The Wilderness of Childhood by Michael Chabon



The Wilderness of Childhood by Michael Chabon

1. What are your favorite stories, books, movies or television shows about childhood adventure? (Mine is Phineas and Ferb) How are these stories different from your own experience?

2. How does Michael Chabon define “the wilderness of childhood?” Explain how it has “nothing to do with trees and nature.”

3. Chabon mentions the idea that most classic adventure stories contain “a group of children, acting in a world where adults, particularly parents, are completely or effectively out of the picture.” Was this true in your own childhood? How much time did you get without adults around? How involved were the adults in your play time?

4. Chabon writes: “The wilderness of childhood is gone; the days of adventure are past.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain your response.

5. How does Chabon support his idea that adults need to loosen up and let kids be kids? Agree or disagree and explain your response.

6. What does Chabon believe will be the consequence of kids not being “permitted” or “taught – to be adventurers and explorers as children”?

7. In paragraph 4, Chabon addresses the cartography, or mapmaking, using a Matt Groening (“Simpsons” creator) comic strip as an example. What would your map (or comic strip) look like? Replace the major figures of the comic (angry dogs, gangs, unwanted attention) with your own major figures or dangers. If you are artistically inclined, feel free to respond visually on a separate page.

8. In what ways do you think this applies to Bill Bryson? How would he feel about his own childhood “wilderness”?

9. How can this article relate to Huck’s experiences in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?

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