Adaptation: A Natural Selection

Abstract

This thesis discusses various modes of adaptation and the relation between the original source and the adaptation - specifically my considerations in adapting Kenneth Grahame’s short story for children, “The Reluctant Dragon”, for the stage. Can a Victorian story about childhood, in a modern retelling, be relevant today? I have learned that the process of adaptation is a subjective one and, in this case, with a degree of respect, the story allowed itself to be reshaped, bringing its subtext of longing closer to the surface. Grahame’s story lends itself to this adaptation based on the strength of the relation between the protagonist, who is Grahame’s surrogate, and myself. “The Reluctant Dragon" tells of a lonely boy who is an outsider and a misunderstood dragon maligned by society. The story resonates today, at least as profoundly as at the time of its creation because societies always have outsiders, those who are on the margins and whose plights fascinate us.