Himlen, Sunnanäng eller Nangijala? En uppsats om hur vi bör prata med barn om död, självmord och livet efter döden utifrån Bröderna Lejonhjärta och Sunnanäng

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to compare the books The red bird and The Brothers Lionheart, written by Astrid Lindgren, to see how the author touches on the subject of death, suicide and life after death. The question asked; How does the literature describe death from the perspective of the relative? In what way does the literature describe what happens after death? How can it help us talk about what happens when we die? As well as talking with childern about the subject of suicide, from a Christan perspective? To answer these questions; articles, interviews and direct comments from Astrid Lindgren are used as well as other books discussing suicide and how you talk about suicide, death and the afterlife with children. This essay analyzes the two books written by Astrid Lindgren and focuses on the aspect that is life after death. The conclusion of the essay is that both books describe the reaction from the relatives in a similar way. Life in Sunnanäng is described as gray and boring, the sorrow is great, and the children are longing for how things were. In The Brothers Lionheart, Skorpans sorrow and longing is also described as great after his brother's deadly accident. In The red bird the children go back and forth from a better life but in The Brother Lionheart, Skorpan can only hope to see his brother again in Nangijala. The presence of death gives Skorpan and Jonatan strength to fight for freedom in Nangijala. There are both similarities and differences in how the afterlife is described in each book. In both books the children's fantasies and dreams become reality. However, each pair of children have their own view of what the dream world looks like, therefore the tales are set in different worlds. Sunnanäng is always green and in springtime , and they have an abundance of food while Nangijala is more of an adventure world where the children must fight evil. In The red bird, from a Christian perspective it is better to not speak to children about suicide because it puts liability on the child. Though, in The Brother Lionheart it creates possibility for a discussion between children and adults on the topic of suicide. It is up to the reader to decide if they want to view the books from a Christian perspective. Most importantly, the interpretation of the book is not decided by the author’s intention writing it, that is left to the eyes of the reader.