Orphans In Roald Dahl's Fantasies In The Perspective Of Child Development Theory

Child developmental psychologists insist upon the influence of the parents as critical to the healthy psychological development of children.Parents,or parental surrogates,should meet children's psychological and physical needs in time to ensure the healthy psychological development of children.Orphans,for their lack of mother,father,or both parents,occupy a unique place in psychological discourse,as the absence of direct parental influence allows for a greater possibility of developmental deviations and even pathologies.Orphans are regular heroes and heroines in Roald Dahl's children's fantasies.In a comic genre like children's fantasy,the orphan—an inherently tragic figure—must still progress normally through the stages of psychological development to ensure the comic narrative.In Roald Dahl's fictions,these developmental processes are negotiated through the intervention of conventions of the fantasy genre.My thesis analyses the orphans and their psychological development in Roald Dahl's fantasies in the perspective of child development theory,and discusses how Dahl solves the psychological struggles of his orphan protagonists with traditional fantasy elements such as potions,spell,superpower,and giants.Considering that most critics believe that violent and dreadful factors that are filled in Roald Dahl's works have negative influence on children readers,my thesis aims to illustrate the positive influence of his children's books,and provide some new perspectives for the understanding of children's literature works.This thesis consists of six parts.Introduction examines Roald Dahl and his works,reviewing the current situation of Roald Dahl studies home and abroad,illustrating the theoretical framework,and demonstrating the feasibility of deploying child development theory in the analysis of orphans in Roald Dahl's children's fantasies.In this study,I will first analyse in Chapter One The Witches to show how the author utilizes one of the conventions of fantasy,potions,to resolve the psychological struggles incurred by separation anxiety.Next,in Chapter Two,I will move towards an analysis of James and the Giant Peach and include a discussion of regression and peer relationships along the developmental path.The goal of this chapter is to offer an understanding of how children's literature depicts the ways in which its central character deals with loneliness and how certain fantasy conventions allow the character to continue to develop normally despite the absence of parents.Then,in Chapter Three,I will proceed to examine the narrative of the virtual(or psychic)orphan,or the child whose parents are technically alive,though absent(physically or emotionally)from their childhood.This chapter will examine the novel Matilda,focusing specifically on talented character Matilda in an effort to demonstrate how Dahl utilizes fantasy conventions of superpower to resolve issues of the "family romance" for the heroin.Finally,in Chapter Four,I will look specifically at The BFG and how Dahl uses the fantasy genre to with issues of individuation and self-discovery.Again,each of these texts could be read as a hyperbolic externalization of the inner psychological struggles of their orphan characters.What we gain from exploring these orphan texts is an understanding of how each narrative,through the use of fantasy convention,facilitates the processing of crucial psycho-developmental stages in the absence of parents in these works of popular children's fantasy fiction.