The Outsiders in Contemporary American Young Adult Literature: C.D. Payne's and Sherman Alexie's Heroes in Pursuit of Ethnic Identity

Bc. Viktória Collier

Master's thesis

Abstract:

This thesis closely examines the lives of two young adult heroes in their pursuit of ethnic identity. It compares two books that were written by authors who come from different ethnic backgrounds, the same ones as the two main protagonists in the two novels. Arnold from Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is of a Native American origin while Nick in C.D. Payne's Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp represents a member of a white dominant culture. Thus, in the first part of the thesis, the main focus remains on the different ways of understanding ethnicity as well as other important issues that ethnic identity is based on, such as ethnic heritage, multiculturalism, and the idea of being perceived either as an "insider" or "outsider". In the following chapters, the work concentrates more on a close reading of the two stories comparing and analyzing in detail particular situations the two teenage characters found themselves in throughout their search for identity.

Abstract:

This thesis closely examines the lives of two young adult heroes in their pursuit of ethnic identity. It compares two books that were written by authors who come from different ethnic backgrounds, the same ones as the two main protagonists in the two novels. Arnold from Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is of a Native American origin while Nick in C.D. Payne's Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp represents a member of a white dominant culture. Thus, in the first theoretically oriented part of the thesis, the main focus is to remain on the different ways of understanding ethnicity as well as other important issues that ethnic identity is based on, such as ethnic heritage, multiculturalism, or the idea of being perceived either as an "insider" or "outsider". Further in the analytical chapters, the work will concentrate more on close reading and of the two stories comparing and analyzing in detail particular situations the two teenage characters found themselves in throughout their identity hunts.

Keywords

young adult literature, identity, ethnicity, ethnic identity, multiculturalism, search for identity, caring adults

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 26. 4. 2012

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 12. 6. 2012
• Supervisor: Ing. Mgr. Věra Eliášová, Ph.D.
• Reader: Mgr. Pavla Buchtová

Masaryk University

Faculty of Education

Master programme / field:
Teacher Training for Primary and Lower Secondary Schools / Lower Secondary School and Language School Teacher Training in English Language