Moral Themes: The Effect on a Child's Life
Many children’s stories contain some type of moral theme or lesson. The moral of the story can be incorporated throughout the whole book or may just contain one sentence at the end. Moral themes such as maintaining good friendships, telling the truth, respecting other cultures, and giving to others, are found in many classic and modern-day children’s literature. These moral lessons may lay the foundation for building moral character in children.
The theme of a story is the central idea or message of a work and the insight it offers into life. The moral is the lesson learned from a story and teaches about right and wrong. A moral lesson in literature is only one aspect of theme. However, I feel that moral is an important aspect. The moral of a story teaches children an important lesson to be learned. A good moral story is not preachy but works the moral into the overall theme of the work. Many children read stories so that they can be entertained; they do not want to be preached to. For example, in The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrice Potter, Peter disobeys his mother and ends up in danger. The theme in this story is to obey your parents and when you break the rules, you must suffer the consequences. Potter never once says the theme in the story. Instead, she relies on the events in the story to get the message across. (Russell, 43)
The purpose for researching moral themes in literature is to find out if they have an effect on the lives children. Morals in children’s literature are found in fairytales, fables and myths. We know that children pick up on many things from a young age. When adults start instilling good morals and proper behavior into children while they are still young, children remember those lessons when they are older. However, not all children will pick up on the moral lesson by themselves. "Moral messages are a special kind of theme the reader puts together that are influenced by reading skills and moral development" (Narvaez, 169). Not every reader takes away the same aspects of a story. This opens up opportunities for parents/teachers and children to have larger and more in depth conversations about the topic.
Some researchers believe that moral stories to not have any effect on building moral character because the way readers interpret a book is different based on their background, knowledge, and beliefs. However, I believe that if an adult has conversations with children about the moral themes in books, then children will learn from those conversations and lessons.
The theme of a story is the central idea or message of a work and the insight it offers into life. The moral is the lesson learned from a story and teaches about right and wrong. A moral lesson in literature is only one aspect of theme. However, I feel that moral is an important aspect. The moral of a story teaches children an important lesson to be learned. A good moral story is not preachy but works the moral into the overall theme of the work. Many children read stories so that they can be entertained; they do not want to be preached to. For example, in The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrice Potter, Peter disobeys his mother and ends up in danger. The theme in this story is to obey your parents and when you break the rules, you must suffer the consequences. Potter never once says the theme in the story. Instead, she relies on the events in the story to get the message across. (Russell, 43)
The purpose for researching moral themes in literature is to find out if they have an effect on the lives children. Morals in children’s literature are found in fairytales, fables and myths. We know that children pick up on many things from a young age. When adults start instilling good morals and proper behavior into children while they are still young, children remember those lessons when they are older. However, not all children will pick up on the moral lesson by themselves. "Moral messages are a special kind of theme the reader puts together that are influenced by reading skills and moral development" (Narvaez, 169). Not every reader takes away the same aspects of a story. This opens up opportunities for parents/teachers and children to have larger and more in depth conversations about the topic.
Some researchers believe that moral stories to not have any effect on building moral character because the way readers interpret a book is different based on their background, knowledge, and beliefs. However, I believe that if an adult has conversations with children about the moral themes in books, then children will learn from those conversations and lessons.
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. -Proverbs 22:6
Works Cited
Brunel, Lisa. "Learn To Write: Understanding Morals and Themes Of Children's Books!" Writing And Speaking Articles (2009): 2 Dec.
2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
Narvaez, Darcia. "Does Reading Moral Stories Build Character?" Educational Psychology Review 14.2 (2002): 155-71. PDF.
Reissenweber, Brandi. "Does a Story Have to Have a Moral?" Writer 124.5 (2011): 8.
Russell, David L. Literature for Children: A Short Introduction. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1991. Print.
Wade, Lillian. "Morals in Literature." EHow. Demand Media, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
Unknown. "Storytelling and Life Lessons: Teaching Moral Themes with Story Books." Kidmunication. N.p., 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2012. http://kidmunication.com/author/admin/>.
Brunel, Lisa. "Learn To Write: Understanding Morals and Themes Of Children's Books!" Writing And Speaking Articles (2009): 2 Dec.
2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
Narvaez, Darcia. "Does Reading Moral Stories Build Character?" Educational Psychology Review 14.2 (2002): 155-71. PDF.
Reissenweber, Brandi. "Does a Story Have to Have a Moral?" Writer 124.5 (2011): 8.
Russell, David L. Literature for Children: A Short Introduction. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1991. Print.
Wade, Lillian. "Morals in Literature." EHow. Demand Media, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
Unknown. "Storytelling and Life Lessons: Teaching Moral Themes with Story Books." Kidmunication. N.p., 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2012. http://kidmunication.com/author/admin/>.