Monday, March 23, 2009
Questions on Ronia
I think that Ronia is interesting in the sense of its unusual characters. The one question that I was thinking about when reading the book is how do we sympathise with the characters despite the fact that they are crooks? The overall picture is that they are thieves that steal from others and not in a "cute" way like Jack from the Giant or a "noble" way like Robin Hood. I wonder why Lindgren didn't really address this by at least giving more backstory on the clans. Maybe they steal due a reason we dont know about or else she felt that it wasn't important. I would have liked if she would have expounded on this point. I give kudos to Ronia for at least being better than her parents and enacting more selflessness by feeding Birk. In a way she is a foil to those around her but then I wonder again. If she is raised to be a thief then where does this charity come from? Was she just born with inherent goodness, since i find her behavior highly unusual seeing as what her role models are, its an interesting insight on childhood development.
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I find it ironic how it's a little bit of Romeo and Juliet among poor crooks, but the irony is that the Montagues and Capulets were probably "thiefs" in every sense of the word, too. They were feuding elites, and, like robber barrons, you would think probably oppressed the poor and took everything for themselves. That might have been intentional, yet Lindgren doesn't seem to be sardonic.
ReplyDeleteSeth's comment intrigued me, being that I am a psychology major and am therefore interested in the whole Nature vs. Nurture controversy that he alluded to in his assertion that "her behavior [is] highly unusual seeing as waht her role models are." Something about the way Ronia is so seperate from the ways of her father really bothered me and I am starting to think that this may have to do with it. From a psychological standpoint, it is not very likely for Ronia to rebel against the ways of her parents at such a young age. Perhaps if she was a teenager that would make more sense, as teenagers tend to try to be "different" from their families and therefore her behavior would be more understandable in that case. However, the fact that she is so strongly against her father's actions is somewhat puzzling as it is not like she lives in the real world, or goes to school, in which case maybe the friendly grocer, her next door neighbor, or a teacher may be modeling this alternative "goodness" to her which she then follows. I see it as lending to the "fakeness" of the story to make Ronia as this somewhat impossible "angel" who, with no guidance from anyone, somehow knows that the ways of her father are wrong and rebels against that, refusing to follow in his ways.
ReplyDeleteEsther, what do you think of Lovis in this regard? All very interesting. RN
ReplyDeleteRonia doesn't know for a very long time what "thieves" are, and nobody was allowed to tell her (why not, if it is something to be proud of??). In chapter 5 she asks her father about the things that he had taken from others without asking. And Matt (although he usually swanks about it) does not at all answer like he is proud of it when he speaks to Ronia! He knows that what he does is not right, that is why he needs to find some ethical reasons for his "job": stealing from rich people and sharing with the poor. Although the family has for many generations been thieves, Ronja seems to have grown up within a set of values (don't take away things from other people, be considerate of other peoples feelings, don't lie, stick with your family/crowd, help if somebody needs help, etc.) that rule within the fort among their own band, but not outside.
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