AN ANXIOUS WORLD - Academics' web pages - Australian Catholic

223 Pages·2005·0.93 MB·English

by  Maureen Carroll

Imagination For Better Not Worse:
The Hobbit in the Primary Classroom

Maureen Carroll, BEd, MEd

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Education

June, 2004

Faculty of Education
Australian Catholic University
ABSTRACT

This thesis argues for the power of story and, in particular, the story of The
Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien to help build optimism and hope. The Hobbit is under-used in
primary schools and this thesis demonstrates that it is eminently suitable for children.
Without imagination children are vulnerable to sadness and despair. The positive
development of imagination through heroic tales is likely to benefit children
emotionally and psychologically. The story of The Hobbit can be utilised to develop the
concept of the Hero's Journey, a persistent trope in oral and recorded literature and an
archetype for virtually all human experience. In addition, the thesis shows that critical
thinking skills and multiple intelligences can be developed through the use of The
Hobbit.
Depression in young people is now recognised as a serious public health
problem in Australia. Research supports the view that children need optimism. This
thesis discusses statistics regarding the increased prevalence of childhood depression
and aggression as well as alarming youth suicide reports. The inquiry by the Victorian
Parliament into the effects of television violence on children is examined and the
scholarly works of Neil Postman, inter alia, are discussed to establish the overall pattern
of positive association between television violence and aggression in children.
Furthermore, the contention that many contemporary realistic texts do little to promote
hopefulness in the young is supported with the opinions of scholars who are respected in
the field of children’s literature.
Tolkien was a devout Catholic but, even more importantly, he was able to restate
traditional values through his imaginative works of The Hobbit and The Lord of the
Rings. This has relevance for Catholic educators who strive to relate Gospel values to
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popular culture. Christian education must extend imagination beyond morality to help
young people to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Through the use of The Hobbit
and other books of this kind, children can begin to learn not to fear change, failure or
setbacks but to see them as important challenges and opportunities for personal growth.
This thesis argues for the likely value of a continuum of this type of learning that begins
in early childhood, in order to provide a "buffer" for adolescence, particularly for those
children who do not recover easily from setbacks. The story of The Hobbit is a powerful
tool for primary education.
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DECLARATION

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other
tertiary institution.

This thesis contains no material extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I
have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.

To the best of my knowledge, this thesis contains no material previously published or
written except where due reference is made in the main text and Bibliography.

Signed:

Date:……………………………….
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to acknowledge Australian Catholic University for granting me two periods of
extension to my research deadline and for endorsing my HECS financial scholarship
application for the past five years. This was a crucial factor in allowing me to complete
this dissertation. I also gratefully acknowledge Catholic Education Office for supporting
this study with ongoing part-time funded study leave whilst I was employed in full-time
teaching.

My supervisors, Margot Hillel and Ken Smith, have understood the pressure of trying to
complete a thesis combined with the demands of full-time work and family
responsibilities. Their encouragement and constructive guidance has always been
beneficial from the beginning to the conclusion of my work and I have derived
enormous benefit from their expertise.

My husband Alf Carroll deserves my heartfelt thanks for endearing himself to library
staff at universities across the country whilst searching for relevant documents and
texts, and in addition, he has spent many hours proofreading each chapter of this thesis.
He has lived with this research, just as I have, for a number of years and his
encouragement has been unfailing.

My brother John Patrick Lappin (Glasgow) challenged me in my direction throughout
various stages of my work in progress and forced me to a higher level of critical
analysis of my research. I am also grateful to my brother for assisting me with the
process of formatting this document.

My grown-up children Patrick and Claire, have also been unstinting in their support.
Since childhood they have inspired me with their willingness to enter into dialogue
about books and critique their favourites, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, in
particular, The Hobbit. This has inspired me and affirmed my belief in the power of
story to motivate children by what appeals to the imagination more than what appeals to
reason.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................ii
DECLARATION...................................................................................................................iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................v

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION: IMAGINATION FOR BETTER NOT WORSE: THE HOBBIT
IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM...................................................................................1
The Hobbit for Children.....................................................................................................2
Basic Similarities with The Lord of the Rings...................................................................5
About the Title..................................................................................................................12
Gospel Connections..........................................................................................................13
Definitions........................................................................................................................14
Violence and Realism in Texts.........................................................................................16
Examination of Texts.......................................................................................................17
Literature Review.............................................................................................................17
Tolkien and The Hobbit for Children...............................................................................18
Statistics and Reports.......................................................................................................19
Violent and Sad Images....................................................................................................20
Imagination and Hope......................................................................................................24
A Crisis of Hope...............................................................................................................25
Imagination and Faith.......................................................................................................29
The Imagination of Tolkien..............................................................................................30
The Hero and The Hobbit.................................................................................................31
Critical Literacy and The Hobbit......................................................................................32
Conclusions......................................................................................................................34

