Fortvivlelse som mulighed: En eksistensfilosofisk læsning af The Red Tree med perspektivering til Drengen der blev væk fra sig selv

It is a widely accepted opinion that children should not be exposed to feelings of despair or meaninglessness. Based on an analysis of two picturebooks, Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree (2001) and Lone Munksgaard Nielsen and Pia Thaulov’s The Boy Who Lost Himself (2015), this article demonstrates, however,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Martin Blok Johansen
Format: Article
Language:Danish
Published: Svenska Barnboksinstitutet 2015-12-01
Series:Barnboken: Tidskrift för Barnlitteraturforskning
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.barnboken.net/index.php/clr/article/view/213
Description
Summary:It is a widely accepted opinion that children should not be exposed to feelings of despair or meaninglessness. Based on an analysis of two picturebooks, Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree (2001) and Lone Munksgaard Nielsen and Pia Thaulov’s The Boy Who Lost Himself (2015), this article demonstrates, however, that these feelings are necessary and desirable when trying to discover who you are. Feeling despondent or enclosed contains a possibility of finding yourself and therefore it should not be neglected or eliminated. The theoretical framework of the article is the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard’s understanding of becoming a human being. For Kierkegaard, despair, meaninglessness and enclosedness are precisely the feelings that can help you become who you are. The article demonstrates how the protagonists’ despair and enclosedness gives them the possibility to realize themselves as human beings. From the child’s perspective, these picturebooks recount an existential theme fundamental to everyone: How do we become who we are?
ISSN:0347-772X
2000-4389