Abstract
“MY FATHER IS NOW FAR AWAY”, DEATH AND MOURNING IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, A NARRATOLOGICAL ANALYSE
Death and mourning are a natural part of life and therefore one of the important themes of literature. The theme of death in children's books often worries adults. But keeping children away from this issue is neither right nor possible. For this reason, it is important to examine the theme of death in children's literature; death-themed works can offer important opportunities to children to discuss about death and mourning. However, it is necessary to determine which works are qualified in this regard. This requires in-depth investigations. Many concepts have been developed in narratology that allow to analyse literary works from various perspectives.
In this study, Necati Tosuner's story, My Father is Now Far Away, written for children, was analysed within the concepts of narratology and discussed based on research in the field of child psychology. The results can be listed as follows: The narrator is also the main character, in other words, this is an autodiegetic narrative. The main character has lost his father and this increases the possible effects of death on the reader. There is an anachronistic narration in the work. The reader does not experience death simultaneously with the character; when he learns of his father's death, the event is long gone. This reduces the possible impact of death on the reader. The mourning process described in the work shows the characteristics of traumatic mourning, which is well resolved at the end of the work.
Keywords
Death, mourning, child, literature, narratology.