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EspañolPOLLYANNA
'''Pollyanna''' is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature. The book was such a success that Porter soon produced a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, known as "Glad Books", were later published, most of them written by Elizabeth Borton or Harriet Lummis Smith. Further sequels followed, the most recent of which, ''Pollyanna Plays the Game'' by Colleen L. Reece, appeared as recently as the mid-1990s.
Plot introduction
''Pollyanna'' tells the story of Pollyanna Whittier, a young girl who goes to live with her wealthy Aunt Polly after her father's death. Pollyanna's philosophy of life centers on what she calls "The Glad Game": she always tries to find something to be glad about in every situation, and to always do without delay whatever she thinks is right. With this philosophy, and her own sunny personality, she brings so much gladness to her aunt's dispirited New England town that she transforms it into a pleasant, healthy place to live. Eventually, however, even Pollyanna's robust optimism is put to the test when she loses the use of her legs in an accident.
The novel's influence
Despite mixed perceptions of its literary merit, ''Pollyanna'' has proved to be both enduringly popular and, in unexpected ways, influential.
Through the success of the book, the term "pollyanna" (along with the adjective "pollyannaish" and the noun "Pollyannaism") entered the language to describe someone who is cheerfully optimistic and who maintains a generous attitude toward the motives of other people. It then became by extension (and contrary to the spirit of the book) a derogatory term for a naïve optimist who always expects people to act decently, despite strong evidence to the contrary.
The word "pollyanna" may also denote a holiday gift exchange more typically known as Secret Santa. This term is used in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas of Pennsylvania. It can instead mean a gift exchange rotation in which several families each give gifts to one other family in the "pollyanna" each year. This is often done when siblings in a large family begin to have children of their own.[1]
''Pollyanna'' is still available in reprint editions. At the height of her popularity, Pollyanna was known as "The Glad Girl", and Parker Brothers even created ''The Glad Game'', a board game based on the book and character. ''The Glad Game'', a type of Parcheesi, was made and sold from 1915 to 1967 in various versions, including: "Pollyanna - The Glad Game"; "Pollyanna - The Great Home Game"; "Pollyanna - Dixie"; and "Pollyanna". The board game was later licensed by Milton Bradley but has been discontinued for many years.
It has been rumoured that there exists somewhere a collection of fan mail sent to Eleanor Hodgman Porter, the author, about ''Pollyanna''. At this time, the location of the fan letters is unknown. In addition to the letters, there were also reports of "Glad Clubs", which appear to have been popular for awhile; however, it is questionable if they were ever more than a publicity gimmick. The Glad Clubs may have been simply a means to popularise the use of ''The Glad Game'' as a method for coping with loss, disappointment and distress. Nevertheless, at least one "glad club" exists today, in Denver, Colorado. [1]
In 2002, the citizens of Littleton, New Hampshire unveiled a bronze statue in honour of Eleanor H. Porter, one of the town's most famous residents. The statue depicts a smiling Pollyanna, arms flung wide in greeting. Littleton also hosts a festival known as "The Official Pollyanna Glad Day" every summer.[2]
List of Pollyanna Books
The Glad Books
★ 'Porter, Eleanor H.'
''Pollyanna: The First Glad Book''
''Pollyanna Grows Up: The Second Glad Book''
★ 'Smith, Harriet Lummis'
''Pollyanna of the Orange Blossoms: The Third Glad Book''
''Pollyanna's Jewels: The Fourth Glad Book''
''Pollyanna's Debt of Honor: The Fifth Glad Book''
''Pollyanna's Western Adventure: The Sixth Glad Book''
★ 'Borton, Elizabeth'
''Pollyanna in Hollywood: The Seventh Glad Book
Pollyanna's Castle in Mexico: The Eighth Glad Book
Pollyanna's Door to Happiness: The Ninth Glad Book
Pollyanna's Golden Horseshoe: The Tenth Glad Book
Pollyanna and the Secret Mission: The Fourteenth Glad Book'' [written out of sequence]
★ 'Chalmers, Margaret Piper'
''Pollyanna's Protegee: The Eleventh Glad Book
★ 'Moffitt, Virginia May'
''Pollyanna at Six Star Ranch: The Twelfth Glad Book
Pollyanna of Magic Valley: The Thirteenth Glad Book''
Further sequels:
★ 'Reece, Colleen L.'
''Pollyanna Comes Home
Pollyanna Plays the Game''
Adaptations
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
''Pollyanna'' has been filmed several times. Most notably, there was a 1920 silent movie starring Mary Pickford, and a Walt Disney film released in 1960 starring English actress Hayley Mills in the title role. The 1960 film was shot at the McDonald Mansion (aka Mableton Mansion) on McDonald Avenue in what was then the small town of Santa Rosa, California.
