Our JusJoJan word for today is optimism, selected for us by June over at her blog.
One of the classics of children’s literature is Eleanor H. Porter’s 1913 novel Pollyanna. Pollyanna is a girl who is orphaned at age 11 and goes to live with her Aunt Polly in Beldingsville, Vermont. Pollyanna is one of those perpetually cheerful, optimistic kids, living her life as “The Glad Game.” This was something she learned from her father, who was a minister. The idea was, no matter how bad something seems, try to find something good about it. That’s the attitude she takes through the story.
Being a “Pollyanna” is normally a derogatory term for someone who’s always optimistic and cheerful. There are always people around them who want them to “be realistic” and to understand that “life is full of disappointments,” that things don’t always go their way. The truth is that the Pollyannas of the world already know this. Being optimistic and learning to see the best in a bad situation is the way they cope with the disappointment.
I always think of a baseball manager whose team is on an extended losing streak. After the game, they don’t talk about the loss, the talk about how So-and-so is seeing the ball better and starting to make contact (even if he went 0-for-4 with a couple of strikeouts), this other guy is doing a great job in the field, that pitcher is throwing strikes, etc. Their attitude is always “we’ll get ’em tomorrow.” He knows what his team is capable of, and that tomorrow it all might come together.
From Wikipedia:
In a 1973 State of the Union message to Congress Richard M. Nixon wrote, “I believe there is always a sensible middle ground between the Cassandras and the Pollyannas. We must take our stand upon that ground.”
Words to live by…
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
Anne Shirley, of Green Gables, is another great model of this. And I love her comic flaws that come with her determination!
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I remember the PBS series with Megan Follows and Colleen Dewhurst. Quite entertaining!
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So well cast!
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I think there were three series altogether, and the third actually made the cover of the Chicago Tribune TV Week (the schedules for the week). That was unusual; they rarely featured any PBS series.
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My mom used to call me a Pollyanna and even though, I am an optimistic person, I doubt that applies to me now.
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With Pollyanna, it was the naive innocence. I think you’re passed that stage (as are we all).
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Nothing is more annoying than someone who us too chirpy..lol. we could learn from that girl. Loved your prompt for today
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Thanks! Yes, we could all afford to be a little more optimistic.
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A phenomenal take on the prompt ~ enjoyed reading your post ~ will check out Pollyanna on Youtube. 😊
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I didn’t especially like it when I was 11, but then, 11-year-olds don’t like much of anything. I’d want to see it now for some of the actors in it (there were a lot of great character actors that I knew from TV).
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Though I haven’t read this story but I think it’s a bit unrealistic by the way you recounted it. A middle ground is better.
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It was Kid Lit from the early 20th Century. Realism fell by the wayside.
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Too much realism can make people cynical. Nowadays, young adult literature is purely fantasy.
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I liked your post so much !
You are so right that Pollyanna does come across as negative when it is not always
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👍
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I only have vague memories of the movie. Perhaps it’s time to revisit it.
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I saw it in grade school. I think it was the principal’s birthday, so they gathered us all in the theater and showed it. I was a little less than enthused, as I recall (I think I was eleven or so), now I’d want to see it for the cast. You can rent it on YouTube or Amazon, maybe even Disney+.
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Very cool
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interesting, I was recently thinking about this, as I’ve been called a Pollyanna many times over the years )
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