September 25, 2015 - 13:48
While the actions of play remain in the past, the vivid memories of it still linger, kept in the back of our minds for mental escape from the bleak reality of adulthood. Theladyinwhite’s post clearly defined that the fantastical world in her mind during play became a distant memory when she grew up. In Molly Knefel’s article “Kid Stuff,” it is clear that she thinks that Americans believe the difficult adult world is far removed from childhood, which the mainsteam describes as completely pure and innocent.
Knefel included the fact that some children may not have the same ability to freely play as those of other children, depending on their situation at home. In the context of theladyinwhite’s post, the word “safe” appears a couple of times, indicating that her world separate from playing may have been difficult in some way. Knefel would applaud that theladyinwhite honestly speaks of her childhood, and it is not the idyllic one typically represented in mainstream media. The ladyinwhite’s escapist play is more accurate for the world we live in those presented in television commercials.
Theladyinwhite mentioned “The nomadic nature of my family made it difficult for me to establish a zone in which I acquired the level of comfort built off of time within a singular place.” Knefel comments that adults are surprised when children’s actions and words disrupt their unblemished view of childhood. When thinking about childhood, I automatically have the utopian image of happy children playing in the yard of their house with their siblings or friends. “Childhood is not free”(Knefel) could be true for theladyinwhite’s view of her family constantly uprooting itself instead of having a stable home in one location. In order to have that freedom, theladyinwhite escaped to her world with the fairies.
Theladyinwhite’s opening line says that shutting her eyes, which I read as shutting out her current physical world, brought her back to her memories of play. Knefel acknowledges that play is automatically associated with juvenility and completely separate from the stoic adult world. Additionally, in theladyinwhite’s sentence “fairies seem now as though they were my religion” her uses of “now” and the past tense “were” indicate she is not as attached to these magical creatures as she once was. I believe that Knefel’s statement about the isolation of adults and children regarding play is universal. As theladyinwhite’s mind went to the past when thinking of play, mine did too. The modern global attitude of competition permeates our minds so we cannot spare any time as adults for play and it remains literally a thing of the past.
Clinging onto her memories of play, the ladyinwhite wrote “I didn’t want to believe that the world survives without fairies, their inanimateness would make my existence far too futile.” Theladyinwhite’s use of “futile” indicates that if she did not have her world of play where fairies existed, then her life would be bleak. Knefel would say that theladyinwhite would be immersed in the adult world without any of the diversion that play provides. Theladyinwhite would not have any sort of childhood associated with free play, so she would be lacking the skills needed to play later in life, with children she may encounter. The ability to be creative without any limits could help her with her personal goals later in life since she would not be limited by the pessimism that pervades the adult world. Theladyinwhite would be able to problem-solve better since she would have previous experience from figuring out make-believe situations during play.
Theladyinwhite had the ability to completely create her own play, which could have made the experience richer in creativity than play with inside toys. Her play did not take happen with the help of factory-made toys but with being immersed in the natural outside world. Pointing out slogans that refer to a completely carefree version of childhood such as “Have Fun Like a Kid,” Knefel acknowledged adults think they can only reach the mythical sense of youth through commercialized items. However if a child, like theladyinwhite, had a chance to play using only materials found or that they already own, they could come up with endless possibilities in their play, rather than following the script provided by toys tied-in television or movie franchises.
As theladyinwhite left her play behind when she grew up, perhaps she will be able to reclaim it by herself or with possible children she interacts with now and in the future. Maybe the reason that adults have children of their own or spend time with others’ is to remind them to be kids again and for goodnesss sake, just take a break and play.
Knefel, Molly “Kid Stuff.” The New Inquiry Thenewinquiry.com. The New Inquiry, 16 July 2015. Web. 25 Sept. 2015
Theladyinwhite. “Childhood to Childhood.” Changing Our Story 2015. Serendip. 21 Sept. 2015. Web. 25 Sept. 2015