Sidekick Comes of Age (eBook)

How Young Adult Literature is Shifting the Sidekick Paradigm

Stephen M. Zimmerly (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2019
180 Seiten
Lexington Books (Verlag)
978-1-4985-8680-1 (ISBN)

Infos

Young adult literature uses literary sidekicks in new and exciting ways, which changes how sidekicks are understood. Three ways authors elevate sidekicks include letting sidekicks “evolve” over the course of multiple texts, using parallel novels to add complexity to a sidekick’s characterization, and telling a story from the sidekick’s perspective.

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Literary sidekicks like Dr. Watson and Robin the Boy Wonder have not been the singular subject of a significant critical study-until now. Using young adult literature (YA) to study the sidekick reveals new and exciting ways to understand these kinds of characters and this kind of literature. YA has embraced the sidekick, recognizing the way the character reflects the importance of growth and finding one's place in the world. The nature of many YA texts allows sidekicks to grow beyond literary or historical origins. This includes letting sidekicks "e;evolve"e; over the course of multiple texts, using parallel novels to add complexity to a sidekick's characterization, and telling a story from the sidekick's perspective, paradoxically making the sidekick the hero. A singularly focused and prolonged study helps to establish sidekick scholarship as a burgeoning field in and of itself.

Autor

Stephen M. Zimmerly is assistant professor of English at the University of Indianapolis.

Inhalt

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Using Young Adult Literature to Study SidekicksChapter One: Four Classic Sidekick Roles: Exploring Sidekicks as Narrative Gateways, Devil’s Advocates, Comic Relief, and FoilsChapter Two: Family Ties: An Investigation into the Potential Familial Relationships between Heroes and SidekicksChapter Three: The Secondary Hero: Neville Longbottom and Tenar as Sidekicks-Turned-HeroesChapter Four: The Sidekick Sequel: Reinventing Sidekicks through Parallel NovelsChapter Five: The Self-Aware Sidekick: Studying Sidekicks in First-Person Sidekick Superhero StoriesConclusionBibliographyAbout the Author

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 9.4.2019
• Reihe/Serie: Children and Youth in Popular Culture
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Essays / Feuilleton
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
• Schlagworte: Batman and Robin • Dr. Watson • Harry Potter • Hero • Literary Studies • Modern Literature • Pop culture • popular culture • popular literature • superheroes • YA Literature • young adult literature
• ISBN-10: 1-4985-8680-5 / 1498586805
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4985-8680-1 / 9781498586801