Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

A.A. Milne’s book, Winnie the Pooh, constructs a version of childhood of which it is a time of innocence and dependancy. These two characteristics are seen throughout the whole book but are, however, especially prevalent in chapter nine. Most characters in Winnie the Pooh are seen to be children, with the exception of Owl and Rabbit, and therefore are constructed by Milne to represent childhood in all it’s different forms. Piglet is known in the book as being the timid, shy and quiet best friend of Pooh, in chapter nine these characteristics are especially evident, as he represents the way a child would react in his situation. To construct the innocent, dependent version of childhood seen in the book, Milne uses three mechanisms; language, the actions of the characters and the illustrations. The experience of a flood for the first time would be a daunting but also exciting experience for a child who was oblivious to the actual danger, and piglet is a perfect representative of both emotions.

Throughout Winnie the Pooh almost all characters are seen to possess two main characteristics; innocence and dependancy. The idea of a childhood being a time of innocence is obviously a common view, as is dependancy, and in Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne represents these qualities superbly in one character, Piglet. Throughout the whole book Piglet is seen as the small and timid member of the group, and the most childlike in the way that he acts. Piglet embodies all the characteristics of a child and is therefore the character Milne chose to represent the softer side of a child. Even though almost all characters in the story are seen as being child-like, it is Piglet that stands out as being more so than the others. The greatest representation of Piglets character is in chapter nine, a great flood has plagued the 100 acre Woods and piglet is stuck in his house, all alone. Piglet deals with this as it would be expected of a child, while he doesn’t understand the concept of the flooding, he desperately wishes for someone to be there with him.
In the beginning of the chapter, Piglet is wishing for someone to be with him through this time not because he needs help, but because he desires comfort. It is only when the flood water starts to rise up closer to his window that he realises that he may have a problem. He is unable to help himself and is dependent on his friends to come rescue him. Piglet also shows his innocence throughout the chapter, especially to do with the nature of the flood.

A.A. Milne’s use of language, grammar and the characters actions in chapter nine helps to add emphasis to the extent of which the characters, and specifically Piglet, are dependent and innocent beings. A perfect example of dependancy is seen within the first paragraph of chapter nine, with Piglet stating, ‘If only... I had been in Pooh’s house, or Christopher Robin’s house, or Rabbit’s house when it began to rain, then I should have had company all this time, instead of being here all alone, with nothing to do except wonder when it will stop.’ (p.98)

Piglet’s desire for company shows how dependent he is on his friends to entertain him, and to comfort him.Piglet’s dependancy is also shown when he realises that he needs help, the only way he thinks he can get out of his situation is by having someone come rescue him, ‘somebody else will have to do something, and I hope they will do it soon.’ (p. 101)
Throughout the whole flooding situation Piglet fails to realise how much danger he is actually in, and all he can think about is how it will be ‘more friendly with two.’ (p.101)

When Piglet is finally rescued and looks back on the flood he still fails to see the danger, stating ‘In after-years he liked to think he had been in Very Great Danger during the Terrible Flood, but the only danger has really been in was the last hour of this imprisonment.’(p.108) In the last-hour of his ‘imprisonment’ Owl had been telling him a boring story, this is a perfect representation of how children view conversations with ‘adults,’ and really does show his innocence. A.A. Milne has effectively used language, grammar and the characters actions to construct his version of childhood.

Throughout the chapter there are illustrations to add emphasis to what A.A. Milne is writing about and also to keep children’s attention. In chapter nine there are several illustrations of Piglet, depicting him as a small animal. In the picture on page 99, it shows the tree house in which Piglet lives, and Piglet sticking out of a little window on the side. The contrast between Piglets small stature and the immense size of the tree represents what a child would feel like in the world, being so small with everything around them being so big. Piglets innocence is also shown in the picture on page 99, by the ‘no trespassers’ sign next to his tree. It is expected that Piglet would have no idea what sign means, as he doesn’t even know how to spell his own name, and therefore means that he would have copied it from someone else. This is seen a lot in society today by children, copying what adults have done in order to seem older, even if they have no idea what it means. The images in Winnie the Pooh are therefore also of importance to the overall construction of childhood in the book.

In A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh, there is a carefully constructed version of childhood, in which it is a time of innocence and dependancy. Milne’s use of language and the characters actions show how co-dependent each character of the novel are on each other and also lets their innocence shine through. As well as the language Milne’s uses illustrations to effectively back up what he has written.