{"id":11948,"date":"2025-04-16T03:22:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T02:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/?page_id=11948"},"modified":"2025-05-10T03:53:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T02:53:43","slug":"childhood-in-the-world-of-fantasy-interrogation-of-juvenile-ageism-in-salman-rushdies-luka-and-the-fire-of-life","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/edu-mania\/edumania-an-international-multidisciplinary-journal-vol-03-issue-02\/childhood-in-the-world-of-fantasy-interrogation-of-juvenile-ageism-in-salman-rushdies-luka-and-the-fire-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Childhood in the World of Fantasy: Interrogation of Juvenile Ageism in Salman Rushdie\u2019s Luka and the Fire of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Childhood in the World of Fantasy: Interrogation of Juvenile Ageism in Salman Rushdie\u2019s Luka and the Fire of Life<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Surte, Amol Uddhav<\/span>1<\/span><\/span> and Pillai, Sunila<\/span>2<\/span><\/span><\/p>

1<\/span><\/span>Research Scholar, Dept. of English, University of Mumbai<\/span><\/p>

2<\/span><\/span>Research Supervisor, Associate Professor, RKT College, Ulhasnagar.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Abstract\n<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Representation of childhood in fantasy fiction is an area of great critical interest. Children who occupy the social spaces in a fantasy fiction are often expected to be of great intelligence and maturity, forcing them to assume the role of an adult. However, children are also considered as tropes in advertising and fantasy novels as they are believed to be more imaginative and hence adept to this world that is built upon counter logic. Childhood depicted in such novels calls for adventure, courage, decision making and even taking big responsibilities. This paper is an attempt to examine Salman Rushdie\u2019s fantasy narrative Luka and the Fire of Life to show how Rushdie depicts Luka\u2019s childhood in the backdrop of magic and witchcraft. Luka has to take responsibility of his father against the effects of a spell and has to negotiate an adventurous journey to revive his father. This paper analyses the language and Luka\u2019s actions and experiences of Luka to show how he has to occupy the worlds of childhood and adulthood in order to thrive. Rushdie\u2019s attempts to make Luka a character beyond the ageist perspective is also commented upon with this paper. The convention of looking at a child as a dependent subject is ruptured by the author with a role reversal for Luka thereby endowing him responsibilities beyond his age.<\/span><\/p>

Keywords:<\/span> Juvenile Ageism, Childhood, Magic, Fantasy and Fantasy Fiction<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Impact Statement<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This research paper has a real significance as it is an initiative that explains the representation of childhood in the world of fantasy fiction to show how juvenile ageism is overlooked or critiqued in popular fiction. As the consumers of children\u2019s fiction are mostly the kids and teens, it is very important on the part of the authors to document the harmful effects of juvenile ageism and parentification. This paper is significant also because it examines the psychological impact of the above-mentioned prejudices on child characters. In a society where children consume fantasy fiction, it is imperative to analyse and understand the fictional and cultural renditions of juvenile ageism and its impact on childhood. It is not very usual to push a child hero into the tasks normally accomplished by adults in a fantasy. Hence, this paper, helps one to understand the issue of stereotyping a child in the genre of fantasy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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About The Author<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The name of the author of the research paper titled \u201cChildhood in the World of Fantasy: Interrogation of Juvenile Ageism in Salman Rushdie\u2019s <\/span>Luka and the Fire of Life\u201d<\/span> is Amol Uddhav Surte. He has been working as an Assistant Teacher in English subject at the Junior College Department at Nirmala Niketan College of Home Science, Mumbai 400 020 since July 2008. He is an M.A. in English and B.Ed. He also has qualified State Eligibility Test (SET) in September 2016 which is a minimum eligibility criterion to become an Assistant Professor in any subject in Maharashtra and Goa. This test is conducted by the Savitribai Phule University (formerly known as Pune University) for Maharashtra and Goa every year. The percentage of qualifying this test is less than 2%. At present he is pursuing a Ph.D. program in Humanities (English) from the Department of English, University of Mumbai and is expecting to complete it in this Calander year.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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References<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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<\/span><\/p>

  1. Allen, M. et al. (2012). The psychology of fantasy. <\/span>Fantasy<\/span>, (76), 58\u201359.<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  2. Butler, R. (1989). Dispelling ageism: The cross-cutting intervention. <\/span>The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science<\/span>, <\/span>503<\/span>(15), 138\u2013147.<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  3. de la V\u00e2nia, F.-N. et al. (April 2021). Scoping review on ageism against younger populations. <\/span>International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH)<\/span>, <\/span>18<\/span>(8), 1\u201324.<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  4. Freidman, H. (October 26, 2021). Kids these days: Why youth-directed Agiesm is an issue for everyone [Blog]. <\/span>https:\/\/publichealth.wustl.edu\/kids-these-days-why-youth-directed-ageism-is-an-issue-for-everyone\/<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  5. Global REPORT on: Ageism<\/span>. (January 1, 2021) (pp. 1\u201320) (20 pages). <\/span>https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/resrep33107.8<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/li>

  6. Bhattacharya, J. (2025). Relevance of inclusion of yoga in teacher education curriculum. <\/span>Shodh Sari-An International Multidisciplinary Journal<\/span>, <\/span>04<\/span>(01), 59\u201365. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.59231\/sari7778<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  7. Hooper, Lisa (b) \u201cExpanding the Discussion Regarding Parentification and its Varied Outcomes: Implications for Mental Health and Practice\u201d. <\/span>Journal of Mental Counseling<\/span>, Vol. 29, No.4, 2007, pp. 322-337.<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  8. Ganapathy, V. (2024b). AI-Based risk assessments in Forensic Auditing: benefits, challenges and future implications. <\/span>Shodh Sari-An International Multidisciplinary Journal<\/span>, <\/span>03<\/span>(04), 100\u2013128. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.59231\/sari7750<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  9. Mitra-Shukla, V. (2011). Salman Rushdie as a children\u2019s writer: Reading Haroun and the sea of stories (1990) and luka and the fire of life (2010). <\/span>The Criterion: An International Journal in English<\/span>, <\/span>2<\/span>(2), 1\u20135.<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  10. Roy, K. et al. (2014). \u2018Growing Up as \u201cMan of the House\u2019: Adultification and transition into adulthood for young men in economically Disadvanatged families. <\/span>New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development<\/span>, <\/span>3<\/span>(1), 55\u201372.<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  11. Kaur, H. (2024). Evaluating Effectiveness and challenges in B.Ed. student teacher internships. <\/span>Shodh Sari-An International Multidisciplinary Journal<\/span>, <\/span>03<\/span>(04), 67\u201376. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.59231\/sari7747<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  12. Rushdie, S. (2010). <\/span>Luka and the fire of life<\/span>. Jonathan Cape and Random House.<\/span><\/p><\/li>

  13. Wall, J. (2019). From childhood studies to childism: Reconstructing the scholarly and social imaginations. <\/span>Children\u2019s Geographies<\/span>, 1\u20134.<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Childhood in the World of Fantasy: Interrogation of Juvenile Ageism in Salman Rushdie\u2019s Luka and the Fire of Life Surte, Amol Uddhav1 and Pillai, Sunila2 1Research Scholar, Dept. of English, University of Mumbai 2Research Supervisor, Associate Professor, RKT College, Ulhasnagar. Abstract Representation of childhood in fantasy fiction is an area of great critical interest. Children […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":11893,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11948","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11948"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12314,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11948\/revisions\/12314"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}