From Fairies to Famine: How Cultural Identity is Constructed Through Irish and Irish American Children's Literature

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Karen Hill McNamara

Abstract

Wee, magical fairies and cheeky, green leprechauns searching for enormous pots of gold jumped off the pages of my childhood books and into my consciousness of what defines "Irishness." The stereotypical stories routinely reflected light-hearted, slightly daft Irish characters who were carefree and often getting into mischief. Contemporary Irish and Irish American narratives have moved beyond my childhood "shamrockery" reading to richer and more developed texts. This essay considers how cultural identity is conveyed in these works.

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