The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

1296 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: List and explain the basic significance of young adult literature

Novels for young adults are essential for a myriad of reasons: they are educational, relatable, and an escape for those who read them. It is important when teaching a class featuring these books, that the recurring themes be highlighted. This provides a full understanding of why these novels are important for young adults to read, and provides insight about character motivations and relationships. These important features of YA lit are: the power structure that exists between children/young adults and adults, survival, the idea of the underdog, personal growth/self-actualization, and isolation v. conformity. Most of the time these themes occur during the protagonist’s journey, whether that quest is a physical or emotional one. Overall, YA lit themes can be summed up as the evaluation of relationships with others and with the self. The following works demonstrate that overarching theme, and all that it entails, perfectly.
A novel that successfully demonstrates the power dynamic is Book One of the Bartimaeus Trilogy: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. It revolves around a young boy, Nathaniel, who is a magician’s apprentice in London. Adult magicians possess all the power in London, and in their households. In this novel, it is every magician’s duty to adopt an apprentice. Nathaniel’s adoption is described in a conversation between a clerk and Nathaniel’s new master Arthur Underwood:
“Mr. Underwood flourished his pen. “His parents- they’ve left, I take it?” “Yes sir. They couldn’t get away fast enough. The usual sort: take the money and run. Barely stopped to say goodbye to him.” ‘And all the normal safety procedures-?” “His birth records have been removed and destroyed, sir, and he has been strictly instruc...

... middle of paper ...

...hese novels, and the YA lit genre in general is the idea of a quest/journey and the protagonist being an underdog. Percy takes on a quest in a literal sense, Amir physically journeys back and forth between countries, Nathaniel is on a quest to save the government, and Katniss’ quest is to survive. All of them are underdogs in some sense as well. They are all underestimated, and not expected to succeed. Their situations are extremely relatable to many young adults. Young adults are looked down upon, and constantly incorrectly judged. So are these protagonists. Young adults can learn a lot by reading about their experiences. These novels may even help them cope with misconceptions that are placed on them in their own lives. By watching someone who is your age, going through similar emotions and predicaments, young adults can better learn to deal with their realities.

Show More
Related

  • The Wolves Of Mercy Falls Trilogy Summary

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    The diverse alternation of point of views also provides the story an effective way to reach out to readers and be felt. The characterisation is effectively done and applied as Sam, Grace, and the other supporting characters play individual, crucial roles in the course of the story. All the elements of a typical young adult novel, consisting of a gap-filled relationship between children and parents, emotion-driven teenagers, and a unique conflict that makes the book distinct from fellow novels, combined with the dangerous consequences of the challenges the couple encounter, make the book different from all other of the same genre. The plot unfolds slowly giving readers enough time to adjust and anticipate the heavy conflict when it arises. It has gotten us so hooked but the only thing we could possibly dislike about it was the slow pace of plot. The anticipation was too much to handle and we were practically buzzing and bouncing to know how the story turns out as we read. It builds the anticipation, excitement, thrill, sadness, grief, loss, and longing in such an effective way to entice and hook readers further into the world of Sam and

    Read More

  • Why Maze Runner Deserve a Place in 10th Grade Reading List

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    Young adult fiction is a unique area in its own way, and one that incorporates forms of lives not common in society. The book, Maze Runner is a typical example of adult fiction in which the author presents scenarios involving various forms of life, which readers can learn from and apply to their own, as well. To begin with, by reading this book in class, students will not only learn about magic and terror, but also about sorrow, bravery, friendship as well as suffering in attempts to find redemption. Everything about this book is fictional but subsequent events from previous ones make things even more real. In the beginning, fiction is achieved when the main character, Thomas, wakes up in some metal box, but has no memory of the person he is, only remembering his name (Dashner 1).The place in which the boys live is covered in high wall and called the glade. Additionally, outside the maze are monsters called grievers, which can make a person undergo the process of ‘changing’ upon being stung. The fictitious nature of this book...

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque: The Brutality of War on Soldiers

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Themes." Novels for Students. Ed. Marie R. Napierkowski. Vol. 4. Detriot: Gale, 1998. 6-7. Print.

    Read More

  • Should The Book The Hunger Games Be On The Banned Books List?

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    After hearing a brief description of the story you might think that there aren’t many good things about they story. However, this is false, there are many good things in this book that makes it a good read. First being that it is a very intriguing book. This is good for teenage readers because often times they don’t willingly want to read, and this story will force the teenage or any reader to continue the book and continue reading the series. Secondly, this is a “good” book because it has a good balance of violence. This is a good thing because it provides readers with an exciting read. We hear and even see violence in our everyday life and I believe that it is something teenagers should be exposed to. This book gives children an insig...

    Read More

  • Harper Lee's To Kill Mocking Bird

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    No matter race, background or time period, every child goes through the drastic change from childhood to adulthood that we know of as “coming of age.” Since the topic of coming of age is so widespread and relatable, it is a very common theme in novels. In fact, many American classics follow the archetype known as loss of innocence, which displays the change in views and values of a child during this time period. Childhood is hard enough how it is, but during certain time periods and in certain locations, it can be exceptionally difficult; an example of this stressed hardship is the Deep South during the times of segregation and The Great Depression. One American classic that follows this archetype is To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; in this narrative, she shows a dramatic change in Scout and Jem’s understanding of courage and empathy with the help of their father, Atticus, as they mature in the Deep South.

