MODERN REALITIES IN THE WORKS FOR CHILDREN BY JACQUELINE WILSON

MODERN REALITIES IN THE WORKS FOR CHILDREN BY JACQUELINE WILSON

Pinigina Mayya Vyacheslavovna

Yakutsk, Yakut Medical College, 2nd year student

Abstract. This article is devoted to the problems of modern society, which are reflected in the works of the English writer Jacqueline Wilson. The material for the study was the books of J. Wilson “Lily Alone”, “Dustbin Baby”, “The Story of Tracy Beaker”.

Keywords. society, teenagers, adults, social problems, family values.

Introduction

Years and centuries pass, and questions concerning society and its relationships remain relevant. Many great writers of the world have written and are write on such acute social problems of society. One of the modern authors is an English writer named Jacqueline Wilson.

The author touches on such serious topics that they cannot be called easy. Her novels are based on strong social realism and psychological insight.

Reading this amazing author is suitable not only for teenagers, but also for adults. These books touch a human's soul, change consciousness, leave a mark on the heart and a long aftertaste. The reader returns to the works of Jacqueline Wilson years later. Because the problems that the writer describes, unfortunately, remain relevant to this day.

In her works, these acute problems are considered from the point of view of teenagers. Jacqueline Wilson skillfully conveys the emotions and feelings of teenagers: their experiences, thoughts, resentments and betrayal.

It all starts with the family. Parents need to be more tolerant and attentive to their children, and children should be more respectful and trusting of their parents

These stories truthfully show the lives of young teenagers with all the difficulties, responsible and irresponsible adults. They help to look at yourself from the outside, to read about yourself. Wilson dispenses with moralizing, and her language is simple and understandable. Thanks to Jacqueline, more than one thousand children from all over the world were able to solve problems and find a way out of difficult life situations.

The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using the text of the report in everyday life.

Main body

Dame Jacqueline Wilson is an English writer, author of books for teenagers, a member of the Royal Literary Society. She was born in 1945 in Somerset. When she was nine years old, she wrote her first story, which consisted of 18 pages. There are about 70 books in the list of her works, which she always prints on an old typewriter.

For her outstanding literary works, Wilson has been awarded many times such awards. The list of the "200 best books according to the BBC", compiled in 2003, included 14 books by Wilson [1].

"Her works demonstrate a wonderful balance between serious problems and entertaining reading. This is enhanced by Nick Sharratt's delightful cartoon illustrations"[2].

The beginning of the story of J. Wilson, as well as the Victorian and Edwardian authors, sets the general tone for the whole work and puts the heroine before the need to resolve any conflict situation. However, if the characters of Victorian novels for girls are trying to survive in a conflict situation and as far as possible to come to terms with reality, the heroes of J. Wilson try not only to sort out the conflict themselves, but also to find a way out of it [3, p. 157].

For example, the eldest child from a large family, Lily (11 years old) and her little brother and sisters ("Lily Alone") are left to themselves, suffer from the immature actions of a mother who cannot take care of herself, not to mention her children: “She was always acting tired now. She was too tired to get up in the mornings, too tired to go to bed at night. She was too tired to go to work in the canteen. She just stayed at home smoking and staring into space. I made her go to the doctor because I was dead worried about her. I wasn’t sure where she could have got to. She’d said she’d only have a couple of drinks. I hadn’t necessarily believed that – but she’d promised to be back before midnight. … ‘What time is it?’, ‘I don’t know. Five, maybe? Later – or earlier, whichever,’ Mum giggled. If anyone found out, I’d get thrown into jail for child neglect”. [4]

She talks with her daughter as a friend, but at the same time forgets about the main function of motherhood - protection and care for her child. This type of mother is very dangerous, because it creates a feeling of loneliness and fear in children, and premature maturation, like Lily's [7].

The eldest daughter Lily is the head of the family. She's very mature. Lily takes responsibility not only for herself, but also for the younger ones and for her mother. But she is a child and she wants maternal care, love: “For a moment I hated all three of them. I wanted to shout and question and cry. I felt like sinking to my knees and howling like a baby. But I couldn’t. I was the eldest. I had to look after them” [4].

There are many “crisis” family situations in modern children's literature. The situation is solved by the authors in different ways, but the main tendency is visible - to encourage and support the child [5].

