Changes

[[File:lighterstill.jpg]]

[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Orphan_train.jpg|right|frame]]

==Etymology==

==Etymology==

[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Late Latin orphanus, from [[Greek]] orphanos; akin to Old High German erbi inheritance, [[Latin]] orbus orphaned

[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Late Latin orphanus, from [[Greek]] orphanos; akin to Old High German erbi inheritance, [[Latin]] orbus orphaned

*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Century 15th century]

*Date: [https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Century 15th century]

==Definitions==

==Definitions==

*1 : a child deprived by [[death]] of one or usually both [[parents]]

*1 : a child deprived by [[death]] of one or usually both [[parents]]

Various [[groups]] use [[different]] definitions to identify orphans. One legal definition used in the United States is a minor bereft through "[[death]] or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both [[parents]]".

Various [[groups]] use [[different]] definitions to identify orphans. One legal definition used in the United States is a minor bereft through "[[death]] or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both [[parents]]".

In the common use, an orphan does not have any [[surviving]] [[parent]] to care for him or her. However, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Children%27s_Fund United Nations Children's Fund] (UNICEF), [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_United_Nations_Programme_on_HIV_and_AIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS] (UNAIDS), and other [[groups]] label any child that has lost one parent as an orphan. In this approach, a maternal orphan is a child whose [[mother]] has died, a paternal orphan is a child whose [[father]] has died, and a double orphan has lost both [[parents]]. This [[contrasts]] with the older use of half-orphan to describe children that had lost only one parent.

In the common use, an orphan does not have any [[surviving]] [[parent]] to care for him or her. However, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Children%27s_Fund United Nations Children's Fund] (UNICEF), [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_United_Nations_Programme_on_HIV_and_AIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS] (UNAIDS), and other [[groups]] label any child that has lost one parent as an orphan. In this approach, a maternal orphan is a child whose [[mother]] has died, a paternal orphan is a child whose [[father]] has died, and a double orphan has lost both [[parents]]. This [[contrasts]] with the older use of half-orphan to describe children that had lost only one parent.

==In Literature==

==In Literature==

Orphaned characters are extremely common as [[literary]] protagonists, especially in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_literature children]'s and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_literature fantasy literature].  The lack of [[parents]] leaves the characters to pursue more interesting and [[adventurous]] lives, by freeing them from [[familial]] [[obligations]] and [[controls]], and depriving them of more prosaic lives. It creates characters that are self-contained and introspective and who strive for [[affection]]. Orphans can [[metaphorically]] search for [[self]]-[[understanding]] through attempting to know their [[roots]]. [[Parents]] can also be allies and [[sources]] of aid for [[children]], and removing the parents makes the character's [[difficulties]] more severe. Parents, furthermore, can be irrelevant to the theme a [[writer]] is trying to [[develop]], and orphaning the character frees the [[writer]] from the [[necessity]] to depict such an irrelevant [[relationship]]; if one [[parent]]-[[child]] [[relationship]] is important, removing the other parent prevents complicating the [[necessary]] [[relationship]]. All these characteristics make orphans attractive characters for [[authors]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan]

Orphaned characters are extremely common as [[literary]] protagonists, especially in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_literature children]'s and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_literature fantasy literature].  The lack of [[parents]] leaves the characters to pursue more interesting and [[adventurous]] lives, by freeing them from [[familial]] [[obligations]] and [[controls]], and depriving them of more prosaic lives. It creates characters that are self-contained and introspective and who strive for [[affection]]. Orphans can [[metaphorically]] search for [[self]]-[[understanding]] through attempting to know their [[roots]]. [[Parents]] can also be allies and [[sources]] of aid for [[children]], and removing the parents makes the character's [[difficulties]] more severe. Parents, furthermore, can be irrelevant to the theme a [[writer]] is trying to [[develop]], and orphaning the character frees the [[writer]] from the [[necessity]] to depict such an irrelevant [[relationship]]; if one [[parent]]-[[child]] [[relationship]] is important, removing the other parent prevents complicating the [[necessary]] [[relationship]]. All these characteristics make orphans attractive characters for [[authors]].[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan]

[[Category: Sociology]]

[[Category: Sociology]]

[[Category: Languages and Literature]]

[[Category: Languages and Literature]]