The Super Exceptional Paul Suspending disbelief seems like
The Super Exceptional Paul Suspending disbelief seems like a necessary act when reading Boy Meets Boy – and not only because of the novel’s utopian aspects. Paul’s voice – which seems to alternate between that of a typical teen and a that of a wise poet – can even be so jarring as to disrupt the narrative flow. Paul’s voice, and the insights it conveys, lead me to think about Levithan’s goals as an author.
Quick! Substantiate my Bueller-Whitman Thesis Work quickly with your partner to find one instance in which Paul talks or thinks like a typical teen and one instance in which Paul talks or thinks like a poet.
Kutzer on the Difference Between Adult and YA Romance Let’s begin with the romance plot itself… “Adult romances have at their core the development of a male-female relationship that is meant to be true love, final love—hero and heroine will live happily and passionately ever after. Teen romances are also concerned with developing love, but nearly all of them imply that the one, true love is some years in the future and, as we shall see, not necessarily passionate. Teen romances are concerned with the beginnings of the romantic search, not with the final triumph. ”
Formula Fiction Regardless of designation, the romance plot is part of what is known as formula fiction. The romance novel carries with it certain attributes: The search for romance The development and resolution of romantic conflict The conclusion that suggests stasis, rather than flux. In fact, I would argue that even in the teen romance as described by Kutzer, the implication is that fulfillment will be lasting
Why Do We Read Formula Fiction? Why might a teenager want to read formula fiction? Why are these texts so frowned upon?
Why is formula fiction popular? Formula fiction presents predictability Formula fiction concerns wish fulfillment Formula fiction encourages the formation of goals that are societallysanctioned
Formula Fiction and Adolescent Readers Many scholars, including Perry Nodelman and John Cawelti, have argued that children and young adults are particularly attracted to formula fiction because its predictability presents a contrast to the unpredictability present in their own lives. Formula fiction encourages – and even demands – conformity to societal conventions. It provides a path to normalcy.
Amy Pattee's Analysis “By re-casting the young adult romance with a same-sex couple at its center and by setting his novel in a utopian town in which gay and transgendered students are accepted and even celebrated, David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy effectively subverts the paradigm of compulsory heterosexuality in young adult fiction while creating a new template for the gay young adult novel. ”
Pattee's Take on Utopian Novels “Utopian fictions work to critique an existing social structure or condition by, ironically, refusing to refer to the critiqued element. Instead, by describing an ideal social or political circumstance, the utopia calls attention to or makes visible the conditions that disallow the emergence of this ideal. ”
Levithan's Goals The implication is that Levithan has concerned himself with two (or more) distinct audiences: The audience of young LGBTQ teens who will find comfort in a text that provides the conventions, but includes them as suitable actors The audience of young straight teens who may need to be convinced that a LGBTQ teen could serve as a suitable protagonist for a romance AND could express feelings or ideas that would coincide with their own.
LBGTQ – Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender, Queer –a reclaimed word “Queer theory is a set of ideas based around the idea that identities are not fixed and do not determine who we are. It suggests that it is meaningless to talk in general about 'women' or any other group, as identities consist of so many elements that to assume that people can be seen collectively on the basis of one shared characteristic is wrong. ”
Utopian Fiction and Conformity In utopian fiction designed to initiate social change, the protagonists are in the spotlight – they carry the weight of the argument in favor of change. For instance, in African-American utopian fiction of the late 19 th-century, characters were portrayed as being extremely pious, extremely financially prudent, and extremely socially conservative in order to convince Caucasian readers that African. Americans COULD join them in an integrated society. African-American readers were supposed to view these characters as role models – emulating them might enable entry into mainstream culture.
The Super-Exceptional Protagonist Levithan’s stylistic choices are driven, in part, by his desire to create a protagonist who seems capable of impressing – he is NOT the mopey, lovesick boy of the traditional teen romance…or of the traditional LGBTQ problem novel Paul’s exceptional nature – especially his cleverness and his insight – enable him to serve as a “safe, ” convincing spokesperson for Levithan’s utopian vision
A Third Potential Audience Paul’s super exceptional parents also deserve our attention. They provide the “normative center” in the text – a place (home) where ideal human interaction occurs. Other parents are compared to them and found lacking. The didacticism here is reserved for Levithan’s third audience – parents, especially those parents who express intolerance towards their children and other people’s children.
Quick! Work quickly with your partner to find an example of how parents behave in this novel.
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