There have also been several TV adaptations of the novel. The most recent, originally broadcast in 2003 on ITV, starred Georgina Terry as Pollyanna and Amanda Burton as Aunt Polly. Nippon Animation of Japan released ''Ai Shoujo Pollyanna Monogatari'' ''(The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love),'' a 51-episode anime TV series that made up the 1986 installment of the studio's ''World Masterpiece Theater'', and had famous singer Mitsuko Horie playing the role of Pollyanna. There was also a modernized version with an African-American cast entitled ''Polly'', which later had a sequel (''Polly: Coming Home'')
1960 film
Cast list
Jane Wyman and Hayley Mills starred in the 1960 film ''Pollyanna''.
★ Hayley Mills as Pollyanna
★ Jane Wyman as Aunt Polly
★ Richard Egan as Dr. Edmond Chilton
★ Karl Malden as Reverend Paul Ford
★ Nancy Olson as Nancy Furman
★ Adolphe Menjou as Mr Pendergast
★ Donald Crisp as Mayor Karl Warren
★ Agnes Moorehead as Mrs Snow
★ Kevin Corcoran as Jimmy Bean
★ James Drury as George Dodds
★ Reta Shaw as Tillie Lagerlof
★ Leora Dana as Mrs Paul Ford
★ Anne Seymour as Mrs Amelia Tarbell
★ Edward Platt as Ben Tarbell
★ Mary Grace Canfield as Angelica
★ Jenny Egan as Mildred Snow
★ Gage Clarke as Mr Murg
★ Ian Wolfe as Mr Neely
★ Nolan Leary as Mr Thomas
★ Edgar Dearing as Mr Gorman
1960 film plot
The 1960 film has a bittersweet ending in which Pollyanna is paralyzed, and thus not as glad as she once was, despite assurances that she will be taken to a doctor to help her walk again. While bedridden, Pollyanna is visited by scores of people whom she has touched with her innocence and sunny disposition, tempering the sadness of Pollyanna's injury.
References in popular culture
★ In a song by The Kinks, "Pretty Polly"
★ In an episode of NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me, host Peter Sagal refers to Dick Cheney as being a "Pollyanna with a pacemaker".
★ Pollyanna principle
★ ''Polyanna'' is the second album by the band Northstar.
★ Paul Reubens, in the DVD commentary for ''Pee Wee's Big Adventure'', stated that he originally intended ''Big Adventure'' to be a retelling of the Disney movie with his Pee Wee Herman character in the Hayley Mills role.
★ Pollyanna appears alongside Alice Liddell, as well as Dorothy Gale, Wendy Darling and Susan Pevensie, as a 2005 and 2006-based college student in the comic ''The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles'', where she has decided to take up regular jogging. She is also currently unlucky regarding gaining employment.
★ In ''Sex and the City'', Carrie refers to Charlotte as a "Park Avenue Pollyanna".
★ In ''Six Feet Under'' (''Rainbow of her Reasons'' [5.6]), Keith nicknames David "Miss Pollyanna" after he offers a Playstation to his adopted kids so that they can have fun and enjoy themselves. "Everything is about fun with you", comments Keith.
★ In the second issue of the first volume of ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' Pollyanna appears as a character who has been "mishandled" by the Invisible Man. In spite of this, she still determines to remain upbeat. Pollyanna's appearance is at odds with internal chronology, considering LoEG occurs in 1898. Pollyanna was not born until 1901, being eleven in 1912.
★ In the recent commercial advertising campaign for the Texas Instruments DLP [2] televisions, the "It's the mirrors" scene is used. In fact, the line has been officially adopted as the tag line for the advertising campaign.
★ Alanis Morissette Has a song called "Pollyanna Flower"
★ Larry Tagg has a song "Oh, Pollyanna" off his "With a Skeleton Crew" album which he describes as "a bitter song"
★ Erma Bombeck once used the line "Oh, quit being such a Pollyanna" in her humor column.
★ In Sylvia Plath's novel ''The Bell Jar'', a pleasant, cheery Midwestern farm girl is referred to repeatedly as "Pollyanna Cowgirl" by a more worldly friend.
★ "Pollyanna" is a song from the video game EarthBound 0 and the tune is also a prevalent theme in its popular sequel EarthBound
Notes
1. "Pollyanna" as a gift exchange discussed at Worldwidewords.org.
2. A description of the Pollyanna Glad Days and the Pollyanna sculpture in Littleton, New Hampshire.
See also
Three more children's classics that feature a young paraplegic who learns to walk again:
★ ''What Katy Did''
★ ''The Secret Garden''
★ ''Heidi''
Further reading
★ Keith, Lois. ''Take Up Thy Bed and Walk: Death, Disability and Cure in Classic Fiction for Girls.'' Routledge: 2001.
External links
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★ ''Pollyanna'', online at Ye Olde Library
★ Free online version of Pollyanna at LiteraturePage.com
★ Publication history, a brief plot summary, and biographical information about the author compiled by the University of Illinois School of Library and Information Science.
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★ ''Pollyanna'' (1960) at UltimateDisney.com
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