Ideology and Narrative Structure in Realistic Novels for Young Adults

Images of masculinity: ideology and narrative structure in realistic novels for young adults A dissertation submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, September 2005 Lisbeth Clemens Graduate School of Library and Information Studies McGill University, Montreal ©Lisbeth Clemens 2005 Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-21635-4 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-21635-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell th es es le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada Abstract The development of media and academic debate on "the cri sis in masculinity" has led to a growing focus on the lives of teenage boys. Studies done on teenage girls have revealed the physical, emotional, and educational costs of cultural expectations. It is important that similar studies be done to examine the cultural forces which influence the development ofa teenage boy's sense of self. This thesis looks at one ofthese cultural influences - the books boys read. Using Robert Connell's theoretical approach ofhegemonic masculinity and sociologist Blye Frank's work with a group ofteenage boys, criteria have been developed for collecting and categorizing images of masculinity in 103 realistic novels for young adults. These images are organized under body image, sport, other recreational proving grounds, relationships with men and women, school, and work; these are cross referenced by four areas of analysis: being male, competition, violence, and sexuality. The second part ofthis thesis is concemed with using the theory of narrative discourse analysis, informed by the work of John Stephens, to examine the way in which the ideology of masculinity is mediated by narrative structure. The cultural expectations of the male characters in the novels are compared with experiences of real boys. Race, class, and cultural heritage are all discussed as emerging issues within the study. The thesis addresses the following questions: Do books written for young adults mirror the subtlety and complexity ofboys' choices? Is the ideology present in the books concentrated on reinforcing the hegemonic image? Does this literature provide a "space" for both the readers and the characters to develop their own highly relational form of masculinity? The thesis concludes that while the images of hegemonic masculinity remain powerful, the majority of novels studied mirror the everyday struggle of real boys, and that generally, ideological statements in the selected novels move beyond reinforcing specifie hegemonic images to supporting more general humanistic concems. Resumé L'évolution du discours tant académique que médiatique portant sur la « crise de la masculinité» a mené les chercheurs à affiner leur analyse de la vie des adolescents. Chez les filles, des études de jeunes adolescentes ont montré le cout physique, affectif et éducatif des attentes culturelles. Il est important que des études semblables soient effectuées auprès des garçons afin d'examiner le rôle que jouent ces forces culturelles dans le développement de leur idée du moi. La présente thèse examine une de ses influences culturelles - les livres lus par les adolescents. À partir de l'approche théorique de masculinité hégémonique de Robert Connell et des travaux du sociologue Blye Frank, un ensemble de critères a été développé afin de recueillir et de catégoriser les images de masculinité retrouvées dans 103 romans réalistes pour adolescents. Ces représentations sont organisées sous les thèmes de : image corporelle, sport, autres terrains d'essai de nature récréative, rapports masculins féminins, école et travail. Ces thèmes sont regroupés sous quatre catégories d'analyse: être mâle, la compétition, la violence et la sexualité. La deuxième partie de la thèse utilise l'analyse du discours narratif, en s'appuyant sur la recherche de John Stephens, pour examiner la manière avec laquelle l'idéologie de masculinité est communiquée dans la structure narrative. Les attentes culturelles des caractères masculins dans les romans sont comparées à celles des «vrais» garçons. La race, la classe et l'héritage culturel font également partie de la discussion. La thèse porte sur les questions suivantes: les romans pour adolescents reflètent-ils la subtilité et la complexité des choix de ces garçons? L'idéologie présente dans ces romans renforce-t-elle l'image hégémonique? Cette littérature permet-elle aux lecteurs et aux caractères de développer leur propres idées, extrêmement relationnelles, de masculinité? Cette thèse conclut que bien que les images de masculinité hégémonique demeurent puissantes, la majorité des romans étudiés reflète les épreuves de vie quotidiennes des «vrais» garçons, et en général, les déclarations idéologiques qui figurent dans les romans choisis vont au-delà du renforcement d'images hégémoniques jusqu'à l'appui des préoccupations humanistes d'ordre général. Acknowledgements The initial stages of this research were funded by Fonds FCAR, Québec, and the J.W. McConnell Foundation. 1 would like to thank the members of my thesis committee, Professor John E. Leide, Professor Peter F. McNally, Professor Diane Mittermeyer, and Professor Claudia Mitchell, for their valuable critical input and their support throughout the en tire thesis process. Special thanks go to: Professor Claudia Mitchell, for asking the right question at the right time. Professor John Leide, my thesis supervisor, for his intelligence, his sense of humour, his patience, and his uncanny ability to simultaneously raise the bar and also provide the necessary support to get over it. My parents, whose lifelong enthusiasm for learning remains a constant inspiration. My children, James and Katie, who never lost their sense of humour or their patience, who provided constant support, and remained interested to the end. My husband, Robert, without whose practical, intellectual, and emotional support this thesis wou Id never have been written. -------- ------ Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1 The Problem 4 Limitations 10 Delimitations Il Definition of terms 12 The Study - an outline 13 Chapter 2 Literature Review 15 Images of Masculinity 15 Literary Traditions and "books for boys" 26 History of the Young Adult Novel 35 Value, Structures, and Ideology in Young Adult Literature 43 Related Theoretical applications 58 Chapter 3 Methodology 66 Book Selection 69 Theoretical Factors 70 The Nature of the Analysis 71 The Criteria used for the Analysis 71 Specific Procedures: data collection and treatment 78 Books included in the thesis 82 Chapter 4 Images of Masculinity: Fiction and Reality, Description and Discussion 86 Organizational Table 87 Body Image 88 Sport 100 Other Proving Grounds 109 Relationships - Men 122 Relationships - Women 140 School 150 Work 166 Images ofMasculinity: analysis and emerging issues 174 Class and Culture 177 Cultural Communities 178 Chapter 5 Ideology 188 Linguistic Structure 190 Narratological Structure 197 Chapter 6 Conclusion 216 Bibliography General Sources 226 Young Adult Literature 237 Appendix A List of novels used in this study 239 Chapter 1 Introduction This research will examine Images of masculinity in realistic novels for young adults. In the midst of both media debate and considerable academic research on "the cri sis in masculinity", there is a need to examine the cultural forces which play a part in developing a teenage boy's sense of self. The rise of feminist theory has resulted in a number of studies being done on teenage girls and the cultural expectations which have led to much publicized problems such as eating disorders, rising levels of depression and suicide, and educational failure. Similar studies on problems among teenage boys have been less common and are only now really getting underway. Teenagers

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