The Reader, Listener, Viewer - Specific and Inferred Reference and for What Purposes?

The classic infancy of children's literature is an image of humans, presumably also children, gathered around a fire listening to stories - told as communal oral narrations of stories. Later, these narratives were written some of which had children in mind as the specific audience or reader. When a story is spoken it usually starts with, I am going to tell you a tale, or Please tell us a story. Both of these examples include reference to a listener. Similarly a written story may start with the inclusion of you to reference the reader.

What are different ways to reference the audience in literature? It would seem that most include a narrator that can be thought of as the ideal story teller with - a reader, viewer, or listener as the audience. The use of "you" signals the reader the author is speaking to him or her. However, what other ways might an author refer to the - reader, listener, viewer?

What are possible desired relationships of authors with respect to - readers, listeners, and viewers? Would it be a goal of all authors to create the closest possible relationship? Or would it be beneficial to create a more distant relationship for certain intended audiences? Are there different kinds of relationships that children's writers have as options that adult writers do not have? Literature for smaller children is often written to be read aloud to children and includes narrative strategies and literary devices for that unique situation - unique narrative style or tone to create a certain transaction for the - reader, viewer, or listener.

Since early 1800 a belief has been that children's literature is only good literature if it is also good for adults. Is this progress? Books, movies, TV, and computer games are often written in this manner. Children have many experiences with these complex narrative forms. Is this a problem for children? Does this change the experience for children? Is the change for the better? Elaine Moss in 1973 called this ”adulteration”. Swedish illustrator Ulf Löfgren in 1985 claimed ”these books are for art lovers and collectors which go over the heads of children”. Does this type of literature have multiple tracks of narration? And do they effectively communicate to multiple readers, listeners, and viewers? When there is an audience with children and adults in a movie theater laughing at different times, how are the transactions similar and different for different ages of people in the audience?

When the reader is included in the work itself for example, with the word "you", then the term used to imply this relationship of reader will be - specific. When the reader isn't directly included in the piece as reference with "you" or "the reader", then the term - inferred will be used.

Is there always an implied reader in a text, whether the writer acknowledges it or not? Does that mean the implied reader appeared in the author's thoughts during the creation of the piece? Interesting thought, I suppose a diary might be one example where a reader may not be assumed, but then again why is the diary kept? If the only purpose of the diary writer is to record information for themselves, without thoughts that anyone else would ever read it, then the real reader is the writer. For this investigation a reader, listener, or viewer will be assumed. Therefore, how does the way the author specifically reference the reader, listener, or viewer or inferred references to them affect the quality of the literature?

Usually when something is created, or written, it is assumed there will be a transaction with an audience. This transaction will connect the story to the - reader, viewer, or listener and subsequently back to the author. The author usually tries to create a story that is motivational enough to maintain a transaction long enough for the - reader, listener, or viewer, to complete the story. The more emotional the transaction the greater the possibility of a lasting involvement.

What are different ways and different degrees of assistance or motivation provided for the reader, viewer, or listener?

In children's literature there are often attempts to instruct the reader during the reading, viewing, or listening of a particular piece.  This can be all well and good or the assistance can cross a line and become didactic, preachy, or even condescending. How does this kind of specific reader or inferred reader effect the quality of the story?

Picture books for smaller children, often have a reader between the text and the child. The adult reader, can shape the text and illustrations in the reading process and explain the piece to answer children's questions, provide explanation, motivate, or moralize. This kind of transaction is closer to the oral narrative. Are these pieces created with an oral "child reader" in mind?

Some texts read by readers themselves can contain oral features with narrative strategies. Other texts read by readers themselves may not have these oral features. Do texts that have a written form, that is often more complex, contain more complex reader relationships and if so, how are they planned by the author?

The plan - Identify my top ten literary pieces that include text and a couple of movies. I want to identify different ways the author or director interacts with the readers, viewers, or listeners through the use of narration and characterization. One particular desire is to seek examples of narration and or characters that speak to both a child and an adult reader, viewer, or listener through the narration or with different characters in the same piece speaking to different people in the audience.