Friday, August 14, 2015

Bad to the Bone: The Worst Children in Literature

The children from The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham Bad to the Bone: The Worst Children in Literature on AbeBooks: Children can be innocent, inquisitive and the embodiment of hope.  But those characteristics make for boring stories.  Sometimes authors enjoy creating a fictional child that is just plain nasty. Draco Malfoy might be a bigot and a bully, but he’s rarely dull and is a vital ingredient in the Harry Potter novels. Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would not be such a tasty read without greedy Augustus Gloop, bratty Violet Beauregarde and the spoiled Veruca Salt.

5 comments:

Deb said...

Don't forget Rhoda (?) in THE BAD SEED.

Unknown said...

She's on the list.

Deb said...

Sure is! How did I miss that?

One quibble: Pinkie in BRIGHTON ROCK is not a child. He's 17 and, by the standards of his day, a grown man if not a "legal" adult.

I would have also included the two girls in Beryl Bainbridge's Heavenly Creatures-esque HARRIETT SAID and the murderous children in J. G. Ballard's RUNNING WILD.

Unknown said...

Haven't read Ballard's book. I agree about HARRIETT SAID.

Don Coffin said...

Lord of the Flies, anyone?

Wyndham's children are pretty awful.