Advanced Higher English - Dissertation Plan ExamplePrimary Texts The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle MagorianSecondary sources

Lucy Pearson and Peter Hunt, Children’s Literature, York Notes, Great Britain, 2011

Harvey Chapman, Advantages of Third Person Point of View, Novel Writing Help, 2008-2017

Semizu, Yukino, Adultness in children's literature: toward the awareness of adults' presence in children's literature, PhD thesis, University of Nottingham, 2013

Dissertation Proposal

A comparative study of how Markus Zusak and Michelle Magorian use conventions of children’s literature to convey realisms of war, child abuse and loss in a manner accessible to younger readers in The Book Thief and Goodnight Mr Tom.

Introduction notes

Outline texts. Outline conventions of children’s literature that will be examined - the

empathetic narrator-reader relationship; the characterisation of main characters as vulnerable children; and the use of a ‘happily ever after’ ending.

Restate focus – examining conventions through war, child abuse and loss.Area/theme for comparison and notes

Narrator-reader relationship Personification of Death in The Book Thief allows for an adult, complex and dark

topic to become more accessible, as Death is portrayed as a narrator with empathy.

Third person narrative in Goodnight Mr Tom means there is less of a connection between reader and narrator, but does mean the narrator is deemed more ‘reliable’ than first person, allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions.

Area/theme for comparison and notes

The characterisation of main characters as vulnerable childrenBoth are largely parentless, allows us to empathise with their vulnerability.

In Goodnight Mr Tom, Magorian not only establishes Willie as an evacuee, but also portrays him as an extremely vulnerable child by introducing the very serious subject of child abuse. Enables child readers to gain an awareness of a serious topic. Hope lies in Mr Tom’s mentorship of Willie.

In The Book Thief, Zusak characterises Leisel as an evacuee of the war - parentless and forced to mature prematurely. She also has to deal with the tragic death of her younger brother. She finds comfort in her foster family, the Hubermans, until they too are killed.

Area/theme for comparison and notes

The use of a ‘happily ever after’ endingSomething Margorian uses, but Zusak does not.

In Goodnight Mr Tom, Magorian gives Willie a happy ending, as Mr Tom rescues him from his abusive mother, and he begins to recover from the physical and psychological damage of abuse.

In The Book Thief, Zusak creates a final scene of devastation, as the Huberman’s and Leisel’s best friend, Rudy, all die. Death himself is devastated by her pain, but helps take us through the happiness they had previously brought her.

Conclusion notes

Summary of points - how the writers use the conventions to explore ‘adult’ topics; the similarities and contrasts between the two. Restate question and answer.