    Read More

  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nilson, Allen Pace & Kenneth L. Donelson. “Stages of Literary Appreciation” in Literature for Today’s Young Adults. Longman, 2001: pp. 35-42. [PDF in Blackboard]

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of The Joy Of Reading And Writing: Superman And Me?

    1446 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a world dominated by technology, reading novels has become dull. Instead of immersing into books, we choose to listen to Justin Bieber’s new songs and to scroll through Instagram posts. We have come to completely neglect the simple pleasures of flipping through pages and getting to finally finish a story. Sherman Alexie and Stephan King’s essays attempt to revive this interest in books that has long been lost. They remind us of the important role that reading plays in our daily lives. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” for instance, demonstrates how being literate saved the narrator from the oppressive nature of society. The author explains that even though he was capable of reading complex books at an astonishingly young

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Joy Luck Club And Catcher In The Rye

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    A reoccurring theme in these novels is the maturation of children. “To Kill a Mockingbird” we watch Jem and Scout mature into individual beings with a deep understanding of the world. In this book we can observe how personal experiences throughout our childhood mould and shape our being. In “The Joy Luck Club” we can experience the unique background each character has and learn how that background helped mould them into the beings they are today. In “The Catcher in the Rye,” we are likewise taken through Holden’s childhood and maturation. In “Huckleberry Finn,” Huck’s growing up is also an important part of the book. In all these books we see how the world gets more complex and deep as a child slowly matures. As they are maturing we witness ...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Daniel Clowes Ghost World

    1953 Words  | 4 Pages

    Aiming at elder teenagers who are facing or have experienced the process of entering adulthood, the cartoonist Daniel Clowes illustrates the twisting feeling between resistances and attempts during the transition toward adulthood in his successful graphic novel Ghost World. In the story, the author characterizes the two protagonists Enid Coleslaw and Rebecca Doppelmeyer as rebellious and cynical; they aimlessly wander around the town and "their main activity, though, is mocking -- with a callow conviction worthy of Holden Caulfield -- the phoniness and hypocrisy that surrounds them. (Scott). By portraying the entering adulthood melodrama based on his own experience, the rhetorician illustrates contemporary teenagers' angst and confusion triggered by both the changes they have to face and the pressure of mainstream culture. Moreover, the graphic medium and comic genre sufficiently reaches targeted teenager readers: the adoption of dark green which represents the somber atmosphere and mass media's penetration, the intentionally portrayed ostensible figures which implies teenagers' constant judgment toward external world, and the direct language(sometimes impolite) language which specifically aims to teenagers in real world who use the same kind language; all of them serve as effective components of the melancholy but realistic atmosphere through the whole story. Thus, by illustrating the protagonist's twisting inner feeling between the attempt to suit in and the resistance toward the constantly changing external world and unknown adulthood, author Daniel Clowes constructs an entering adulthood melodrama with the help of graphic novel components, which provokes readers to consider teenage angst and the fear during coming of age time,...

    Read More

  • The Hunger Games Dystopian Analysis

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dystopian fiction has a great effect on teenagers because it causes us to look at the world differently. Anthem and The Hunger Games are great examples of what its like to live in a dystopian world and be a dystopian protagonist. I think teenagers can learn a lot through reading novels like this or watching the

    Read More

  • The Wielding Women of The Great Gatsby

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fiction Studies 49.3 (Fall 2003): 443-468. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Jelena Krstovic. Vol. 176. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Be More Chill

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    My recommendation for this book would be that this book is just a fun read, nothing to serious. But yet it's a book were its easy to relate to were a lot of the situations that happen in the book happen in young teenage life as well. Like for example the desperation to fit in. kids will do most likely anything to be part of "the cool group" hopefully not take some sort of pill that will talk to you in your head. But other things like being pressured into talking drugs. Sneaking out of the house to go to some party and not coming back until the next day at dawn without getting caught. These days we do so much and our parents know so little.

    Read More

  • Gary Paulsen

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gary Paulsen is most famously known for his young adult adventure novels. Throughout Paulsen’s childhood he was bounced around between family member’s households. As a child he was neglected by alcoholic parents. He coped by fishing and playing with his childhood friend, a dog. Paulsen lived in the Philippines while his father served for his country, this gave him the experience and the imagination it took to write young adult novels that appealed to his adolescent audience. Being an adventurous adolescent himself, he embellishes on his imagination and creates a plot that is both vividly detailed and unheard of. Gary Paulsen flawlessly incorporates the topics of survival tactics, man versus nature, family imperfections and self alterations in his writing, while using vivid descriptions of the character’s situation, which holds the young adult’s attention and allows them to experience the conflict along with the character.

    Read More

  • Women In The Novels Of Toni Morrison And Alice Walker

    1841 Words  | 4 Pages

    Morrison clearly distinguishes childhood from adult friendships by the solidarity that characterizes the first and the problems that make the second fail. Childhood friendships are more successful in Morrison’s novels than adulthood bonding because self-centeredness becomes a larger issue as children grow up.

    Read More

  • A Timeline of Children's Literature

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    Literature has been part of society since pen met paper. It has recorded history, retold fables, and entertained adults for centuries. Literature intended for children, however, is a recent development. Though children’s literature is young, the texts can be separated into two categories by age. The exact splitting point is debatable, but as technology revolutionized in the mid-twentieth century is the dividing point between classic and contemporary. Today’s children’s literature is extraordinarily different from the classics that it evolved from, but yet as classic was transformed into modern, the literature kept many common features.

    Read More

More about The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Open Document