Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

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jstevens1
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by jstevens1 »

Hi Aurelian

I would like to give you my sincere condolences on your loss of a family member. I can imagine you are hurting quite a lot inside. I know, because one set of my daughter's godparents died within 3 months of each other as a result of cancer. I attended the funeral of one of those people on Friday 22nd October. I am still coming to terms with the death of that couple and I am undergoing Bereavement Counselling.

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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Aurélien »

Thanks, JStevens. My old Aunt was 99 and a half, and her death means that I am now the oldest living member of my family. Doubtless :? the day will come when one of my numerous great-nieces asks me what life was like in the time of the dinosaurs.....

'Aurélien Arkadiusz' :)
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Viv of Ginger Pop »

Moonraker wrote:
Then there are the settings: mainly set in Britain. They are often seen as idyllic - but are they any different from normal, standard British settings?...- but they appear, so far as I can tell, to be realistic, at least with reference to Britain as it was at the time the books were written.) The Famous Five may cycle down attractive lanes on a spring day, or bathe in a beautiful rock pool, or hike over the moors on a moonlit night, and it is made to seem very idyllic - but I don't quite know why I think this.
Again, you are spot-on. I don't think these locations exist. All right; Blue Pool and Chapman's Pool in Dorset could well fit the bill, but Merran Lake, Owl's Dene, Smuggler's Top (sticking with the Five) - there are other locations from other series - did they ever exist? I rather think not.
In that case, would rural people see Blyton's books as escapist?


Hmm... Here comes a "I would say that" moment... :lol:

As a child I had lived in two places - London and Dorset, and it hadn't occured to me at that age that the countryside in other parts of Britian wasn't like Dorset. That the countryside described in Blyton's books seemed so familiar to me didn't strike me as odd at all, because, I thought, everywhere was like where I lived! My friends and I went on bike rides taking picnics, and went to the woods to build dens. I saw Poole harbour, full of islands everyday on my way home from my village school. Of course we could relate to the Famous Five!

I'm always surprised at how many people who don't know about Blyton's connections with Dorset come into the Ginger Pop Shop in Corfe and say something like "we were only saying yesterday how Enid Blyton this area is"

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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Nepolean »

I don't understand one thing...what is wrong in writing escapist literature? Can anyone please explain?
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Moonraker »

Nepolean wrote:I don't understand one thing...what is wrong in writing escapist literature? Can anyone please explain?
I didn't think there was anything wrong with it, either. Therefore, Nepolean, I can offer no explanation!
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Enikyoga »

In my book I try to address this question. Escapism, especially in children's literature arises from the fact that despite the conventions about the innocence and optimism of childhood, children's lives are not uniformly happy since they are too many children that are deeply traumatized by their upbringing. All children suffer some sort of trauma in their childhood that may be a an admixture of excitement and pain at the same time. Literary pleasure lies partly in the act of reading while not thinking about other things at the same time. Thus, the dream world of literature is not so much an escape from one world to another much as it is an act of escape. Therefore, juxtaposition between the characteristic experience of and the comfort of reading was well illustrated by Enid Blyton herself. She replaced what she considered her nightmarish life with her dream world of perfection and happy endings. However, she would not have done so with such conviction if she had not been driven by hidden trauma. Like all children, she desperately needed to have the terror opened up and understood, though she preferred escapism. In escapism, she was unabashadely fond of pretending. In her opinion, there was nothing to be ashamed of being pretentious. No wonder, she even wrote a book, titled, Let's Pretend.
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Enikyoga wrote:In her opinion, there was nothing to be ashamed of being pretentious.
Enid Blyton enjoyed pretending, but "being pretentious" is quite a different thing and her books show that she certainly didn't approve of that.

As for some critics making derogatory remarks about "escapist" literature, I suppose they're implying that "escapist" writing fails to grapple with real-life issues. However, even the most fantastical or formulaic fantasy and adventure books will include elements which have a bearing on everyday life, and to which readers can relate. For example, Stephen writes in The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage about the character traits which come across so forcefully in adventure stories and which are not preached to the reader but demonstrated in the way the characters interact:

"On the whole, adventure stories are free from didacticism as they do not preach, but rather demonstrate in action, virtues of good truthfulness, comradeship, companionship as well as being champion of the weak, trust amongst friends, self-reliance, and above all, metaphors of initiative. While this genre may not permit a full discussion of these virtues which would entail modifications in their story plots, it simply assumes them. In any case, adventure stories for children are a persuasive introduction to those moral concepts in an age characterized by increasing cynicism. If adventure stories cannot, on the whole be defended as models of good literature, we can at least acknowledge the pleasure they give to those kids who are their enthusiastic readers..."

Enid Blyton's books had the power to thrill me and transport me to various worlds as a youngster but they also taught me a great deal about the world in which I lived - about human nature, different ways of life, morals, wildlife, history and folklore - as well as enriching my vocabulary, enhancing my love of language and enlarging my horizons. And if Blyton's stories often show us a world that is "better" than reality in that (to give just a few examples) things work out remarkably neatly with regard to cause and effect, people are seen to reap exactly what they sow, characters act with incredible courage and nobility during times of immense difficulty and those who make mistakes and are sorry for them are always given a second chance, then all well and good. Reading such books is inspirational and gives children something to aim for. They are left with a desire to help people as Mr. Pink-Whistle does, fight for justice like the Famous Five, draw on their inner resources and make the best of things when times are hard just like the children in the "family" books, explore, discover, learn and wonder, do their bit for society, own up and make amends when they've done wrong, face difficulties with courage... All things that will help them cope with and enjoy life rather than "escape" or withdraw from it.
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Moth »

I am in awe of the intelligence in your answers but I'll try to put my point of view.

