Xrthnty

In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature and film that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood ("coming of age"). Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or internal monologue over action, and are often set in the past. The subjects of coming-of-age stories are typically teenagers.^[1] The Bildungsroman is a specific subgenre of coming-of-age story.

In literature

• The Telemachy in Homer's Odyssey (8th century B.C.)


• 
  Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, by Ibn Tufail (12th century)^[2]


• 
  The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, by Henry Fielding (1749)^[3]


• 
  The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne (1759)^[3]


• 
  Candide, by Voltaire (1759)


• 
  Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen (1817)


• 
  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (1916)^[4]


• 
  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith (1943)


• 
  The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger (1951)


• 
  To Kill a Mockingbird, (novel) by Harper Lee (1960)


• 
  The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath (1964)


• 
  A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck (1972)


• 
  Into the Widening World, a collection of 26 short fictional coming-of-age stories by 26 notable authors (published 1995)


• 
  The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky (1999)


• 
  Five Point Someone, by Chetan Bhagat (2004)


• 
  The Name of the Wind and the rest of The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss (2007–present

In film and television

In film, coming of age is a genre of teen films. Coming-of-age films focus on the psychological and moral growth or transition of a protagonist from youth to adulthood. Personal growth and change is an important characteristic of this genre, which relies on dialogue and emotional responses, rather than action. The main character is typically male, around mid-teen and the story is often told in the form of a flashback.^[1]

Films in this subgenre include Bambi (1942), The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959), Les 400 Coups (1959), Oliver! (1967), American Graffiti (1973), Breaking Away (1979), The Last American Virgin (1982), Mischief (1985), The Breakfast Club (1985), Fandango (1985), Stand by Me (1986), Empire of the Sun (1987), Stealing Home (1988), Mermaids (1990), Dazed and Confused (1993), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Almost Famous (2000), Spirited Away (2001), Y Tu Mamá También (2001), The Motorcycle Diaries (2003), Lakshya (2004), Juno (2007), The Reader (2008), the Harry Potter series (2001–2011), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), The Kings of Summer (2013), The Spectacular Now (2013), Boyhood (2014), which was filmed with the same cast over a period of twelve years, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015), Sleeping Giant (2015), The Edge of Seventeen (2016), Moonlight (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), It (2017), Lady Bird (2017), Call Me by Your Name (2017), Love, Simon (2018), Eighth Grade (2018), To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018), and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).

Films featuring protagonists in particular age groups, such as pre-teens, are The Sandlot (1993), My Girl (1991), and Now and Then (1995) or high school graduates and college students, in films such as With Honors (1994), American Pie (1999), Can't Hardly Wait (1998), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Superbad (2007), An Education (2009) and 3 Idiots (2009).

Coming-of-age television series include Happy Days (1974-1984),^[5] the Degrassi franchise (1979–present), The Wonder Years (1988-1993),^[5]Boy Meets World (1993-2000), Daria (1997-2001), Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000), Skins (2007-2013), Glee (2009-2015), Teen Wolf (2011-2017), Steven Universe (2013–present), Over the Garden Wall (2014), Girl Meets World (2014-2017), Skam (2015-2017), Stranger Things (2016–present), 13 Reasons Why (2017–present), One Day at a Time (2017–present), On My Block (2018–present), and SKAM Austin (2018–present).

In video games

In video gaming, this subgenre includes Life Is Strange and Tomb Raider (2013).

References