does the synthetic hero have the enduring quality of those who were given literary
permanence in heroic literature.
The ongoing quest for ‘stars’ in the contemporary media, be they sports persons,
entertainers or even humanitarians is also indicative of the same urge to worship that
has give lasting life to the legendary folk heroes from around the world: Robin Hood,
William Tell, Boadicea, Pochahontas, Davy Crockett or Lady Godiva. They are all larger-
than-life characters whose exploits have perhaps been romanticised but who for that
very reason stir the popular imagination and fulfil an ongoing human need to reverence
the spark of nobility within ordinary people. Such heroes, because they belong to a
specific family, society, tribe or region provide a sense of identity for those whose roots
are in that culture as well as a cross-cultural reference in a world where
internationalism is seen as desirable; but not at the cost of losing pride in one’s country.
Myth and legend perhaps provide the most potent form of literature that can be offered
to children—for a variety of reasons. Not only are they archetypes, but they generate
linguistic power, stir the imagination, ease anxiety and help bring about inner harmony
and much-needed emotional and spiritual wholeness.
So called ‘high’ fantasy such as that of J.R.R.Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and especially his
Lord of the Rings trilogy, sometimes described as ‘mythological epic’ creatively
synthesises elements from myth and legend (the journey, battle and pursuit) with
medieval romance and boys’ adventure literature. The Australian, Patricia Wrightson, in
her Book of Wirrun takes her Aboriginal hero on an epic journey across Australia. The
creatures he encounters such as the water spirit, the Yunggamurra, although derived
from Aboriginal mythology are universally recurring images.
From the epic hero tale comes adventure and survival literature—from Robinson
Crusoe to Ann Holm’s I am David, Ian Serraillier’s The Silver Sword, Ivan Southall’s Ash
Road or Cynthia Voigt’s Homecoming. Each involves a journey of sorts, a disaster, and
survival through grit, determination and moral integrity. In all such novels there is a
moral dilemma and a social problem just as there is in heroic literature. So the seeds of
the contemporary problem novel are to be found in traditional literature. Children
immersed in that literature absorb not only the structure and pattern of story which
thus enables them to appreciate the most demanding contemporary writing but they are
empowered linguistically.
Apart from the ringing tone and heightened language of the better retellings—to which
we will return later in the chapter—our vocabulary and usage are enriched,
unconsciously, by references to myth and legend: a jovial chap; a mercurial disposition;
the Midas touch; even brand names such as Cyclops or Excalibur.
Even more importantly the ancient tales demonstrate the universality and ongoing
nature of the human condition. The televised cry of the distraught mother of an
abducted child, ‘Please give me back my daughter!’ echoes the story of Demeter’s search
for Persephone, carried off by Hades, the black monarch of the Underworld to his nether
kingdom, so swiftly that only Hecate, the queen of black magic and evil ghosts saw her
go.
When night fell and Persephone failed to return home, her mother sent out a search
party; and Demeter joined the searchers, lighting torches from the fires of theTYPES AND GENRES 165