Supervisors info:
Κωνσταντίνος Μαλαφάντης, Καθηγητής, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Ευαγγελία Γαλανάκη, Καθηγήτρια, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Θωμάς Μπαμπάλης, Καθηγητής, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Summary:
This diploma thesis aims at identifying the representations of childhood in the prosaic work of Kypros Chrysanthis.
Initially, an attempt is made to define the term of childhood. This term has a biological and social background, which is why its age limits are not precisely defined. After all, the perceptions of the child vary according to the society and the period to which we refer. The study aims to identify the representations of childhood based on the sociological approach of literature.
In particular, the interest is focused on Kypros Chrysanthis and his work. Reference is made to the biographical data as well as to the professional career of Kypros Chrysanthis. He was a great doctor and specifically a pediatrician. He contributed decisively to improving the physical and mental health of pupils in Cyprus through a variety of actions such as the operation of School Health Services. Of course, his writing and multifaceted cultural action made him an important spiritual man in both Cyprus and Greece. After all, his work is recognized at all levels.
The present study is limited to examining only the prose, although the author had a rich writing production successfully serving all genre of literature. His prosaic work includes short stories, novellas and novels. Having lived in a troubled time for Cyprus, Kypros Chrysanthis has depicted to his work episodes of long history of Cyprus. This depiction is done through a combination of realism and lyricism. At the same time, his professional activity is reflected in his prose.
The study seeks to discover whether in this multifold work there are representations of childhood, that is, whether the presence of the child is recorded and what role it plays in the social context that is placed. To achieve the above is done analyzing the content of all prosaic work of the author.
In the main part of the study we observe that the child appears in the following ways. The child is described before his birth, while the importance of the childlessness is underlined. When the child is born, it becomes a member of a family and it is a continuation and care of parents and their families. Naming the child is an important process. Children born out of wedlock, as well as adopted, orphans and sick children are also mentioned. Students and workers are another representation of childhood. In general, a part of children live in poverty, abuse and abandonment, problems encountered with the contribution of Social Welfare and charity. Also, children are presented in relation to persecution, refugees and resistance. The child still appears as a memory of the narrator or hero’s childhood, as well as in relation to religion and nature. Finally, the secondary role of children, in some of the author’s prose, is recorded.
In conclusion, Kypros Chrysanthis represent childhood in his prose in various ways in his modern and in earlier times.
