Young adult fiction in English 20../..

Term 10

Revision and Discussion

TRADITIONAL GENRES 19th - 20th century
Genres

Moral tales

Examples

HP NL

Mrs. Sherwood: The

Fairchild Family

a moral

didactic; very educational

James Janeway: A Token

for Children

main characters: (bad children

cautionary tale) and good children

Peter Rabbit

good child is obedient

bad child is disobedient and

mischievous

lots of rules to be obeyed

Rousseau very influential

adults strict and stern, good, role

models, authorities to be obeyed,
always right

teachers and women often authors or

work with authors

Brer Rabbit (a trickster)

cautionary
bad children, naughty, disobedient
children
dangerous situations
a result of bad childrens behavior:
death
exemplary
examples of good behavior, good
children
realistic
School story coming of age
boys
boarding school (no parents)
British
bullying as a test that you have to
endure in order to grow up
rules (school, group) respected
peer pressure
hierarchy of pupils
teachers: authoritative figures, strict,
friendly and model figures, positive
generally speaking; the Head teacher
is the best
realistic
Adventure story

adventure

The Spider and the Fly

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Tom Browns Schooldays

The Governess

The Treasure Island

Tom Sawyer

Smiljana Narani Kova, PhD; YAF/SRD: Final Class Revision 1

journey (home away home plot)

Huckleberry Finn

children friends, family (peer group)

adults usually bad (opponents), but

one good guy helps

Arthur Ransome: Swallows

and Amazons

protagonists: brave, adventurous,

friendly (friendship important), wise,
quick thinkers, enduring, persistent

a mission (a treasure hunt)

a map

(Peter Rabbit)

Swiss Family of Robinsons

robinsonades
The Coral Island
imitations of Robinson Crusoe
deserted island, a shipwreck, stranded
on the island (sea adventures)
realistic

Historical novel

Ivanhoe

a hero: someone who lives in this

period

The Children Of the New

Forrest

historical figures but not as

protagonists

Treasure Island

set in some historical period

reconstruct historical periods

loyalty, betrayal, revenge

Wilder: Little House books

realistic
Little Women

Domestic tale

family and family relations

Anne of Green Gables

neighborhood

Wilder: Little House books

mother, no father (father missing)

Railway Children

several children

mission: to survive without a father,

they take on responsibilities

orphan tale

orphan looking for a home

realistic
Peter Rabbit

Animal story / Animal fantasy

animals

Black Beauty

anthropomorphism

Charlottes Web

human present

Stuart Little

communication between humans and

animals not always

Winnie-the-Pooh

natural habitats of animals,

sometimes human habitats

The Trumpet of the Swan

The Wind in the Willows
Frog and Toad

Smiljana Narani Kova, PhD; YAF/SRD: Final Class Revision 2

frequent plot: got lost

realistic with fantastic elements

Fantasy
main characters: children
adults vs. children (not on the same
side)
pirates, witches, fairies
folklore
creatures with special powers as
helpers
children with special powers or gifts
setting: fantasy world, imaginative
world
passage between worlds (hole, flying,
doors)
fantastic
High Fantasy

Water Babies

Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
The Wizard of Oz

The Hobbit

The Lord of the Rings

settings: a completely fully developed secondary
world separated from our world
The Neverending Story
separated history, languages, peoples,
The Chronicles of Narnia
geography
often a map in the beginning
mythological characters, characters from popular
literature, from legends, sometimes combined
from the lore
values supported: chivalry, courage, loyalty
medieval weapons
good vs. evil
retro worlds
lots of imaginative creatures
fantastic

Smiljana Narani Kova, PhD; YAF/SRD: Final Class Revision 3