• A Three Dimensional Jigsaw Made of Pliable Bits: Aidan Chambers’ Postcards from No Man’s Land or Analysing Adolescent Identity as an Intertextual Construct in Aidan Chambers’ Postcards from No Man’s Land

    Author(s):
    Leander Duthoy (see profile)
    Date:
    2020
    Subject(s):
    Children's literature, Young adult fiction, Intertextuality
    Item Type:
    Article
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/zd56-km83
    Abstract:
    YA fiction is well known for a prevalence of narratives that explore identity and identity change. Critics have constructed multiple theoretical frameworks that help put into words the workings of adolescent identity in these novels. This article adds to that discussion by analysing Jacob, the main character of Aidan Chambers’ Postcards from No Man’s Land, (The Bodley Head, London, 1999), through the framework of Julia Kristeva’s intertextual theory, where any socio-cultural element can be an intertext, from a specific song to a political ideology. By returning to Kristeva’s original broad interpretation of textuality, I consider Jacob’s identity itself a text, shaped by the intertexts in his socio-cultural environment. My analysis then focuses on how Jacob’s process of identity development is empowered through the various intertexts with which he is presented over the course of Postcards’ narrative.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-020-09418-5
    Publisher:
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC
    Pub. Date:
    2020-7-11
    Journal:
    Children's Literature in Education
    ISSN:
    0045-6713,1573-1693
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    1 year ago
    License:
    Attribution
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