YOUNG ADULT THEMESPosted by wizzgirl on April 25th, 2021 Before an author conceives a plot, he must decide what he wishes to convey through his story-that is, what is his message and what does he seek to illustrate through his characters and their actions? Because young adult literature is intended for still-developing teenagers, specific themes are not only applicable to them, but readers are often influenced by them. The writer must therefore create an interesting and exciting tale in order to avoid the didactic or preaching angle such novels could easily assume. "The theme of a novel... includes a view of life and how people behave," advises Brooks (ibid, p. 113). "It's the underlying philosophical idea that the story conveys. In other words, it answers the question: What is the story about?" "The theme is critical in a young adult novel, especially one that may be used in school classrooms," she continues (ibid, p. 113). "At the end of the story, the message of the themes is what the reader takes away from the story. What insights into life or human nature are revealed... ?" Although they should have a universal appeal so that they provide interest to the greatest number of readers, they should be specific to the story's characters and the experiences the plot affords them.wizzgirl.com Common themes can include, but are hardly limited to, acceptance, relationships, challenge and success, cooperation, courage, death and loss, family, fear, forgiveness, friendship, growing up, honesty, individuality, innocence, justice, loneliness, love, perseverance, priorities, regret, sacrifice, selfishness, self-esteem, equality, tolerance. Although the author should be able to state his intended theme in a single sentence before he writes the first word of his book, it should not be included in the book itself. Some common theme statements include the following. 1) Loneliness results from being different. 2) Regrets follow actions that cannot be undone. 3) You have to accept yourself before you can accept others. 4) Friendship between kids of different cultural backgrounds needs an open mind and extra understanding. In the latter case, the story may entail a new student from another country (the inciting incident), the protagonist's journey of befriending him, along with the conflicts that arise from their cultural differences (the rising action), and the realization that people sometimes are different, but that there is not necessarily a right or wrong to what they do and that underneath they all have the same needs for friendship, acceptance, and bonding (the resolution). This theme, however, would not be directly stated, but illustrated instead through the proverbial "show, don't tell" writing technique. Concluding dialogue by the protagonist may be as follows. "When I first met you, I thought there were some different things about you. I never knew anyone from Peru before. But I never realized that you thought that there were some different things about me. I'm just me and don't know any other way to be. Sometimes, I guess, differences can be pretty cool." STORY: A story can be considered the sequence of events that begins on a book's first page and ends on its last. It can be categorized in one of two ways. 1) Plot-driven: This method entails a preconceived storyline and the characters' actions, responses, and behaviors are molded by them. 2) Character-driven: This method entails a focus on the main character or protagonist and his actions, responses, and behaviors influence the sequence of events. The pivotal point of such stories usually involves the identification of his internal conflict and weaknesses and his decision to triumph over them to achieve his goal. PLOT: Similar to a string of falling dominoes, a book's plot is a chain of events, each of which causes the subsequent one to occur. There are three plot types. 1) Integrated: The story and plot are tightly bound together and the cause-and-effect events drive the characters to the conflict's resolution, which occurs during the climax. 2) Episodic: An episodic plot entails almost self-contained incidents that may only be connected by a central theme, such as character, conflict, or location. In certain ways, it reads more like an anthology. 3) None: Offering illuminations of life, this type, which is very rare, offers no bonafide plot at all and may read more like a philosophy. PLOT TYPES: The multiple-element story arc varies little in young adult literature. Nevertheless, there are seven principle aspects to it. 1) Stasis: Stasis, which occurs at the very beginning of the book, shows the characters conducting their routine, everyday lives. Inciting incident: The inciting incident, like a spark, is the incident, realization, or conflict which sets the story's events in motion. 2) Rising action: During the course of the book's many actions, the protagonist begins his journey toward his intended solution, resolution, purpose, or goal, and its intensity steadily increases, coupled with higher, more important stakes. Obstacles, obstructions, internal conflicts, and weaknesses become barriers to the achievement of this goal "The objective is to create a steadily increasing suspenseful atmosphere in order to pull the reader into the story and keep him reading to find out what happens to the characters," according to Brooks (ibid, p. 39). 3) Crisis: The crisis, which occurs just before the climax, illustrates the story's maximum tension and suspense. "The final crisis is the result of bringing together all of the known information with some final crucial element that brings the entire story into focus in the mind of the reader," according to Brooks (bid, p. 39). 4) Climax: The climax is the pivotal moment to which everything in the book has led. It is marked by a fever pitch of actions, suspense, and tension. 5) Falling action: During the book's falling action side of the story arc, all loose ends are tied up and the author may wish to provide a brief explanation of how the characters' lives changed as a result of the event sequence. 6) Denouement: The denouement, or ending, can entail several scenarios. a) The conflict, ignited by the inciting incident, is resolved. b) The resolution incorporates an element nor previously revealed. c) The protagonist makes a final, crucial decision, such as to give up something in exchange for the gain of something else. d) An explanation provides the solution to a mystery plot. e) The ending reveals a surprise or a twist.
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