This study examines how criminals are portrayed in Martin Widmark’s series of children’s detective stories, JerryMaya’s Detective Agency. The aim of the study is to find out what patterns and norms are communicated through this popular series for children aged seven to nine. Fourteen books in the JerryMaya series were selected and analysed to see how the criminal is portrayed, what motives are presented and what are the consequences of the criminal act. The study shows that several of the crimes in the JerryMaya series concern morality and legislation, and that there is often a moral criminal alongside a criminal who breaks the law. In eight of the fourteen books the crimes are some form of theft, and in five of them the consequence is an arrest. Only three books contain crimes that are not theft, and in these cases the books are about subjects such as revenge, attempted escape and cheating. For example, a person who steals money is punished according to law while a person who takes revenge for being bullied as a child is given the task of lecturing about anti-bullying. The consequences of the crimes thus often depend on the situation and the criminal’s motives.

In Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner (2003) the reader follows the narrator and protagonist Amir’s as he embarks on his journey towards redemption. Amir’s need for redemption is based on the tragic childhood event where Amir’s friend and servant Hassan were assaulted by their nemesis Assef as Amir can, but fails to intervene. This event is central to the plot. The story is told through Amir's memories and contains details about his relationship to the people close to him as well as his nemesis. I will argue that Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner can be interpreted through a character analysis based on the names Hosseini chose for three of his characters and how they correlate to the portrayal of the characters, their personalities and how they mirror the actors in the Afghani civil war. / I Khaled Hosseinis roman The Kite Runner (2003) följer läsaren berättaren och huvudpersonen Amir på hans resan genom livet. Den tragiska händelsen där Amirs vän och tjänare Hassan blev våldtagen av deras plågoande Assef är en central del av handlingen. Handlingen skildras genom Amirs minnen och innehåller detaljer om hans relationer till de personer som står honom nära såväl som detaljer om hans fiende. Jag argumenterar för att Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner kan tolkas genom en karaktärsanalys som baseras på de namn som Hosseini valt till sina karaktärer och hur de står i relation till porträtteringen av karaktärerna och deras personligheter samt hur de speglar aktörerna i det afghanska inbördeskriget.

(in English): The Thesis focuses on analysis of characterization of Joseph Stalin in the novel Children of the Arbat dated 1987 by Russian writer Anatoly Rybakov (1911-1998). The first part of the novel is subject to A. Rybakov's biography, brief summary of the novel Children of the Arbat and found significant part in the works of writer. The second part of the novel is subject to explore emergence of Stalin's cult of personality and its consequences. In the third part, we focus on the fictional categories and literary character, define the basic concepts that make it possible to analyze a literary character. In the final part of work, the emphasis is on revealing the image of I. Stalin in the novel by analyzing the text of the work and drawning conclusions due to help to see the versatility of the characterization. The main objective of the Thesis is to characterize of Stalin as literary figure in the novel in the aspect of outward and explore what principles A. Rybakov used with the description of Stalin's inner world.

Narratives are regarded as a mirror of reality and therefore contain established norms and values which can be passed on to children. For that reason, the aim of the study is to analyse what norms and values can be detected in three popular children’s books, selected by pupils in grades 4–6, in the hope that they can be useful in school work with basic values. Reading literature brings a greater understanding of both the world and the individual. Since characters have a great influence on children, the study analyses the leading characters in the books Sam och Sigge, Diamantmysteriet and Nidstången. Among other things, the analysis gives examples of what is considered right or wrong, what a relationship should look like, how girls or boys are expected to behave, how people and animals should be treated, and that it is wrong to steal. In this way the selected books can be discussed in different ways in connection with values education in school.

This diploma thesis focuses on thematic interpretation of the short stories collection Lettipark by Judith Hermann, which was released in 2016 in German language. The Czech translation was published in 2018. Within individual interpretations never realized images, expectations and dreams will be accented. They may be regarded as unfulfilled desires of the main characters of the short stories. One part of this diploma thesis also includes the categorization of the author into German literature since the middle 90's of the last century until today. The prose writer's reception in the Czech Republic is also taken into consideration. KEY WORDS German literature, short story, desire, Judith Hermann, character analysis, thematic interpretation

This study analyses five different picture books from the last few decades. The aim of the analysis was to investigate how relations between children and adults are presented in the picture books. One way to achieve this has been to focus on the adults’ presence or absence in the narrative, and also what kind of authority the adult(s) can have in the action and how it can affect relations between children and adults. The idea is that this degree project can be adapted for practical use in school. It is hoped that teachers will receive inspiration for how they can work on the topic of relations between children and adults with the aid of picture books.A literary analysis which embraces the interplay between text and image, and with a focus on the different characters, has been used to analyse the picture books. The analysis shows that the absence and presence of the adults is depicted in different ways and can be divided into different groups: always absent, partly absent, physically present but absent in mind, and present. Another finding is that, in three of the five books, some adult character is portrayed as an authority, and this too affects how relations between the children and the adults are depicted.

