Identity Construction in YA fiction – How does it affect how we construct our own identity?

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”

Melanie D. Koss

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”

Allison Layfield

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”

Melanie D. Koss

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?

V

 

Image credit: Nat210902

Review: The Selection – Kiera Cass

Do you enjoy a bit of romance, or fantasy? Ever wandered what could happen if a monarchy held a competition with the prize being the Prince’s hand? Then The Selection might be just the book for you.

Kiera Cass, The Selection First published in the USA by HarperTeen in 2012

 

Released in 2012, it is the first in The Selection series, and is categorised as a young adult, dystopian, romance novel. It is followed by The Elite (2013), The One (2014), as well as the more recent titles The Heir (2015) and The Crown (2016) that revolve around her daughter.

From the very beginning I was drawn into this world, immersed within an interesting narrative. I do have to admit that I was somewhat confused at all the information thrown at me in the first few pages, and occasionally throughout. I felt unable to determine whether Illéa, the setting the story takes place in, was real or fictional.

This I have only discovered now to be fictional but is based in North America. My geography is rusty at best, and I find it difficult to understand where all the provinces are in relation to the current states. This is one aspect you’ll have to pay attention to! But we do learn how the provinces came to be – I’ll let you discover that for yourselves!

I was then able to settle into the story quite comfortably after the sudden involvement of the first few pages.

America Singer seems to be everything a female protagonist aspires to; she is brave, fights her own battles, and even gives us a glimpse of her vulnerabilities, all in all, a well-written character. She wants no part in the selection, but is coerced into it by her secret boyfriend, Aspen, who, quite frankly, made me really dislike him early on in the book.

Why on earth would you tell someone you love to go and compete for some other guy’s affections? What in the world is wrong with you Aspen?! I was glad when America cut herself loose. She proceeds to participate in the selection and we meet Prince Maxon.

Maxon, Maxon. Now, here a character whose personality appears to shift. The first person narrative ensured that I took on America’s perspective. Maxon initially seems like an introvert, he is stiff and formal, seems unable to deal with girls, particularly when they’re crying.

“His hair was cropped short and neatly done, and his gray suit was perfectly fitted to him.

But he sat way too rigidly in his chair. He looked so uptight. His clean hair was too perfect, his tailored suit too crisp. He seemed more like a painting than a person. I almost felt bad for the girl who ended up with him. That would probably be the most boring life imaginable.”

Kiera Cass

The Selection

Okay, this is a little funny if you think about it, but a guy who doesn’t know how to deal with other people? At least the Maxon living in my head is a good-looking, considerate guy.

The interactions between America and Maxon can be seen as very true to everyday life; who doesn’t argue with their siblings, parents or friends? Although some of their interactions are very child-like, I think Kiera Cass has done a good job of making it work.

Another notable character is Celeste. Again, her character has been written so well, and in such a way, that I can’t help but loathe her. She acts as the antagonist to America throughout the course of the book.

Then we approach the end of the first novel. Maxon sends all but six girls from the palace. Guess who’s still there? And… insert Aspen, who decides he wants America back after the number of participants dwindle. So now you want her buddy?!

Although I would argue this is aimed more at us girls, I think some of the guys may be able to get into such a story if they don’t mind a female perspective! For readers of young adult fiction, this is a story well worth sinking your teeth into.

Keep reading!

VixenRose

The Rise of Dystopia

Dystopian novels and films have sky-rocketed in popularity over the past few years, with book to film adaptations rapidly appearing in cinema; The Giver, The Host, Warm Bodies, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Fifth Wave to name a few, and recently dystopia has begun to work its way into more ‘adult’ films such as World War Z and Elysium.

Dystopian fiction has a particular storyline:

                “the world is a mess, and someone needs to fix it”

Rachel Diebel

The reader is enabled to learn and understand ideas, as well as characters, within a dystopic society. However, many of the issues explored are directly related to our own society, but are blown up at a much more radical level. Snowpiercer serves as an excellent example. It revolves around climate change and the environment.

Whilst dystopic literature is usually associated with the young adult readership, its gain in popularity has spread to a much wider audience. The genre may not be new, but it is prominent in current pop culture, more so now than, say, fifty years ago. The aforementioned titles are all evidence of this trend.

The genre is so popular due to its relation to the lives of adolescents today. The stories are written and perceived through adolescents. In 1993, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, was published and is considered one of the first dystopian novels to have been written through a teenager’s perspective.

However, it has a long history, dating back to George Orwell and Ray Bradbury, further evidence that writing styles and perspectives have changed. Again, I refer to some more recent titles; The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner, both of which have been adapted to film recently. Compare these to older dystopic works, and the difference is evident.

George Orwell’s 1984, written in 1949, is credited as being one of the first dystopian novels to have been adapted to film, and is still popular today. In contrast with The Giver, the difference in perspective and target audience is visible, with 1984 seemingly targeted at adults.

It is also highly possible that the rise of dystopic fiction has come about from fear of danger and threat.

“fear of communism and fascism in the 1930s-60s spawned Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” and Orwell’s “1984.” It is possible that today’s wave of dystopian literature for young adults is inspired by an event such as 9/11 or even by the vapid nature of pop culture and the fear of what that will do to our society”

Rachel Diebel

Why is dystopia so popular?

Dystopic fiction is now generally aimed at young adults and writers give their reader someone to identify with, someone who is considered to be independent and ambitious. Thomas from The Maze Runner and Katniss from The Hunger Games, to name a few. This allows readers to connect with the protagonist, who is perceived to be experiencing similar struggles and insecurities.

“So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts”

Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

Readers feel like they are a part of the story, they experience it as the character does. Both Divergent and The Hunger Games can be compared to school experience. The same social classes we experience in our own world are presented to us in these novels, with the popular people ‘running the school’.

The Hunger Games shows us how the ‘careers’ stick together to hunt the weaker groups. In the film adaptation, they use Peeta to find Katniss and then plan to kill him off afterwards.

Divergent shows how Tris is perceived dangerous because a Divergent is so rare and considered a threat to the current society. If we look deeper, we can see how Tris is trying to show the reader that it is ok to be different and they don’t have to hide it. Here we can see how such work can almost be used to give advice.

Generally, the protagonist is female, as evident in The Hunger Games, with a strong male presence, i.e. Katniss and Peeta. This appeals to both a male and female audience. This makes it relatable to both genders and challenges preconceptions of gender norms. It also gives perspective for male readers as they experience a female’s perspective.

Adaptation from book to film

When a novel becomes hugely successful, it captures the attention of film studios. We can already see how many books have been adapted into films.

“The cinema has long been drawn to science fiction and the challenge of visualizing the unimaginable. Yet the recent uptick in dystopian and post-apocalyptic scenarios seems more urgent and more extreme”

Christopher Schmidt

Keep reading!

VixenRose