On Kenneth Grahame’s Confessional Writing

The Wind in the Willows has amused millions of readers, including children andadults. The interesting plot, the enlightening theme and subtle writing techniquesfacilitate this work to be a classic in world children’s literature, impressing us a lot.Actually, Kenneth Grahame’s writing materials just come from his life experiencesand personal feelings. Therefore, his confessional writing must tell us substantialinformation about his inner world. With The Wind in the Willows as an example,based on the social background at that time and his life experiences, this paper triesto penetrate the surface of the animal novel to analyze his confessional writing andexplore his inner world, hoping to provide a novel analysis angle for deep researchof the children’s literature.This paper consists of five parts:Introduction provides a brief introduction to Kenneth Grahame and The Wind inthe Willows, as well as the literature review of this novel.The main body is divided into three chapters:Chapter one gives a brief introduction to the origin and development of theconfessional writing, as well as the difference between confessional writing andprofessional writing.Chapter two focuses on analyzing the work from three aspects of socialbackground: the industrialization, the class relationship and the judicial system andexploring how the author expresses his attitude towards the three aspects through hisnovel.Chapter three expounds three reasons why the author chooses the animal novel,the unique confessional form, as the mask to reveal his feelings, because animalnovel is the best form and he can make it at his will without any restriction.The conclusion summarizes this thesis. Compared with the traditional pastorallife, the modern civilization, in the author’s opinion, is more destructive with thesocial corruption. The superficial animal novel reveals fully his hatred for anddissatisfaction with his modern society.