Coming of Age in Contemporary American FictionEdinburgh University Press, 2007 M04 18 - 200 pages This book explores the ways in which a range of recent American novelists have handled the genre of the 'coming-of-age' novel, or the Bildungsroman. Novels of this genre characteristically dramatise the vicissitudes of growing up and the trials and tribulations of young adulthood, often presented through depictions of immediate family relationships and other social structures. This book considers a variety of different American cultures (in terms of race, class and gender) and a range of contemporary coming-of-age novels, so that aesthetic judgements about the fiction might be made in the context of the social history that fiction represents. A series of questions are asked:* Does the coming-of-age moment in these novels coincide with an interpretation of the 'fall' of America?* What kind of national commentary does it therefore facilitate?* Is the Bildungsroman a quintessentially American genre?* What can it usefully tell us about contemporary American culture? Although the focus is on the conte |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 34
Page 9
... desire to create a myth of origins by which their protagonists can come to understand themselves, and this knowledge, despite a self-consciousness about its status as fiction, is a central component of coming of age. In this respect ...
... desire to create a myth of origins by which their protagonists can come to understand themselves, and this knowledge, despite a self-consciousness about its status as fiction, is a central component of coming of age. In this respect ...
Page 13
... desires, fantasies, and interests of the adult world' (Giroux 1997: 35), and that, as a result, youth becomes 'an identity defined solely by and for the adults who, in a variety of ways, invest in it and use it to locate themselves ...
... desires, fantasies, and interests of the adult world' (Giroux 1997: 35), and that, as a result, youth becomes 'an identity defined solely by and for the adults who, in a variety of ways, invest in it and use it to locate themselves ...
Page 14
... desire to run away to the frontier to work in a gas station pretending to be a deaf mute. This is an expression of Holden's need to escape the corruption of New York for a fresh start, free of the responsibilities of language, in that ...
... desire to run away to the frontier to work in a gas station pretending to be a deaf mute. This is an expression of Holden's need to escape the corruption of New York for a fresh start, free of the responsibilities of language, in that ...
Page 15
... desire for a relationship with the father dictates the shape of the protagonist's journey. The father, of course, is also The Father, and in both of these novels the search for a literal or corporeal father is to some extent analogous ...
... desire for a relationship with the father dictates the shape of the protagonist's journey. The father, of course, is also The Father, and in both of these novels the search for a literal or corporeal father is to some extent analogous ...
Page 20
... desire to rescue her, and thereby exercise his sense of moral responsibility in the world. Despite the lack of affection in his upbringing, or perhaps because of it, Bone feels a duty of care towards this girl: 'I wanted to tell her ...
... desire to rescue her, and thereby exercise his sense of moral responsibility in the world. Despite the lack of affection in his upbringing, or perhaps because of it, Bone feels a duty of care towards this girl: 'I wanted to tell her ...
Contents
1 | |
15 | |
Growing up in the Sixties | 46 |
Chapter 3 Citation and Resuscitation | 72 |
Life Sentences | 98 |
Chapter 5 Lexicon of Love | 130 |
6 Memoirs and Memorials | 154 |
Conclusion | 181 |
Bibliography | 183 |
Index | 189 |
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adolescence adult aesthetic American argued attempt attention authority becomes begins believes Bone Bone’s called challenges chapter characterised characters child childhood circumstances closely coming of age coming-of-age contemporary critical crucial culture death defined depiction desire dramatises Edgar especially example experience expression father feel fiction final Fishboy further genre girls gives growing idea identity important innocence integral interest interpretation issue kind knowledge language linguistic Lisbon Lucille Lucille’s Maisie male means metafiction Mona Mona’s moral mother narrative narrator nature never novel origin parents particular partly past Phillip politics protagonist Prozac Nation Purple question reader reading recognise relationship respect response Ruth scene sense significant simply simultaneously social society speak specific story structure subjectivity suicide symbolic takes tell things understanding United voice women writing young