful and knowledgeable. Unlike Anne, Jim’s learning and unlearning are more fateful. He learns more through occurrences in his life, which form her transformation and transition into adulthood.
Jim’s life is defined by fate and the gradual development of survival instinct. Everything is spontaneous, for example, his encounter with Israel Hands. While thinking of a plan to evade Israel, the protagonist muses, “perhaps I had heard a creak or seen his shadow moving with the tail of my eye; perhaps it was an instinct like a cat, but, sure enough, when I looked round, there was Hands, already half-way towards me, with the dirk in his right hand” (139). Fate is also evident when he shoots Israel after stabbing him “I scarce can say it was by my own volition, and I am sure it was without conscious aim, both my pistols went off, and both escaped out of my hands” (141). Jim is forced to adapt to the violent environment and learns how to protect himself, an autonomous reaction that even surprises him.
Further, Jim narrates the role of fate in his life when the tides on the coracle. He realizes that all his attempts to maneuver the ship were fruitless, as fate would have it; the ship kept steering in the opposite direction because of the tides. The narrator says, “she turned in every direction but the one I was bound to go; the most part of the time we were broadside on, and I am very sure I never should have made the ship at all but for the tide” (122). Despite refuting the existence of fate in his life, the doctor initially compared Jim’s actions to fate, just like the coracle.
In Anne of Green Grable, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert embody Victorian values; they follow distinct traditional women and men roles in society. As the wife, Marilla is concerned with home duties while the husband works on the farm. The family, however, realizes Anne does not conform to their traditional expectations, and they are ready to help her find her identity within Victorian norms. To the amazement of Marilla, Anne quickly develops and sense of belonging and is more than willing to acquire Victorian values (Evans 46). She does this to deconstruct herself from the orphanage, to find identity in the new family, and to impress Marilla. Anne stops imagining herself as Cordelia Fitzgerald says….it’s a million times nicer to be Anne of Green Gables than Anne of Nowhere in particular, isn’t it?” (p. 96). It becomes evident Anne starts to deal with her identity, like most children; when they cannot find their past selves, they assume their new place and role in society. Anne becomes confident with herself as Anne of Green Grable. Similarly, Jim meets his fate as the seafarer despite having many traumatic experiences.
Anne Shirley has no childhood identity; hence, her identity starts with their interaction in the foster communities. Marilla tries hard to shape herself into a Victorian woman; she is expected to fit in society by practicing Victorian norms. From the start, Marilla declares to Mathew that she will manage Anne to make her a well-mannered girl and remove the rebelliousness in her. The reader notes the contrast between Marilla, the Victorian woman, and Anne, a woman at the confluence of societal shift with contemporary girlhood, feminist beliefs, and womanhood (Gray 171). According to Anne, the modern woman “looked green in some lights and moods and grey in others” (26), but Marilla refers to the woman as a “tall, thin woman, with angles and without curves” whose hair was “always twisted up in a hard little knot” (16). The two women are at odds even with their perception of education, with Anne often rebellious to do some tasks. It is also apparent that Mathew is absent in the upbringing of the foster daughter.
Marilla forcefully reinforces the Victorian norms in Anne. However, Anne is a highly imaginative woman who does not love non-imaginative practices. She is unhappy with sewing through patchwork because they lack imagination. She is also dissatisfied with the cooking lessons and tells Diana that “Marilla is trying to teach [her] to cook but it is uphill work. There’s so little scope for imagination in cookery” (185). It is evident that what the contemporary woman values most conflicts with Victorian norms. Anne always finds herself lost in imagination during these tasks, sometimes resulting in disastrous results that Marilla considers a form of disobedience. Anne, however, outgrows her imagination and starts appreciating the lessons. Anne’s friendship with Diana also becomes her most tremendous success in transitioning into Victorian culture. Diana is less imaginative and not a thinker. Still, together they develop allusions, such as the Haunted Wood, that severely threatens Anne when Marilla sends her to Diana’s place in the evening (241). Passing through the haunted wood was a metaphor for the protagonist’s ability to counter her imagination. Anne starts to dissociate between her imagination and reality but enjoys her imaginative times since they bring her more warmth. The reader realizes that Anne’s identity and coming to age are shaped by her imagination and the Victorian society’s education. Unlike Anne, Jim’s coming to age is shaped by fate and the quest for survival.
The theme of imagination is common in child literature. As Anne struggles with her imagination, Jim’s life revolves around dreams. The dream of the Treasured Island haunts Jim. He first dreams of “the seafaring man with one leg,” remembering “How that personage haunted my dreams, 1 need scarcely tell you” (5). He narrates seeing the man with different diabolic expressions and how the leg appeared (5). Jim also dreams of his landlord Long John and says, “I had seen the captain, and Black Dog, and the blind man Pew, and 1 thought 1 knew what a buccaneer was like-a very different creature, according to me, from this clean and pleasant-tempered landlord” (43). This dream becomes familiar in his later encounter with Silver, the man he loathed and liked simultaneously. Even before joining the pirates as a seafarer, he had several dreams of the treasure hunt. The protagonist’s dreams are a mix of joy and dread, which come to pass as he joins the hunt. Like Anne, Jim later learns that dreams are part of his identity but never the reality of what was happening.
