The Influence of Class and Gender on the Coming-of-Age-Experience as Portrayed in Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye.

Abstract

This thesis examines two classic American coming-of-age-novels: Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Firstly, it provides historical background on the coming-of-age-genre in general as well as specifically in US-literature. It then explores the different portrayals of the coming-of-age-experience and how these are influenced by the main characters’ gender and social background. The first chapter provides a narratological analysis of these two novels, and discusses the different forms of narration in relation to gender and class. The second chapter goes in depth on the concept of agency, how this theme is approached in both novels, and how it impacts the main characters’ experience of sexuality, education, and adulthood. Overall, it can be concluded that female coming-of-age is seen as a collective experience, whereas male coming-of-age is seen as a highly individualistic experience. Furthermore, the way agency is approached and experienced varies greatly based on the characters’ gender and social class. Further research would benefit by comparing more novels, specifically contemporary ones and ones that focus on non-white, non-Western main characters.