Lessons and narratives in childrens stories a study of the select works of Sumangala K V Ramanathan and V R Sudheesh

Abstract

Children's literature is a unique category in Malayalam literature. All children's writings are formed in accordance with the personality development, imagination, and mental states of children. As a literary form that recognizes and reveals these, children's narratives have great importance. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the narrative features of the selected children's narratives as they deal with diverse themes. By considering the three main genres prevalent in children's narratives, that is, didactic, science fiction and psychological narratives, this thesis tries to articulate, with the help of narratology, how different themes stand out in children's literature. To find out the characteristics of didactic narratives in children's literature, the works of Sumangala have been selected for the study. In the category of children's science fiction, the works of K. V. Ramanathan have been selected and the works of V. R. Sudheesh for the study of psychological narratives. The thesis explores the narrative features of children's stories and novels by applying narrative methodology and child psychology.