A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Children’s Novel Series that Changed Children
Introduction and Thesis
Indisputably, there are a plethora of literary works that have shaped America and each current generation of adult readers. However, what literary works have molded the current generation of adult readers? As a recent member of today’s adult readers, I would like to discuss the first novel series I had ever read, A Series of Unfortunate Events. Despite being a children’s novel series, the series taught my generation that even though we are not adults, we must face adversity head-on and take matters into our own hands in a corrupt society filled with oblivious adults. This literary work changed America by teaching children, no matter their age, to accept adversity, gain knowledge, and set off on whatever voyage it may take you.
About the Author
Daniel Handler, or by his pen name, Lemony Snicket, was born on February 28, 1970, in San Francisco, California. His mother was an opera singer, and his father was an accountant. In 1988, he graduated from Lowell High School and attended Wesleyan University. Handler developed an interest in poetry so much that he started writing poetry, for which the Academy of American Poets awarded him the 1990 Poets Prize.
After graduating from university, he earned an Olin Fellowship, which supported him to work on his first fiction writing project. He produced comedy sketches for a national radio show while writing novels and later took a freelance movie and book critique job in New York City. Handler published his debut novel in 1999, The Basic Eight, after publishers repeatedly rejected the story over its sarcastic tone and treatment of a dark subject matter (“Daniel Handler”).
His second novel, Watch Your Mouth, also garnered some backlash for its controversial content. An editor then approached Handler to compose a story for younger audiences. He grudgingly accepted the request, writing under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket.
About the Book
The first book of A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Bad Beginning, was published in September of 1999 by HarperCollins Publishers. This book is the commencement of the Baudelaire children’s story: fourteen-year-old Violet, twelve-year-old Klaus, and baby Sunny. Their parents urged the three to take a trip to the beach. Little did they know, tragedy struck while the three siblings were playing with sand by the shore.
An acquaintance of their parents, Mr. Poe, informed the Baudelaire children that their parents had perished in a gruesome house fire. Before the children could even spare enough time to process the news, they were shipped off to their distant relative: Count Olaf.
Under the care of their new legal guardian, it becomes increasingly apparent to the Baudelaire children that Count Olaf has other intentions. What might that be? He is adamant about stealing their family fortune. However, the Baudelaire fortune will not be accessible to the children until Violet is of age. Nevertheless, Count Olaf devises plans to snag the inheritance, one way or another.
The major themes in A Series of Unfortunate Events were good versus evil, adversity, perseverance, cunningness, and family. Throughout the novel series, Daniel Handler uses a narrative writing style. Lemony Snicket presents himself as the narrator of the entire series and writes the Badelaires’ tale in narrative form.
The Legacy
Since its very commencement, this series could not compare to any other novel series, let alone any other children’s novel series. From the very first sentence of The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket cautions his young audience, “If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle” (The Bad Beginning, 1). Typically, a novel series would, in some way, urge their audience to read their series, not the opposite. Snicket uses some form of twisted reverse psychology to draw the attention of readers.
Nevertheless, what makes this series most impactful is its grotesque realism and its message about tragedy. According to the Internal Journal of Children’s Spirituality, the novel series “leads to a fortunate and spiritual insight in the Baudelaires that underlines a sense of connectedness in the children who go through traumatic calamities, a spiritual sense that deals with both the bright and dark sides of the events” (Kimiagari, “Not so Unfortunate”). In other words, A Series of Unfortunate Events has compelled children, especially ones undergoing misfortune like the Baudelaires that light and darkness coexist and there cannot be one without the other. I was one of those children reading this series when my father fought and lost his battle to cancer during a time of great financial struggle. The series taught me that even as a child, I can embrace misfortune and tribulation and gain knowledge along the way.
Lemony Snicket himself has expressed that “[w]hat might seem to be a series of unfortunate events may in fact be the first steps of a journey” (Kimiagari, “Not so Unfortunate”). He has portrayed this throughout all thirteen books of the series. As the Baudelaire children escape from the clutches of Count Olaf and search for their forever home, they also embark on a journey to uncover the secrets of their family lineage. The children are led to a timely insight of connectedness, as their abilities and wits are tested through their hardships, and their faith in each other as siblings becomes unbreakable as they embark on more misadventures (Kimiagari, “Not so Unfortunate”).
Additionally, the novel series inspires young readers to expand their vocabulary and use colorful literary language to convey their experiences and sentiments. Each time Snicket introduces a word or expression, he writes, “which here means”, followed by a definition that is specific to the story’s circumstances. This technique not only contributes to the narrator’s sarcastic and humorous writing style but also encourages children to expand their vocabulary.
The series also taught that knowledge is power and, as children, they should not be ashamed of that knowledge — for instance, the main characters themselves, the Baudelaire children. Klaus is very bookish, and Violet is an inventor, and together, they accomplish incredible feats that none of the adults of the series could even think of doing.
Meanwhile, the villains are not well-read, reinforcing the themes of good vs. evil and cunningness. These evil adults who are henchmen of Count Olaf feel threatened by the children, one of them stating, “I think you should never be allowed inside this library again, at least until Friday. We don’t want a little boy getting big ideas” (The Bad Beginning, 89–90). Despite their attempts to prevent the children from devising any plans, Klaus finds his way to a book. At this, Snicket narrated that “[m]aybe, just maybe, the book Klaus was smuggling would save their lives” (The Bad Beginning, 92). Once more, this series, unlike any other, teaches children that no matter their age, they can use their knowledge for the greater good.
In the words of Lemony Snicket, “Well-read people are less likely to be evil,” and this was the one series to present this notion to an impressionable audience. There is a reason why, in the twenty-one years since The Bad Beginning, A Series of Unfortunate Events has more than sixty million copies sold worldwide, a movie adaptation, and a Netflix adaptation: impact (Eloise, “Wicked Wonder”). This series was no Diary of Anne Frank or Huckleberry Finn, but it changed America differently; it influenced children. A Series of Unfortunate Events taught a generation of children that knowledge is power and the real evil is ignorance. This novel series is among the notable books that brought about the current generation of young adults who have been arming themselves with knowledge to combat ignorance.
Works Cited
“Daniel Handler.” Famous Authors, www.famousauthors.org/daniel-handler. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.
Eloise, Marianne. “Wicked wonder: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events at 20.” The Guardian, 3 Oct. 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/03/lemony-snicket-a-series-of-unfortunate-events-at-20#:~:text=In%20the%2020%20years%20since,the%20most%20pernickety%20of%20fan. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.
Kimiagari, Mohammad Mehdi. “Not so Unfortunate: Carnivalisation, Metafiction & the Elements of Grotesque Realism in The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, vol. 22, no. 3–4, Jul. 2017, pp. 305–316. EBSCOhost, http://web.a.ebscohost.com.db07.linccweb.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=9847fde1-07f2-4358-87dd-dfe28778e43d%40sessionmgr4008. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.
Snicket, Lemony. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, New York City, HarperCollins Publishers, 30 Sept. 1999.
