Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Memorable Children in Novels

I have posted lists of memorable characters (3/6/11) and memorable settings (3/11/11); today I list some memorable child characters in novels for adults. Some of these are children throughout the novels in which they appear; some start as children and grow up during the course of the novels. Some of these child characters are memorable in a positive way, some in a frightening way. They are a very diverse group. But in all cases, the authors’ portrayals of these children are vivid, and stay in my mind even sometimes decades after reading the novels.

- Pip (in Great Expectations)
- Jane (in Jane Eyre)
- Jude, called “Little Father Time” (in Jude the Obscure)
- Maggie (in The Mill on the Floss)
- Susan, Rhoda, Jinny, Louis, Bernard, and Neville (in The Waves)
- Miles and Flora (in The Turn of the Screw)
- Antonia (in My Antonia)
- Ralph, Jack, Simon, and Piggy (in Lord of the Flies)
- Sandy and Rose (in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie)
- Frankie (in The Member of the Wedding)
- Scout (in To Kill a Mockingbird)
- Phineas (in A Separate Peace)
- Holden Caulfield (in The Catcher in the Rye)
- Owen Meany (in A Prayer for Owen Meany)

3 comments:

  1. Phineas, in A Separate Peace
    Holden Caulfield, in Catcher in the Rye
    (These books are both often first read by adolescents. But so are Jane Eyre, Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird. I think they can all be considered adult books. What do you think, Steph?)

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  2. Absolutely, yes to both those characters. And yes, both are definitely adult books. I just didn't want to get into the vast world of great child characters in actual children's literature...not for this post anyway! Thanks, Mary!

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  3. I have added both of Mary's suggestions to my list. I have also added Owen Meany, from A Prayer for Owen Meany, at the suggestion of my friend Kelly...definitely another memorable child character!

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