“Most of the great works of juvenile literature are subversive in one way or another: they express ideas and emotions not generally approved of or even recognized at the time; they make fun of honored figures and piously held beliefs; and they view social pretenses with clear-eyed directness, remarking - as in Andersen's famous tale - that the emperor has no clothes.” WayIdeasLiteratureBeliefFunSocialViewsEmotionClearFiguresClothesTalesOne WayHonoredGreat WorkEmperorPretenseApprovedSubversiveJuvenileChildren's Literature Author:Alison Lurie
“But I think that sometimes, when one's behaved like a rather second-rate person, the way I did at breakfast, then in a kind of self-destructive shock one goes and does something really second-rate. Almost as if to prove it.” IfsThinkingWayKindPersonsDoeSelfSometimesProveRateShockDestructiveBreakfastProve ItSelf DestructiveSecond Rate Book:Real People: A Novel Source: Real People: A Novel
“When other people first became aware of the cow, they expressed concern and anxiety. They suggested strategies for getting the animal out of Molly's parlor: remedies and doctors and procedures, some mainstream and some New Age. They related anecdotes of friends who had removed their own cows in one way or another. But after a while they had exhausted their suggestions. Then they usually began to pretend that the cow wasn't there, and they preferred for Molly to go along with the pretense.” PeopleWayFirstsAgeAnimalAnxietyConcernDoctorsStrategyOne WayRelatedCowsMainstreamRemedyExhaustedSuggestionsNew AgeProceduresPretenseAnecdotesParlor Book:The Last Resort Source: The Last Resort