Pictures of Youth - A Research of the Portrayal of Youth in Contemporary American Fiction.

Abstract

By comparing the descriptions of three sets of people in their youth as given in the novels Freedom by Jonathan Franzen and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers an image of fictional youth in three decades, namely the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s is formed. This image is then analysed and compared to contemporary studies into youth, for example Generation Me by Jean M. Twenge. The fictional account of youth is thus tested for development and adherence to accounts of youth outside the fictional world.