Writing About The Dilemmas Of Growing Up In Cynthia Kadohata’s Children’s Novels

Cynthia Kadohata is a Japanese-American author of children’s literature who has won the Newbery Medal for Children’s Literature and the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.Influenced by her childhood experiences and creative philosophy,Cynthia Kadohata has a constant concern for the plight of children growing up.She is adept at portraying the psychological changes of children in difficult situations and bringing to life issues such as life and death,racial discrimination and the onset of adolescence.She writes with a deep sense of growing up caring for the plight of children,using the darkness of reality to warn them,but also warming them with love and warmth,trying to show lightness in the midst of heaviness and finding hope in the midst of hardship.The dilemmas of growing up in Cynthia Kadohata’s novels include basic survival dilemmas,spiritual dilemmas and ethical dilemmas,presenting the various dilemmas that children face in the process of growing up.In Kadohata’s novels,survival dilemmas include material deprivation and the threat to life posed by disease and war;spiritual dilemmas are triggered by the characters’ emotional experiences of loneliness and wandering;and ethical dilemmas are mainly concerned with identity confusion and lack of self-identity in the face of racial discrimination.In order to break through the dilemmas of children’s growth and to show the spirit of children’s lives,Cynthia Kadohata explores the difficult but touching ways in which children grow up,from the perspective of the "self",the warmth of the family and the power of nature.Inspired by the truth,goodness and beauty,the subject personality with independent feelings,autonomous judgments and determined action is forged,and also she creates an independent and self-sufficient aesthetic world for children.In writing about the dilemmas of growing up,Cynthia Kadohata creates a unique narrative structure that combines the process of constructing the child’s subject with the narrative model of growing up,vividly and meticulously presenting the process of the child’s spiritual growth at all stages.It also explores a unique narrative strategy,using an ’internal focus narrative’ to show the child’s journey in the face of adversity,focusing on the child’s inner monologue and psychological analysis in the face of important moments such as relationships,illness and death.More importantly,Cynthia Kadohata narrates the story and presents the child’s psyche in a unique narrative space and at a moderate narrative pace,reversibly portraying the child’s unique world of feelings and spirituality.Cynthia Kadohata’s writing about the dilemmas of growing up in children’s fiction is of great value to the lives of children today and to contemporary children’s literature.She portrays children with a vibrant life,conveying a spirit of hope in childhood that belongs to children alone,evoking a concern for marginalized children and a search for a better humanity.