Whilst identity construction continues to be something we create for ourselves throughout our lifetimes, we begin to question who we really are when we hit adolescence; how will our identity affect us? How will our identity affect the course of our lives?
Our identity is not only something that we craft for ourselves, it also develops in response to external factors.
I believe that authors have changed the way in which they write their characters and construct their identities in fiction. Could this be due to societal changes?
Young Adult fiction has become an increasingly popular genre, dystopic fiction in particular, and it has almost begun to reflect changes in today’s society.
Young adult fiction “increasingly reflects the changes taking place in society”
“Teens in today’s society are different than the teens of previous generations. The issues they deal with on a day-to-day basis tend to be harsher, which can cause adolescents to grow up faster”
YA fiction tends to centre on a particular character who struggles with the construction of their own identity. Let’s look at some recent examples; The Hunger Games, the Divergent series and The Maze Runner, all of which have now been developed into film.
Let’s take a look at The Hunger Games.
“The Hunger Games also asks its adolescent audience to think critically about the way television influences their own identity construction process”
In this case, could we argue that it is in fact media and television that has had an influence on our identity construction? Or could it simply be that YA authors are delving into subjects that are relevant to us now?
Katniss struggles to find who she is, both on and off of the camera. She is placed in a position in which she has to adapt her identity in order to survive. She changes from an ‘unlikeable’ person, to someone who is able to manipulate the Capitol audience when she learns the ‘rules’ of the games.
We are exposed to such a wide range of ideas surrounding identity, such as magazines, films, advertising, reality T.V. and so on, that it can be difficult not become a product of our time. If this is the case, can we connect this to the work of an author? Are they constructing their characters based on everything around us?
I would argue that they are, as this can be seen in many different novels across a variety of genres.
Divergent plays on this idea in which a specific set of traits is desirable for different factions.
“Their faction values honesty and sees the truth as black and white”
“Abnegation, values selflessness”
Veronica Roth
Divergent
In this case, the author has given us a clearly defined set of characteristics for the Divergent world. Beatrice has to learn who she is and where she belongs, changing her identity to Tris along the way.
Ideas are constantly changing and fiction has grown to represent our current world. Are we allowing ourselves to be swept away in new ideals of the norm, of how we think we should be perceived? Or is this something that is only reflected in stories, be they books or film?
Fiction seems to ‘show’ us ‘desirable’ traits in a character. So, in this case, do you think we should aspire to be more like the characters we read about?
It could also be argued that society has become more pessimistic and characters have evolved to remain relevant and relatable to us. Male character idenetity has evolved to become more sensitive and caring, whereas they would fit into their typical gender stereotype of ‘strong and dominant’ years ago.
Allow me to now take a glimpse into The Maze Runner to provide an example:
“Thomas cried, wept like he’d never wept before. His great, racking sobs echoed through the chamber like the sounds of tortured pain”
James Dashner
The Maze Runner
Ideas about identity are constantly changing, and this can depend on life experiences, society, and so on. This all contributes to how a person views themself and the world around them. Perspective has begun to alter over the years too:
“Novels written in different voices and with different perspectives can provide teens with ideas of how to act in different circumstances, as well as allow them to experiment with different ideas of identity”
This enables us to connect with fictional characters; if we believe, even for a short while, that the characters we are reading are ‘real’, we are able to identify with their problems and relate them to our own. Therefore, would it be alright to say that we use fiction in order to explore and construct our own identity, especially if they are experiencing a problem similar to overselves?
Due to social change, writers have adapted and evolved their work to refelct the world and the problems we encounter today, taking into consideration how a real person may respond to different situations.
As a result, technology is presented to us in many modern books. In The Hunger Games the tributes are observed and broadcast to all of Panem, in Divergent and The Maze Runner technology has been used to build an experiment, as well as observe the ‘subjects’ within it.
Overall, identity construction in YA fiction, and in real life, has changed dramatically because of social change, advancement of technology, and the influence of media.
Times are changing, but should we?
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