CHAPTER 2
ANXIOUS WORLD...........................................................................................................37
Media Influences on Children..........................................................................................43
Current Research..............................................................................................................46
Conclusions......................................................................................................................57

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CHAPTER 3
LES COEURS D’ESPOIR.................................................................................................62
Images of Hope.................................................................................................................63
Myth and Morality............................................................................................................68
Teaching Morality............................................................................................................70
Moral Choices..................................................................................................................75
Literacy Through Literature.............................................................................................76
Imagination and Literature...............................................................................................78
Literature and Communication.........................................................................................80
Literature and Experience.................................................................................................81
The Power of Story...........................................................................................................82
Education for Humanity...................................................................................................84
The Forgotten Power of the Imagination..........................................................................87
Hopeful Conclusions........................................................................................................95

CHAPTER 4
THE HERO AND THE HOBBIT....................................................................................99
Why Choose the Hobbit Hero?.......................................................................................102
Unusual Qualities of Bilbo the Hero..............................................................................106
A Humble Hero..............................................................................................................109
To Thine Own Self Be True...........................................................................................111
Bilbo’s Moral Courage and Ethical Superiority.............................................................118
Conclusion......................................................................................................................126

CHAPTER 5
CRITICAL LITERACY AND THE HOBBIT...............................................................129
Bloom’s Taxonomy and The Hobbit..............................................................................130
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy in the Classroom............................................................132
New Paradigms...............................................................................................................137
Conclusion......................................................................................................................145

CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS: PRIMARY TEACHERS HOLD THE KEY...................................147
Primary Teachers Hold the Key.....................................................................................156

REFERENCES...................................................................................................................161
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APPENDIX A
Portrait of Tolkien..............................................................................................................171
APPENDIX B
The Hobbit Study................................................................................................................177
APPENDIX C
Selected list of Related Heroic Tales for Primary Children...............................................211
APPENDIX D
Teachers are Heroes............................................................................................................213

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION:
IMAGINATION FOR BETTER NOT WORSE:
THE HOBBIT IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

This thesis will agree with the view of Joseph Campbell (1971) that it is not
society that is to guide the creative hero, but precisely the reverse (p. 391). There is
turbulence in modern society and forces that appear beyond the control of teachers,
particularly the role of the media. At a time of economic uncertainty and the dominance
of realism, these forces can impact negatively on the wellbeing of children leading to
aggression and depression. The World Health Organisation (2001) claimed that “ by
2020 depression is expected to be the number one health problem and one of the major
causes of death and suffering in the twenty first century. (New Statesman December 3).
Clinical depression in the young is now acknowledged as a serious public health
problem in Australia and evidence of this from the National Health and Medical
Research Council (NHMRC 2001) will be discussed in Chapter One.
This thesis argues for the power of story to help avoid an archetype of decline
and cultural pessimism in the young. Teachers are in a position to counteract some of
the negative forces in society that impact on the wellbeing of children. This thesis
contends that without imagination children are vulnerable to sadness and despair. The
positive development of imagination through literature is likely to benefit children
emotionally, intellectually and psychologically by nurturing goodness, optimism and
hope. Children must be taught not to fear change, failure or setbacks but to see them as
important challenges and opportunities for personal growth.
Chapter 1: Introduction - 2 -

Christian education must extend imagination beyond morality by teaching
children about the importance of a sense of purpose and direction in their lives. The
thesis will show that the story of The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien utilises the Hero’s
Journey motif and is an ideal educational tool to help children understand their own
points of passage through life. This thesis contends that there should be a continuum of
this type of learning experience that begins in early childhood, in order to provide a
“buffer” for adolescence. Education must support the development of well-rounded
individuals who are able to feel deeply with compassion for others, to think
penetratingly and clearly and act justly for humanity. The story of The Hobbit is under-
used in primary schools and the strategy of the Hero’s Journey motif is neglected. This
work will show that The Hobbit has multi-functional educational value and is eminently
suitable for primary-age children. References in this chapter to Tolkien, his biographer
Carpenter, and his publisher Allen and Unwin have been transcripted from the BBC
Audio Portrait (2001).

The Hobbit for Children

Many teachers avoid the use of The Hobbit with primary school children
because they equate it with the more complex The Lord of the Rings (LOR) but Tolkien
wrote the heroic journey of The Hobbit particularly with young children in mind. This
chapter will show that there are some basic similarities between the two stories but they
are quite different. Another possible reason for the under-use of The Hobbit in primary
schools is that many teachers may dwell on the violence that they associate with
Tolkien’s literature and find difficulty reconciling this with suitable literature for
children.