Transcript Young Adult Literature - mslogsdon / FrontPage

Young Adult Literature
History and Characteristics
What is Young Adult Literature?
Simple Definition: Literature written
for or about young adults
Also Called: Literature for
Adolescence, Adolescent Literature,
Adolescent Fiction, Junior Teen
Novels, Juvenile Fiction – why should
or shouldn’t it be called by these
names?
Why is YA Literature Important?
Contemporary adult society is a nonreading society
In order to form lifelong readers, we need
to choose lit that enables students to
become emotionally and cognitively
involved in what they read
Young adults like novels that are realistic
(conflicts in which young adults can find
themselves and can realistically decide the
solution to that conflict) – discuss – such
as?
Common Characteristics
Conflicts consistent with experiences of young
adults
Themes are of interest to young people
Protagonists/most characters are young adults
Language parallels that of young people
Themes – should speak to readers about universal
values and human conditions (such as?)
Characters with whom young adults can identify –
dynamic/round characters allow readers to
appreciate the many levels of growth that take
place
Effective Beginnings
Humor
Qualities Specific to YA Lit Which
Make it Appealing
Existence of characters with whom young adults can relate
in situations with which they are familiar
Unique people and situations (plot/setting/characters)
different from them and their lives but with which they can
still make some connections
More direct plotline than those often found in classics
Stronger Hook/More Dialogue/More Action over a shorter
period as opposed to classics
Students like neatly tied-up ending with closure and
answers, but young adult lit challenges them with a thoughtprovoking ending
More cultural and societal diversity in young adult characters
than those in classics
Reflect societal changes, as well as current social and
environmental issues
Common Criticisms of YA Lit
Young adults in literature do not relate
positively to adults – is this true?
Use of profanity/slang – is it
appropriate to realistically portray
characters?
It is not quality literature (poorly
written)
History of Young Adult Literature
Traditionally, literature adults
wanted children and young adults
to read reflected the social
morals/expectations of the time
Middle Ages
Literature closely tied to religion and
mythology; intention was for young adults to
emulate; children expected to read to learn
to act like adults and take on adult
responsibilities if the need arose
A Book of Courtesy (1477) – 1st book published
specifically for young readers in England
Aesop’s Fables (1475-1480) – written for adults,
but audience shifted to children and young
adults
Le Morte d’Arthur (1485) - enjoyed circulation
among older children
17th Century
Held on to traditions, but attitude
towards children changed slightly;
primary emphasis on religious
publication and faith in Christian word
The Visible World in Pictures (1659) – 1st
book to convey info to children through
pictures of real children
King James Bible (1611), Paradise Lost
(1667)
18th Century
Children still seen as deficient adults;
religious/moralistic literature
A Token for Children:…Conversion, Holy,
and Exemplary Lives & Joyful Deaths of
Several Young Children
Early Children’s Classics
Robinson Crusoe (1719)
Gulliver’s Travels (1726)
John Newbery – began publishing small
books for children – wanted them to
read for fun
Lit from Middle Ages to mid- 1800s
~Most literature still held high values
and morals, coming down on side of
what was “right”
~ Major shift – earlier literature written
for adults and read by children to
model behavior; began to be written
specifically for young readers
~ Major shift in characters – realism
of boy and girl characters in literature
19th Century
1st age of great children’s books
Lit for young women – emphasized home and
family values, conforming to societal expectations
Lit for boys – largely emphasized that hard work
and traditional values would be rewarded by
success
Tom Sawyer (1876)
Huck Finn (1885)
Black Beauty (1877)
Wind in the Willows (1908)
Mason Locke Weems – adventure books about
George Washington
19th Century Continued
Domestic Novel Genre (traditional values and
moral lessons)
Dime Novels (sold for 5 cents to young boys –
standard characters/plots/values – detectives,
western heroes, revolutionary war heroes)
Series Books
Early realistic fiction - Louisa May Alcott, Little
Women
Early examples of science fiction - Jules Verne
Adventure Stories – Robin Hood, Treasure Island,
Sherlock Holmes
Late 19th Century into 20th
Century
Formula fiction dominated lit for
young adults (Rover Boys, Hardy
Boys, Nancy Drew) – mystery,
excitement, suspense, protagonist
triumphing against all odds –
stereotyped characters, poorly
constructed plots, and lack of
relationship to reality; poor quality, but
very popular
20th Century
Formula novels for pure entertainment (Rebecca of
Sunnybrook Farm, Bobbsey Twins – early 1900’s)
1934 – publishers 1st began to publish lit
especially for young adults – called them “Junior
Books”: historical fiction, sports stories, career novels
(30s/40s)
40s/50s – traditional social behavior, moralistic,
superficial: family, jobs, sports, dating, etc;
Shift towards more realistic characteristics – 1st
“reality novels” appeared (Seventeen 1902,
Seventeenth Summer 1942)
1951 – Catcher in the Rye – began the shift to what
is called the new realism – reflecting economic,
political, and social problems of the era (Others:
Miracles on Maple Hill, To Kill a Mockingbird)
New Age of Realism
Emphasized unsympathetic or incompetent
parents (The Pigman, The Outsiders) as well as poor
and minority groups (Sounder, Judy Blume novels,
etc)
As realism genre evolves, lit reflects more
conditions of society, told in straightforward
stories (Julie of the Wolves, Cormier novels, Crutcher
novels)
As time progresses, quality of the writing is improving
Other Popular YA authors: Cynthia Voigt, Gary
Paulsen, Paul Zindel, S.E. Hinton, Judy Blume, Lois
Duncan, Walter Dean Myers, Robert Cormier, Chris
Crutcher)
Role of YA Lit Phenomenons: Harry Potter, Twilight,
Hunger Games