Mental health and stigma in children's literature : an analysis of Winnie the Poo

Abstract

Mental health is something which has gained prominence and importance in recent years. Yet unfortunately this can lead to the stigmatisation of both children and adults. It is important to try and combat this stigma as well as possible. In most cases stigma usually comes from a lack of knowledge, therefore in order to reduce stigma towards mental health, the knowledge on the subject needs to increase. A way in which children learn is through literature, thus by using children’s literature as a source to introduce mental health to children, stigma would decrease. Ninety two years ago the first Winnie the Pooh book was published, and it has remained a well-loved book till this day. This dissertation questions character and the different constructs of character in a children’s book which has survived through generations. By analysing these characters and seeing the link they have to mental health one could see how having such characters present in children’s literature is able to fight the stigma. The traits found within the characters are vital when seen in light of the mental health issues being put forward. Chapter two focuses on the traits found within each character and the theories of Chatman’s paradigm of traits and Culpeper’s theory on traits are discussed with the findings. This chapter is one of the most important chapters within the dissertation as it opens up the characters allowing for the discussion of what these characters are made up of. Moving forward, established theories on character are discussed and the characters are organised and separated according to the theories of Propp and Forster. The arguments found within the chapters and the analysis of the different characters allows the dissertation title to be answered and also show the link between these characters and mental health. In order to reach a conclusion on fighting stigma using children’s literature, two other children’s books aimed at the same age bracket are briefly analysed. The importance of the characters used is discussed in greater detail, and the importance of introducing children to the topic of mental health at an early age is seen.