"Snips and snails and puppy dog tails" : Boys and behaviour in the USA
Smith, Matthew (2019) "Snips and snails and puppy dog tails" : Boys and behaviour in the USA. Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, 36 (1). pp. 51-79. ISSN 2371-0179
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Abstract
In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain introduced two of the most iconic boys in American literature. Tom and Huck become heroic figures, despite their penchant for bad behaviour. Indeed, it is their propensity to be impulsive, break rules and defy authority that win them the day. Today, however, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn have become the posterboys for a psychiatric disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. I trace how and why attitudes about pathological boys' behaviour reversed during the twentieth century, from a focus on shy, introverted, and physically passive boys to the very opposite - boys like Tom and Huck. I argue that, rather than imposing limits on childhood behaviour, we should be more accepting and encouraging of all types of children.
Creators(s): |
Smith, Matthew ![]() | Item type: | Article |
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ID code: | 65534 |
Keywords: | ADHD, boys, history, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, medical history, United States of America, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, History, History |
Subjects: | History General and Old World |
Department: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > School of Humanities > History |
Depositing user: | Pure Administrator |
Date deposited: | 25 Sep 2018 11:56 |
Last modified: | 11 Feb 2021 10:25 |
Related URLs: | |
URI: | https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/65534 |
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