Critical Research Topic Proposal-Adults and Educators in Adolescent Literature

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     For my Critical Research Project, I have chosen to analyze the role and portrayal of adults and educators in adolescent literature.  My Essential Research Question is as follows:  How are adults and educators portrayed in adolescent literature, and how does this portrayal compare and contrast to reality and the adolescent experience?
     Focus Questions:

  • Is the portrayal generally positive or negative?
  • What trends emerge under analysis?
  • How true are these trends to reality?
  • How reliable are adolescent narrators?
  • How might this portrayal influence adolescents?
  • How might this portrayal influence adults and educators?
  • Are there reasons for any trends that emerge?


     I know that, in general, adults are typically portrayed as cruel incompetent, or simply ignorant.  Some novels present them as meaning well, but it is rare that they ever know what is truly happening in the story.  I selected this topic because I noticed it in my reading, and I was wondering if there may be a reason for it among authors, and how it might change the way adolescents see the world.  Also, as an educator, I have mixed feelings about most adolescents reading about teachers who don't know what they're doing or how to manage their students.  From my first pass, some books that I could analyze that come to mind are 13 Reasons Why, Crank, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and Speak.  I am also considering Looking for Alaska and Feed, but the role of adults and educators is slightly reduced in those novels.  The main resources I plan to use are ERIC, to see if there are any preconceived notions adolescents have about adults and educators, and JSTOR, as well as any other English databases, to see if any critical texts on these novels pertain to their adult characters.  My main claim at this point is that the portrayal of adults may at first glance seem unfair and poorly written, but it actually reflects the adolescent perspective.  Most of these texts are written in the first-person, which allows readers to see how the characters understand the world, which is not necessarily how the world truly is.  Therefore, the poor character of many adults is not due to bad writing, but an appreciation for perspective of young narrators.  The biggest challenge that I foresee is that there may not be enough about adults in general or educators in specific, in which case the scope will move closer to just one or the other. 

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