Treasure Island‘s story revolves around a child in the clear absence of his parents. As the story commences, readers meet Jim surrounded by his parents and other people who seem to care about him. The parents are merely incidental and play no active role in the protagonist’s life.
However, except for her mother, everyone seems to die violently, constantly exposing the child to dangerous strangers, but fate seems to lead her to transition into adulthood. Jim is pitiful to his parents when they fly Admiral Benbow; he writes, “how 1 blamed my poor mother for her honesty and her greed, for her past foolhardiness and present weakness” (Stevenson 23). He is uncharacteristically disdained with her mother, who cannot offer her child protection. He calls her weak and greedy, which is unexpected for a child. To his father, he narrates, “I have seen him wringing his hands after such a rebuff, and I am sure the annoyance and the terror he lived in must have greatly hastened his early and unhappy death” (23). Jim considers nothing positive about his parents; he is a child of fate from the beginning, and only fate can define his trajectory in life. His coming to age and identity is determined by the community he lives in and the society in general.
Jim’s morals are borrowed from the people he calls his role models. Dr. Livesey and Long John Silver impacted Jim’s life and maturation. While pirates are known to be uncouth and full of scars, Dr. Livesey is unique. He refers to him as “the neat, bright doctor” with “powder as white as snow and pleasant manners” (6). Apart from his grooming, Jim notices many positive sides of the doctor; Jim sees him as a courageous man who volunteers against the odds to take the pirates to hunt the treasure. The doctor’s confidence becomes apparent when he faces Billy Bones and assures the pirate that he is treating any mutiny of his own volition. Dr. Livesey tells Bones that “under no apprehension, though he must have known that his life, among these treacherous demons, depended on a hair,” illustrates his courage (162). The doctor’s courage is immeasurable because Bones was among the most feared. In an environment of survival of the fittest, Jim sees the doctor as someone who can survive against the odds. The same sentiments are shared by John Silver, who tells the doctor, “you’re a good man and a true; I saw a better man!” (164). Jim’s norms are defined by his environment, a hostile pirate community. Confidence, appearance, and courage are key to surviving in a tough environment.
Apart from Doctor Livesey, John Silver helps Jim come to age. Unlike the doctor, Silver can easily interact with the pirates and gentlemen. Silver kept his trading and life by balancing two opposing sides, a trait Jim tries to emulate to survive in the hostile environment. The narrator says it was wonderful “keeping the mutineers together with one hand, and grasping, with the other, after every means, possible, to make his peace and save his miserable life” (160). Silver skill is tested when the Flint gold is lost; he quickly changes his mind, outsmarts everyone, and calms the grave situation. Jim is confused between love and hatred towards the landlord who betrayed him and the fact that he could not outwit the doctor. The protagonist’s confusion becomes evident when he says, “my heart was sore for him to think on the dark perils that environed, and the shameful gibbet that awaited him” (160). Silver represents the survival skills that Jim would acquire to survive among the pirates. As a child, he could not fight the battle-hardened pirates, but with these skills, he could always outwit them. The doctor and Silver act as Jim’s parents who allow him to see the world in the eye of adulthood. John prides himself on being a great apprentice, who became evident when he maneuvered through most obstacles. Unlike Anne, who Marilla mainly shapes, Jim has the advantage of developing an identity borrowed from his role models.
Despite growing in district plots, Anne of Green Grable and Treasure Island demonstrate how the innocence of children is stripped from them by society. Anne is shaped to become a Victorian woman, and she eventually succeeds in impressing Marilla. A comes to accept her identity and role in Avonlea. In the winding chapters, she is aware that despite lacking the conformity of Victorian culture, society has accepted her and given her a much-needed sense of belonging. Her foster parents, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, shaped her to gain social prestige; her friend Diana helped her positively counter her imaginative gift and her distinctive personality, while her teacher Miss Stacy made her fit for a career as a non-stereotypical contemporary woman. Anne demonstrates her appreciation of society when the narrator says, “She does not want to be anyone but herself; she is quite content to be Anne of Green Gables” (396). Anne has matured into a confident Victorian woman from a rebellious child owing to the pressure of Victorian society, especially her foster family. A similar story is shared by Jim, who successfully learns how to deal with fate.
In conclusion, many childhood literatures are coming to age and identity stories. Anne of Green Grable and Treasure Island are no exception to children’s struggle to find themselves, mature, and conform to societal demands. While Anne and Jim develop uniquely in different settings, it is evident that societal pressures are critical for the characters coming to age. In each narrative, the reader first encounters innocent children who reinforce societal norms to conform. Both protagonists uniquely develop to fit their society and survive, an illustration that culture determines the maturity of a child and their adulthood life. A child coming to age and identity, therefore, are societal constructs. While some children struggle to conform and find their identity, others easily fit the societal demands while dispelling their demands.
Works Cited
Evans, G. W. (2021). The physical context of child development. Current directions in psychological science, 30(1), 41-48.
Gray, P. (2014). “Bloom in the Moonshine”: Imagination as Liberation in Anne of Green Gables. Children’s Literature, 42, 169-196.
Montgomery, L.M. (2018 [1908]). Anne of Green Gables. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Collector’s Editions.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. New York: Random House, 2001
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