| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺東大學 === 兒童文學研究所 === 93 === Abstract
In response to the trend of globalization, what competencies shall we cultivate in our children? The researchers believe that cultivating the ability of “reading” is crucial because it is beneficial for life. Then, what shall the children read? Novels or fairy tales? Novels illustrate the positive side of the humanity because the novelists are always kind and use their wits to praise the goodness and criticize the evilness imperceptibly. However, novels also present the dark side of the humanity because the novelists also believe that it is necessary to create a realist environment instead of a vague world for the readers. Prof. Tzu-chang Chang once said, “The fundamental key for novels is always rudimentary education and growth.” However, novels are suitable for older children, and fairy tales are suitable for younger children.
Every fairy tale contains a “happy” world, while it helps the children to “recognize oneself” indirectly so that the children could maintain utter innocence and heart of sympathy. Prof. Mao-shiou Yang once said, “Care is the root of learning, care is also the gravity for help people learning.” All fairy tales are about the theme of “love and care”. The researcher is fond of Grim fairy tales and Andersen fairy tales, thus, chose Tove Jansson fairy tales which had Northern European root.
Tove Jansson created the “Moomin Series” by imitating the writing style of Andersen. She used the same characters and locations through the entire series, 8 volumes of classic works. Although there are many characters in the fair tale, each of them has unique characteristics. The researcher divided the characters into four types, namely the Innocent, the Orphan, the Caregiver, and the Wiseman. In terms of the storyline, the author started with suspense and surprise, used foreshadowing to resolve the conflicts, thus, strengthen and reconstructed the power of moral integrity. The author chose “care” for the main theme, in which she not only presented “warm family life” but also “harmonious interpersonal relationship”.
In Tove Jansson’s “Moomin Series”, there is magnificence of humanity, allowing the children to have a sensitive heart and express more sympathy in the reality world.
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