The study of fear and character representation(s) within young adult fiction

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Research Institute for Media, Art and Performance.This project will consist of two chapter excerpts to a novel, Fear, and a contextualising thesis looking into the current representations of the emotion and character within the Young Adult genre. Fear, a Young Adult and Dark Fantasy novel, is told through the perspective of the protagonist, Imogen, and explores her coping with the loss of her father and finding misguided strength, power, and control through Fear and inflicting the emotion upon others. I will look into how fear has been represented throughout the Young Adult genre, and how I have chosen to represent my characters in regards to the genre. As well as this, I will explore how the relationships between protagonist and antagonists have been employed in existing literature in comparison to my own narrative. The stereotypical conventions of writing for young adults will also be analysed, exploring what makes them popular and why, what tropes I felt best to use and subvert. Grief and fear are heavily considered aspects in this piece, being demonstrated through the use of atmospheric language