Artistic Literature as a Means of Understanding Dying and Death

Abstract

Literature for children and youth, especially contemporary literature,
focuses on many themes that a child, given his age and lack of previous
experience, may have trouble accepting and perceiving in real life. Th rough
the story, however, he or she can fi nd the key to many of them, orient himself
or herself to them, process them and come to terms with them. Th is paper
focuses particularly on one such problematic topic and attempts to show fi ction
as a means of understanding dying and death.