Breaking the Binary: Using Kohlberg and Lesko to Examine Adolescence in Asher’s <i>Thirteen Reasons Why</i>

  • Chea Parton Purdue University

Abstract

This article uses Kohlberg’s cognitive-developmental model of adolescent stages of moral growth (developmental) to examine Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why and how character development might affect adolescent and adult readers’ understandings of adolescence (social construction). It argues that young adult books like Asher’s reduce the adolescent experience to a series of decisions made by overly exuberant and hormone-ridden brains, and that, therefore, they are ineffective, and even irresponsible, in portraying adolescent life. YA novels make incredible contributions to the cultural construction of adolescent, and examining those contributions is a crucial part of understanding why adolescents hold their current position in society and how that position is constructed.

Author Biography

Chea Parton, Purdue University
Chea Parton taught high school English for three years and is currently a doctoral student at Purdue University. Her research interests include adolescence as a social construct as well as how YAL contributes to and challenges its construction.
Section
The Tortoise's Tale