In 2008, director Hayao Miyazaki created an unbelievable story about a Ponyo girl who was a fish, but because she loved the boy Sosuke, she decided to go ashore, become a human and be friends with Sosuke.
The story may be confusing for many adults, especially those who only believe in Darwin's theory of evolution or believe in absolute science. But remember that Miyazaki did not make a film for them, he made this film for those who believe in fairy tales, believe in real fairy tales and magics in the world.
If there is a child underwater that develops into a child on the water, why not a child on the water that develops into a child underwater? The poor boy Tom, although only 10 years old, had to work for a job all year round. He always soaked in every coal and never had time to bathe. He also suffered many unreasonable attacks from owner Grimes, who only knew about wine and beat Tom.
And once, being misunderstood and chased, he ran far away until he reached a river, he wished to bathe in the cool water. In less than two minutes of being drained, Tom was immersed in the most quiet, warm and bright sleep he had ever had in his life. By the time Tom woke up, he had become an underwater boy.
There is not just one child in the world, there are thousands of children in the water. Children are cruelly abandoned by their parents, children are not cared for and grow up without education, they will become bad people because they are taken advantage of, pampered or fall into the fireplace.
All the children were abandoned in alleys and yards, in collapsed houses, then died from fever, cholera, measles and burning cries that no one cared about. Those children were taken care of by kind fairies and they became children underwater.
Charles Kingsley came up with the book Underwater Children at the time of famous biologist Charles Darwin's birth The Origin of species, many scientists at that time still believed and preached the existence of species, refusing to expand their research on new discoveries.
As Kingsley has pointed out, no one in this world is allowed to say that a species does not exist just because they have never seen it before. You can't see bacteria in your body by yourself, but that doesn't mean they don't exist, right?
But overcoming the usual mockery, Children in the Water is also a metaphorical story about morality. Children are not forced to work hard or be beaten brutally, children have to play, explore the world, know how to overcome difficulties to learn many new things for themselves. In the book, little Tom, thanks to the help of fairies and a series of friends underwater, learned about love and maturity to conquer the magical ocean.
In addition, there are also the goddess of Ca-ngiao-nham - representing human behavior, she has to endure the ugly old and ugly situation until she has to wait until people in this world clearly understand the law of cause and effect to be beautiful. Or the seas that Tom swam through and released human waste into the water are the reality of environmental pollution today.
Children underwater were once famous in England, and have been the bedside children's book for girls and boys for decades. If you don't believe the story of children underwater or any part of the book, it's okay, as Charles Kingsley said, this is just a fairy tale, just a joy and imagination, you don't need to believe a single word, even if it's true.
Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) was a British cleric, university professor, social reformist, historian and novelist. He taught History at the University of Cambridge before becoming the Prince of Wales's personal teacher. In 1869, Kingsley established the Natural Sciences, Literature and Arts Association Chester.
The books written by Charles Kingsley are all expressive and depict the beautiful landscapes that captivate readers, while expressing his interest in history, nature and humanity. Among his books, The Children Underwater is a very popular classic novel, adapted into many genres such as drama, music, films and is the inspiration of many artists and musicians.
