Young Adult Literature

1. Young Adult Literature These notes will work for both comics and young adult literature

2. Definition • Fiction written, published, and marketed to young adults although a 2002 survey showed that 55% of readers were over 18.

3. Fundamentals • Same as any literature – including comics – has a genre, contains a plot, setting, themes, motifs, and style. • Theme and writing style are often more subordinated to the more tangible elements of the plot – like action • For young adult fiction – the protagonist is often a younger person

4. History • Although recognized earlier – not a huge market until two books came out – The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger in 1951 and Lord of the Flies by William Golding in 1954. • 1960s – SE Hinton’s The Outsiders – write about people that young adults could identify with. No nostalgic or didactic tone or romantic – simply dark and true.

5. Prior to the 1960s • Mainly sports novels for boys and love novels for girls • In the 1980s – teens grew tired of the real problem novels – drugs, divorce – formulaic stories • Horror and Gothic introduced in the 1980s – RL Stine

6. Adolescent experience • Both YA literature and Comics touch on the adolescent experience. • Showcasing the process of growing up. • Since life is often too real – young adult and comics venture into the arena of saying and portraying real ideas through the unreal.

7. Like Comics • Society – going against the norm • Multi-themed stories • Memorable characters • Tension and shock effect • Authentic dialogue • Sense of humor • Widespread appeal • Memorable openings and endings • Clear writing style

8. Characters • Many characters although fringe and having personalities that are not of the status quo are not devalued or minimized in any way. • The fiction went from the popular girl stories who did everything correctly to the questions in the minds of the character being investigated and thus validated.

9. Language • Usually more accessible to young readers. • Intonations and tone are carried through the dialect that is presented and the use of colloquialisms.

10. High-interest level • Increases reading levels – words are worked in in context so that students and young people learn them. • Pairing with classic that contain the same elements – Heathcliff is a Victorian emo character or the cool guy. • Classic canon is often too far removed in relevancy • Engagement in reading is the major factor in learning.

11. Classic Situational Archetypes • Birth/Death/Rebirth – Breathing Underwater and Hamlet • Fall of Innocence – Speak and The Scarlet Letter • The Journey – brings meaning to life The Crazy Horse Electric Game and The Odyssey or Of Mice and Men • The test or trial – The Confessions of Charlotte Doyle or The Red Badge of Courage

12. Annihilation – a character must learn to exist in an unbearable world – The Giver and Slaughterhouse Five • Parental Conflicts – Tiger Eyes and Romeo and Juliet • The wise old woman or man – Jacob Have I loved and To Kill a Mockingbird • The Hero – Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and A Tale of Two Cities

13. The sacrificial Redeemer – Harry Potter, any super hero and Julius Caesar or Antigone

14. Categories of Young Adult Novels • Graphic Novel • Dystopian Novel • Cyberpunk • Steampunk • Manga • Fantasy • Graphic novels

15. Problem Novels • Deal with exclusively real life aspects – no fantasy involved – Judy Blume

16. Why do fantasy and dystopian novels appeal so much • Young adults are obsessed with transformation – whether it be real or unreal – realistic or supernatural. There is the presentation of life in constant chaos and the genres offer both real and unreal situations. • Transformation stories connect with readers through the solicitation of emotions. • Emotions are real in fantasy even though the situations don’t reflect reality directly, they do reflect life.

17. Real Novels • Whether in the guise of fantasy or realism – when authors write honestly about life they build a trust within readers – not a preacher trying to tell you what is right or wrong but human beings connecting to situations or not connecting.

18. Nostaligia? • People are not only reading the novels to remember or to experience adolescence but the novels are interesting because of what happens when there is all that living, emotion and the heaviness of it without the actual experience. It’s such a beautiful and terrible thing to witness.

19. Notes from the documentary • Citations information Superheroes: A Never Ending Battle. Dir. Michael Kantor. Nar. LievSchrieber. Ghost Light Films, Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2013. DVD.

20. Superheroes provide better versions of ourselves. • Superheroes are a conglomerate of heroes that give children a reason to hate crime. • Superman and others are social crusaders. • Superman fits the American mythology because he is an alien, a powerful expression of the immigrant experience.

21. Superheroes keep the mythology of the American way of life alive • “I wanted to create deeply flawed characters with moral ambiguity.” Alan Moore creator of The Watchmen • Superheroes serve to define heroic qualities –They do the right thing for the right reason. • They are a symbol of hope - worldwide

22. “The better angels of our nature” Geoff Johns – creative Director of DC Comics • Superheroes validate for us the want and desire to know that what we do counts. They give us ideal to look up to. We need someone that can’t be defeated. • They make a profound statement of a human need.