海角大神

Is there a teenage canon? A class of books teenagers typically turn to as a rite of passage, a form of identity, an expression of belonging 鈥� or not belonging?

Not only is the teenage canon alive and well, there appear to be multiple teenage canons: An angst canon especially for young men, a social canon especially for young women, a classic canon that spans the generations, and a modern one for today鈥檚 youth.聽

That鈥檚 according to a new article by the BBC examining the angst canon, a collection of 鈥渄isaffected literature for disaffected teenagers.鈥�

鈥淎t the age of 17 and 18, readers are often searching for something with a bit of existential angst. And nothing taps into teenage angst quite like the idea of exceptionalism,鈥� writes the BBC. 鈥淭he books in 'the canon' can provide a feeling of uniqueness 鈥� a clandestine understanding of the world that nobody else quite gets.鈥澛�

The irony, of course, is that everybody else is undergoing the same experience and reading the same literature, books like Albert Camus鈥檚 鈥淭he Stranger,鈥� J.D. Salinger鈥檚 鈥淭he Catcher in the Rye,鈥� George Orwell鈥檚 鈥�1984,鈥� Aldous Huxley鈥檚 鈥淏rave New World,鈥� and Joseph Heller鈥檚 鈥淐atch-22.鈥�

Because they command such respect in the adolescent crowd, these are the books no teenager would read only as an e-book, or surreptitiously stuff into a backpack. No, these are the books youngsters tote as a badge of honor, what one might read in a coffee shop, on the subway, even 鈥渨ear.鈥�

That鈥檚 right, 鈥渢he book itself might be placed conspicuously on show, with the titles poking out of school blazer pockets and tops of satchels,鈥� writes the BBC, with one commenter calling such works 鈥渁ccessory books鈥� and 鈥渟tatement reading.鈥�

Unifying these books is a theme of alienation, a sense of not belonging, of being an outsider 鈥� not coincidentally, the very same themes of adolescence.

Curiously, however, the article found a dramatic gender disparity in the teenage canon.

Whereas young men tend to gravitate toward angst-themed works, young women turn to works exploring social mores.

鈥淭here鈥檚 an absolutely dramatic difference between what girls and boys read at puberty,鈥� Lisa Jardine, a historian who has researched reading preferences of men and women, told the BBC. 鈥淏oys read angst books, so they read 鈥楥atcher in the Rye,鈥� 鈥楲鈥橢tranger,鈥� and books like that. Girls read expanding emotion and sensibility books. 鈥楯ane Eyre,鈥� [Dodie Smith鈥檚] 鈥楥apture the Castle,鈥� the Brontes鈥�books about difficult relationships.鈥�

And while generations of teenagers and young adults have turned to classics like 鈥淭he Catcher in the Rye,鈥� 鈥淐atch-22,鈥� and 鈥�1984,鈥� a new canon appears to have sprung in recent years, one that appears to capture the interest of both young (and not-so-young) men and women.

Forming this canon are such series as Suzanne Collins鈥檚 鈥淗unger Games,鈥� Stephanie Meyer鈥檚 鈥淭wilight,鈥� and J.K. Rowling鈥檚 鈥淗arry Potter.鈥�

Unique in this canon is its ability to attract the interest of both young men and young women, to simultaneously explore themes of exclusivity and exclusive societies along with explorations of intricate social structures.

And while this modern canon reflects the evolving set of issues today鈥檚 teenagers face, the classic canon 鈥� 鈥淭he Stranger,鈥� 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird,鈥� 鈥淐atch-22鈥� 鈥� has a certain timelessness that makes it a perpetual source of comfort for generations of teens.

Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.