TY - JOUR T1 - THE JOURNEY OF INDIVIDUALITY IN THE CHILDREN’S WORLD: JUST WILLIAM (1922) AND FILM ADAPTATIONS TT - ÇOCUK DÜNYASINDA BİREYSELLİK YOLCULUĞU: JUST WILLIAM (1922) VE FİLM ADAPTASYONLARI AU - Aydın Koçak, Zehra PY - 2025 DA - September Y2 - 2025 DO - 10.37999/udekad.1720005 JF - Uluslararası Dil Edebiyat ve Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi JO - UDEKAD PB - UDEKAD AKADEMİ YAYINCILIK WT - DergiPark SN - 2667-4262 SP - 1308 EP - 1319 VL - 8 IS - 3 LA - en AB - Children’s literature has undergone substantial evolution from the medieval period to the present, consistently reflecting shifting cultural and philosophical perspectives. Traditionally, it either presents the child’s world through an adult gaze or interprets the adult world from a child’s viewpoint. The twentieth century marked a pivotal shift by establishing a literary space where child characters could express themselves with authentic voices. Within the framework of individuality, self-expression manifests in two primary ways: through the active assertion of one’s identity or the passive acceptance of identities imposed by others. Each child, therefore, engages with and interprets the world through a uniquely personal lens. This study examines Richmal Crompton’s Just William (1922), which exemplifies the notion of “constructed childhood” as perceived by adult characters. Through the character of William—a child portrayed with both insight and intellectual acuity—the novel challenges prevailing adult conceptions of childhood. It serves as a reflective medium through which the adult world is invited to reconsider its attitudes toward children. Following the textual analysis of Crompton’s novel, this study will also evaluate its various film adaptations released in 1940, 1947, 1976, 1994, and 2010. KW - Just William KW - Children's Literature KW - Individuality KW - Adult World KW - Film Adaptation N2 - Çocuk edebiyatı, Orta Çağ’dan günümüze dek kapsamlı bir dönüşüm geçirmiş olup, bu süreç boyunca değişen kültürel ve felsefi paradigmaları sürekli olarak yansıtmıştır. Geleneksel bağlamda, ya çocukluk dünyasını yetişkin bakışıyla sunmuş ya da yetişkinler dünyasını çocuğun perspektifinden yorumlamıştır. Ancak yirminci yüzyıl, çocuk karakterlerin özgün (otantik) bir şekilde kendilerini ifade edebilecekleri edebi bir alanın inşasıyla önemli bir kırılma noktası teşkil etmiştir. Bireysellik çerçevesinde kendilik kavramının tanımı, başlıca iki şekilde tezahür eder: bireyin kendi kimliğini aktif olarak ortaya koyması ya da dışsal otoriteler tarafından dayatılan kimlikleri pasif biçimde benimsemesi. Bu doğrultuda, her çocuk dünyayı kendine özgü bir bakış açısıyla algılar ve anlamlandırır. Bu çalışma, Richmal Crompton’ın Just William (1922) adlı eserini inceleyerek, yetişkin karakterlerin zihinlerinde şekillenen “kurgulanmış çocukluk” kavramını örneklendirerek ele almaktadır. William karakteri aracılığıyla—entelektüel farkındalık ve sezgisel derinlikle betimlenen bir çocuk olarak—roman, yetişkinlerin çocukluk olgusuna dair baskın varsayımlarına eleştirel bir bakış sunar. Eser, yetişkin dünyasının çocuklara yönelik tutumlarını yeniden düşünmeye davet eden yansıtıcı bir araç işlevi görmektedir. Bu çalışma, metinsel çözümlemenin ardından ayrıca Crompton’ın eserinin 1940, 1947, 1976, 1994 ve 2010 yıllarındaki film adaptasyonlarını inceleyecektir. CR - Berners, J. (1881). The Book of Saint Albans (W. Blades, Ed.). Elliot Stock. CR - Bertens, H. (2001). Literary theory and criticism. Routledge. CR - Blejmar, J. (2016). Playful memories: The autofictional turn in post-dictatorship Argentina. Palgrave Macmillan. CR - Crompton, R. (1922) Just William [ePub]. Macmillan. CR - Cutts, G. (Director). (1940). Just William [Film]. Pathé Pictures International. CR - Davies, J. (Director). (1976). Just William [TV series]. London Weekend Television. CR - Dickens, C. (1838). Oliver Twist; or, The parish boy’s progress. Richard Bentley. CR - Field, T. (2001). Touch. MIT Press. CR - Foucault, M. (1980). Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings (C. Gordon, Ed.). Harvester Wheatsheaf. https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_q8s9/mode/2up CR - Freud, S. (1928). Humour (J. Riviere, Trans.). International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 9, 1-6 (pp. 160-166). https://www.engagingvulnerability.se/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SF_1927.pdf CR - Gianoutsos, J. (2006). Locke and Rousseau: Early childhood education. The Pulse, 4(1), 2. https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php?id=37670 CR - Gibson, L. C. (2015). Adult children of emotionally immature parents: How to heal from distant, rejecting, or self-involved parents. New Harbinger Publications. CR - Giles, D. (Director). (1994). Just William [TV series]. BBC. CR - Guest, V. (Director). (1947). Just William's Luck [Film]. United Artists Corporation. CR - Gümüş, E. (2023). Pain under the skin: Childhood trauma in The Bluest Eye and God Help the Child. In A. Tulgar & M. Odabaşı (Eds.), Same world, different voices (pp. 161–190). Çizgi Kitabevi. CR - Maté, G. (2003). When the body says no: Understanding the stress-disease connection. John Wiley & Sons. CR - McVeigh, J. (2019, September 27). Just William is magic with words. BBC History. https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/researchers/just-william-is-magic-with-words CR - Murray, J. (2011, March 3). 20th-century Britain: The woman’s hour. BBC History. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/jmurray_01.shtml CR - Pattison, R. (1978). The child figure in English literature. The University of Georgia Press. CR - Rousseau, J.-J. (1762). The social contract, or Principles of political right (J. Bennett, Trans.). https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/rousseau1762.pdf CR - Seed, P. (Director). (2010). Just William [TV series]. BBC. CR - Siegel, D. J. (2014). Brainstorm: The power and purpose of the teenage brain. Scribe. CR - Smithsonian Education. (1988, December). In the playtime of others: Child labour in the early 20th century. http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/child_labor/ATZ_ChildLabor_December1988.pdf CR - Twain, M. (1876). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. American Publishing Company. CR - Twain, M. (1884). Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Chatto & Windus. CR - Van der Kolk, B. A. (2006). Foreword. Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W. W. Norton. CR - Walvin, J. (1982). A child’s world: A social history of English childhood, 1800-1914. Penguin Books. UR - https://doi.org/10.37999/udekad.1720005 L1 - https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4960692 ER -