There is nothing wrong with escapism. All literature is escapist to some extent or we wouldn't read it. Much of the value is through cathartis. Take the FF, the books are fairly formulaic but that adds to the enjoyment. We share the excitement of going on a holiday by ourselves-( even though in my life anyway I would never have been allowed that much freedom). We long for/ remember the camaraderie of being in a group whom we know very well. The tension then builds as the strange situation gains momentum to the point where we are scared for our heroes. Then comes the resolution, the bad is finished and the good go on to enjoy a delicious dinner somewhere where they are loved.

We respond to the tension and then, with the resolution, we relax and emotionally 'let go'. This allows me, at least, to return to the real world and deal, more effectively, with the issues I was escaping from. I think that nostalgia adds another layer to this. If I couldn't escape I think I would go mad- if ever I suffer from depression again I hope I can get a prescription for a dozen good escapist books.
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Viv of Ginger Pop »

Someone once wrote in The Enid Blyton Appreciation Book that we have in the Corfe shop that reading a Blyton book is better medicine for depression than Prozac! :D

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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Eddie Muir »

Brilliant, Viv. :D What a great comment!
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Francis »

I always read a Famous Five chapter just before 'lights out' - that
way I always sleep happily and soundly. Any dreams are populated
by 4 children and a wonderful dog - how I wish I were young again
and could join them!
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by 70s-child »

This is a very interesting thread, and I have enjoyed reading all the responses. Michael, you have provided excellent arguments to make your case. You are right that the characters find themselves in dangerous situations, and their personal lives are not always happy. So why are these books escapist? I suspect that the points you have laid out are precisely what makes these books attractive to the average reader. The average reader usually leads a pretty humdrum life, and I think most of us like the idea of adventure, of something unusual happening to us, or at least being surrounded by interesting people. So when we read about people who seem otherwise ordinary, but who manage to find adventure in every day situations, or who discover strength of character that helps them overcome obstacles, it helps transport the reader to a world they would like to be in, but are not a part of. Incidentally, you are also right in saying that in reality most of us would probably hate to be in these situations, but experiencing it vicariously through these books, and through your favorite characters, is completely harmless.

Characters who have difficult personal lives are also often drawn as figures of mystery and romance (like Barney, Snubby, George of the FF, Carlotta of SC), and they never seem to get bogged down by their circumstances. They go out and have a good time anyway. Further, since the good guys always win, and the stories always have a happy ending, I am not surprised that people find Blyton an escape from everyday life. It also helps that her prose is fast paced, and she manages to keep the reader engaged from the first page to the last. It's a rare gift.
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by MJE »

70s-child wrote:This is a very interesting thread, and I have enjoyed reading all the responses. Michael, you have provided excellent arguments to make your case.
     Thank you. Glad I was able to start an interesting discussion.
70s-child wrote:Incidentally, you are also right in saying that in reality most of us would probably hate to be in these situations, but experiencing it vicariously through these books, and through your favorite characters, is completely harmless.
     It has always struck me as a strange and puzzling paradox that real life and fiction are exact opposites in this: the kind of fiction we find most interesting depicts precisely the kind of dramatic and painful situations, full of conflict, that we all hate to have in our real life; and the kind of life we all long to live - peaceful, achieving all we wish to achieve, and according to schedule - and usually only get in very partial degree would make for intolerably boring fiction if featured too much. I cannot figure out why our inclinations in fiction and real life are so completely opposite; it has puzzled me for years.
     If we were to extrapolate this to the ultimate degree and imagine the paradisal future that some religions envision (either in some afterlife or on a future, perfected earth), live might be delightfully enjoyable, but fiction non-existent, because there would be nothing interesting to write about. (You would *live* it - but not write or read about it.) Indeed, I have often wondered whether there would even be any need for any type of art in such a world - perhaps it is largely because of hardship and suffering and lack of fulfilment in this world that makes art appealing in the first place. Art (and I mean that quite broadly, to include music, literature, and so on - not just the visual arts) is basically about creating a world which is to some extent imaginary, and not real, or at least departing significantly from reality; and if real life were as satisfying as we want it to be and dream about, would many of us have the slightest interest in imaginary worlds? With a backdrop of a truly satisfying real life, I suspect the made-up worlds of art would seem pretty shallow, dull, and two-dimensional by comparison.

Regards, Michael.
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Moonraker »

MJE wrote:      If we were to extrapolate this to the ultimate degree and imagine the paradisal future that some religions envision (either in some afterlife or on a future, perfected earth)...
Now that is a wonderful thought. Imagine being able to choose the location of your afterlife. Peterswood, Kirrin Island, Craggy Tops, The Enchanted Wood... Now there's a religion worth following!
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Re: Why are Blyton's books so delightfully escapist?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

This probably applies to many children's books - not only those by Enid Blyton - but reading them as an adult I have a heightened awareness of having entered a world of limitless possibilities, adding to the magic. The main characters are young, full of energy, eager and still learning and their lives seem so open. Often, the books are set during the holidays when the children have day after day of freedom and are able to decide how to spend their time. This may involve exploring interesting places, getting acquainted with new people, playing games, solving mysteries, etc. There's a feeling that almost anything might happen. As adults we have various responsibilities - jobs, families, mortgages - and can feel weighed down at times, and even have grown a touch cynical. It's refreshing to step into the world of freedom and wonder that lies within the pages of an Enid Blyton book and I like to think it's a rejuvenating experience!
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