Chapter 9 - The Marvellous and the Mundane

Summary

This chapter focuses on the representation of young protagonists and the city space in a select number of children’s realist novels, published from the mid part of the twentieth century to the present day, that are set in New York City – Manhattan to be exact. In particular, it analyses the ability of young characters to upend traditional power structures, to navigate and understand urban environments, and in so doing see the possibilities for the transformation of self. In many children’s texts set in New York empowerment is depicted as only possible through direct engagement with the city, a landscape Michel de Certau describes as ‘a space of enunciation’ where the act of walking in the city offers the opportunity for subversion and transformation. This is a city that is always in the process of becoming. As a result, the parallels with childhood experience and coming of age are immediately apparent.