xii, 214 p. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Recombinant television, a common television practice involving recycled, prepackaged formulas, updated to create programming that is perceived as novel, impacts more than industry processes. While the industry uses recombinants to reduce risk by facilitating aspects of production and audience affiliation, the inadvertent outcomes include a litany of narratives and characters that influence our worldview. As did the myths of earlier oral societies, television serves as one of our modern storytellers, teaching what we value and helping us make sense of our culture. This study focuses on how the prevalence of recombinant television limits portrayals of women and the discourse of feminism in three popular, female cast American sitcoms. This study comparatively examines the recombinant narratives and characters in Golden Girls, Living Single , and Sex and the City . While these programs are seemingly about very different modern women, older White women in suburban Florida; twenty-something African-American women in Brooklyn; and thirty-something, White, professional women in Manhattan, respectively, the four main characters in each show represent feminine archetypes found throughout Western mythology: the iron maiden, the sex object, the child, and the mother. First, a content analysis determines if a relationship exists between the characters and archetypes. Then, a comparative textual analysis reveals the deeper meanings the archetypes carry. Finally, a comparative narrative analysis examines the similarities and differences among the series. The findings reveal that a relationship exists between each modern character and her corresponding ancient archetype, reflecting particular meanings and discourses. The iron maiden archetypes, for example, generally bring forth a feminist discourse, whereas the child archetypes exhibit traditional values. While the sex object archetypes are self-absorbed, consumed with their own beauty and sexual conquests, the mother archetypes seek psychological wellness for themselves and those around them, generally providing much of the emotional work for the group. As reflected in these popular U.S. television series, the similarities among the archetypes and narratives depict limited views of women's lives, while the variance indicates differences among age, race, and class demographics. These recombinant portrayals of ancient archetypes as modern women suggest that our understanding of women's lives remains antiquated, reductionist, and conventional. / Adviser: Debra Merskin

Syftet med studien är att, utifrån ett genusteoretiskt perspektiv, beskriva hur genussystemet upprätthålls eller ifrågasätts i böckerna Nidstången och Rum 213, vilka är de verk barn i årskurs 4-6 läser frekvent i sin fria läsning. Detta mot bakgrunden att skolans värdegrundsuppdrag är att arbeta för jämställdhet mellan könen och att elevers identitetsskapande påverkas av den skönlitteratur de läser. Syftet besvaras genom att söka svar på frågorna: vilka egenskaper tillskrivs karaktärerna baserat på deras tankar, känslor och handlingar? Hur framställs de relationer som finns i böckerna? Genom en karaktärsanalys som kombinerar ett mimetiskt och ett semiotiskt perspektiv, visar analysen av resultatet att samtliga karaktärer reproducerar genussystemets premisser, om än på olika sätt och i olika utsträckning.

This master’s thesis discusses who Nora Helmer could be today in different parts of the world. With an idea for an modern adaptation of A doll house (with three Noras from different cultural perspectives) as a starting point the purpose is to research the following questions: Who Nora could be today, how Nora could be portrayed through different cultural perspectives, what similarities and differences there are, if anything in the play has to be changed to relate to a contemporary context and what the essence of Nora is. These questions are being explored through in-depth interviews with five different female actors in different continents: North America, Asia, Oceania, Africa and Europe. The actors thoughts are presented through different themes: Who Nora is, motherhood and marriage, Nora’s favourite color, the ideal woman and who Nora could be in their context today. The last part discusses the different versions of Nora, how a classical play can open up for conversations about current gender equality issues and how this material can be used in the continued work towards a stage production.

