The Search for Self: Childhood Interiors and Identity in Contemporary Young Adult Literature

In accordance with philosopher Gaston Bachelard\u27s interpretation of literary interiors as the cosmoses one creates through inhabited space, this thesis focuses on a narrow yet thorough investigation of how interiority reflects the transformative journey of characters within contemporary children\u27s literature of the Western world. Such interiors are used to compelling effect within the bildungsromane of contemporary youth fiction, with the sanctuaries and prisons depicted throughout such novels linked to the various stages of the protagonists\u27 journeys toward self-actualization (i.e., one\u27s realization of, and movement toward, his or her potential). In particular, three popular young adult series combine the hero\u27s journey with literary interiority in highly compelling ways: The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956) by C.S. Lewis, the Harry Potter series (1997-2007) by J.K. Rowling, and The Hunger Games trilogy (2008-2010) by Suzanne Collins. The protagonists of these works undergo a transformational journey – the quintessential theme of coming-of-age literature – with the trajectory of their quests definable through the interiors they encounter and the significance of the perceptions regarding both self and community that they gain from their experiences within those interiors