美国成长小说

Good examples of initiation in short stories
James Joyce's "Araby" John Updike's "A & P" Sarah Orne Jewett's "A White Heron," Alice Munro's "The Found Boat."
Origins of the term
First appears: after World War II `initiation′ borrowed from anthropology initiation rites are seldom found—the term be adapted The ritual aspects: be replaced by other characteristics some definitions : also find parts of rituality in literary realizations of the initiation-theme This hypothesis is controversial in as much as it is difficult to define ritualistic behavior in everyday life. Ritualistic initiation stories include "adult society deliberately testing and indoctrinating the young” --only found in a "very small proportion of works called initiation stories".
The aspect of movement in stories of initiation
A physical movement(a journey): (1)the inner process of initiation (2)the gaining of experience and insight The three-part structure : ‘innocence’ – ‘experience’ – ‘maturity’
The initiatory experiences described in stories of initiation generally represent only one certain stage or one certain aspect in the passage to maturity. There is no limit to the duration of an individual’s initiation and, first of all, that one cannot find a certain moment of conclusion of this process.
4. centers on the story of initiation as describing the process of self-discovery and self-realization, which basically means twenku.baidu.come process of individuation.
1. --denotes the disillusioning process of the discovery of the existence of evil, which is depicted as a confrontation of the innocent protagonist with guilt and atonement and often has the notion of a shocking experience. --describes an episode which leads the protagonist to gaining insight and gaining in experience, in which this experience is generally regarded as an important stage towards maturity.
The motive of the journey reflects this structure, as the innocent protagonist leaves home, is confronted with new situations, places and people on his journey and returns back home as a `new man′ himself, in a more mature state of mind .
American initiation story
What is a `story of initiation′?
An initiation story is a fiction in which the protagonist undergoes an experience that is life-changing, and usually that character is a young person who gains a measure of maturity from the experience.
3. In contrast to the approaches presented above, which focus on the individual’s experiences and their consequences, the third one emphasizes the sociologic aspect of initiation --This means, that by an initiatory experience the protagonist is enabled to become a full member of an existing society.
In Hemingway’s work about stories of initiation, Marcus offers a provisional working definition : “An initiation story may be said to show its young protagonist experiencing a significant change of knowledge about the world or himself, or a change of character, or of both, and this change must point or lead him towards an adult world. It may or may not contain some form of ritual, but it should give some evidence that the change is at least likely to have permanent effects. ”
Views on the characteristics of stories of initiation
As mentioned, `initiation′ in literature focuses on different aspects of the passage from childhood or adolescence to adulthood than the anthropologic term denoting mainly rituals of primitive societies. In general, four aspects of initiation can be found in literature .
2. the result of the initiatory experience --This includes the loss of original innocence concerning the protagonist and is often compared to the biblical Fall of Men. Furthermore, this approach generally stresses the aspect of duality in the initiation process, which is the aspect of loss of innocence as a hurtful but necessary experience as well as the aspect of profit in gaining identity.