The Moral Imagination of Children: Love and Immortality

What is moral imagination and how does it apply to the virtues of love and immortality in the minds of children? According to philosopher Mark Johnson, it means to envision the full range of possibilities in a particular situation in order to solve an ethical challenge (McCombs School of Business, n.d.). Guroian argues that classic stories awaken the child’s moral imagination in many ways. However, I will be dissecting the awakening that love and immortality bring to children through children’s literature. In chapter three of Tending the Heart of Virtue, Guroian explores love and immortality exposed in The Velveteen Rabbit and The Little Mermaid. However, teaching love and immortality provides challenges due to the various levels of moral understanding in children, diverse religious beliefs, and the emotional ties associated with these virtues.

Should love and immortality be taught to children? Guroian argues for the teachings of love and immortality when he states, “...it is remarkable what lack of serious attention is given to these themes by literary critics and educators, as if religion does not exist in children’s lives or, if it does, that it is off limits,” he continues, “...Williams and Anderson have written stories that are profound allegories of love and immortality. And I think it is more than worthwhile [emphasis added] to explore the messages in these two stories,” (p. 63). In this quotation, Guroian contends that literary critics and educators are not letting children adequately explore their moral imagination due to the barriers between children and their access to literature that explore these virtues. This statement remains true now, in the twenty-first century, in various depictions created by Disney and other modernized approaches.

As Guroian illustrates in this chapter, children are sheltered from the original The Little Mermaid due to not only the death depicted in the book, but the sad truth about hopeless love. Young children have gotten used to the glorified or Disney versions of stories. These stories lose their true value due to the maladaptation that Disney creates a business out of. Disney is able to For example, Guroian expresses the value of classic literature when he states, “His [Anderson’s] ability to awaken our moral and religious imagination certainly cannot be overlooked,” (p. 77). In the original book, The Little Mermaid teaches readers about the wisdom of evil and how we must not use our personal sufferings (the prince not loving her back) as an excuse to sin (kill the prince) when she chooses to let the prince live and chooses death as her own fate (Guroian, p. 81). In the Disney version, The Little Mermaid does not die and gets married to the prince. This destroys the moral value of the original story due to the dismissal of the consequences that The Little Mermaid must face and the decisions she must make. Disney provides the happy ending which results in children with a lacking moral imagination. Not only does The Little Mermaid live, but she is given the one thing she could not have (besides her voice) in the original, the prince. In addition, this creates false hope for children that love always works out and undermines the value of the lessons learned in the original story. The questions such as, “What happens to us when we die,” are not answered for the sake of childrens’ moral imaginations. Children need to be taught the virtues of love and immortality.

However, teaching children these virtues is not easy. For example, children have varying levels of understanding when it comes to morals. In other words, children may have a hard time grasping the meaning of immortality. In addition, children may have religious beliefs that may influence their views on immortality. For example, some religions such as Christianity believe there to be a place for them in Heaven in the afterlife. Situations of that sort could potentially cause confusion for some children that practice religion. Children may also get upset while discussing death due to the touchiness of the subject which could cause difficulties in maintaining the classroom. It would be difficult to teach these values in a public school setting due to the restrictions of religion. For example, Guroian discusses the underlying religious value in the original The Little Mermaid. Reading the original book in a public classroom would cause an uproar from parental figures or even young students who understand and practice their religion heavily. Public school systems would not be able to teach immortality from a secular standpoint due to religious views.

In addition, love would be impossible to teach in public schools. Religions view love differently. Marriage is depicted in various ways and is not always defined by love in all religions or cultures. Furthermore, conversations regarding sexual intercourse differ depending on religion and personal beliefs about love or sexuality. Secular standpoints based on religion, love, and immortality do not exist. The world is too complex for these virtues to have one singular teaching about them, which is why the moral imagination of children is so important. In conclusion, the moral imagination of children provides them with endless possibilities and teaching love and immortality in the public classroom is not possible due to differing views.

Resources

Guroian, V. (2002). Tending the heart of virtue: how classic stories awaken a childs moral imagination. New York: Oxford University Press.

McCombs School of Business. (n.d.). Moral Imagination. Retrieved February 17, 2020, from https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/moral-imagination