A3 Book section, Chapters in research books
Wild Things Squeezed in the Closet : Monsters of Children’s Literature as Nonhuman Others (2020)
Mustola, M., & Karkulehto, S. (2020). Wild Things Squeezed in the Closet : Monsters of Children’s Literature as Nonhuman Others. In S. Karkulehto, A.-K. Koistinen, & E. Varis (Eds.), Reconfiguring Human, Nonhuman and Posthuman in Literature and Culture (pp. 125-142). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429243042-9
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Mustola, Marleena; Karkulehto, Sanna
Parent publication: Reconfiguring Human, Nonhuman and Posthuman in Literature and Culture
Parent publication editors: Karkulehto, Sanna; Koistinen, Aino-Kaisa; Varis, Essi
ISBN: 978-0-367-19747-6
eISBN: 978-0-429-24304-2
Publication year: 2020
Pages range: 125-142
Number of pages in the book: 400
Publisher: Routledge
Place of Publication: New York
Publication country: United States
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429243042-9
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Open Access channel
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/74449
Abstract
In the chapter co-authored by Marleena Mustola and Sanna Karkulehto, brief analyses of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (1963), Shaun Tan’s “Stick Figures” (in Tales of Outer Suburbia, 2009), and Tuutikki Tolonen’s Monster Nanny (2017) demonstrate how the othering, abjection, and abuse of the monsters in children’s literature embody the contemporary (human) anxieties. In all of these narratives, the fear of difference agitates the human characters to mistreat the characters that represent the disempowered other: monsters – and even the monstrous characteristics lurking inside the humans themselves – are squeezed into tight closets, creatures evoking existential questions are beaten down to silence, and opportunistic quests are undertaken to tame anything wild and unruly.
Keywords: children's literature; monsters; otherness; submission; posthumanism
Contributing organizations
Ministry reporting: Yes
Reporting Year: 2020
JUFO rating: 3
Parent publication with JYU authors: