Boys versus Girls: A Timeless Battle
It is no
secret that novels usually are written with a targeted audience in mind. Many times they are age specific, but in some
cases they are gender specific. This is
the case in the two novels we’ve read thus far in the semester. Treasure
Island is a typical example of a boy’s book. The entire story is focused on a little boy
and his pirate adventure. The Secret Garden is a typical example
of a girl’s book by following a little girl as she helps her host family. This particular novel is formatted to fit the
stereotypical ideals that society has for females. Boy’s books are usually heavily laden with
adventure that takes place over a journey far from home. These adventures are meant to help the
protagonist develop a strong moral structure and a sense of courage. Girl’s books are usually closer to home, if
the main character ever leaves home at all.
The journey of a girl’s book protagonist is centered her becoming a
strong and capable women in the household and not the outside world. Through the exploration of Treasure Island and The Secret Garden it is obvious that both books are prime textbook
examples of the ideal, gender specific novels.
Treasure Island just sounds like a boy’s
book. The very essence of it screams
adventure and expedition, which are two of the main building blocks of boy’s
books. Treasure and islands tend to peak
the interest of males. Even when Jim
Hawkins is scared to death of Billy Bones and his accursed singing of “Yo-ho-ho,
and a bottle of rum,” he is overcome with a sense of curiosity and
inquisitiveness that does not allow him to leave the pirate’s side for too long
(Stevenson). After the death of Jim’s
pirate friend and the intensification of future events he is swept up into a whirlwind
of activity and thus begins his adventure.
At the beginning of the novel when Jim is first introduced he is a
quiet, do-what-he-is-told boy. But
through his adventure with the squire and the doctor and Long John Silver
himself he transforms from a meek child into a strong-willed adolescent. This apparent development of character is
another large part of typical boy’s books.
The protagonist develops traits that are deemed imperative in males by
society. Towards the end of the novel Jim makes a courageous decision to
attempt to commandeer the ship alone.
When he runs into trouble with a lone pirate he does not hide and wait
for help, but approaches the situation head on.
After slaying the pirate and nearly escaping death himself the young boy
does not abandon his mission, but calms himself down until “gradually [his]
mind came back again, [his] pulses quieted down […] and [he] was once more in
possession of [himself]” (Stevenson). By
watching the growth of Jim Hawkins, the male readers can see that being
honorable and courageous are ideal traits to possess.
The Secret Garden is a girl’s book
blossoming with the melodies of mystery and magic. The strange noises from the end of the hall
and reincarnation of the beautiful garden are excursions that Mary explores
without ever leaving the grounds of her new home. Girl’s books are engineered to show how
adventure and exploration can, literally, be right in your backyard. She “liked […] the feeling [when] its
beautiful old walls shut her in no one knew where she was.” The garden made her feel like she was “being
shut out of the world in some fairy place” (Burnett). Being in the garden was her way of becoming
closer to herself. Her other main
adventure was helping Colin become who he was supposed to be and helping him
become closer to his father. Girl’s
books focus on the home and the people in it and that is exactly what The Secret Garden did.
As
can be seen, the novels written for girls and boys are just as different as
boys and girls themselves. The
structure, tone, and overall themes are manipulated to fit the epitomes of the
gender reading them.
Works Cited
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The
Secret Garden. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1962. Print.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure
Island. Edinburg: Edinburg University Press, 1998. Print.
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