The Construct of Childhood in Andrić’s short story “Children”

Interpretative and Methodic Aspects

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a post-hermeneutic direction of interpretation of the short story “Children” by Ivo Andrić. This is aimed mainly at teachers, who represent a key role in opening the way of understanding the ideological and ethical layer of literature (the short story is part of eighth-grade mandatory reading in Serbia). With this paper we are opening a possibility of broader ideological perspectives to any teacher who feels the responsibility and is willing to play a role in forming the identity of young people; in addition, and we point out the importance of the ideological path that permeates numerous literary works that students come into contact with. In our intention to avoid established interpretations, and take a couple of steps forward, we have shown both the complexity of the ideological world of Andrić’s short story “Children” as well as the ideological constructs found therein. In the end, the idea of the post-hermeneutic reader in contemporary teaching of Serbian language and literature takes the form of introducing pupils to the cultural heritage, historic context, and only then, in training them for evaluation, critical thinking and analysis of both literature and all other phenomena in the society.