Graduate Research Papers
Availability
Open Access Graduate Research Paper
Abstract
Young adult literature often focuses on different problems associated with adolescence. Humor may provide a strategy for alleviating the tension associated with such problems in realistic fiction. The purpose of this study was to describe the use of humor in current, positively reviewed young adult literature in dark topics such as depression, death and suicide. Themes that emerged included humor as a coping device, self-defeating humor, and affiliative humor. Humor as a coping device was shown to increase with age as a way to deal with stressful situations in a study by Fuhr (2002). In a study by Erickson & Feldstein (2006), the most common types of humor present to manage stress included: affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor, aggressive humor, and self-defeating humor. Lamcampagne (1977) noted an increasing number of young adult authors were using humor to show the complexity of situations and that humor was a way for adolescents to show that the pains are real. This study strived to build upon the findings of Lamcampagne, in the exploration of the use of humor in young adult novels, with the topics of death, depression, and suicide, choosing current books from 2004- 2010.
Year of Submission
2010
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
First Advisor
Karla Krueger
Date Original
7-2010
Object Description
1 PDF file (60 pages)
Copyright
©2010 Apra Loomis
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Loomis, Apra, "Laughter and Tears: A Qualitative Content Analysis" (2010). Graduate Research Papers. 3798.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp/3798
Comments
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