So, in the book “Dustbin Baby” we can see the adopted child and her interaction with adults. This book is about a fourteen-year-old girl, April, who was found in a trash can when she was a baby: “I suppose it’s a special claim to fame. Not many people make the front page the day they’re born. But not many people get chucked out like rubbish.   What kind of mother could dump her own baby in a dustbin? No, I’m not being fair. I don’t think it was just that she couldn’t stand the sight of me. She was probably scared silly. Why doesn’t she want me?” [6]. The book helps to understand the thoughts, feelings and experiences of a child who was adopted. She's been through a lot of bad things. The first foster family did not think about the child and traumatized her: “She cut her wrists in the bath. She didn’t want me to see. She locked herself in the bathroom on Sunday night, after she’d phoned a woman down the road and asked her to take me to school in the morning because she wasn’t feeling very well”. So she moved from other families to social institutions, etc. But she met a wonderful adoptive mother. She became for her not just an adult mentor, but also a close friend. She realizes that there are adults who want to help her and want to take care of her. That she's not alone in this world. Adults you can trust: “Marion really cares about me even though we’re not related. I was kidding myself before. I don’t always want her to care but she does. The slightest little thing can send her into a state. She would hug me if I let her. I’m the one who always backs away. It’s because I don’t want her to get too close. I don’t want her to be a real mum” [8].

The problem of teenagers' relationships can be seen in the story about Tracy Beaker and Peter (“The Story of Tracy Beaker”). The one about whom she spoke in a negative way “boring wimpy little”, “poor little Peetie-Weetie”, “little twit”, “little creepy”, “in teeny tiny beetle writing” [8].

In fact, there was Peter by her side all the time, who was always for her. “Peter Ingham was the only one with a proper smile. Don't take any notice of her. I don't ever cry, no matter what. But I knew Peter wouldn't tease me so I huddled down beside him for a bit” [8]

At the end of the story, we see that she realized who her real friend is: “Well, that's good, isn't it? Because he's my best friend. … I especially miss Peter. This is even weirder. I couldn’t stand weedy old Peter when he first came to the Home. But now it feels like he was my best ever friend. I wish I could see him” [8,9].

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can say that difficult life situations not only exist, but they are being discussed, spoken out, and solutions are being sought. In each story we see how difficult cases can be handled and how to behave.

It is especially important that in Wilson's books, there are moments of awareness in the children and in adults. They serve as an example of morality, the psychology of family life.

As mentioned above, the books are addressed not only to children, but also should be read by adults - parents, teachers, social workers, employees of orphanages.

Probably, it is more useful than many hours of educational lectures. There are no right and guilty here, everyone is right and everyone is guilty, which is what these stories say. We just need to be more attentive to each other, to negotiate. The book can act as one of the forms of help.

The books of Jacqueline Wilson are not included in the list of programs of educational institutions. But it would be nice to sort books or prepare lessons on these texts, for example, in English lessons. Then there will be not only social education, but also the study of English-speaking culture.

References

1. Famous authors – URL: https://www.famousauthors.org/jacqueline-wilson

2. British council. Literature – URL: https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/jacqueline-wilson

3. Shishkova I.A. Teenagers’ problems in creative work of children’s English writer J. Wilson. Vestnik of TSU. Philology and art history. Tambov, 2013; Issue 2: 155- 158.

4. Jacqueline Wilson “Lily Alone” - URL: https://www.bookfrom.net/jacqueline-wilson/62866-lily_alone.html

5. Kuzmina E.V., Platonova M.A. Novaya detskaya literatura: vzglyad bibliotekarya // Detskie chteniya. 2013. №2 (4). URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/novaya-detskaya-literatura-vzglyad-bibliotekarya

6. Jacqueline Wilson “Dustbin Baby” - URL: https://www.bookfrom.net/jacqueline-wilson/62897-dustbin_baby.html

7. Khuzina A.I. Types of mother’s images in foreign children’s literature of the XXI century (on the material of rhe works of T. Hanik “Say, Little Red Riding Hood”, J. Wilson “The Illustrated mum”, T. Fonbel “The girl from tower 330”) Cifrovaya nauka. 2021. №12. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/materinskie-obrazy-v-zarubezhnoy-detskoy-literature-xxi-veka-na-materiale-proizvedeniy-t-haniki-skazhi-krasnaya-shapochka-zh-uilson

8. Jacqueline Wilson “The Story of Tracy Beaker” - URL: https://www.bookfrom.net/jacqueline-wilson/62909-the_story_of_tracy_beaker.html

9. Jacqueline Wilson “Dare Game” - URL: https://www.bookfrom.net/jacqueline-wilson/62882-dare_game.html