Open Mindedness VS Burial of the Soul

Paramore

"Brick By Boring Brick"

Well she lives in a fairy tale
Somewhere too far for us to find
Forgotten the taste and smell
Of a world that she's left behind
It's all about the exposure the lens I told her
The angles are all wrong now
She's ripping wings off of butterflies

Keep your feet on the ground
When your head's in the clouds
Well go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle
Go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle

Ba da ba ba da ba ba da

So one day he found her crying
Coiled up on the dirty ground
Her prince finally came to save her
And the rest you can figure out
But it was a trick
And the clock struck twelve
Well make sure to build your heart brick by boring brick
Or the wolf's gonna blow it down

Keep your feet on the ground
When your head's in the clouds

Well go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle
Go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
We'll bury the castle, bury the castle

Oh whoa oh whoa oh whoa oh whoa

Well you built up a world of magic
Because your real life is tragic
Yeah you built up a world of magic

If it's not real
You can't hold it in your hand
You can't feel it with your heart
And I won't believe it
But if it's true
You can see it with your eyes
Oh, even in the dark
And that's where I want to be, yeah

Go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle
Go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle

[x2]
Ba da ba ba da ba ba da
Ba da ba ba ba da ba ba
Ba da ba ba da ba ba da
Ba da ba ba ba ba ba ba

Child and adult realities often conflict as children are more open minded, and open to exploration, while adults constrain their minds and seek to make reality as uniform as possible. As Neil Gaiman wrote "Adults follow paths. Children Explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands" (56). This open mindedness is seen as even the main character, who is refereed to as the little boy, is never given a name. It is known that he has a name, but what his name is is open to the reader's imagination, and is not constrained to a set parameter. The boy also shows a comparison between the freedom of the wild, in which children feel at home, and the constraints and uncomfortableness of adult control as he states "The meadow was easier on my feet than the flint lane had been. I was happier, and felt more real, running on the grass"(80). These attempts by adults to change reality can be compared to those of the Party in 1984, as although these actions are not as severe, it shows unwillingness to succumb to the change and wonder of nature and a desire to set a concrete world. The wonder and fascination of a child's world is seen as Lettie Hempstock returns from a magical trip saying "Mandrakes are so loud when you pull them up, and I didn't have earplugs, and once I'd got it I had to swap it for a shadow-bottle, an old-fashioned one with lots of shadows dissolved in vinegar" (111). Although this is portrayed as something that truly happened in the book, even if its is just the imagination, this still brings wonder and joy to the world. The suppresion of the childish freedom by adults is shown within the song "Brick by Boring Brick" by Paramore, as the child wants to live a world of fantasy, but as she grows up she is required to "bury the castle". In the video a grave is dug, in which all her fantasy's are buried as she becomes an adult. The adult version of herself walks away as her child form false into the grave and is buried. The song states how it is believed that you cannot live in fantasy, that the adult world requires you to come back down to  "reality". However, the novel "The Ocean At The End Of The Lane" states that it would be amazing if adults could stay as children, because these fantasies add wonder to the world. The picture I have chosen is a collage of two pictures that show the comparison between the happy and wild world of children, and the bleak world of adults. This comparison is seen through out the book as the boy constantly wonders why adults cannot live happy lives like children, and why they do not see the wonder in exploring new lands and discovering hidden fantasies.