In our lives we will have to make hundreds upon thousands of choices. The effects of these choices will follow us with varying intervals; some effects may be brief while others may literally last a lifetime. In these moments that we are forced to chose, it ultimately comes down to two options, what we should do, and what we want to do. Essentially, it is a choice between the head and the heart. Playwrights depend on these moments of choice, for it is the basis of almost all plays. At some point, the protagonist must make a choice, even if the choice is not to choose. In the early part of the 20th Century, a religious philosopher by the name of Aleister Crowley helped to define these choices, or as he referred to them, Wills. In essence, he stated that everyone has a True Will and a conscious will, and the path that you will ultimately follow is contingent on the choices you make in your life. Following your True Will, the path of the heart will lead you to a sense of Nirvana, while following your conscious will, the path of the head leads to a life unfulfilled. While some called him demonic (he occasionally referred to himself as The Beast With Two Backs) others saw him as a sage someone to esoterically explain the chaotic and industrial world of the early 1900 s. Aleister Crowley seemed to be one of those few men that you either loved, or hated, or hated to love. At the dawn of the 20th Century, he was an English philosopher and religious guru that made a call to arms to the general populous to start living a better life. His theories will be explained fully in Chapter One, but ultimately he wanted everyone to achieve their True Will and leave their conscious wills by the wayside. He felt that this process could be achieved through what he referred to as his theorems on magick. It is unknown exactly how the idea came to him to add the k to the original magic; however speculation reveals he might have taken from the original Greek word magikE. Contrary to the modern definition of magic (the art of producing illusions by sleight of hand), Crowley felt that his magick was significantly more complex. Pulling on philosophies from the Egyptians and the Celts along with basic Buddhist principles, he defined his magick within his twenty-eight theorems . Ultimately, he philosophized that magick was a way to enlighten a person, or, for the purposes of this thesis a character s True Will4 and to avoid following their conscious will. In layman s terms, Crowley saw it as an argument between the head (conscious will) and the heart (True Will). While the main focus of this thesis is on the tension and outcome of the decision of a character to follow their True Will or their conscious will, it is impossible to talk about these two concepts without discussing, at least in part, magick. Crowley saw magick as the practice and process to achieve True Will. This study, therefore, involves both homonyms, magic and magick. By applying this process as defined by Crowley in his self-named theorems to plays and musicals that have been defined as strictly magic, I am looking for not only the exact moment in which the main protagonists in each play define and execute their decision to follow their True or conscious Wills, but also to critically examine their journey to that fatal decision. I describe it as such because I feel that a characters fate may truly depend on the choice that they make. These philosophies are not new to the philosophical world. Other theorists such as Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and their relation to Crowley s theories will be discussed later; however I felt that because Crowley is the one who his responsible for rejuvenating the word magick from the Greeks in the 20th Century, I should be able to use his theories as a modern lens to examine A Midsummer Nights Dream, Marisol, and Wicked. I plan to take plays that cross both genre and era and consider not only (1) what can be illuminated using this Crowlean lens , but I also to highlight (2) any universal truths, by which I mean any ideological or philosophical ideas that appear in all three plays, that can be found in works as diverse as the ones that I have chosen. While their connection to True Will may be tangential in nature, if there are things in common in these plays that are brought to light using Crowley s lens, then I feel it is worth noting. By examining these two factors I will be able to see if critics have accurately defined these plays. My goal is to add the Crowlean lens to the already existing approaches to critically examining a theatrical piece. This lens, as defined before, is simply taking Crowley s concepts of True Will and conscious will and their link to the progression of magick within a character to illuminate the characters choices leading up to their breaking point in which they must ask themselves Do I chose what I should do, or what I want to do? The three plays I chose were done for specific reasons. The basic criterion was to choose on a basis of (1) chronology, (2) genre, (3) and magical reference5. I took three plays that entertained the religious, philosophical, and fantastical nature of what I felt best applied to Crowley s theories. Keeping in mind that Crowley interpreted his magick as a philosophy, a religion, and a way of life to ultimately achieving True Will, I felt it pertinent to explore these aspects of each play as well. In the musical Wicked, the philosophical nature of the piece asks the question Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? This question can be answered through a variety of subjects. By exploring these issues within the context of its main character, Elphaba, (pronounced EL-fa-ba), and a variety of themes throughout this musical (including behavior, appearance, deception, honesty, courage and labeling) we find that True Will and conscious will in the land of Oz are flowering. Defining our True Will, according to Crowley, takes constant affirmations and diligent calculations of our feelings and utilizing those to aid in making the right choice for that specific moment6. In this fashion, Marisol marries the idea of what the author calls magical realism in a post-apocalyptic New York City with a fervent religiosity all while underscoring the political nature of the 1980s indigent cleanup initiated by then mayor Ed Koch. Through the character of Marisol Perez, we find that not only is the choice between True Will and conscious confusing, but it can be potentially lethal. Within the structure of this play is also where Crowley s spiritual views on True Will and conscious will become highlighted. The Lovers (Helena, Demetrius, Hermia, and Lysander) in Shakespeare s fantastical A Midsummer Night s Dream is the perfect backdrop to explore Crowley s more eccentric philosophies on magick and how these philosophies relate to True and conscious will. In essence, I plan to not only explore the choices that these four individuals make due to acts of both types of magic(k), but their ultimate consequences as well. It also must be noted that during the process of this thesis, the one overarching theme throughout all three plays dealt with Crowley s theory of self-preservation. I feel that this is innately tied into the idea of True Will. By achieving True Will, we are inherently attempting to make the best choices for ourselves. This inherently keeps alive the innate human instinct of survival. At the end of this thesis, I hope to defend that Crowley s concepts of True Will and conscious will, when applied in tandem with Crowley s concepts of magick, can be a valid lens to examine theatrical works, old and new alike.