Work

Too Much Feeling: S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders (1967), Conflicting Emotions, Identity, and Socialization

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: This article argues that emotions are utilized for norm breaking, identity formation, and socialization in S.E. Hinton’s YA novelThe Outsiders(1967). Drawing on the history of emotions studies, it investigates how emotional expressions are utilized to negotiate and contest given emotional norms on the one hand, and Young Adult literary conventions on the other. The point of departure is intersectional and focuses on the relationship between emotion, power, and socialization. In particular, the article considers how intersections of age, gender, and class relate to depictions of feeling and establishing of new emotional norms. The article shows that the feelings that the main character Pony expresses are part of a reiterative process of negotiation of power; they work as instruments for changing emotional norms connected to his age, class, and gender.

Source: Children s Literature in Education

DOI: 10.1007/s10583-020-09410-z

Author: Lydia Wistisen

Institution: Stockholm University

Language: English

Topic: Themes in Literature Analysis

Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,750

Funder: Stockholms Universitet